Destructo Bunny

[MiniLopHop]

et:Rebecca has been home for just over a week and has been very sweet and affectionate until the last two days. She has suddenly become destructo bunny in the mornings. :bed:

She digs and flings everything everywhere. I think it is pretty clear she is mad, but over what? I'm starting to get irritated over the poo flinging because she is litter box trained. She uses it all day, but then tosses it out in the morning so I have to clean the whole house before work. She is not destructive when I let her out, but if I just open the door and don't make her come out she doesn't leave her house.I'm not sure how to make her happy. :dunnoSuggestions appreciated.

 

[Sweetie]

Try changing the litter box every night. That might be why she is not very happy and flinging the poop around every morning.

 

[MiniLopHop]

unfortunately I already tried that. last night I cleaned everything (litter box, all fresh bedding, fresh blankie, fresh food) and she still flung it all around.

 

[Sweetie]

How much time do you spend with her? Does she have any rabbit toys?

 

[MiniLopHop]

This week she has had us hanging around a lot. Today I had to work 4 hours, but that is the longest she has been left alone so far. She has a large kabob, a small cardboard box she likes to fling, two small plastic balls with bells, a paper towel roll with hay, and a dangling plastic chain (made for birds, but she likes to tug on it). When she is out of her house she also has a ton of balls and small stuffed cat toys. She seems to like the small scratching square that has a ball at the end of a coil (hard to describe). She will push the ball with her nose which rings a bell and makes it wave back and forth. She also has a "cave" made from a blankie over a long short bench. It is great for playing hide and go seek with the cat.
She is an only bun, but she plays with two cats.

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

Some bunnies just like to throw things around.
You can try securing the litter box to the cage. There are corner ones that can hook on to the cage. You could also drill holes in the box and use ties to secure it. A grate over the litter will help prevent it form being kicked out.

Some rabbits need time to become comfortable enough to want to venture out of the cage. Give her some time to adjust. You can also try leaving the cage open when she is more active to encourage her to come out. If you do want her to come out, you can just take her out but leave the cage open so she can go back in. It can take time for a rabbit to learn they can come out of the cage.

I have one rabbit that likes to destroy things. I lay newspaper down in her cage and she can rip that up as much as she likes. She also likes to move her litter box around and put stuff in it, but she still uses the box. I just clean out the shredded paper and put new stuff in. The downside is that her paws are almost black from the ink, but she isn't a show bunny ans it isn't toxic so it doesn't really matter to me. You can get rolls of brown paper that is used for parcels that would work and not satin, but it will cost more than newspaper.

 

[tamsin]

Is she neutered? Could the hormones have kicked in?

It might be attention seeking, you could tr giving her a toy in the morning to distract her.

 

[MiniLopHop]

Kate, Thank you for the reassurance. I was afraid she was really mad about something and I couldn't figure out what. I will try cleaning everything up again tonight and putting the grate onto the litter box. Perhaps I will put a few more tossable toys in as well.
I leave the door open all day so she can come and go as she likes. Normally she only comes out if I bring her out, but then she will stay out for several hours. Perhaps I am trying to get her to adjust too fast. I'm not sure what her previous home life was like, perhaps she didn't get time out everyday or couldn't count on the attention so she feels like she has to make a statement.

 

[Sweetie]

That could be. What I do with Sweetie is I leave the cage door open and let her decide when she is ready to come out. It took her time and I thought that it was going to be forever, but eventually she came out on her own. I also coaxed her by telling her that it is okay and that she was okay and safe. Just be patient and she will come out of her house.

Now Sweetie will come out of her cage on her own.

 

[Flash Gordon]

i have a bun that likes to kick all her poop outta the box too.if i forget to put the grate back on her box she covers 2 of her neighbors (buns) with all her poop...poor things..hehe....sometimes when she is out of her cage for playtime i have a big tub outside that i put clean sand in and let her get down in it ...she kicks a 4ft stream of sand out from under her ..its hilarious to watch.

 

[MiniLopHop]

Tamsin- I am trying to figure out if she is spayed or not. The SPCA didn't know and didn't have any vet history.
Sweetie- Becky actually came out on her own this morning! I guess she had a lot of fun playing last night and decided it was a good thing.
Lisa- I put the grate onto the box and she left it alone. This morning was much better! I love the idea of giving her sand to dig in. Perhaps in a covered large litter box so it will make less of a mess

 

[elrohwen]

I don't think she's "mad" - I think she's bored and is looking for things to entertain herself. I think Kate gave great advice. Bottom line is that bunnies are active in the mornings and sometimes their version of "active" means destroying things. Put a grate over the box so she can't dig and provide her with things she is allowed to dig. Also, more time out during the day may help get her energy down.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Sounds like a typical bunny to us. We have some that re-arrange every thing in the room, throw stuff around and generally wreak havoc, and others that never bother anything and just play with toys and chewies.

 

[MiniLopHop]

Thank you everyone for the great advice. Tonight when I came home Becky hopped right out and now she is running around getting out some energy. Tomorrow I have off work so I can get some sand to set up a digging box. I think having a few more tossing toys in her house also helped. There's so much to learn as a new bun mom.