Part 3: Rabbit Behavior
Part of
being a great rabbit owner is being able to recognize and
notice the many different types of rabbit behaviors, and
know how to react towards them.
Binkies, Running, and Jumping
A happy
rabbit is pretty easy to take notice of. They love to
run, jump and binky when playing. It’s pretty cool to
watch them play because they usually do all 3 one right
after the other. A binky is usually the finale. The
rabbit will usually run, jump, and as it’s jumping it
kind of does a mini thump and kicks it’s little legs in
the air and does all these cool twists and turns. Rabbits
need to do these things to stay in good shape, and
maintain their health. If you see your rabbit doing this
it is generally in a happy and playful mood.
Stretched Out
Another
sign of a happy rabbit is when it’s lying down all
stretched out with its legs all the way kicked out. This
usually means your furry friend is having a good old time
just hanging out and relaxing. You can go over and pet
your rabbit while it’s sitting like this, but I usually
don’t pick them up and hold them. If they look all relaxed
and comfortable I usually just let them be, and maybe just
come by and give them a pet, rub, or both.
Sleeping
Occasionally, you may even see your rabbit sleeping. Even
though their eyes may be a little open and they look
almost motionless, they are sleeping. Rabbits sleep
different from most animals, only taking short naps here
and there and mostly during the day. Sometimes your rabbit
will simply plop on its side and instantly go to sleep.
Some rabbits are quite active sleepers. Nibbler is one of
the most active sleepers I ever met. When he sleeps on his
side he will be what appears to be dreaming and sometimes
kick his legs like he’s running. He also sleeps while
sitting, and actually hops from time to time. You can tell
he’s not awake because he has that dazed out look in his
eye. Sometimes he gets so active he’ll hop into the side
of the cage and he’ll let out a little squeal. On some
rare occasions he has even sleep mounted his cage mates.
Poor little guy, even does it in his sleep. He’d then wake
up to a very unhappy bun running away from him.
Rabbit Trance
Many
people don’t know this, but you can put your rabbit into a
trance, also known as bunny hypnosis. First let me tell
you that some rabbits simply won’t let you put them on
their backs, and if you have an extremely nervous fidgety
rabbit, I don’t recommend trying this. To put your rabbit
in a trance first you must make sure you are holding your
bunny securely, and slowly as you are supporting its head,
you want to lay it down gently on its back. You should
also be firmly holding its legs because you don’t want to
risk them kicking out there back. Slowly your rabbit
should begin closing its eyes and eventually trance out
into hypnosis. Sometimes you can gently pet your rabbits
head to help relax it some more. Many people say they have
great success in clipping nails while having their rabbit
in this state, but to be honest I never felt safe doing so
because sometimes a slight movement can take your rabbit
out of a trance quicker than you would think.
Rabbit Licking
Another
thing rabbits love to do is lick. They lick to clean
themselves, and are usually quite good at it. You
generally don’t really have to bath a rabbit too often,
but there is nothing wrong with doing so once in a while.
Sometimes rabbits tend to panic the first time you bath
them, so you should start off moistening the fir with a
towel or by wetting you hands and gently placing water on
them. Be careful not to get water in the ears so you can
avoid potential ear infections, and if using a shampoo
(they do have bunny shampoo in stores) keep it away from
the eyes.
Apart
from cleaning themselves rabbits will also lick other
rabbits to groom them, and will also lick them and there
owners as a sin of affection. Nibbler loves to lick. He
will lick my hand for a while and then give a little
nibble as a sign of affection. Sometimes he nibbles to
tell me that’s enough and will then hop away.
Teeth Grinding
Sometimes when a rabbit is really happy and feeling
comfortable thy will lightly grind there teeth. On another
note, a loud and hard grinding of the teeth can be a sign
of pain. If your rabbit is lightly grinding its teeth then
that’s usually a sign of comfort, but if continuous
grinding happens all the time them your rabbit is probably
in a lot of pain and should be taken to them veterinarian.
Chewing
Apart
from these friendly behaviors I’ve discussed above, there
are others that are not so charming. One of the first
things you’ll learn as a new rabbit owner is that your
furry friend loves to chew. They will practically chew on
anything. Chewing, even though can be quite the annoying
little behavior, it is a very healthy thing for your
rabbit to do. Your rabbit’s teeth as I mentioned before
grow continuously throughout their lives so they need to
constantly chew in order to file their teeth down. So,
it’s important to have plenty of things for your rabbit to
chew on.
Now of
course I’m sure there are plenty of things you don’t want
your furry little friend to chew on. Besides keeping your
rabbit away from these things, there are a few bitter
sprays on the market that seem to work wonders. You spray
those areas with the spray and after a lick or two your
rabbit will quickly lose interest. Always follow the
directions on the spray, and if you are unsure of anything
call the company or avoid spraying those objects. These
sprays also work wonders on rabbits that tend to over
groom each other. One thing to remember is to be careful
about remembering where and what you spray this stuff on
because getting this spray on your skin can take quite a
while to wash off.
My Short Bitter Spray Story
I learned
this the hard way. One day I had licked my lips after
having a bite to eat, and was overcome by this absolutely
horrible taste. At that time I didn’t know what the heck
it was, so I went to the bathroom to scrub my face and no
matter how much soap I used I couldn’t seem to get rid of
that nasty taste. So, I decided that I would take a shower
to see if that would help but it didn’t. I thought maybe I
was getting sick and my sense of taste was messed up. So,
I decided to lick something else. So I decided to lick my
arm, and yet again I still tasted that bitter taste. After
I got out of the shower, and a few hours later I
remembered that I was playing with my rabbits, one of
which I had sprayed the day before with some bitter spray
on the back of her neck to prevent my other rabbit from
over grooming her.
So, just as
a friendly reminder, you may want to write down what you
spray just in case so you don’t forget and accidentally
get a taste of this stuff.
