Naughty behaviour!

Hi everyone.

I have a 3 year old mini lop who is a indoor rabbit,hes a very very friendly chilled out happy rabbit. He sometimes has the odd spell of naughtyness, but this week, all week, as soon as i leave the room, he starts digging at the carpet next to his cage, he knows hes doing wrong as he hides when i give him a tap on the nose, but as soon as i leave him again he starts.
He gets free run of the house for about 1.5hrs in the morning before i leave for work, and then hes let back out in the evening from about 5.30 until 10.30-11 ish. Nothing has changed in the house recently, so there cant be anything that has upset him, but its really beginning to test me and it upsets me that i have to keep putting him back in his cage to try and teach him a lesson! Any ideas?

He was netured a long time ago

He might be bored, or attention seeking, my rupert does naughty things when he wants attention or is bored x

It does sound like boredom. I also think that discipline doesn't make the slightest bit of difference with rabbits! Maybe give him more things to do or play with? Toilet roll tubes stuffed with hay and treats always work wonders with mine!

Does he have a digging box? At certain times of the year they get the urge to dig a lot.

Hi :wave:
My two bunnies are devils for the carpet, what I find works is moving their tunnels and toys all around different places. It gets them curious and distracts them from the carpet. The other night my plastic washing baskets were turned upside down and put in my lounge, the bunnies loved it and pushed them around and ran around them, doing lots of binkies! The carpet was forgotten about

He's likely digging because he wants you to come back, and you're totally rewarding that by coming back. If possible what you really need to do is find a way to prevent him doing it, but still having space, and then ignoring it.

Also 'punishment' like tapping on the nose won't work, as you have found out; rabbits just don't work like that.

Thanks for the advice everyone, I'v filled a wooden log full of hay & treats & he's been playing with that for the last half hour so that's really good. The washing basket is a great idea, will try that layer, will try moving his toys around aswell, might pull his cage out a bit so he can run in behind it too. I feel bad that he's bored, he gets so much attention i really didn't think he could be bored :-(

Stator - what's a digging box? I'v never seen or heard of them?

If he doesn't have a wifey bun, that might also be a good thing to do; get him one (the easiest option being a spayed girl from a reputable rescue).

Lauralopps said:

Stator - what's a digging box? I'v never seen or heard of them?

Click to expand...

A high sided box, like an under bed storage box with a layer of some sort of diggable material, eg megazorb

Yeah I have been thinking about getting another one but I really don't know if that's best for him, he's been on his own all this time now I think he would get jelious, he is boss after all!

Will get on the case with the digging box tomorrow tho, thanks all

Lauralopps said:

Yeah I have been thinking about getting another one but I really don't know if that's best for him, he's been on his own all this time now I think he would get jelious, he is boss after all!

Will get on the case with the digging box tomorrow tho, thanks all

Click to expand...

Just wanted to stress how fab it is to get a single bun a friend! My Finx lived as a single house rabbit for the first year of her life - she was super affectionate (towards me anyway, not so much my OH :lol but very destructive. I tried so many things to keep her entertained but there's no permanent solution like bunny company.

I went to a rescue and adopted Tango, then sloooooowly bonded them. They've lived together for a year now, Finx is very much still in charge but Tango loves her to pieces, grooms her at every opportunity and loves to snuggle up. Finx is just as curious and affectionate as ever but has her much-loved sidekick to share her time and attention, and Tango has come on leaps and bounds, growing in confidence and showing his own character

If you're in a position to do it, I'd say go for it!

Ok thanks for the advice, may have to have more of a serious think about it. We're going away travelling for a few months next year, so may have to think about it properly after that as I would really like to put some good time into bonding. I need to pursuade my other half more than anything!! Do u still have a good relationship with finx after introducing tango? I wouldn't want to loose that as Austin is my little baby we have lots of cuddles & as soon as I let him out in the mornings he joins me in bed for cuddles!

