Bunny Tantrum

[KittenMuffinPie]

My bunny is about 2 and 1/2 months old and he is just the sweetest little boy. He loves getting petted and makes little purring noises and just loves cuddling and playing..he even sometimes licks me like he’s grooming me(: BUT the second I put him in his cage when I go to bed at night he chews on the cage and lunges at me through the cage and I usually end up lifting the top to the cage so he can’t get out but I can pet him and calm him down but then I go to bed and he continues his tantrum for about 5 minutes then finally goes to sleep but it upsets me when he gets so upset. Usually if I put him in the cage and he doesn’t have a tantrum I’ll give him a piece of dried papaya to reward him for not being so naughty lol but he hardly ever doesn’t have a tantrum..Today I am going to a friends house when she gets out of school at 3 so I let him be out in my room without me there for the first time ever. I’m really worried that he’s going to chew on everything but I put all electric cords and stuff like that up..I just want him to get about the same out of cage time he usually does. Anyone else have this problem with a bun though? 

[Mocha]

Rabbits are most active during dawn and dusk (forget what it’s called), so your rabbit won’t sleep during the night like you. They do whatever they want, eating sleeping whatever.

Is he neutered? How big is his cage? Maybe you can make it a little bigger so that he can run around more.

I do have a problem like this, but it’s more of my two bunnies are jealous of getting more attention, and they get really mad if I try to clean their pen (they’re very territorial).

Trust me, rabbits will chew everything. Cover baseboards, carpets, practically everything. If he lives in your room, he might also chew your bedding.

[KittenMuffinPie]

he’s not old enough to be neutered, it’s 28 by 11 inches I believe, and the bedding i have on my bed is already ripped and I have others (not a big deal) I have rubbed lemon juice on the baseboards to stop him from chewing which worked so far and he gets out for about 8 hours straight every day…and my rabbit does sleep most of the night when he finally calms down because I’ll get up to go to the bathroom around 1 in the morning and he’ll  be flopped out with his eyes closed and everything…also I never clean his pen while he’s in it…but when I do clean his cage he gets all curious and is like ‘this doesn’t go there’ and moves it where he wants it lol

[LBJ10]

Crepuscular!

[Kitkat]

He is doing this because he doesn’t want to be closed in a cage! No matter how large your cage, I’m betting it’s not large enough for all the running about he gets up to when you sleep. My bunnies run for hours on end during the night, and my two are free-range so always have opportunity to exercise!

I understand your concerns about letting him out to roam free, there are dangers to rabbits in every day objects, especially for young ones like yours. However, if you properly bunny-proof your room or approved area for him then there are huge benefits to letting him explore. Firstly, he will be mentally stimulated which reduces things we see as destructive behaviour. He will become familiar with different sounds, sights, people etc so is less likely to develop into a nervous bunny and lastly, he will get ample exercise which will aid his health and wellbeing. I cannot highlight enough how content my bunnies are being free! To stop him chewing on things that aren’t for him (because trust me, he will try!) just distract him with an appropriate chew toy and praise his good behaviour with petting and small treat. Soon he will realise what is for him and what isn’t. My rabbits went through a phase of chewing everything even after the training, and I mean everything: wooden table legs; chair legs; doors; skirting boards; books… I then realised I was not giving them enough variety. So remember to change the toys regularly to keep him interested also. But if you want a house bunny, you will have to learn to deal with a little bit of nibbling here and there!

Right now, I would suggest only letting him out free when you are there to supervise and make sure he doesn’t get into any trouble.
For times you are not there, I would set up a puppy pen around his cage and leave his door open. It means at least he has more space than just his cage area but also provides him with a safe place when needed. Puppy pens can be bought pretty cheaply (£15-£30) on the net but always read the description properly and make sure you get one with small spacing inbetween the bars. There have been some horror stories of bunnies getting their heads caught inbetween the bars and dying because the spacing was too large!

Other than these things, you need to bare in mind that he will start to become more hormonal as he matures and will have to be neutered to help stop this and the relating behaviour. Unfortunately your beautiful bundle of fluff can start to act like a little monster during bunny teens but do not give up on him, it is only temporary and after he has been neutered he will return to being a little delight. I say this from experience

[KittenMuffinPie]

I actually have been letting him be free roam in my room all the time other than from 9/10ish pm to 7ish am because I trust his litter box habits now and he has yet to chew on anything other than the boxes that are just for him lol. I do put him in his cage at night though still because he will nap while it’s daylight in my room and I want to play with him but the second I try to go to sleep he goes nuts and wants attention and runs around making all sorts of noises so he still caged at night but that’s for the sake of my sleep because he mostly sleeps all night if he’s confined to his cage. Sometimes he even falls asleep before I do at night lol. I’ll forget something and turn my lamp on and he’ll be flopped out with his eyes closed :3 His tantrums also aren’t as bad anymore about going into his cage because he knows that if he doesn’t throw a tantrum about being confined at night he will get a piece of papaya the following morning(: and I hide some extra veggies from his daily salad in his cage for him to munch on during the night. 

