Rabbit self harming ???help

[Fluffs mum]

Ok lovely bunsters ,


I know the above sounds strange but its what fluff seems to be doing. He digs at the utility room door to get in and bites at it. He only made it in there once and promptly went behind the washing machine ! Gave me such a fright.

Now it seems like he is having a temper tantrum . I sit with the buns and interact and stoke and talk to them of an evening he will stop very occasionally and accept a bit of love .most of the time he is running around like a mad thing. He gets enough out time as have opened the run earlier and they come out for a tiny it then just sit in there hay and look at me .

He has now started digging madly then turning and biting at himself . I have moved him away from the area rolled balls at him said no loudly . Put piles of sticks in the way willow balls and even tried to distract him with food.all to no avail . He likes things where he wants them he moves the kitchen bin to where he wants it and will not tolerate an litter tray at all at the moment .

Hei is wearing himself out at the moment keeps flopping over !

I have serveral balls around the kitchen a tunnel and stools sticks and of course binky his love match .

I can't use cardboard for boredom breakers as he tried to eat the cardboard ! Heeeelllp ! What am I missing / not doing ?

Any input welcome xxx

Lisa

 

[Neleh]

Has he been checked by a vet?

I had a self harming rabbit, it stated after her epilepsy began. I'm not saying itvis epilepsy but maybe there is something going on healthwise?

Is he neutered?

 

[scarlett]

How old is he and has he been neutered?:wave:

 

[nessar]

How old is he and has he been neutered?:wave:

This. And does he have a rabbit friend?

How many hours does he get free-ranging a day? And how large is his permanent area?

Does he exhibit the digging and chewing himself behaviour in one area, or multiple areas of the room?

Flopping is fine, don't worry about that, it's just him relaxing.

Is it possible he got washing powder on him when he went behind the washing machine? It would be an irritant and is also toxic.

 

[Fluffs mum]

This. And does he have a rabbit friend?

How many hours does he get free-ranging a day? And how large is his permanent area?

Does he exhibit the digging and chewing himself behaviour in one area, or multiple areas of the room?

Flopping is fine, don't worry about that, it's just him relaxing.

Is it possible he got washing powder on him when he went behind the washing machine? It would be an irritant and is also toxic.

Yes he has a female friend a very much in love .

He gets 3 hours in the morning and then they happily snuggle together for the afternoon then from 6 till about 10 with half an hour missing when I put the kids to bed . Like I say I have opened the run earlier and they don't come out. :? They will be going outside with 8ft run when we eventually get good weather ! They don't have a winter coat so am awaiting good weather!

He digs all over the kitchen floor will often stop running and dig in one place. So farms its only been today bit himself at the door of utility and opposit corner of cuboards.

It was a few weeks ago behind the washin machine and don't think any powder got on him and was just covered in fluff and dust :0)

He is about 8 months and yes neutered end of feb.

 

[scarlett]

Could he still be a bit hormonal as its only just 6 weeks since he was neutered?

 

[nessar]

Yes he has a female friend a very much in love .

He gets 3 hours in the morning and then they happily snuggle together for the afternoon then from 6 till about 10 with half an hour missing when I put the kids to bed . Like I say I have opened the run earlier and they don't come out. :? They will be going outside with 8ft run when we eventually get good weather ! They don't have a winter coat so am awaiting good weather!

He digs all over the kitchen floor will often stop running and dig in one place. So farms its only been today bit himself at the door of utility and opposit corner of cuboards.

It was a few weeks ago behind the washin machine and don't think any powder got on him and was just covered in fluff and dust :0)

He is about 8 months and yes neutered end of feb.

How long after getting in the utility room did he start, then?

I wouldn't rule out a health problem but I think it sounds like he is bored and frustrated. One of my rabbits would dig and destroy things if she was confined overnight, she'd be really destructive when she was out. It gradually stopped over couple of weeks after I let them free-range 24/7.

Rabbits are generally quite sleepy during the day and so won't exercise much then, so that my be why you are seeing them sit. But it is important that they get as much exercise as possible, especially at dusk, at night and in the wee hours of the morning, which is when they need it most but unfortunately when they are most likely to be shut away. Does he eat enough hay? That is a great boredom breaker, and they should be getting through a pile the size of themselves every day.

Have you changed their toys around? If not, could you? Maybe introduce something new, like a tunnel. Most rabbits like tunnels.

 

[Fluffs mum]

Only today he has started the biting.

He has a tunnel, loves running around the kitchen and sliding into it they have a 6 by. 5 ft run in the kitchen would love to leave them out over night but the amount he chews maybe divorced.

Any toys I can make that don't use cardboard. They have hanging sticks in the run

Hopefully he was annoyed at something today and will keep an eye and pop to the vets if not.