Lauralopps said:

Ok thanks for the advice, may have to have more of a serious think about it. We're going away travelling for a few months next year, so may have to think about it properly after that as I would really like to put some good time into bonding. I need to pursuade my other half more than anything!! Do u still have a good relationship with finx after introducing tango? I wouldn't want to loose that as Austin is my little baby we have lots of cuddles & as soon as I let him out in the mornings he joins me in bed for cuddles!

Click to expand...

One of my rabbits is just as affectionate after I bonded her, but my other one who loved being stroked and loved my attention doesn't want to know me now he has his friend for company. So I think it might vary from rabbit to rabbit. Even so, bonding them was the best thing I've ever done for them, they are soooo happy together.

Lauralopps said:

Ok thanks for the advice, may have to have more of a serious think about it. We're going away travelling for a few months next year, so may have to think about it properly after that as I would really like to put some good time into bonding. I need to pursuade my other half more than anything!! Do u still have a good relationship with finx after introducing tango? I wouldn't want to loose that as Austin is my little baby we have lots of cuddles & as soon as I let him out in the mornings he joins me in bed for cuddles!

Click to expand...

To begin with, no. She moved outside after being an indoor bun all her life and she got a friend within a couple of months, and while I knew it was best for her I did miss the grooming and cuddles! Now though, they have settled into their roles and she is as affectionate towards me as ever. She comes running as soon as I open the patio doors and would sit and be stroked for hours if I didn't stop.

When Tango was admitted at the vets for a couple of nights recently she looked to me for company, licking me for ages like she always used to. She still comes to my voice and is happy to be picked up and cuddled (on her own terms of course!). On top of all that, Tango was the most nervous bunny when he first came, and now he comes to be stroked too - it's been gorgeous watching him settle with Finx and learn that he's home and safe.

It probably does depend on the rabbit, but if yours are staying inside then they will still have loads of contact with you as well as each other, while with mine I adopted Tango initially to make sure Finx had company outside - I fell in love with him later!

egg said:

One of my rabbits is just as affectionate after I bonded her, but my other one who loved being stroked and loved my attention doesn't want to know me now he has his friend for company. So I think it might vary from rabbit to rabbit. Even so, bonding them was the best thing I've ever done for them, they are soooo happy together.

Click to expand...

Exactly this :thumb:

The Rabbit Welfare Association advise that rabbits that are kept alone suffer from high levels of stress - stress can also cause stereotypic behaviours (obsessive, repetitive behaviours) as well as boredom.

If he wants to dig, let him dig, its not 'naughty', its a natural and instinctual behaviour - think about wild rabbits! I'd give him a digging box, perhaps with forage mixed in, as that would make a good enrichment activity and so also help combat boredom.

I wouldnt tap him on the nose, he's only little, and chatising animals around the face is well known to make them headshy, and can even cause fear aggression. If you want to establish a negative response to an activity, say 'no' sharply, or clap once, then if bun doesnt stop, remove them to another part of the room. But if he really wants to destroy something, that wont stop him, rabbits are clever enough to realise that you cant stop them everytime. You're much better off just bunny-proofing that area and working instead on the cause - that might be boredom, lonliness, stress, or a lack of an appropriate outlet for the behaviour - or sometimes its just because doing that is great fun for them!

Eta - My bunny Barney didnt lose his bond with me when he was bonded to Annabella, but he did get less clingy, I could actually move without him suddenly being there, and didnt have to worry about tripping over him quite as much. Annabella doesnt have much time for humans, and I think thats because she's never had much human input and always had bunny friends - shes never been alone. Perhaps she would be friendlier if she was so lonely (ie didnt have a rabbit friend) and therefore looked for company from humans. But then depriving a herd animal of the company of their own kind, to make them have a better relationship with you, is a bit like refusing to let your partner leave the house and talk or see anyone else, just so their world evolves around you. Its better to let everyone have their own friends.