[hportland]

You could try just setting up a puppy pen around the cage and leaving his door open 24/7 so he can exercise whenever he wants. I have my rabbit’s cage inside my closet (with the door kept open) and have a fence that connects to the wall. Try having it go from a wall to a dresser or something so that it provides more room. This could be your “bunny safe space”, where you put a rug over the carpet, have no cords or valuables, and just litter it with toys and whatnot. That is my current setup, and my Dutch only goes in his cage for food or the bathroom now. And he definitely appreciates having space to be active whenever he wants!

[GD29]

My bunnysbestfriend is correct, rabbit’s need a great deal of space to be content. The smallest amount of space I would give a rabbit is 6 x 4ft, and even that wouldnt be sufficient for being housed in all day. Our garden pens are a minimum of 10 x 10ft and need relocating every few days onto fresh grass. There is also shelter and enrichment items.

Rabbit’s should not be locked up longer than a few hours. Just because they can live in a cage doesn’t mean they should.

Keeping a rabbit caged most of the time indoors is no different to leaving it in a hutch at the bottom of the garden. The whole idea of house rabbits began when people began to see how happy their rabbits were indoors. Those rabbits were not caged.

The cages began when pet stores realised they could cash in on the house rabbits growing popularity. House rabbits that are not caged are happier, less destructive and better behaved. The cages sold by pet shops are a waste of money and only exist because the suppliers saw an opening where they could tell pet owners that a cage was more convenient. That is what they do, they target the owners wish for more convenience.  Even your pet food is planned around convenience.

Convenience is not a good thing, rather it encourages lazyness and dependence and usually  little thought is given to the actual welfare of the animal.

It is easier (and cheaper) to simply confine your rabbit to a small, safe room during the time you are gone or for training purposes. 

[KittenMuffinPie]

my room isn’t large enough for a puppy pen..I actually had to get rid of stuff in my room to fit his cage lol . He is out of his cage free range in my room all day from 7 am to between 9 and 10 pm and doesn’t fuss at all anymore about going into his cage…he actually sometimes goes in it by himself right on time. I do wish I could let him be free range all the time because I feel kind of bad about caging him all night but it’s a necessity for now because I need sleep and he’s too loud in my room trying to wake me up and get attention. I have another question though. He has pretty much ruined under my bed and chewed the cloth off and digs up into the mattress..any way to fix this? the cloth that was covering the bottom of the mattress is hanging and you can see the springs..

[hportland]

Ahh, good. He’s developing a routine! Rabbits will usually respect the routine that you set for him, so it doesn’t surprise me that he’ll now get in by himself at that time. As for your bed, get a small fence (made specifically for rabbits/small animals) and just have it set up against your bed so he can’t get under there. Igot mine at Petsmart for about…$15? It wasn’t very expensive. And you could probably fix the mattress by turning it over and just sewing some fabric over it, if you or someone you know knows how. Does he have toys? You can make DIY toys if you can’t afford to buy any (although they are quite cheap). Like fill an empty egg carton with fresh grass and treats, close it, poke holes in the top so he can smell it, and then let him try to open it. You can search Google for more ideas as well

[GD29]

Yep, untill then just block off access to the bed… Good luck 🙂 

[KittenMuffinPie]

He does have toys. He has a jingle cat toy with a bell inside that he kicks around and chases. He also has a few toilet paper rolls that I made into diy balls and some just normal ones that he likes to toss around and chew on. He has an old shoe box that he likes to jump in and out of and chew and shred it. He also has half of a small log from a pine tree near my house that I got my boyfriend to chop into a small piece then I washed it off and baked it in my oven to get rid of the possible bugs, germs, etc. He chews on it quite a bit. He also has a lot of old clothes in a pile in the floor that he cuddles with and likes to dig in. I never did get a fence around the bed but I fixed it with cloth and a staple gun and he hasn’t messed with it so far. I let him be out all night and day now (full range all the time) except for about 10 minutes in the morning when I make up my bed because I don’t want him to get in my way lol. He loves being out all the time and isn’t that noisy at night anymore which is very good. I even hide some extra vegetables and treats in places like corners or in his shoe box to keep him busy and entertained at night.

[Author]

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