Help!!!!!!

[Neo]

About a week ago I got a bunny because his owners didn’t want him anymore and was treating him badly. His nails are twice the length they should be and his behavior has gotten so bad it’s driving me mad.

He digs at the bottom of his cage all day long he does have many toys and a big enough cage to run around in (we sometimes try to let him out to run around our room but he never seems to want to) and he does run around in it now back and forth super loudly at night!!! And now he is chewing on the bars by bitting them and pulling on them to make as much noise as possible. And having SPD means my ears constantly hurt from the noise and there is no place I can hide from it!!

Please help I don’t know what to do about his behavior we have a vet appointment set up for the 28th.

 

[Wick & Fable]

I know it can be very difficult, especially since you unexpectedly got this rabbit, but keep in mind the rabbit is not intentionally trying to make you upset– he’s acting like a rabbit, and sometimes that doesn’t fit too well with what we humans want at certain times. For example, running around back and forth very loudly at night is very natural. I have a female rabbit that does that every night, and that aligns with when rabbits are most active. That running around is showing a lot of comfort with the space and potentially a lot of happiness to be able to exert all that energy!

Based on the past owner’s treatment, my guess is the rabbit is not neutered? If that’s indeed the case, having him neutered will reduce a lot of territorial/mating-related behavior and make him more docile overall. Neutering rabbits is a very standard procedure, so as long as you have a rabbit-experienced (exotic) vet who is comfortable with the operation, it should be fine.

The bar chewing can be very noisy and annoying, I know. Many rabbits bar chew, and from my experience, it’s because rabbits are very “access”-oriented. They can visually see and smell “territory” through the bars, yet they are prevented from going there. That’s frustrating, and the instinct will be to try and get rid of the bars. There are many instances where rabbits will bar chew even though the cage/pen door is open, which again taps into this idea that they may be very visually-focused about having access where and when they want to, even if they don’t actually use it (to your example of trying to let him out and he doesn’t seem to want to; one of my rabbits used to insist the bedroom door be open by digging at the carpet, but then he’d never actually go in it unless I was there).

It can be helpful to attach a visual barrier to all sides of the cage so he can’t see the other side. I’ve found the neatest way to do it is binder clips and a folded bed sheet. I clip it to the outside of the cage, and this has successfully stopped my most adamant bar-chewer.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[DanaNM]

How big is his cage? Even a large cage is not big enough to spend all day in. Can you try to give him at least 4 hours a day of free-roam in that room? Since you only got him a week ago he is probably still adjusting, but if you leave it open and try not to hover during the times he is most active (morning or evening), I’m guessing he will come out and get his zoomies out.

Wick has also given a lot of good suggestions. Are you able to trim his nails at home?

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Neo]

That day was ROUGH thanks y’all for being nice 🙂 I also made a post in a facebook group and got  a ton of “rehome him” “maybe a rabbit isn’t for you”

And I think he was gassy and having a bad day too 🙁 He was farting a ton and hasn’t acted the same way since I also gave him a towel and he loves to dig in it! It has been a life saver

When we take him to the vet the vet has said they can and will check to see if he is fixed 🙂 and if not we will set up a appointment asap to make sure he gets fixed!

The bar chewing has only happened once it was weird it seemed like he was bitting and pulling at the bars but every night since we got him at around 10pm we put a blanket and a towel and a mat on top of his cage (each one smaller then the previous one) to block out light because we turn on the light and don’t want to hurt his eyes so he can’t ever see out of the cage maybe he was trying to get at the hay? We have a hay feeder that goes on the outside of the bars I don’t know but luckily he hasn’t made it a habbit 🙂

We have tried to trim his nails at home and he scratched my husband BAD on the hand and we have been working on building trust so maybe one day we can but for now we are waiting for the vet to do it and show us how

Also his cage is the Hagen Living World Deluxe Habitat X-Large it is the biggest one we can fit in our room

We are working on letting him out but it isn’t safe unless both of us are home to keep a eye on him our situation isn’t permanent one day we will have much more space and so will we!

Thanks y’all for your help 🙂

[Louiethebunny]

Sounds like good progress. Typically, rabbit cages are pretty small for bunnies, but because of your situation, I’m sure it’s suitable for a while, though you may want to consider and xpen. Nail trimming isn’t too fun for me either, with my male, I place him up on a tall shelf that is unfamiliar, and he just lets me manipulate his paws and legs so I can trim his nails, he even lets me file them a little so they aren’t too sharp. My girl, however, while she is more mellow, cannot handle it, so I have my mom or I hold her and trim, my mom used to trim animal nails when she was a teen, so she is a little more skilled than me. I then offer plenty of treats so they know that nail trimming isn’t too bad an experience.

[DanaNM]

I understand your situation might be tough, but that cage is much too small to be spending all day in for any real length of time (really all store-bought cages are).

Can you attach an exercise pen to the front, to make kind of a “front yard” for him to be available all the time? Or at least, use it to give him a safe area to roam in when supervised?

He really does need at least 4 hours of run around time a day (2 hours bare minimum I would say, 1 hour evening and morning).

You also need to get his nails done if they are over grown. Are you going to take him to the vet soon? We can help you do it yourself if needed.

I guess I’m just a little unclear on your timeline for things. Are you also planning to move and improve his situation very soon?

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Neo]

To answer your first question there isn’t enough space to have a front yard the front door is in a tricky spot for setting one up because when he comes out he comes out FAST because he is unsure of the place.

I try to let him out of his cage but he tries to get into stuff he can’t be getting into. We even bunny proofed the room but we can only do so much :(.

We have a vet appointment for the 28th it is the soonest one we could get. And we tried to trim his nails it wasn’t pretty so its a no go we are waiting for the vet to do it. They will show us how and we will see how he reacts. He could be fine with it now or he could flip out again. We don’t know.

We have no plans for moving anytime soon. We live in a horrible tricky situation and it is a very long story.

So long story short we couldn’t move even if we wanted to and we live in a space that already doesn’t feel very big. It is our living room our kitchen and our bedroom. We did not plan on getting this rabbit but its this or a shelter which isn’t happening. It will get better soon. It just frustrating not being able to have things like a living room to let him safely play in.

[Neo]

Thank you for the advice 🙂 I know one day we will try to trim his nails but we need more trust. For now it will wait for the vet.

[DanaNM]

There are lots of rabbit proofing tips here: https://binkybunny.com/infocategory/bunny-proofing/

It really is essential that your rabbit gets adequate space to exercise, so hopefully you find some tips that help.

I’ve found that storage cube grids (NIC grids) are especially useful for completely blocking off areas where the bun gets in trouble.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[LBJ10]

The cage is definitely larger than many store-bought cages. However, I have to agree that it isn’t suitable for bunny to be inside it 24/7. Bunnies need to have room to run around, jump and play.

[Author]

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