Crazy Digging Bun! (and long put off Nova update)

[KytKattin]

My micro Polish bun has an obsession with digging in her litter box. She’s always been a digger, but since she was pregnant when I got her I figured that the habit would subside a little bit after there were no babies to dig a home for. Instead it’s gotten worse, and she does it practically all night long. It’s not for a lack of toys or exercise, as she’s out of her cage most of the day and she has toys and hay to keep her occupied at night. I’ve even tried having her out at night, but she still stays in the cage and digs instead of just being chill out of her cage like she is all day. She’s going to be spayed in two weeks, and I’m hoping that will help, but until then, any suggestions on how to better entertain this little rabbit?

 

This is the first topic I mentioned with her: https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/forumid/2/postid/44619/view/topic/Default.aspx

So far she’s been doing okay. Now that she knows what hay is she thinks it’s the greatest thing on earth, but she still demands pellets more than anything. She won’t eat most treats (carrots, apples, cranberries, ect), but does okay with greens (dandelions, clover are favs). I still can’t hold or even pet her until I catch her first with a towel. She’ll come up and mark my foot with her cheek when I’m not looking though, so she’s not completely afraid of me. She also no longer lunges at my feet when I just walk across the room. She gets along with my dogs, and they all enjoy each others’ company, though Nova occasionally will remind them who’s boss. When she’s out she’s not afraid to just stretch out on the floor and lay down, and she doesn’t chew anything but cords (which are all hidden now). She mostly just likes to run around and binky or mark things with her cheek. She’s growing some of her nails back! They’re still far from normal length, but at least she has them again! She’s back to a decent weight and now she’s a cute, round little thing. As I mentioned before, she’s getting spayed in a few weeks, which I hope will help with some of her behavior, but if not I’ll just keep dealing with her and giving her the love and attention she needs (whether she thinks she does or not!).

 

Here’s some pictures of the little darling:

 

[RachelF]

she’s adorable. both of my buns love to dig, especially in coners of everyroom where the carpet meets the wall. And of course, their litterboxes.

I don’t know if that makes you feel any better, but my rabbits aren’t altered(YET) and that could calm the behavior? hopefully

[Scarlet_Rose]

Too cute! Rabbtis love to dig, even just for the fun of it with no real purpose. I think it is because of their instinct, even though they are domesticated, to burrow and others will do it because they are bored and need more toys (which obviously is NOT the case for Nova). Have you tried loading a box of shredded paper up for her to dig in? Diggy boxes are a favorite of many rabbits. Tunnels are also awesome too and will cure some rabbits of the digging instinct.

If she is digging in the litterbox and flinging poo all over there are a couple of solutions: Buy a wire cooling rack found in the baking section and imbed it in the litter, you can also buy hardware cloth – which is wire with square holes in it and imbed that in the litter.

Nova does sound like a very typical rabbit and most really do not like to be held and if so, it has to be on their terms. Spend a lot of quality time on the floor with her. Lay there and read a newspaper (she can grab & shred too or climb you like a mountain) to get her to socialize with you. Depending upon where you got her from, she may only have known pellets and since it also sounds like she was very underweight and starved – when she was offered food it was pellets and she is gorging on them from instinct to do it and eat while she can, thinking that she won’t be fed in a long time. This problem should resolve itself in about a month. The poor thing sounds like she was through a lot and has a few ideas to get used to – like being properly cared for and that food will never be scarce and will come on a consistent basis. Rabbits like schedules and if you stick to it, it shouldn’t take her very long to figure it out on her own.

Pellets were made mostly for rabbit breeding and not for companion rabbtis altough (thankfully) that is changing now. That being said, a lot of them contain a lot of sugar and alfalfa (which is high in calcium and fattening). It’s kind of like Doritos for an adult rabbit. However, if your bun is underweight, you might want to stick with them for a while until she reaches an ideal weight. Work on this with your vet. What brand of pellets are you feeding her?

As far as treats go, do you offer it and if she refuses do you take it away or leave it there for her to explore on her own? Try leaving in her cage overnight. Since this sounds like a foreign concept and she is really celebrating her luck with happy digging and claiming you as hers, it may take some time, so be patient with her and just keep doing what you are, one step at a time. Another idea is to also offer a treat to reward her when she braves coming up to you.

[Beka27]

ditto ditto^^^

she’s gorgeous. she has such dainty lil feet, my word. keep us posted on how her spay goes please.

[bunnytowne]

I love the 3rd pic in her cage she looks so happy there. LIke ahhhh this is the life. Both your cat and bun have spots. They have matching colors. thats neat.

When I first got Honey Bun he would drink a bowl and a half of water a day. Lots n lots of water sometimes 2 bowls.  He has settled down now and drinks half the bowl a day.  Like your bun there he must have not had enuf water b4 he came here and was making up for it just in case.  I am sure your girl will calm down with the pellets too.

Looks like she knows she has it made and is ready to make a little more progress getting  to know you. Sneaking up and chinning you how cute. Those tickly little whisker on your foot. Heheee.

[KytKattin]

Thank you, thank you! Yes, she’s quite the cute little thing, though I often say that she’s so diabolical that I have to keep her in a cage to protect humanity.

I will try a digging box, and possibly things that she can rip open if she decides that she likes them now (she didn’t before, but I’m finding new ideas on this site). She does have a few boxes that she plays under when she’s out and she loves to hide in the bottom of the cat tree. Also, in her cage she has a shelf that is good for hiding under, so she doesn’t feel exposed when she’s in there. Plus she’d rather spread out where she can look around anyways.
That’s a brilliant idea for the litter box! Though I’m not sure I should take her digging in her cage away from her, at least not until she’s spayed and 100% litter box trained so that she can more easily be out 24/7 and then have 24/7 access to a digging box. Thankfully most of the litter stays in the box since it’s a high-sided cat box (which takes up a ton of cage space, but we deal).

I am somewhat experienced with the smaller rabbit personality as I had a dwarf when I was much younger named Orangina. She had a similar temperament, but was considerably less mean/defensive. Though Orangina also came from a breeder that handled her kindly from a young age and I don’t think Nova was so lucky. She is getting a little better about people just reaching down to pet her on the head only, but she doesn’t like people being on the floor with her, or at least she won’t go up to them much.

I certainly do have to be carefully about over feeding her pellets as in the past I was able to free-feed and my rabbits regulated themselves. That’s one thing that definitely told me that she was a breeder’s abandoned rabbit (other than the tattoo in the ear and being pregnant), is that she jumped on the pellets when I offered them to her the first day and completely ignored the hay. She gets Oxbow, the timothy stuff (I forget the exact name). After researching heavily into pet rat diets it’s become a habit to always know what ingredients are in the foods for my animals and to know what’s good for them since a good diet is a big key to avoiding the e-vets. That being said, it probably did take longer for her to get back to a normal weight since she was on a lower calorie diet.

I mostly just leave the treats on the floor to let her forage a bit, but she’s kind of stuck on only eating things from a bowl so maybe I’ll try mixing her treats in with her greens in her bowl. She really has made progress, and is comfortable with being here and living with the dogs and cats, just not with the humans that do stuff with her. On that note, she is very calm and patient once I catch her and trimming her nails is a breeze so managing her health isn’t as horrible as it could be.

Oh, and I meant to add this picture earlier as it makes her look super tiny!
 

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Awww man is she ever cute!!! Let us know how the spay goes!

[Scarlet_Rose]

Oh my she is cute but very tiny! You’re very welcome, we’ve got a ton of tips a tricks up our sleeves. Please keep us updated on her progress!

[Author]

Messages