Biting and cage bound bunny

[Ang]

Hello my name is Angelina.   I am new to the forum my first post.  I just adopted Moreland my silver martin, mini lop breed he is 2 yrs old not nutered but is going to get fixed on the 30th.  we adopted him from a rescue who just got him in that day from a petting farm.  he was given to the rescue because he was humping the little kids after they held a female rabbit. 

this is my second day with him. i dont know if i am scaring him or he is still scared but he will not come out of his cage.  he is fine with me petting him but lately when we put our hand in the cage and pet him or just give him his food he is lunging at us.  he actually bit my boyfriend today when he was giving him his food. 

I NEED SOME ADVICE

 

am i pestering him too much ? is he not used to us ?  what do i need to do to help him warm up to me? do i just leave him alone and let him get used to his surroundings? how do i get him out of his cage to wonder? he is a house bunny and i want him to wander? how long does it usually take for them to warm up?

oh one more thing, lastnight he was shaking his foot around so we looked at it and is toenail was bleeding a little bit? he is using ceadar shavings could he have a sliver?  how should i clean it? keep an eye out? he didnt bleed much at all.  could this be why he is biting me?

 

im so lost?

 

 

[Sarita]

Welcome and congratulations on your new rabbit!

Rabbits don’t really like us to invade their space so that is a huge part of the reason he is lunging and biting.

One thing I recommend for territorial rabbits is to house them in an x-pen or puppy pen. This will give him more space too. For some reason, this has always seemed to help me with my more territorial rabbits – I guess it gives us both space to maneuver when cleaning, feeding, etc…

Since he is new, you will just want to be patient – remember this is all new too him and he’s probably in sensory overload right now too. You are big and you are new too.

A good thing to do is to just open the cage and let him come out on his own – get down on the ground and just let him explore around you and come up to you – don’t expect though that he will do this right away.

I would get him OFF the cedar shavings too – this is very bad for him. You can use Aspen Shavings though and there are many other better alternatives that you can use as well. I’m not sure what types of litter in WA you can get so hopefully someone from WA can help you. I use Lone Star Bedding but I’m not sure they sell that where you are.

You sound like you will be a great bunny parent because you are so concerned for him :~)

[Ang]

thank you so much! i have this papery material in mind its kind of cloud like and made of paper. i was going to go tonight and get some of that as well as get a playpen run for him and set it up that way

[Sarita]

That’s probably Carefresh and it’s safe but I think you will find that it is not very odor absorbent and it’s expensive. I would look for other alternatives.

Can you buy wood stove pellets in WA? Many people use that – you want the kind without accelerant though. It’s basically pelleted sawdust and it’s very inexpensive and controls the odor.

[Moonlight_Wolf]

Congratulations! Isn’t is so exiting when you get a New pet? I know you are probably just a little dissapointed that your rabbit is being territorial. My bunny has never been territorial, she has never bitten me out of Anger, but I became prepared for if she ever was territorial, as some rabbits are with their own space.

From what I have heard some rabbits can be very territorial. This is usually diminished with Spaying or neutering. what type of cage do you have? Is it the kind that he has to jump over a bit of the cage to get out? He might be afraid that if he jumps then he will fall of something tall, how is he supposed to know if his cage is on a table or not.

For the biting, I heard that if your rabbit is purpously biting you to hurt, you don’t react, pretend that it does not affect you. On the other hand if he is nipping you and not really meaning to hurt you, Nipping for attention, then you let him know he hurt you bu letting out a shrill scream.

From what you said I think he is biting you to hurt you, so just try not to let it affect you. if you show it hurt you, he will be satisfied because he knows that what he is doing is preventing you from doing what he does not like.

One thing I want to say is.. Get rid of the Ceder shavings, not to be rude or anything, they are very bad for a rabbit, Steer away from ceder and Pine, I don’t know why pet stores sell them. if you have a plastic bottem cage you can give him no bedding, or just a towel (if you litter train him, look in the litter training guide on this site.)

For the nail thing, to stop the bleeding you can just put flour on his nail tip that is bleeding.

Good luck! Hope I helped!

Edit: For beddings you could get yesterday’s news, NOT the small animal kind, it is too expensive, get the cat kind is is waaay cheeper.

[Ang]

thank you all for the information i really appreciate it carefresh is what i was talking about. i obtained the shavings from the shelter i adopted the bun from. i am working on litter training so maybe i will just pick up a few inexpensive towels i can just wash and swap out on a daily basis. tonight we are going to get a pen and work on that.

[RabbitPam]

I used to use the white Carefresh (despite it’s being expensive) and liked it because it was better for my allergies. I didn’t have a problem with odor, but maybe other types are even better.

