A Few Questions…

[Colie]

 So, I have been trying to read up on bunny behavior to understand my girl Torri better.  She will come up to me and lower her head, so I pet her and then when I stop, she licks the floor in front of her.  This is good right?  She likes me to pet her?  She also nibbles my clothes (not really chewing) does that mean anything or is it a normal behavior?  Then, she also tries to eat cat or rat food if she comes across any.  I have moved all of it out of her reach, but should I be concerned if she finds a kitty kibble on the floor every now and again?

My other girl, Moose, is a rescue and she is just warming up to me.  She has started to hop a few steps out of her cage and will sniff my hand with her ears forward if I present it to her.  Is this good progress for a rescue bunny?

Thanks!  I know that is a lot!

[bunnymama]

It sounds like Torrie likes to be pet and when she nibbles she does not want you to stop. Buns will nip or nibble at you or your clothes because they want something. This is how they communicate. Usually in my experience especially if you are petting and they nip, they want you to continue. But you don’t want to re-enforce bad behavior like nipping. Yeah try and keep the cat and rat food away since rabbits have a really sensitive digestive system.
With Moose, the more time you give them the better. It literally took both of my females 1 full year before they totally trusted me. My male of 4 months -not so much trust yet. He runs like the wind when he sees me — he only has eyes for his wife Gracie (they are bonded). Just give them plenty of time to get use to you and your house — it will be worth the wait.

[Beka27]

Buns explore their environment with their mouths. This is a normal behavior. You might want to wear clothes you don’t care about when you spend time with her on the floor, just in case.

As far as the cat food, I would keep it out of her reach, but if she does come across a stray piece, I don’t think it would hurt her. Most buns would steer clear of that stuff tho b/c the dog and cat foods are meat-based, but maybe you just have an adventurous girl on your hands!

All buns will react differently to new situations but it sounds like you’re doing great and letting them proceed at their own pace.

[Colie]

Great! It sounds like we are right on track then!

Unfortunately, Torri will eat absolutely anything she finds on the floor (any food that is) We have become very good about vacuuming and sweeping though! She jumps over the baby gate to her room as well!

[jerseygirl]

It sounds like they’re doing great.  Have you ever looked at Language of Lagomorphs site?  language.rabbitspeak.com/rabbittalk.html              It helps understand some of that bunny language.

My girl often grooms the floor after I pet her.  Sometimes she’ll groom my clothes too.  Some are lucky and their rabbits will groom them no worries.  I sort of think of the floor grooming as a returned groom.  If 2 rabbits groom, one lowers head to receive and the other grooms, so when your rabbit grooms what is underneath her, if it were two rabbits together, that’s where the other rabbits head would be.  Well, that’s my logic if it makes sense.

 

[Barbie]

Oooo Jerseygirl, that site is great the night before I got Leroy, I read the entire site!

[Colie]

I did read that site! I just needed some more clarification. It has helped me so much with my shy girl, to back off if she starts to show signs of not wanting me around or in her cage (she is mildly cage aggressive, but getting much better!)

[jerseygirl]

It is good. I can’t remember how long ago I read it but I saved alot of info for future reference. Whoever wrote it obviously lived with bunnies for a long time. It’s more like “guidelines” (to quote Pirates of the Carribean ) then the rules but it does make alot of sense. Of course, every bun has it’s own idiosyncracies and lingo.

[Author]

Messages