New bunny owner with a slew of behavior questions

[Jack Talon]

Hello everyone! I’m sorry if all of these questions have been answered somewhere before, but the searching I have done so far has always turned up sort of partial information or no information at all, so I am going to ask everything I need to know here in one master post and hopefully get some straight forward answers.

 I am the proud new owner of a 4 year old spayed female lionhead rabbit named Bruce. She was with her previous owners for the past three years, and they could no longer take care of her so I took over. I have had her for a little over a week, and I think that we are bonding very well, but I still have a lot of questions that I could really use some answers on.

1. Thumping. I know thumping could mean a multitude of things, but from what I understand it is usually a sign of anger or fear. However, I can’t tell for certain if that is what Bruce is feeling. Usually what will happen is I will let her out of her cage and I will sit in one spot in the hallway, back against the wall, hands on the floor. She will hop around for a little while, usually just kind of exploring the hallway dining room, but then she will start thumping and running around me in circles. I usually sit with enough space for her to run behind me (through the little tunnel the space between my back and the floor makes when I am against the wall) and for her to run in front of me, so I don’t believe she feels trapped or blocked, but she definitely thump. Usually she will run in front of me, thump, run behind me, go back in front of me, thump, and continue to run around me in circles. I take this as a sign that she wants to play, so after she does it for a bit I will usually thump back at her with my hand, or tickle her side. She seems to enjoy both of those, always thumping back at my hand when I thump it down, and always chasing my hand around in a circle when I tickle her side, but I just want to be sure she isn’t thumping because she is upset. 
2. Nipping. Usually before Bruce gets to thumping when she is out and about she will start licking and nipping my hands and arms, or if I am sitting at my computer chair, she will run around my feet nipping at my heels and toes. I take it that she is either trying to groom me, get my attention to play, or show dominance over me, but I can’t tell exactly which one. It isn’t aggressive nipping, no actual biting or pain taking place, but it is fast-paced, very excited nipping. Sometimes, if my hand is low enough and she gets a little nip happy it will sort of devolve into her trying to make *ahem* special friends with my hand, which I promptly stop by putting my hand over her face and gently holding her down for a few seconds. 
3. Litter training. The people that owned Bruce before I did said that she was fully litter trained, rarely ever goes outside of her box (only when she absolutely cannot get to it, like on a car ride). I know these people and trust them, so I believe that they are telling me the truth. However, since we have had her she will leave her little gifts all over her cage floor (which is the same cage set up in the same way they had it before), sometimes on the carpet, and once she even made quite a little mess on my bed after hopping up there. Is it just her getting used to a new place? Is she frightened? Marking her territory? Is there any way I can keep her from going on my bed again? I can handle accidents in the floor, but would prefer they not happen on my bed, and when Bruce is exploring my room, she always hops up there.
4. Nose wiggling. Bruce tends to nose wiggle at a speed so fast I am afraid she might vibrate herself into another dimension. She tends to nose wiggle faster when she is out of the cage and splayed out on the carpet, but no matter where she is, if she is at rest her nose is going at super-speeds. At first I thought she was terrified of something, but she does it literally all the time, even when she is splayed out in that relaxed, tummy-to-the-ground pose. I don’t know if this is something I should be concerned about or if it’s normal for bunnies to nose-wiggle a different universe open.
5. Kicking litter. After the first bout of Bruce pooping all over the cage, I figured I did not put enough litter in, so this last time I tried a bit more, and now my house looks like a blizzard of compressed paper pellets blew through. I assume she just doesn’t like the amount in her box, but I could be wrong. Ideas?
6. Picking her up. I know bunnies do not like to be picked up, but I know they can be picked up if needed, so long as it is done correctly. I know Bruce doesn’t mind being picked up, because the people that had her before picked her up often for grooming, nail clipping, cuddles, hugs, kisses, and pettings. When I went to get her from their house they showed me how to pick her up, and she didn’t mind in the slightest when they did it. Now that she is with me, whenever I attempt to pick her up she immediately hops our of my hands before I can get her up, and if I do manage to get her up she usually kicks at me. I assume that it is just because it is a new person and she doesn’t know what to think about it, but I am not entirely sure how to go about getting her used to it. I don’t want to keep pushing the issue and trying when she obviously doesn’t want to be picked up, because obviously I don’t want her to start hating me, but if I need to pick her up, how do I get her used to it?
7. Putting her back in her cage. I’ve watched the Howcast on how to get bunnies back in their cages, but Bruce is… I think she is too smart for treats to work. She will devour any treats I give her, until I put one in her cage. She will go to the cage door, stop, look at it, then hop away. The only way I can manage to get her back in her cage is to wait until she needs water or her litterbox, and then immediately close the door. I don’t like doing this, because I don’t want her to feel like every time she goes to her cage she will be locked up, but she seriously will not go to her cage unless she absolutely has to. This is a situation where being able to pick her up would help, because I could open the top of the cage and just set her inside. Any suggestions?

Anyhow, thanks for taking the time to check this out and answering any questions, and if anyone can offer any other advice or suggestions that I might have missed, please feel free. I love this big girl, and want her to love and trust me, but I am new to the wonderful world of bunnies and I am terrified I am going to mess something up!

[LongEaredLions]

Welcome to the forum and the wonderful world of bunny ownership!
I will just go through your questions in the order you stated them.
1. Thumping doesn’t always mean the bunny is frightened or mad, many bunnies also do it to say “I disapprove” or “I want something.” Really, its best to watch her behaviour as a whole and not just the thumping when you are playing these games. If she does not otherwise seem scared or angry, she may just like to thump. It could be just more that she wants to react somehow to you, so she thumps. Bunnies don’t have a ton of ways to express their feelings, so that may just be her way.
2. She sounds like (like you said) that she just wants to groom you or wants to play. The nipping could just be another way to say “I want something.”
3. Since she is new, she is probably just marking. It makes them feel safer when they are surrounded by their smell, so they leave little “cocoa puffs” everywhere. M advice would be to wait a little longer to see if it improves, and if not, start taking measures to help encourage her such as putting the hay in the litter box. You may always have issues with her on the bed though, as the bed smells very heavily of human and many bunnies think it is the best place to do their business. You may need to block your bed off.
4. Bunnies do wiggle their noses-fast. It’s simultaneous with their breathing, so it makes sense that the rate increases after exercise. However, bunnies do breathe very fast in general so I wouldn’t worry unless her breathing is laboured or loud.
5. She could be just kicking in out when she jumps out of the box, or she could be digging and pushing it out. Try different amounts to see what works best, or cover the litter with hay or a litter screen.
6. You may be able to pick her up eventually, but I would work on bonding with her a bit more before you try handling her. If you have only had her a week, she probably doesn’t trust you completely yet.
7. What kind of treats have you tried? Any dried fruit?

A lot of my answers are very general, but this is mostly because all bunnies are different and a certain behaviour could mean a completely different thing for each bunny. Mainly, you should try to analyze her behaviour as a whole to see what she is feeling. And as hard as it is, try not to worry about every little thing.

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