Help please…She so mean to me =/

[AlestixMT]

Hello

We recently got a holland dwarf rabbit and she has been alright for the most part we try to let her out for atleast an hour a day but lately she has been digging up the carpet and I feel horrible about it but I rent and just cant have that so I keep putting her back in her cage. She does have a shoe box full of paper shreads that she dug in for awhile when we first got her but she doesnt seem interested in that at all.

We have yet to be able to get her spayed (vets earliest monday appointment was all the way in february.) Any help would be very much appreciated…Also any help in trying to get her to be a bit more friendly im not expecting her to hop on my lap and start licking my face (though she did sit on laps when we first got her and also used to lick hands and such)

Anyway I can answer any questions that might help anyway help me solve this problem.  Im hoping its just the combination of her age and her not being spayed.

Thanks!

[Lion_Lop_Lover]

Hey there and welcome to the board

I can totally sympathize about your woes. I’ve become a first time bunny owner in the last few months and now have 4 buns! All of mine are still too young to be altered, so they’re all separated and unaltered.

I would definitely say your bun’s attitude is because of her being unspayed and her age. My females (aged 3 months and 4 months) haven’t turned nasty to me yet, but my older female definitely has some ‘tude sometimes!

For digging the carpet, I would get a water bottle and spray her every time she does it. Is there a linoleum section of your apartment that you could partition off? I am also renting, and I am SUPER careful when my guys have their out time, since I don’t want dug up carpets either!

As far as the cuddly thing…age plays a big role. As mine get older they are getting less cuddly, and I know this is because they are now in the curious/excited stage of baby bunnyhood and the last thing they want to do is cuddle with me. I would give her time, especially after she is spayed, because usually buns calm down as they get older. However, some buns are never cuddlers and that’s just their personality. I can tell right now Yuuki, my 5 month old male Lionhead, is not going to be a cuddler, but Smile, my 3 month old Holland Lop, is very cuddly with me.

[xnovalentine]

I have recently went through the same troubles with lullabelle.

She is a carpet digger — ive done everything I can possibly think of for the carpet problem. The only thing that worked for a little bit was spraying perfume on her favorite dig spot but she figured out that it was only me spraying it and didint care anymore lol. She tore up the carpet in her bedroom – the only thing I can suggest is to get a large pin for puppies/small animals and let her have limited space where carpeting is protected by a tarp or something thats okay to get chewed and dug at. Or like it was already suggested to you, close her off in a room without carpet. Its really funny to watch a bunny try to hop around with bad footing lol.

Lullabelle has gotten really agressive too – she wouldnt let me near her the past couple weeks. She was a cuddler but she just doesnt want me near her and growled and bit me (i am covered in gashes lol). The only thing I can suggest here is be understanding that its probably just her hormones making her this way and she doesnt understand. You should also make sure she isint sick or anything, because whene bunnies arent feeling well they get agressive. When lullabelle first hit maturity, I thought she was ill because she was just a biotch one day!

I actually had lullabelle spayed yesterday — and I’m sure its really just the drugs but when i brought her home all she wanted to do was lay on me. She didint want me to do anything but pet her, and I can already see a difference in her attitude. But like I said, she’s drugged up lol and it will probably be a different story in a week or so when shes feeling better. I would just try to be as understanding of the situation as possible until you can have her spayed, and try to rule out if there is something else wrong.

Good luck!

[Lo]

I’ve also got a carpet digger! The perfume didn’t work at all for Annabelle so I went out and got a few scrap pieces of carpet ($1.99 at the grocery store) and put them down on her favorite digging spots which seems to have helped a bit.

good luck!

[MooBunnay]

Hello! Welcome to BinkyBunny!

For the carpet digging – since you have an apartment (as do I) I’d recommend making your bunny a “play pen” out of neat idea cubes – or using a puppy play pen that you can buy at pet stores (often called ex-pens) that you can put her in when she is digging, so that she doesn’t have to go back into her cage. Underneath the play pen, put a rug – you can buy cheap ones at Target, or Big Lots, or the Salvation Army. This way, she’ll have the play pen to run around in when you can’t supervise her, and if she digs, it will be on the cheap rugs. When you are able to supervise her closely, if she starts to dig, you need to get her attention away from the carpet. A small squirt with a water bottle is a good idea, or clap your hands, and then distract her with a toy.

Also, I’d recommend purchasing some sea grass mats – this helps bunnies get their digging “urges” out.

As far has her not being friendly – the smaller bunnies are generally more skittish. Some things we always recommend is hand feeding treats like cilantro and parsley, laying on the floor and letting your bunny hop around and “investigate you” (resist the urge to pet, and just let her sniff you and get comfortable with you). Often, the shadow of your hand coming over their head can give them the impression that a predator is overhead (like a bird) which can startle them, so just sitting and laying on the floor quietly with your bunny, and letting her come to you on her own time can really help her get comfortable with you.

[BunnyLugs]

Ola amigos, some good advice there. My babes have been with me for a few months now and have torn out some, HUGE and I mean major chunks of carpet. The water bottle spraying does work because it makes the “mysterious water” the enemy and not you!! But then you keep having to get off your arse, and that’s tiring! What I did is bought a big puppy pen. Fenced her off with a carpet protector underneath. Carpet tiles you can get for about £1 and they work a treat. Mine, DO NOT touch them. Very very weird. It may be the smell? If you let her have a little bit more ‘safe’ freedom she’ll be less bored and hopefully overcome it. Mine only chew their toys now, and occasionally the table leg! Have a look in the cool habitats section. That really helped me to get what I want.