I can’t help wondering if the petting farm made him sensitive to hands coming at him. If he’s been touched by many people who knew nothing about handling bunnies, he might have been held badly, squeezed, hurt, etc. Nothing that caused damage, but since many bunnies aren’t crazy about being held to begin with, it may be harder for him to tolerate now. (Hands in my territory yanking me out of my territory. Oh, no, not again.)

Definitely hang out on the floor near him and let him gradually explore you. Just ignoring him will let him come to you and he may be quicker to make your acquaintance. You’ll get some great advice here from the others, and it’s nice to meet you.

[bunnytowne]

welcome. Glad to have you. Feel free to ask any question about buns. For sure several people will reply.  I agree with BB he has been over handled most likely by strangers.  Very frequently.  Do you have a cage that you can unhook from the bottom and do his feed and water that way?

He will unwind. Realize a bunch of little people aren’t going to GET HIM again. A lot of us lie on the floor and read or watch tv while the bun gets up the nerve to come and check us out. Some take longer than others. But their curiousity will win out and he will come to check you out. A week or more or less. tho I have never had it take a  week. Don’t reach out to him just let him explore you. Smell you tug on your clothes and jump on you. Let him get comfy with you for a couple of days b4 reaching out to touch him. Have a treat handy  for him and feed him from your hand. He will eventually enjoy your attentions. Shouldn’t take him too long either.

The neuter should help too.

[Ang]

thank you all for your information!

bunnytowne ” Do you have a cage that you can unhook from the bottom and do his feed and water that way?” i am unsure what you mean the cage does attach from the bottom. the bottom part of the cage is made of a hard plastic and top is cage part typical bunny cage they have at the petstore.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Welcome and thanks for adopting instead of buying!! AND I’m so glad you are neutering him.

It’s hormones and changes in his environment. It’s hard on a little guy! Give him a chance to settle in and a chance to get neutered and have his hormones settle and you’ll be sooo surprised with the lovely sweet pet you’ve got!

[kimberleyanddarren]

Wecome, congrats on your new addition and well done for adopting!
He will be scared of everyoen for the first few days even weeks, he doesnt know you arent a threat to him and he just needs some time to settle in, when you get him neutered his hormones will die down and he wont be aggresive and he will be alot more friendly. Keep us posted!

[MooBunnay]

For the more aggressive bunnies, the “ignoring” technique that was mentioned above is a great way for them to get to know you and become less threatened by you. Bunnies actually demonstrate to each other than they do not pose a threat to the other bunny by ignoring them, so you are speaking bunny speak by ignoring your bunny and letting him come up and sniff you. The standard bunny cages at the pet-store are not the most fantastic living space for your bun all by itself, but it can definitely be incorporated into a very fun rabbit house! By keeping a bun in a smaller space such as that, they become very territorial of their little area, which is why Moreland lunges and bites, the ex-pen is a great help for this.

Take a look at some of these bunny cage set-ups that some members here have and you might get some ideas for a fun new cage for Moreland! https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/CoolHabitats/tabid/71/Default.aspx

[Lightchick]

Hi, Angelina!

I had very similar issues with my Lizzy when I first got her. I was so worried about her not getting enough outside time that I tried to coerce her or lift her out of her hutch, which just made the problem worse…she began to think that everytime I reached toward her, I was going to grab at her. I would agree with everyone who has said to just let your new bunny explore at his own pace. He’ll come out when he wants to, once he realizes he’s not going to get poked at all the time, like he’s used to from the petting zoo!

As far as the lunging/nipping, don’t poke at him too much, but when you do reach into his cage, make it be for some nice reason. To offer a treat or a pet on the head. Deliver the treat or the goodie, then go away–don’t push your luck!

My Lizzy is a bit of a Diva-brat, and when allowed to be aggressive, she took that as a sign that she was Alpha-Bunny, and became a big-bully toward me! I had to start yelling “no!” when she lunged, and spray her with a spray bottle of water to startle her. If your rabbit is actually a bully, this technique might be useful…

But at this point, it just sounds like the poor guy is new, and out of sorts, and not sure where he is and what change is coming next. He doesn’t know yet that you’ve saved him…but he will soon enough! Give him time and space and he’ll come around! I was VERY frustrated for the first month or so…It’s been 9 weeks now, and Lizzy’s a great house-rabbit! I’m sure you’ll both be fine soon!

Good luck!

[Ang]

thanks light chick, yesterday i was sitting in morelands play area and he niped at my leg then burried his head under it. then i petted him when i stoped he kept nipping at me so i just left his area i think i was a little scared i didnt know how to react or what he was doing. showing affection or being a bully. thanks for the advice i think moreland may be a bully. he likes his pets though. i did shrink his run area because i found two bunny puddles and had to clean them with vinagar yesterday i moved his box close to the area and he went in his box twice . so im working on it.

[Author]

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