BrittsBunny
Well-Known Member
So I've had Wrangler as a free-roaming rabbit for over 3 years. At first it took some training and adjusting, but he learned fast and has been (for the most part) a very well-trained/house broke rabbit.
That is until the last couple of months. He has gotten a bit more aggressive almost "needy" it seems. I primarily wonder if it's because I have been gone more. I hold a part-time job of about 22 hours a week, I am a full-time student, and I stay at my boyfriend's more than I used to. I know that when I leave Wrangler overnight he gets nervous and usually does some sort of destructive thing i.e. I came home to a totally destroyed hay mat one day...which I know can be normal, but he used to barely have a chewing issue and now it seems like he never has enough to chew.
He never really chewed on my furniture, but he has taken a liking to my grandmother's love seat that she gave me, and he has an obsession with picking at the carpet. This morning I caught him knawing on my solid wood dresser. Sometimes I think he does this because he knows that it gets my attention. This morning my alarm clock went off multiple times and I wouldn't get out of bed right away, and here he was grinding his teeth on my dresser next to my bed. Needless to say, I got out of bed real fast.
When I am home, doing my homework or browsing on my laptop (I usually sit on the floor because the love seat couch is quite uncomfortable), he'll practically be all over me the whole time. I am usually confronted with multiple nudges and the occasional nip. He knows it gets my attention especially when he does that!
I don't know if he's bored, lonely, spoiled, or all the above. Or maybe it's an underlying health issue.
This morning when he was attempting to chew on my dresser, I put him in his cage and he went absolutely bazerk. Talk about a very, VERY angry rabbit. I left him in there for about 10-15 minutes while I took a shower, sort of like a time-out, and he just shook the entire cage with his teeth and chewed at the plastic liner. He then started making a mess of his hay. I knew I couldn't leave him in there the whole day while I was at work. And he did try to bite me when I stuck my hand in the cage...followed by several growls.
So I don't really know what to do. This kind of goes with my previous behavior thread...but it seems like the issue is only getting worse. I did end up taking his food bowl out of his cage because he kept peeing and pooping in it. Now both his water and food bowl are kept outside of his cage. He eats his hay and poops/pees in his cage now...which seems to work just fine. I can tell he likes this new arrangement.
As for the very demanding and aggressive behavior...well, that I am unsure of...I would LOVE to have my chillaxed and well-mannered rabbit back thank you very much.
That is until the last couple of months. He has gotten a bit more aggressive almost "needy" it seems. I primarily wonder if it's because I have been gone more. I hold a part-time job of about 22 hours a week, I am a full-time student, and I stay at my boyfriend's more than I used to. I know that when I leave Wrangler overnight he gets nervous and usually does some sort of destructive thing i.e. I came home to a totally destroyed hay mat one day...which I know can be normal, but he used to barely have a chewing issue and now it seems like he never has enough to chew.
He never really chewed on my furniture, but he has taken a liking to my grandmother's love seat that she gave me, and he has an obsession with picking at the carpet. This morning I caught him knawing on my solid wood dresser. Sometimes I think he does this because he knows that it gets my attention. This morning my alarm clock went off multiple times and I wouldn't get out of bed right away, and here he was grinding his teeth on my dresser next to my bed. Needless to say, I got out of bed real fast.
When I am home, doing my homework or browsing on my laptop (I usually sit on the floor because the love seat couch is quite uncomfortable), he'll practically be all over me the whole time. I am usually confronted with multiple nudges and the occasional nip. He knows it gets my attention especially when he does that!
I don't know if he's bored, lonely, spoiled, or all the above. Or maybe it's an underlying health issue.
This morning when he was attempting to chew on my dresser, I put him in his cage and he went absolutely bazerk. Talk about a very, VERY angry rabbit. I left him in there for about 10-15 minutes while I took a shower, sort of like a time-out, and he just shook the entire cage with his teeth and chewed at the plastic liner. He then started making a mess of his hay. I knew I couldn't leave him in there the whole day while I was at work. And he did try to bite me when I stuck my hand in the cage...followed by several growls.
So I don't really know what to do. This kind of goes with my previous behavior thread...but it seems like the issue is only getting worse. I did end up taking his food bowl out of his cage because he kept peeing and pooping in it. Now both his water and food bowl are kept outside of his cage. He eats his hay and poops/pees in his cage now...which seems to work just fine. I can tell he likes this new arrangement.
As for the very demanding and aggressive behavior...well, that I am unsure of...I would LOVE to have my chillaxed and well-mannered rabbit back thank you very much.
