Help w/ destructo bunny!

[ButterBuns]

My 2.5 year old Butter lost his bundermate late last year and this year, I got a female bunny named “boba” from a friend who works at a university housing facility. Boba is I think a Polish type (very short hair and barely sheds). I was told Boba was found running around a dorm hallway cuz the owner moved out and forgot about her. So I have her now.

She’s gonna be fixed soon, but I have no idea what to do about her cage bar chewing and people nipping behavior. She’s unwilling to chew on cardboard, apple/pear/willow branches, and Timothy cubes. She only aggressively chews cage bars, nips at anyone and everyone, and goes through hay like no tomorrow (about 1.5lbs per week)! ?. Suggestions greatly appreciated!

[Sofia]

First of all, how does someone FORGET about a living being and responsibility???? That’s just cruel and IRRESPONSIBLE (sorry that just made me really mad).

To be honest I’m not sure there’s much you can do until you get her fixed. Don’t take my word for it though, I’ve never really had a destructive bunny. The only suggestion I have would be to give her more chew toys, but you’ve clearly already tried that…

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

Oh, that’s horrible! What horrible excuse for a human being could just dump a rabbit? Thank you for saving her! Hearing what she’s been through, chances are high that she has been abused and that she’s still under a lot of stress.

I’d talk to your vet about the issues, it might even be tooth troubles. If a rabbit’s teeth are misaligned (which happens more often in dwarf breeds) it’s painful for her to chew.

[ButterBuns]

I’ve taken her to the vet and she seems to not have any teeth problems. I’ve taken lots of Amazon boxes make a wall around the interior of the cage, and then used more boxes to create a bunny fort to run around in. The vet said that it’s possible her diet was what the previous owner may have fed her since she jumped to eating half a golden raisin when it was offerred…

[Wick & Fable]

It sounds like she has negative experiences with cage confinement and people. Most likely she was poked and prodded a lot by her old owner and maybe their visiting friends. That would explain the reflex to nip and people and not liking cages.

If she’s unwilling to chew cardboard, can you line the inside of the cage with cardboard so she doesn’t hurt her teeth on the cage bars? You can cut out cardboard windows and such so it doesn’t block general view as well.

Some rabbits, like my Wick, simply don’t like chewing on cardboard or wood. It’s much better that she eats lots of hay.

I think regardless of diet, any rabbit would jump to get a raisin, haha.

In terms of people nipping, I think she needs to learn to trust people first. There’s an approach that works for some rabbits which is just taking the nip and not reacting negatively to it. A nip is a rabbit’s communication method, whether it be go away or listen to me. If she can learn there’s routine in your behavior (you’re not going to intrusively pet her and prod her randomly), she may no longer feel the need to nip. Rabbits like routine.

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.

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