Pup's Bad Behavior

[PupTheRabbit]

Hey everyone. I'm new here and I have a few questions and if anyone could reply back that would be more than awesome! I am not sure if they have been asked yet so here they are:

-Is anyone else's bunny bad behaved? He is constantly pooping everywhere (I've tried training him but it has not worked). He also sprays when he pees so much (I had an appointment to get him neutered but it was $497!!) He also eats everything: carpet, paper, cardboard, wallpaper, my bed sheets, etc....

-He will not let me clip his nails. He screamed and screamed when I took him to the vet to get examined for his neuter procedure (which didn't happen) so the doctor had to put him under anestesia (sp).

Also, at what point are you supposed to stop feeding your rabbit rabbit food (pellets)?

HELP! Lol. I love him so much but he's a handful.

 

[Kipcha]

The chewing, spraying and lack of toilet habits is normal for an unaltered buck.

Well, I don't know what the prices are like there, but $497 sounds very high for a neuter, and having a rabbit scream during a simple exam is odd to say the least. Did your vet mention anything that would cause that? Is your vet rabbit savy, or are they a dog/cat vet?

Your bunny is black, so did they cut his kwik repeatedly? Did they make him bleed? If so, that may cause the trauma for the screaming... It just seems extremely odd to resort to anesthesia for such a minor and routine thing.

I wouldn't stop feeding him pellets, unless your rabbit is overweight or has some form of health problems, they should be kept on pellets as they provide a lot of essential vitamins and nutrients. You have them on an alfalfa pellet until they are 6 months old and then switch them over to timothy, preferably a higher quality pellet (I feed Oxbow, personally). Of course, this is along with the unlimited timothy hay and daily veggies.

 

[ZRabbits]

Definitely actions of an intacted male. Those hormones really bring out the devil in them unfortunately.

Gee poor bunny. What kind of Vet did you go to? My Rabbit Savvy Vet charged $374 for TWO rabbits. And didn't need anesthesia for a simple Vet visit.

And regarding his nails, did he start screaming AFTER the Vet visit or before? Sounds like maybe he was traumatized once, maybe hitting the kwik, so now Pup is scared of nail clipping?

I'd definitely find myself a New Vet. One that knows about bunnies because Pup really needs to be neutered to atleast help with some calming down. The spraying will disappear in a month or two (depending on the rabbit). The pooping everywhere is also a sign of marking. That too will calm down once neutered.

You need to kind of start over with your bunny. You need to gain his trust again so that you can handle him and be able to clip his nails. It is important to do because bunny's nails will curl into themselves and could hurt your bunny's feet or catch on something and break off causing injury.

I don't know where you are in New Jersey, but Blackwood Animal Hospital is where Dr. Joe is (856) 227-8503. Maybe give them a call and you can get a good referral in your area.

Hope this helps.

K

BTW, IMHO Pup isn't really a devil. He's scared and at 7 months is in his teenage months. Kind of hard for a bunny when hormones in full bloom.

 

[PupTheRabbit]

Thank you so much to the both of you! A few things I did forget to menntion:

Pup's vet was claimed for "exotic animals" and even had a picture of a rabbit on their logo...we even asked the secretary if the doctor specialized in rabbits and he does. I DID NOT like the vet though. He said that once Pup is neutered that his personality will NOT change. After the initial exam (no nail clipping, the vet was just trying to open Pup's mouth and he started going crazy) the vet said, "Pup is Pup. This is his personality and getting him neutered will not change the way he is," which frustrated me because I've read in books that getting them snipped will calm them down which left me confused and made me conclude that maybe he doesn't need to be neutered (although I would prefer him to be anyway...because you never know if it might calm them down). Do you guys agree with the vet or could he be wrong?

 

[ZRabbits]

Dr Joe told me he doesn't really neuter as well. Only neuters to stop dirty habits.

Dobby and Kreacher proved him wrong. They are so calm, sweet and the "dirty" habit has gone. Best thing for them was the neutering.

Can't wait for him to see them at their 1 year check up.

K

 

[MiniLopHop]

It would be a drive from Jersy, but my vet charges $175 for a neuter and she's fantastic with the rabbits. You can look up the clinic at www.aardvarkvet.com

 

[Kipcha]

That sounds odd that he would start screaming because he was trying to open his mouth, it sounds like he had been trying to open it too wide.

I'm extremely careful with the vet I use for that now, we had a guinea pig who had teeth problems so we bought her in to have her teeth done. We didn't really know much at the time and the vet insisted they could do it without anesthesia, so we let them, and they wound up breaking her jaw. Obviously clipping is different from just looking, but I only go to one of two vets now that have the best reputation. My favorite is a little more on the expensive side, but I trust her with my animals (Especially after what we went through with Flynn). Needless to say that we never went back to the one that broke our piggys jaw, especially after the tried to hide it and let us go home with her (We discovered it after she couldn't eat anything. Brought her somewhere else to have her looked and discovered they had broken it).

Also, the not changing after getting neutered is a load of crock. It mellows them out immensly and stops them from spraying, helps with litter habits and really, bad behaviour in general. I would highly recommend going to a new vet.

 

[PupTheRabbit]

Okay so I made an appointment for Pup to get neutered this Thursday in White House Station Vet Hospital! I am very excited (not for him to be clipped but for the hopeful results) ! If it doesn't calm him then I will be also grateful for him not spraying everywhere anymore. It is getting out of control. Thanks for the help

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Sounds like it's time for a new, truly rabbit savvy vet as there wasn't much I'd agree with. Sounds like Pup needs to be handled more so as to build a tolerance and reduce some of those behaviors.