Digging
On top of
chewing, rabbits love to dig a lot, which is why earlier I
recommended using cheap towels and blankets. There nails
can cause a good deal of damage to clothing, sheets,
towels, and even to your skin from time to time. Some
rabbits love to dig so much that you’ll think that they’re
trying to dig to
China.
This is normal rabbit behavior, and is what they do in the
wild. Some rabbits dig to play, and occasionally they may
even mistake you for something fun to dig on. With some
patience and training you may be able to restrict or
decrease this behavior in your rabbit, but it appears to
be an innate ability that never fully goes away.
Sometimes your rabbit will dig continuously in its cage as
a sign of discontent. They may want to come out and play,
need food or water, or may just be in a digging kind of
mood. Take observation and see if there is something
bringing out this behavior.
Thumping
Apart
from digging, another sign of discontent from your rabbit
is thumping. Some rabbits will thump at the smallest
little upsets, but for others it may take a lot more. My
fiancés rabbit would thump when Kayla was upset, Nibbler
would thump when he wanted to be left alone, or when
putting him back in his cage. Thumping is usually one of
the first signs that should tell you something is
bothering your rabbit. Occasionally a rabbit will do a
little thump to get some air for a binky but besides that
there really aren’t any good signs for a thump. Sometimes
a rabbit will also thump if it senses danger near by too.
Ears Back
Another
sign of a disgruntled rabbit is when its ears are flat
against its head. If your rabbit does this to you be
careful because the next step may be a growl or a bite. A
rabbit will also put its ears back and put its head down
as a sign of submission to its owner or to other rabbits.
Grunting and Growling
The next
step for an unhappy rabbit is usually a growl or a grunt.
Sometimes a rabbit will growl during playtime while
digging, chewing or throwing its toys, but most often it
is a final warning before a bite or attack. If your
rabbit is growling or grunting at you most likely you
should let it be. If your rabbit is growling at another
rabbit you should separate them immediately to prevent an
unnecessary attack.
Charging and Attacking
Following
the growl is usually a charge, which usually means your
rabbit is trying to attack you or whatever it is charging
at. If your rabbit is charging at you it’s attack is
already in motion and you need to get moving or move
whatever else it is going for. A suggestion for owners is
that if you are teasing or annoying your rabbit and it is
grunting and growling at you, STOP! Before it charges and
tries to attack you. A rabbit will normally not try to
attack you unless it is provoked. One of the main reasons
a rabbit will seem to grunt, growl, charge, or attack you
for no apparent reason if it has been abused by its
previous owner, or if it is not used to human contact. So
please have patience and don’t blame the rabbit if this is
the case. With time and training you may be able to get
this rabbit to do a full recovery and become a sweet and
wonderful rabbit.
Nibbler
was quite the grumpy, biting, and growling little fellow
when we first got him. Back then I never would have
guessed he’d become the loving, licking, and cuddling
rabbit he is today. It just goes to show you what hard
work and patience can accomplish.
Boxing
Anyway,
back to frustrating rabbit behaviors. When a rabbit begins
attacking it will charge at you or the other animal, and
sometimes it will get up on its hind legs and start boxing
it. It may be hard to believe but it’s true. A rabbit will
get up on its hind legs and starting throwing its paws at
its opponent. When they do this it kind of looks like they
are trying to dig in the air. Rabbits will try to scratch
one another, and will even start biting each other while
doing this. Sometimes rabbits will box while playing.
They’ll grab a toy while playing then lift it in the air
and box with it.
Nibbler
likes to this with blankets and paper towel rolls.
Sometimes I’ll play with him and he really enjoys it.
After he gets all tired out he’ll just sit right down and
stretch out and relax. You shouldn’t do this with a rabbit
whose trust you have not earned. Instead of playing they
may take it as a sign of irritation and may even try to
attack you. I remember one time I was playing with Nibbler
with a blanket. He was biting his blanket and growling at
it so I decided to play with him. He was having a lot of
fun boxing it, biting it, digging on it, and he got a
little carried away and he bit me hard. He didn’t mean to,
he was trying to bite the blanket and nipped me by
mistake, and let me tell you it hurt.
I was
pretty mad at Nibbler, but the truth of the matter was
that it was my fault. I should have been a little more
cautious. So if you’re going to play with your rabbit just
be careful as to where your hands are, and keep in mind
that your rabbit may get really into it, and that it can
get slightly carried away. You want to be sure that your
rabbit is aware that you are just playing before
continuing with this, or else your rabbit may try to
attack and bite you.
Biting
Now when
a rabbit bites it can be for quite a few reasons. It can
be an act of grooming, affection, playing, or aggression.
Getting to know your rabbit will help you get to know
which is which. You don’t want to be bitten as an act of
aggression. If you’ve ever seen your rabbit biting while
playing you’ll notice how tight the can hold and tug
things, and trust me you don’t want that to be you or
another rabbit or animal.
When
grooming themselves or other rabbits, they may bite
themselves or the other rabbits accidentally too. However
when rabbits are trying to state dominance with each other
the biting can get a lot worse which I’ll discuss in a
little bit when I cover bonding. A little nip here or
there after licking you or another rabbit can be a sign of
affection, or a nip can mean “leave me alone, let me go,
etc”.
Scratching
Aside
from biting, rabbits can scratch for defensive purposes as
well as at playtime too. Like I mentioned a little
earlier, your rabbit will scratch and dig while playing,
but will also do it while boxing, while stating dominance,
and while be held or trying to et away. Rabbits don’t try
to scratch like cats, and don’t have retractable claws,
but let me tell you it can hurt pretty badly. The most
common cause of scratches is from holding a rabbit
incorrectly, or from a rabbit trying to get away from you.
A rabbit can get scared easily, and as it tries to get
away it will try to kick off of you to try to get to where
it wants to go. Usually this results in scratches all the
way up the owner’s arms, or down the chest and stomach
because the owner will usually try to hold the rabbit so
it doesn’t jump and land on the floor and hurt itself.
Clipping your rabbit’s nails will save the both of you a
lot of pain and unnecessary scars.
