rabbit behavoiur

[stormo41]

Hi there. I just adopted a 5 year old rabbit from the local animal shelter. The old owner had wrote on the cage that it was a female but the staff at the shelter said it is a male, I havn't looked yet so i don't know what gender it is

. I do know that is a rex/lop cross about 5 years old. He/she is a real sweetheart and loves to explore and has really started to warm up to us now.

however sometimes when I go to take out it's food dish to refill it,the rabbit kinda sorta does a lunging movement towards my hand. Is that a sign of agression? or something else, the only time the rabbit does it is when i go to move something in the cage and hasn't touched me just does the movement.

also he/she really doesn't like to have it's feet touched, I noticed that she/he really needs a nail trim (as did many of the bunnies at the shelter

)

do you have any tips to get the bunny used to getting their feet touched and handled I would hate to have to scare the poor thing to death by just pinning it down and trimming it's nails.

I had a pet rabbit when i was a child, and rabbit care is a lot different now then it was then. My rabbit has a large cage, it gets pellets and hay daily, always has fresh water, gets an hour of free time a day (sometimes more). I clean the cage about every other day, i plan on doing a full litter change once every 2 weeks, and washing out the cage once a month. If there is anything i'm doing wrong or not doing could you please let me know.

thanks

-Vanessa

 

[Bunnylady]

So far, it sounds like you're doing a good job with your bunny. The one thing I would pick nits about is the cage cleaning. I'd want to have the wet shavings (they are mostly in one corner, aren't they?) scooped out at least once a day. If your rabbit sits in his "dirty corner," the urine can scald the skin on his feet and bottom. It'll make things smell better, too.

I have yet to meet a rabbit that doesn't have a problem having its feet handled, I don't know that they ever really get over it. If you can have someone hold the rabbit while you trim the claws, that helps a lot. When I trim claws, I take the rabbit to a spot where the light is really good, so I can see where the pink area is on the claws. Obviously, you don't want to trim too close, you don't want to hurt him. Cradling a rabbit like you would a baby, on its back with its feet pointing up, usually makes a rabbit get really calm (we call it "rabbit hypnosis.") I usually sit, with the rabbit partly on my arm, partly in my lap (depends on the size of the rabbit) and use one hand to hold the foot while the other holds the clippers. It's a lot easier to show than to describe! The clipper I like best is a tiny little thing, about 2" long, I found it in the cat department at a pet shop. Being so small, it allows me to really see what I'm doing, and I don't have to wrestle the foot around so much to get a good angle on the claws. Do the back feet first, that way, if he gets excited about the front ones, he'll be at least partly "disarmed!"

Some rabbits can get very possessive about their cages. With a rabbit that may be thinking that way (watch the body language, before long, you'll know!) I make sure to keep my hands as high as possible when working in the cage. High is dominant, low is submissive, to approach such an animal from a low angle is just asking to get "smacked."

Good luck with your new friend!

 

[backwoodsnanny]

I agree with everything Bunnylady has offered for advice I also have always put a flat board in each cage so Bunny has a chance to rest his feet.The cage can get tirsome walking on wire all the time and can cause pressure sores.I would also clean the corner of the cage once a day.

 

[Seashells]

The lunging is a sign of aggression/fear.

 

[stormo41]

thanks for the information

I will scoop out "the corner" daily. The cage we have doesn't have a wire bottom, I know i sure would hate to walk on one of those all day...and sleep on it too! the bottom is plastic, and it has clear plastic sides to the top where there is a large door. I like the design because is prvents the bedding from comming out.

 

[LowriseMinis]

The lunging is cage aggression/fear, and it isn't uncommon. A lot of rabbits feel possessive about 'their' space and they don't want you in it! As your new bun gets more used to, he/she will probably not react as strongly. As long as it isn't actually trying to bite you I wouldn't be too worried.

This is a good link about sexing rabbits. If you have an adult unneutered male the testies should be pretty obvious, but this site has a more detailed way to check.

Most rabbits don't like their feet touched, but I tell mine all 'tough cheese' and touch them anyway.

What I do is turn them over (I grab scruff with my left hand, and put my right hand on their butt. I'll lift gently with the left hand, then sort of tuck their butt under with the right, and gently turn them over. Works best if you have a table or your lap under you). Then all their feets are in the air, which makes clipping pretty easy. I'll continue to hold their scruff with my left hand and help balance their body against my left arm, then use my right hand to work the clippers.

Takes a little practice, but over time you'll get better and more confident and your rabbit will learn to tolerate it.

I too would think you should clean the cage more often. Wet bedding can cause several health issues and rabbit pee just smells really gross besides that. There is some debate in the rabbit world about the safety of pine and cedar as bedding...having said that I've used pine in my nestboxes for 8 years without issue, except that I'M allergic to it.

Also, a word about wire flooring: Properly sized, clean wire flooring doesn't cause any more problems than any other kind of flooring. A rabbit prone to sore hocks will get sore hocks no matter what kind of flooring they're kept on.

 

[HGFarm]

OMG, I had rabbits for years as an older kid. Yes, I had one that would do this when she was sitting up on top of her hutch 'sun roof'. They had sticks to chew on and I would set her stick or something up there, and she would do that- then pick it up in her teeth and toss it off the roof! We would 'play' like that once in a while, but I am sure she was annoyed that I was putting her chew stick up there.

And all of mine didnt like their feet handled either.

 

[SilverDollar]

Congratulations on your new rabbit and that's awesome that you adopted him/her from the shelter. There's a great book called "House Rabbit Handbook" by Marilee Harriman. There is also lots of great information available online at The House Rabbit Society's website: House Rabbit Society

Good luck!

 

[stormo41]

OMG, I had rabbits for years as an older kid. Yes, I had one that would do this when she was sitting up on top of her hutch 'sun roof'. They had sticks to chew on and I would set her stick or something up there, and she would do that- then pick it up in her teeth and toss it off the roof! We would 'play' like that once in a while, but I am sure she was annoyed that I was putting her chew stick up there.
And all of mine didnt like their feet handled either.

LOL my rabbit did the same thing yesterday, i thought it's chew block was stuck under it's feed rack so i moved it and then bunny picked it up and threw it back LOL.

thanks for all the info. I manged to trim bunny's nails last night with out a hitch! and by myself too!

When i was looking for a bunny I answered a few adds on Kijiji,ca for "free" or cheep bunnies but I started to get frazled because most people would not get back to me when they said they would, gave the rabbit to someone else already after saying i could come and see it. So i said i'm just going to the shelter I know they have rabbits. This bunny came with a cage witch was a bonus. I'm really happy with my rabbit, and it's clear that the rabbit is really happy hear, he was enjoying playing with our dog last night even though dog ate his carrot

I have a blanket on the floor for his free time and he stays on the even though he can run off it, he just runs around takes naps and plays peek-a-boo with us over the coffee table.

I will post photos soon! maybe Sunday! (we found bunny a halloween costume last night)

 

[AppyLover2]

It sounds like you and Bun are getting along really well. My only rabbit experience was many many years ago and was NOT a good one. Bought several (maybe 6) babies for my daughter one Easter (I have no idea why). One day I thought I'd do them a favor and let them out in the yard. Built a little pen for them, put them outside and watched them play in the spring grass. I had NO idea that was the wrong thing to do. I felt horrible when they all died because of my "kindness". Definitely a hard way to learn a lesson.