A few behavior questions….

[3crazybuns]

 Ok, so Oreo… my “rescued” breeder bunny is very sweet, loves to be petted, and will come to you for it, litter trained (with the exception of of a few stray pellets) over-all just a really sweet boy!!! I’ve had him for about a week now, well about 2 days ago I went into his cage to straighten a few things out, and to let him out for his afternoon playtime, and he started Grunting at me, and then tried to bite me!!!  I was really shocked!!! Is this just a normal thing for an un-neutered male rabbit? Or is this something I should be concerned about, he’s started doing it more and more, but not in the morning, only in the afternoons, and sometimes in the evenings. 

My second questions…. yesterday Oreo got 2.5-3 hours of playtime in the morning, instead of his normal 1 hour in the morning, and 1-2 in the afternoon evening, well last night he made a HUGE mess in his cage, SHREDDED his news paper, tipped his bowl, pooped, and pee’d all over the cage… just really made a mess, more than normal…I’m HOPING that all it was, was his way of telling me he was NOT happy that his playtime was different than normal…I told him I was sorry…. and boy was I when it took me almost an hour and half to clean his cage this morning!!! 

My third question….I use corn cob bedding for his litter box… he does well with it… always uses it, but I can’t find it in bigger bags than the medium size, and since I clean his litter pan everyday I go thru the bags pretty quickly. What would be some other good options for litter that I could find that comes in bigger bags, and doesn’t cost a ton? 

Thanks a bunch everyone!!!! =)

[bunnytowne]

cage agression.   Yes most likely due to not being neutered.  You can press his head down on the shoulders are when he does that.  Or let him come out b4 you enter his cage.   And yes neuter

Do you have any idea how old he is.  If he is young under 1 yr could be hormonal behavior.  Buns that aren’t altered tend to do this sometimes.

Oh boy he sounds like he was mad.  lol…  They don’t meow or bark but boy can they communicate.

[bunnytowne]

Ahh the corn cob litter.  Nope not good to use.   There are big bags of aspen unscented.   That is a $ saver.

[3crazybuns]

 Thank you so much for the info, I’m getting him neutered for sure!!! I live in a really small town, so I’m having a little difficulty finding a vet that does rabbits… horses, cows, dogs and cat vets are very easy to find… rabbit on the other hand…. not so much! 

I will have to look for some aspen bedding next time I go to the store. Is there something wrong with the corn cob? The bag said 100% natural, so thats why I picked it out, it was either that or cedar, and I knew that cedar was out of the question! Thanks… sorry so many questions, I pretty new at the bunny thing!

[Daisy1029]

I don’t know if this will help but I live in Bullitt county (very close to you it seems 🙂 ) and Benjamin’s vet is now only doing Housecalls. She is stationed in Louisville and I’m not 100% sure how far she is willing to travel but she is amazing. She specializes in exotics and it wonderful with rabbits. Her name is Dr. Jewell. In my opinion she saved my Baby’s life a little over a year ago. I will post her website address below so you can check it out. I figure it is worth a shot to to see if she could be any help to you.

http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/KY286.html

Also try this site for information:

http://www.localvets.com/profile/missy-jewell-all-pets-louisville-kentucky.html

[3crazybuns]

 THANKS!!! I will give her a call Monday morning!!! Is she fairly reasonable? THANKS again!!!! 

[Beka27]

The corn cob litter can cause an impaction in their gut if they try and eat it. Aspen litter is good, also many of us use horse bedding or woodstove pellets as they are the most economical (40 pounds for about 6 or 7 bucks!) If you live in a rural area I would search out the horse bedding and see if you can use that instead. If you can find woodstove pellets (harder to find in warmer months) make sure they are “without accellerant”.

The behavior is probably a combination of change in schedule and just normal baby bunny behavior. They are rambunctious until they start to settle down when they turn a year or a couple years old. Neutering will help speed along the “settling down”.

Pooping and peeing around the cage might have been him making a statement, but if it continues it might be due to the hormones kicking in. It’s not uncommon for them to lose good litter habits when they reach maturity.

 

BunnyLiz is in KY.  I don’t know how near or far you are from each other, but you may want to drop her an email and see if she can recommend a vet.  I know she’s researched a few different ones recently.

OH!!!  Sonn84 is in KY too.  She just found very, very inexpensive spay/neuters at a local vet.  You can contact her also…  If the price and level of care is right, it may be worth it to drive a bit further.

[3crazybuns]

THANKS Beka27!!!! I happened to see some horse bedding at one of the feed stores we were at today, but was hesitant to buy it, because I wasn’t sure!!! I will pick that up ASAP!!!!! I don’t think he’s been trying to eat it…he digs around in it, and poops and pee’s on it…LOL

Thanks again!!!!

[KatnipCrzy]

I think you will be happy with the results of using horse beddding pellets instead of corn cob.  Corn cob rates very low for absorbancy and odor control compared to other litters (plus as Beka mentioned some bunnies will eat it).

 

[Daisy1029]

I honestly can’t tell you how reasonably priced she is. Benjamin has not seen her in a while and the last time he was seen by her she was still working out of a local animal hospital. I have emailed her recently myself about scheduling him for a check-up and its cost. If I hear something back before Monday, I will be sure to share the information with you.

[Daisy1029]

I actually just received the following information from Dr. Jewell. She said she plans to open her own clinic in about 2 weeks.

My house call service will be on limited days once I open the clinic, but I will travel up to 30 miles one way. A routine annual exam at the clinic will be $35. A house call fee will go to $65. You may call me at my current business number of 502-645-0447 or return email. As of May 1st the clinic number will be 502-384-0551. The address of the clinic is 712 Lyndon Lane if you would like to look it up.

I hope this helps.

[TARM]

I love equine fresh bedding. It’s the same thing as feline pine but comes in a bigger bag and cost $6 instead of $20. My bunnies have pretty big litter boxes and I can go as long as a week without changing it and there’s no smell.

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