What is Apollo doing?

[dajeti2]

Apollo is very inventive in creating new games toplay. His newest obsession is paper, especially newspaper. GivingApollo a sheet of newspaper is guaranteed to provide hours of laughs.

I've noticed him taking the paper, when he's in his cage, and runningit up and down the sides of the cage. He looks so cute with a mouthfulof paper rubbing the cage. We can't help but laugh because it lookslike he's cleaning his cage. He literally wipes down every square inchof every side of his cage before he'll begin to play.

Does any one know what he's doing? This behavior is totally differentfrom playing. When's he's playing, he's running in circles with ithanging out of his mouth, throwing the paper, covering us with it,hiding under it and it all starts over again. The cage cleaning is doneso seriously.

Is my baby just a neat freak or what?

Tina

 

[m.e.]

hmmmm....perhaps it makes a sound that he likes??

 

[Carolyn]

Yup, you've got one strange bird on your hands there, Tina!

A rabbit that cleans his own cage...now that's a Rabbit that I need to have!

-Carolyn

 

[RaspberrySwirl]

Maybe it's a kind of chinning?

Raspberry

 

[BunnyMommy]

I was wondering the same thing, Raspberry, as we all know that Apollo owns everything in "his" house ...

 

[dajeti2]

I don't think it's chinning because he runsaround and chins the cage after he's *cleaned* it. My husband says "nowif we could only teach him to use a dust pan."

I'm not complaining. He is shedding so bad now and he is definitelyhelping in keeping his cage clean. He's been doing this for about 5months now. It's also not a once in a while thing, it's every singletime you give him a piece of paper.

One thing is for sure, my baby sure knows how to make us laugh.

Tina

 

[BunnyMommy]

dajeti2 wrote:

My husband says "now if we could only teach him to use a dust pan."

Tina

...can't breathe!!!!

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Bo does that with his blankies now andthen. Sometimes it's after I wash them, so I thought he wastrying to make them "smelly" again lol. However, he also doesit other times.... so I think he's trying to "build a nest" or"hidebox" ..... Maybe trying to "finish" his cage walls!

 

[pamnock]

It is an interesting behavior, but I don't knowits purpose. We've had rabbits do it with hay, and also havea rabbit that runs a plastic pop bottle along the sides of hiscage. I can only guess that it may be some type of extensionof nesting behavior and "lining" the burrow.

Pam

 

[dajeti2]

I am so glad Apollo is not alone. So many ofApollo's behaviors are , well...odd, completelyun-bunny-like, that it's nice to see he actually can act like othersbunns lol. Thanks for all your replies.

Tina

P.S. Apollo actually does have his own dustpan. He stole mine so I had to go buy a new one lol.

 

[Buck Jones]

Yes, well Apollo stories always contained a bitof the unusual. I especially got a kick out of the story yourelated to me regarding his "getting" his feed bowl for you when youasked. Perhaps, you could give a short synopsis here, as Ithink some others might find that interesting?

Buck

 

[Buck Jones]

pamnock wrote:

Itis an interesting behavior, but I don't know its purpose.We've had rabbits do it with hay, and also have a rabbit that runs aplastic pop bottle along the sides of his cage. I can onlyguess that it may be some type of extension of nesting behavior and"lining" the burrow.

Pam

Vis a vis unusual behaviors paralleling some "natural" behavior...AnneMcBride, in her excellent work, Rabbits andHares,observesthat buns in nature alwayhave an emergency escape exit/entrance to their burrow that is hiddenand is in addition to the primary exit/entrance.

This emergency exit/entrance is often a vertical opening from thehorizontal floor of the burrow. A bun retreating from apredator on its heels, such as a weasel or fox, reaches the emergencyexit and springs vertically out of the burrow! The predatorin chase cannot perform the same maneuver, affording the bun more timeand opportunity to elude his nemesis.

This behavior struck me as the "natural" motivation for all the binkying behaviors we do so enjoy.

Buck

 

[dajeti2]

I wrote the story in the Special Bonds post

Tina

 

Me and my mom were wondering something. When Igive Apollo a piece of paper he rubs it all over my head and face. Whydoes he do that? Then he covers my face with it?

Jeremy

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Do you have bad breath?



Just kidding!



Maybe it's like a digging thing? Is he trying to cover you up to store you for a later time?


OR maybe he's trying to cover you like does would cover their kits? For protection?