[Beka27]

welcome here!  i’m not sure if you said if this is your first bunny or not, but you’re right about so much of it being the age and the fact she’s not spayed. 

how old is she exactly, do you know?  puberty kicks in at about 5 to 6 months, usually.  there may be some weird behavior before that, but oftentimes it seems to get 100 times worse overnight at about that age.  has she turned aggressive towards you?  if she’s not been aggressive towards you yet, as much as i hate to say it, she’s probably not in full-on puberty yet.  rabbits tend to act out their "sexual aggressions" on a chosen mate, who is usually a human if they’re the only bunny in the house.  you may find her trying to nip at your feet or legs, or worse.

hopefully xnovalentine doesn’t mind, but i posted the two links about Lullabelle (since she’s the most recent spay and she listed what Lullabelle was experiencing so perfectly!)  this gives you a good idea of how the bahavior can turn from kinda "playful destructive" and morph into aggressive "terrorist" behavior.  depending on how things go, you may want to see if you can move your appt up sooner, or see if there’s another rabbit savvy vet in the area that can help you.  February is a long time to wait.

https://binkybunny.com/Default.aspx?tabid=54&forumid=3&postid=18829&view=topic

https://binkybunny.com/Default.aspx?tabid=54&forumid=3&postid=21222&view=topic

 

[AlestixMT]

WE do have a pen for her she always seems so bored in it but we put an old sheet under in and she spends her time trying to pull that up so she can get to the carpet and growls when i pull it so its back under the pen..

 

She has circled my feet and tried nipping at them I was always having to try to walk carefully because she would do it then run off and come back to do it again but she hasnt done this lately…Im pretty sure she is in full puberty…if she gets any meaner than she already is then WOW =p

 

 

[BunnyLugs]

Guess she’s in love with you! none of my rabbits fancy me! The sheet sounds like a good temporary solution until you get her to the vet. Not to sound depressing but if you get her spayed in February you may be waiting until the end of march before you see any results. I know that’s not really what you want to hear but I’m sure she’ll get better with age.

[BunnyLugs]

Just an idea but why not get a few carpet tiles anyway, to go over part of the sheet maybe and let her tug at them a wee bit, make sure she isn’t eating it though. Mine did that to begin with and are so bored of carpet now. The pile on carpet tiles is firmer too, so they kind of learn that pulling carpet is fruitless!!

[Gravehearted]

yep, with the territorial behavior and nipping, it’s safe to say she’s in puberty. I’m glad you have an appointment set, but wish you didn’t have to wait until February.

I’m also a fan of the seagrass mats and maize mats – they sell here at binky bunny. I just put a mat down on in any areas they seem to really want to chomp. Does she have toys? Sometimes something exciting – like a willow tent, tunnel, ball can keep a bunny interested and engaged with something more fun.

[AlestixMT]

Yeah I hate to have to wait until Feb. also but the vet only does surgeries on tuesdays and I work tues-saturday..The Vet Tech looked ahead in the scheduler and found me a monday that was being used for surgery and it landed in February =/

She does have toys but she never seems very interested in them usually she is just interested in getting into the blocked off areas of the house (behind the tv under the computer desk etc.) And she spends most of her time out of cage trying to get to them or trying to dig a tunnel into them =p

Ill look at the mats and tunnels we do have a plastic igloo for her but She has yet to do anything but stand on top of it to try and get some extra height and jump out of her pen.

[skunklionshow]

Jessica, my netherland dwarf, HATES me!  She never really liked me.  She got much better after getting spayed, meaning now she just grunts at me rather than drawing blood.  I’ve followed most of the binky bunny suggestions and they helped lead to an "understanding" b/t us.  I know that she will never be my best friend or a cuddler, but we tolerate each other.  Its kinda funny b/c her bunny boyfriend, Leo, is such a cuddler, lover bun.  I figure that since Leo loves his Jessica so much, that she can’t be all that bad….ha ha hee! 

[wendyzski]

Yeah – Pepper will never be a cuddler, but she is opinionated and funny, and I am content to let her be herself.  (I’m pretty opinionated myself!).

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Have you tried putting things on the area where she is digging? re-directing the behavior as others have suggested is ideal, but sometimes you just have to break the habit. If there is an area (or 20 ) where she digs, try putting something there (Hopefully you are more rabbit slave then neat freak because it does not look nice-but it doesn’t have to be permanent)…You could put a laundry basket or books or a printer or anything large and unmovable and un-eatable over the spots where she is digging…And if she is hanging around these objects wanting to dig, then redirect the behavior by giving her something to dig and chew-a towel maybe? After a couple of weeks you can move the object!

We had to do this, my boyfriend bought new shelves which made not enough room for the litter box. Even though it was only moved over a foot, the bunnies didn’t like it and continued to go where the litterbox was. I fixed this by spraying the whole area with vinegar and covering it with a wine rack and my vaccum; When they physically couldn’t go in the old corner, then they clicked and realized where the litter box had moved and to go there instead.

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