Is he lodging a protest?

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Miss M

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Well, Thumper got his new cage two days ago. He seemed pretty happy with it. It has the same floor space he had in his side of the hutch.

Yesterday morning, I found he had gone treasure hunting in his litter box, and there was litter everywhere! So I gave him a dirty look and a head rub and cleaned it up.

This morning, I looked out the door, and again, there's litter everywhere! Even more of it, too. :evil: *sigh* I haven't cleaned it up yet, but I will in a minute.

He was looking for a scratch, so I opened the door and rubbed his head, telling him what a mess he had made and how I really needed to be doing other things like PACKING TO MOVE instead of cleaning up his litter. Of course, it all went in one ear and out the other as I scratched his head.

He dug in his litter box when we first got the hutch, but it only lasted a short time, and he quit. He doesn't seem to be unhappy about his situation.

Please, somebody, tell me it's just because he's in a new cage and location, and that he will stop!!!
 
Can he still be near his darling Pearl and the babies or is he now away from them? This could lead to discontent. Or he could be bored... Try giving him some new toys. Paper rolls stuffed with hay are good. So are the heavy cardboard cores left from packing tape once the tape is gone. I know you'll have some of those! A tuna can that he can toss around... things like that will help distract him.
 
Actually, now he can see Pearl, whereas he could not before. They shared a hutch, but it was divided by a piece of plywood. Now he is about 5 feet across from her and the babies, and can see them even when I pull their tarps down (I don't cover the front).

You're right, I'll give him some toys! I didn't even think about it. Hey, I picked up some pine cones to give them, and then forgot about them! Thank you, maybe that'll help! :)
 
My son had a pet rabbit when he was young, a pretty blue. She had a huge terrarium on a stand with a wire lid for a cage - about 2 feet by 4 feet. One day I caught Buffy playing a peculiar game. She had cleared the shavings from the glass bottom to make an arena maybe 18 inches across and she was rolling her dried turds around with her nose! "This bunny is BORED!" I said and went an bought her one of those wire balls for cats. She loved it and played with it by the hour. No more turd games for her. :D
 
:lol: I have some cat bell balls too, but none of them are in his cage. He never seemed to play with them much before, but I'll give him a couple of them and a pine cone tonight. Maybe I'll find all the litter in his litter box tomorrow morning!

Meanwhile, I gave him some pear twigs. He's turned up his nose at them. Pearl and the babies, on the other hand, went crazy!
 
Brody":8omzryam said:
bored bunnies are bums ...

:lol: I can now see that! I'm really hoping he'll leave his litter where it belongs tonight!

__________ Fri Mar 19, 2010 10:20 am __________

:explode: He did it again. It's as if he likes doing nothing... "What did you put that toy/paper roll/pine cone/twig/etc. in here for? To take up space?" He's never been one to play much. Grrrr...

Well, I guess I can still hope it's only because I changed his scenery, and he'll quit in a few more days. Meanwhile, I've got to go clean up again.
 
except now he knows it drives you batty - don't count on him not repeating time and time again ...

it sounds ludricous I'm sure but if you want him to stop I'd make the least fuss possible cleaning up - or even put him elsewhere for a bit so he doesn't even see you cleaning up ...

also - try a night of no litter in the litter box if you can make it boring enough he might just give up his bunny foolin' way
 
Brody has given you excellent advice, Miss M.

I thought it might be boredon, but I'm afraid you nailed it when you said he's lodging a protest. He's in a snit about something, I think, and this is his way of showing it.

I may have given you this link before to the Language of Lagomorphs, but just in case... here it is again. :D
http://language.rabbitspeak.com/rabbittalk.html
 
Mom (Miss M) says that when she cleans it up, all the while she is rubbing his head and talking sweetly to him. But she also says that he could know that she's annoyed about it because animals are very perceptive. We haven't cleaned up yet so we will try taking him out, I'll hold him while Mom cleans. :roll:
 
even rubbing his head and beign nice is giving him attention -

you need to seperate the attention (from anybody) and the box tidy up :)
 
Aw, nuts... I read that last post after I took care of the mess. I really appreciate all the ideas!

I wonder if he's ticked off about the cover... it's this cheap tablecloth, and he's been shredding it. I thought he was having fun, but maybe he doesn't like it. I don't have another tarp... maybe I'll try something else... like the torn shower curtain. Maybe it won't be as easy to pull in.

To separate him from the cleanup, would you recommend a small animal carrier? That way, he's not being held or anything.

Maggie, I had forgotten about that site! I actually ran across it before I found HT. I used the tips in it to stop Thumper from nipping. He nipped, I said "no" sharply, immediately put him in his hutch, and then turned my back on him with a flourish. Boy, did it work! Ilovebunnies needed to do it a couple of times, too, but since then, he's hardly ever, ever nipped. :)<br /><br />__________ Sat Mar 20, 2010 1:16 pm __________<br /><br />Okay... well, the shower curtain didn't get shredded. But there was a big pile of litter again this morning. So I told the kids not to give him attention. When I got the chance, I put him in a cat carrier and blocked his view of his cage, and then cleaned up his mess. Then I put him back in his cage and left.

Hopefully a couple of days like that (or maybe one?) will do the trick. :)
 
great use of the cat carrier - that's exactly what I meant - not punishing him in any way but not giving him any joy either

he can have attention and love and tlc at other times ;)
 
:thankyou:

I appreciate it, Brody!! That's good to know I was getting the idea right. :) I'll let the kids know they can give him love after I clean up the mess. I'm trying to avoid taking his litter away, but he did it again last night.

I don't know what he's in a snit about, other than possibly about being moved. Maybe he finds it frustrating that now he can see Pearl, but he can't get to her. He's got the same space and the same stuff. Like I said before, he's never been much into playing. He seems content just to sit on top of his little wooden house and watch the world go by. I was hoping he would play now that he's a bit older, but he still gives toys the royal ignore.

Maybe I need to cover the front of his cage at night so he can't see Pearl. The back and one side would still give him some ventilation.

Or maybe it has nothing to do with Pearl, and he'll stop once he's used to his new cage and location.

I need a bunny whisperer. :lol:
 
he's enjoying mess making too
ime some bucks just love to create chaos given half the chance ...
can you give him less litter in his box?
I'd try covering him overnight too - can't hurt
 
Maybe you're right and he's just decided he likes doing it and making a mess. The last couple of days, he's dug a bunch of his litter out before it's even night, so I haven't covered the front of his cage.

That's a thought about the litter box, Maggie... trying not to have too many expenses, though. Eventually, I would love to go litterless like a lot of y'all are. Next time I change his litter, I will put less in and see what happens.

At least he isn't peeing into the tray anymore. He had gotten to where he would get into the litter box, but hang his hinderparts over the edge and pee into the tray. :roll: When I moved him, I turned the box so that the higher side was where he used to do that, so if he hung over, at least he'd hit the middle of the tray instead of the edge.

So since I discovered he isn't getting the tray wet, I removed the plastic bag and newspaper I was lining it with. Cleanup is a lot easier now.

Maybe he's mad because I rotated the tray. Or maybe he's taken a sudden liking to digging. Or maybe his peeing over the edge and into the tray wasn't an accident, and he's just a rebel trying to play with me. :x :lol:
 

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