Bunny (jersey wooly) splashing and dipping front paws into her water bowl, she'll proceed to shake them and try to get me wet in the process as well

[Bunbunyes]

Hi y'all, I'm a new bun owner and my 3 months old bun's behaviour kinda boggles my mind since I don't think rabbits usually dip their front paws in water? She's a real sweet oddball who behaves quite uniquely imo (settled down instantly, unbothered by everything, sprawling everywhere, etc.)

On a few occasions, she tries to get me wet after dipping her front paws by vigorously shaking her paws towards me and groom herself afterwards (got bunny sniped even after changing spots). Most likely she's just playful or grooming herself but I'm curious what y'all think

Thanks in advance! :>

 

[majorv]

An interesting behavior but I wouldn’t worry about it. Of all the rabbits we had there was only one who would put his front paws in the water bowl. He did it when it was hot and it was his method of cooling off. Not saying that’s why yours is doing it though.

 

[PeanutsPlace]

What's the temperature of the place your bunny lives in? If it's hot, maybe your rabbit is trying to cool off? If this is the case you can get a ceramic tile from a warehouse store like home depot or Lowes.

 

[Bunbunyes]

What's the temperature of the place your bunny lives in? If it's hot, maybe your rabbit is trying to cool off? If this is the case you can get a ceramic tile from a warehouse store like home depot or Lowes.

It's about 27°C, she has a cooling plate and a fan that's blowing nearby most of the time. I do offer her cold water but she'd just drink straight from the bowl with room temperature water most of the time, tried the frozen bottle method a few times but she'd ignore them, she usually only lays on the cooling plate during night-time and after zooming around. Initially, I suspected that it might've been because of the heat and started to panic but now I'm just confused. She does it out of the blue most of the time so she might've just been grooming herself?

 

[PeanutsPlace]

It's about 27°C, she has a cooling plate and a fan that's blowing nearby most of the time. I do offer her cold water but she'd just drink straight from the bowl with room temperature water most of the time, tried the frozen bottle method a few times but she'd ignore them, she usually only lays on the cooling plate during night-time and after zooming around. Initially, I suspected that it might've been because of the heat and started to panic but now I'm just confused. She does it out of the blue most of the time so she might've just been grooming herself?

I think she she possibly puts water on her hands before grooming so she can cool her full self down with wet hands. Think of it like you spraying a water bottle on your self on a hot day to cool down! Is there any way you could get a cooling tile? Possibly put one in the fridge and switch them every few hours.

 

[allenstacy74]

Hi! My bunny does this too! It’s very strange to watch haha, my bunny will sit right next to his bowl, dip his toes in and aggressively shake them and get all the water off, I believe in my rabbits case it is him using it for grooming, as he will wipe his face with the wet paws! I always thought it was only my bun that did this haha!

 

[Jennifer1111]

Hi y'all, I'm a new bun owner and my 3 months old bun's behaviour kinda boggles my mind since I don't think rabbits usually dip their front paws in water? She's a real sweet oddball who behaves quite uniquely imo (settled down instantly, unbothered by everything, sprawling everywhere, etc.)

On a few occasions, she tries to get me wet after dipping her front paws by vigorously shaking her paws towards me and groom herself afterwards (got bunny sniped even after changing spots). Most likely she's just playful or grooming herself but I'm curious what y'all think

Thanks in advance! :>

My bunny does the exact same! I havent noticed it being a grooming behavior either. My bun is 7 weeks old, I’ve had her for a month.

 

[Mileybun]

Miley does this before grooming, although she doesn't wet her feet first.
I read somewhere the shaking of the feet is a throwback to wild buns shaking dirt off their paws before washing their faces!