Naughty Boy! (Just going to be one of those days)

[Cari]

Do anybody elses bunnies just go and have a mad day every now and again?!

I have been awake since 05:00 (heard some serious cage rattling - which he doesn't normally do) and so went downstairs, made myself a cup of tea and settled in on the sofa to drift off but half keep an eye on him.

Anywho, since then he has tried to escape behind the television, pulled at all the bunnyproofing to get behind the sofa/under the stereo, has knocked over the bag of food, has chucked his snack box (which I had just lovingly filled with herbs and salad, and even, as a treat, a slice of apple and carrot) across the room, leaving bits of herb and salad in a nice arc all over the floor, has charged at me (which he never does) and then nibbled a hole through his cuddly toy (poor Squeezy-Peasy, don't know what she did wrong)! I seem to have a different rabbit to the one who I left last night, a naughty, destructive rabbit.

Who has just flopped in his cage (as he's having a time out) as if to say "I am pleased with my work this morning".

GAH!

 

[GrahamL]

How old is he, and has he been neutered?

 

[Cari]

He'll be two in August and has been neutered for a while now (I hope, as he is a rescue bun from a friend, but he assured me that he has been done)

 

[GrahamL]

In which case, sounds to me like a lonely bored bunny unfortunately. They often become a little destructive when they get bored im afraid.

Is it possible to think about getting him a friend?

What kind of 'cage' is he in and how long is he in it per day on average?

 

[Cari]

I try not to let him get bored, he has lots of toys etc, but unfortunately as much as I would like to find him a friend it would be nigh on impossible due to space. I have a garden which is smaller than my living room, and a living room only big enough for one rabbit cage, so I would have nowhere for his friend to live. I have been considering it and trying to find/make space for a friend but it's not going to happen at present. He spends a lot of the day with someone with him and not a lot inside the cage. We are trying to allow him to have free range to the living room all the time but he chews through everything if someone isn't watching despite having all sorts of chew toys and things to keep him occupied.

He is in an indoor rabbit cage, approximately 5x3x2ft and he spends time from 01:00-05:30, 11:00-15:00 and sometimes 19:00-20:00 in his cage on days when my partner and I are both at work. When neither of us are at work he spends the entire day out of his cage.

 

[Sky-O]

Yes, to be honest, I have them go through days like that, whether they are single or not. A couple of weeks ago Snowy totally trashed the kitchen. Last weekend Autumn, Wish and Flame, took it upon themselves to be doing all the things they want to but know they are not allowed too :roll:

I do agree about looking to find a way though, like Gray says, whether or not this is due to being lonely. I wonder if there would be a different indoor setup for them to live in because if the rescue did the bonding you would still only need one area for them.

 

[Cari]

I have let him back out again now and he is a completely different rabbit, binkying, licking his cuddly toys (and me), running about in circles making happy noises and jumping up on the sofa for cuddles... I don't know what got into him this morning, all of that destruction in about 5 minutes of being let out and now complete calm has been restored!

I do see what you are saying Sky-O, (029*88888888888882**********9+9 - Stephen's contribution) and am trying my hardest to find a way of having a friend with him. I have even seen a beautiful doe his age and size who I've fallen in love with, I'm just not sure what to do. We are hopefully going to open up the rest of the lounge to Stephen soon so he has a little more space to run but no room for a larger cage, and I just don't trust my own bunnyproofing skills enough to leave a cage door open all the time.

 

[Sky-O]

From the sounds of it you have a large indoor cage, and it might be that a rescue would rehome a small girl to you to go in there with Stephen (and maybe do the bonding too). I've got a tiny nethie in a cage that size at the moment and he also has the choice to come out in the day. It's not ideal, however he can do loads in there and if he had a tiny friend, they would be fine in there together. It might be worth looking into, at the very least, if you do want to get him a friend.

It might be that you need to lose the cage and use a puppypen instead, or something, to accommodate another bunny.