 

[RogerRabbit999]

One of my bunnies did all this digging and strange behaviour, and was taken to the vets to be checked over, but the vet explained to me that rabbits do need something to dig because that is their natural behaviour, and if we don't provide them with something they will find it themselves, which can result in quite destructive behaviour. I had an old indoor cage that was really too small, but used just the base and put some straw in it, and he then started to exhibit all his digging in that. Also, as somebody posted about bunnies being more active during the night, he and his wifey are now out during the night, and in an enclosure during the day, and all his bizarre behaviour has stopped. I can see now though, why he was like this, because I was in effect forcing him to do everything that went against his natural instincts. I know most buns are fine and adapt to how I guess, we think they should be living and behaving, but I think sometimes you get the odd bun like your boy and mine, that it is just too unnatural for them and they just can't cope with it, and we have to go back to the basics and think about how they really need to be living, not how we think they should be. Is there anywhere that you could move them too, say maybe initially, just part of a room that you could bunnyproof easily, and then if he starts to improve allow them more space then.

 

[Jojo123]

Only today he has started the biting.

He has a tunnel, loves running around the kitchen and sliding into it they have a 6 by. 5 ft run in the kitchen would love to leave them out over night but the amount he chews maybe divorced.

Any toys I can make that don't use cardboard. They have hanging sticks in the run

Hopefully he was annoyed at something today and will keep an eye and pop to the vets if not.

I have a dog basket that has safe bedding in it and i sprinkle pellets in so my buns dig around for them. They seem to have great fun doing that x

 

[tonibun]

A lot of my bunnies love their litter tray. I have got underbed storage boxes with newspaper in the bottom covered with hay and they spend quite a bit of time munching the hay. Also rabbits like tearing up newspaper, it looks awful but if it keeps them happy for a while I don't mind.

Sometimes it looks like a rabbit is biting himself when he is just using his teeth to scratch. I have never known a rabbit to actually bite himself although they will bite other rabbits!

When you say it looks like he is having a tantrum, is he running round at top speed then flopping. If so, this is quite normal. Rabbits are sprinters so as well as hopping around they like to get up quite a speed, useful if they need to escape from a predator.

If you are going to put them on the ground outside, he may do a bit of digging in one of the corners. These are called scrapes and they are for the rabbit's toilet.

 

[Fluffs mum]

Thank you for all the replies again.

He eats newspaper as well as cardboard :shock: cheeky boy a bigger dig box is probably the way to go. I will pop to tescos later as they had an offer on under bed storage will try that filled with hay ....and dust free straw ? Did have an old Woden box but binky the female kept weeping in it and it would soak through other box as I said before he just threw it around... Bigger is better

WHen I said tantrum it was he was digging really hard and then turning on himself and doing the biting movement.

I love that he speeds around the kitchen although van be scary when you are trying to cook and you hear him coming :lol:

Am so pleased we had him first though as she is such a submissive quiet rabbit compared to him he would have been such a shock.

 

[tonibun]

Hi there. If he keeps "biting" himself come back on the Forum and we will have another think. It doesn't matter if he eats a small amount of paper, I have never known them to eat a lot.

 

[nessar]

If he is still biting himself he needs to go to the vet really, it may be something like mites or a skin reaction to something.

Does he eat a pile of hay the size of himself every day, would you say? Craving wood-pulp (newspaper, cardboard, wood) can sometimes be an indication of a slow gut, basically the bunny craving fibre because they aren't getting enough.

I find my buns love digging blankets. Well actually they love my duvet best but I prefer to give them blankets as I want my duvet to remain in one piece! Barney just digs but Anna will dig and bite and generally destroy them - but I don't mind as she has a great time doing it.

 

[Tamsin]

I know what you mean about the tantrum, Scamp can do it sometimes when he gets frustrated. He'll dig and dig at a spot and get quite pushy if you try to stop and if anything gets in his way he'll bite/push at it.

The biting at himself is a little worrying, if he keeps it up definitely a vet check as it could be an itch or pain, which could make him short tempered too.

I think rotating the toys/activities will help, and if possible perhaps a little out time late evening in addition to the morning as those are the two times they are most active. Hay, straw, soil is fine, fresh branches like apple might go down well with a chewer. Another thing to look at is diet - too many pellets are high energy and quick to eat so can leave them with excess energy and too much time. Reducing pellets right down and increasing hay/veggies can help. Plus making them work for their food.

 

[Fluffs mum]

Hi all happier bun tonight and earlier today no biting.

It's difficult to say how much hay he eats as I tend to put in a big pile as he loves burrowing in it until he is covered... Tok me a couple of weeks to relies what he was trying to do . He does seem to eat a lot of hay but they do spread it about their box as well.

They are out from 6 till 10 with half an hour in again when I put the kids to bed. Got a dig box tonight and after a few placement changes seems happy. And although not digging is sitting and eating and not biting himself .

 

[The Duchess]

I have a rabbit here who self harms and bites herself until she eats through to her muscle. She has done this so many times now. And it's been in different places too. The last one took her a day while we were out at work and she went through her leg to the muscle below. She has to live with a buster collar on. The vet repaired it twice but ran out of anything to stitch so it's now an open wound that is healing slowly.

We have never to this day found an underlying cause (thought it was boredom/infection/cancer/frustration/seperation anxiety). She had been okay for 6 months and then started again.

So if he does indeed start again, then I'd suggest that you get him vet checked incase it nips something in the bud. The only thing that stops my bunny Eleanor Tuesday from doing it is by her wearing her buster collar and she can't have much of a life like this.

I hope you can get some answers and your bunny doesn't do himself any harm.