How much does spaying change behavior?

[honeybun05]

I just adopted a 4 month old Netherland Dwarf female and she’s the cutest thing! However, I noticed she often bites on the metal bars of her cage and her x-pen, even though she gets plenty of exercise and chew toys. Sometimes she even tries to ‘dig’ through the corner of her cage. While this isn’t the worst thing and she stops eventually if I ignore her, I’m wondering how much the spaying will help with this.

I’m going to get her spayed soon so I would love to hear your experiences with the ‘before’ and ‘after’ spaying, considering your female rabbit’s behavior.

Any tips on how to curb the chewing would be great too! (I’ve tried vinegar but she didn’t have any reaction to it. I tried to put cardboard over the places where she usually bites, but then she just finds another spot.)

[DanaNM]

Spaying should help some with this behavior, but it might not eliminate it completely. You might also notice it gets worse before it gets better after spaying, as some buns go through a “post spay craze” while their hormones settle.

For chewing and digging, you’ll have to experiment with a combo of blocking access to problem spots, and providing alternatives that are more appealing than the flooring. I’ve had the best luck using heavy ceramic tiles to block the trouble spots, and then providing cardboard cat scratchers and grass matts to chew instead (even right on top of the tile). Organic palm plates are also very popular with my buns. Phone books and paper mats are also really good for buns with an instinct to shred and dig. You can also make a digging box out out of a cardboard box stuffed with paper. Providing tunnels seems to help a bit too.

. . . 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.  

[honeybun05]

Thanks for the insight! I’m definitely planning on getting some grass mats and maybe a tunnel too.

[Wick & Fable]

I love your language around “curbing” chewing, rather than trying to eliminate it or reduce it– I like to view it as rabbits have 100% chew energy and we cannot decrease that 100%; only redirect it. Spaying/Neutering is likely the only thing that might decrease the overall “capacity”, but ultimately it’s still 100% and it needs to go towards something! Each rabbit is different and I’ve found what I offer, how I offer it, and where I offer it all have impacted how engaged my rabbits have been to the ‘toy’.

For the bar-chewing specifically, see here for some explanations and recommendation: https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Training_FAQ#My_rabbit_keeps_me_up_by_consistently_chewing_his_cage_bars._How_do_I_make_him_stop.3F … covering the wall with a bedsheet has worked very well for me (it’s actually my picture in the wiki page, haha)

For toys, again, it’s going to be some learning, which ultimately means probably some wasted money here-or-there while you experiment. I find most pre-packaged toys in the ept stores are not attractive for many rabbits. I suspect because they are overly processed/their fragrance just isn’t as appealing as more fresh sticks/leaves from small businesses you may find on Etsy, like the WellKeptRabbit or small independent businesses, like our Binkybunny.com store (see tab above).

Cardboard and fleece go a long way for my Fable: https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Training_FAQ#My_rabbit_keeps_me_up_by_consistently_chewing_his_cage_bars._How_do_I_make_him_stop.3F , https://www.reddit.com/r/Rabbits/comments/pae597/redirect_carpetdigging_energy/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3 , https://www.reddit.com/r/Rabbits/comments/pkyue3/behavior_diggingadjusting_fleece_blankets/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

 

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.

[honeybun05]

Firstly, thanks so much for all of the resources! I agree, chewing/biting is a natural behavior and I don’t want to punish her for that. My main concern is that I just don’t want her teeth to be damaged because of it. I think she gets frustrated that she cannot be out of her x-pen all the time, so I’ll give the bedsheet method a try.

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