digging

[jessmc03]

you guys are always so great at helping me figure out gabby's actions, thank you so much! i'm hoping you can help once again.

she digs, alll night long. her cage is in my bedroom and for the most part she is quiet all night. but for the past couple of nights she has been digging at the bottom of her cage. she has done this before randomly, most of the time during the day. but for the last couple of nights, like i said, she just dug ALL night long. her nails are short, andher cage isa pretty good size with atile bottom. is she trying to tell me something? please help!
thank you again!

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

I don't really know what to suggest other than maybe giving him a grassymat, but that will make him do it more or make him do it before your bedtime like, during the day and in the morning, maybe he'll get it out of his system beforeyour bedtime and wait til after you get up to play, you can only hope. Other than that, sorry, it's just noisy buns:biggrin2:.

Or, covering his cage at night like you do a bird, but I just don't believe in that. They can pull that in and chew it and can get a blockage from it. Er, I'm sorry, not sure what else to suggest.:?

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Well, my son complained for awhile of the same thing with Tony. We started giving him his playtime later and longer and it helped.

If you can't get her to stop, could you get one of those sound machines to help you "ignore" it?

They have some that have just a limited number of sounds and they are relatively cheap - like $20 especially now at the holiday sales.

My daughter has one cause she had rats that played all night at one time. Same issue.

 

[maherwoman]

How much exercise does she get? In my experience, most of the time when buns are really restless at night, it's because they didn't get enough exercise during the day. You might try letting her out for a few hours before you go to bed each night...you'll find that it wears her out and helps her to chill out at night.

 

[Flashy]

I can sympathise. I have 4 noisy buns in my room, it's not much fun is it.

They are most active at dawn and dusk, which is not helpful when it's probably during the night. I tend to have different small toys on hand that I poke through the bars and then distract them with, and I also poke more fresh hay through the bars whenever I wake up in the night.

Yes, more and longer exercise can help,as can ear plugs. I don't have much advice, but good luck.

 

[tundrakatiebean]

Bo B Bunny wrote:

If you can't get her to stop, could you get one of those sound machines to help you "ignore" it?

Wash digs ALL the time and yanks on the bars etc. I just wear earplugs when I sleep (helps with the snoring BF too)

My boyfriend wants to add that Wash gets enough exercize since we let him out in a run whenever we are home.

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Energizer bunny?



The rats were the same way. I think mine have just resigned that we are NOT letting them out when we are sleeping! LOL!

Although, last night I went to bed quite a bit early for me and for about 20 minutes I heard Clover hopping, chewing on the cage, and thumping. Bo was tossing his barrel (with a bell) toy as hard as he could against the cage over and over for about 10 minutes when I finally yelled "BO! stop it!" and he did. I could see his little ears perk up like "Hey, she's noticed...... oops.... she's mad." LOL!

We have all hardwood flooring in all but 3 rooms (1 bedroom, livingroom and kitchen) so there is nothing to absorb the sounds. I don't even have drapes in their room - I have mini-blinds.

Oh and their room - it's just outside my bedroom LOL!

 

[~BunBuns~]

Bunbuns did that for awhile during his play time, we got him a grassy mat and that kept him busy!

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753324&cp&kw=grassy+mat&origkw=grassy+mat&sr=1


-April and Bunbuns

 

[jessmc03]

thanks for all the help, its somewhat comforting that it is not just gabby. and i will try the grass mat and letting her out right before bed to tire her out (fingers crossed). sometimes i really think its becauseshe knows we are in the room and is upset that we aren't playing with her! we are her slaves after all.....

thanks for all the help as always!

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Attention is definitely a possibility. Until she's got it through her little head she's not getting out, she will probably do it - if it's attention.

They are so stubborn sometimes!

 

[~BunBuns~]

Try this web!
http://www.fuzzy-rabbit.com/badbunny.htm

-April and Bunbuns

 

[JimD]

Binkie has been digging..... and pulling at cage wires....... since we've had her.

'bout 4 years now.

We've tried just about everything short of giving her a container of dirt to dig in. I am NOT going to clean up after her with that!!! Faggitaboutit!!

If we let her out of her cage she digs at the carpet and floor.... and then runs around pulling on the other cages and the x-pen. She drives the other buns crazy when she's out.

And if I'm in the run area she chases after me and bites my ankles.

Talk about a bun with tude!!
***can you say "OCS", too ?!?***


On the other hand, Binx is just about the neatest/cleanest bun we have. Her cage and pen are always spotless. She finds every little piece of hay and/or food and eats it. Makes me think that her digging is somehow related to foraging instincts.

 

[tamsin]

I haven't been able to keep Scamp caged (4'x2') since he was about 10 weeks - he would just constantly rattle the bars for long periods. As well as being extremely irritating it's not a normal behaviour for rabbits - it's a sign of boredom/stress. Have a think about what else you'd expect him/her to be doing instead of chewing the bars? Pacing up and down the cage, repeatly throwing a toy back and forth, sitting doing nothing? There are limited options in a cage so you need to make sure there is always an exciting alternative and then they won't pull at the bars.

Scamp now lives in the kitchen which gives him about 4'x8' floor area but still has several hours every day with access to the whole ground floor of the house to burn off energy and engage his brain.

When he is confined to the kitchen he needs things to occupy him or he's do exactly the same thing. It's not just about space to run, rabbits don't tend to do laps. It's about giving them something to ocupy them. Anything cardboard goes through him before being recycled, he'll spend ages chewing through a closed cardboard box to obtain a pellet or two. To make it more difficult I'll put boxes inside boxes or stuff them with hay and put a pellet at the bottom. His fresh vegetables are pegged up on a string which he can only reach stood on tip toes whilst standing on a box. When I replaced his bed box I cut a hole that was much to small for him to comfortable enter so he had to remodel the entrace. When we pruned our apple tree we did it branch at a time so he had a new one to chew each day. He also has a treatball to keep him working for his food.

Toys are essential but like kids if they are always the same they get bored, you need to think up a new challenge for your rabbit each day and as they learn to solve them quickly make it harder.

I hope that helps, good luck challenging your bun - I hope it gives you more sleep!

 

[jessmc03]

thank you! you guys had fabulous ideas! i took the idea of letting her before she is put to bed and that has helped tremdously! i also like the ideas of different toys and will try some out. gabby says thanks too, you guys spoke for her! ~jess

 

[Bo B Bunny]

That's great! I'm happy she's getting some energy out and feeling more settled at night. Have you enjoyed a full night of sleep now?

 

[~BunBuns~]

jessmc03 wrote:

thank you! you guys had fabulous ideas! i took the idea of letting her before she is put to bed and that has helped tremdously! i also like the ideas of different toys and will try some out. gabby says thanks too, you guys spoke for her! ~jess

Yay! glad it worked!