Rabbit Web Discussion Board

Hi I have had my male dwarf rabit \"Gizmo\" for about 2 or 3 months now he was formerly owned by someone and is little over a year old. I\'ve been reading this forum a lot more lately and noticed something that got me a little worried which is cardboard hurting or killing rabbits. Gizmo loves digging, burrowing and obviously biting things namely his cardboard box house, toilet paper rolls and newspaper, However he also eats these things in small quantites he\'ll eat bits of the toilet paper rolls he\'s probably eaten about a full toilet paper roll since I\'ve had him, with the cardboard box he\'ll tear it into makeshift sheets of paper (not chunks of it) and eat it as well as the newspaper he doesn\'t eat these in large quantites or anything but do you think this could hurt him and if so is there any suggestions of what else I could use as he LOVES the box and practically lives in it or on his blanket.

My other question involves him being very jumpy, from time to time he\'ll just get really freaked out and act as if he\'s in an area he\'s not supposed to be and will just run, other times in the same areas he\'s just fine and goes about whatever he was doing. Is there any way to make him less jumpy?

And finally the last question is mainly for my enjoyment and that is trancing him I tried doing it 3 or 4 times but just can\'t. I read that you have to place him on your lap between your legs or cradle him like you would a baby on his back and stroke his nose and cheeks until you can get his head lower than his body­ which the lowest I got him down was probably a 45 degree angle before he decided he didn\'t like it. Is there any way to get him to do this of course if there\'s any chance he can get hurt I don\'t want to do it to him at all.

thanks in advance.

Congrats on your new family member. We\'ve had our rabbots just over a year now and I love them. I can\'t answer your cardboard question accurately, so I\'ll leave that to the others who can.

When you say your rabbit is jumpy - do you mean he runs and jumps up in the air? If so, that\'s playing. Mine do it whenever they have playtime out of their cages. If you mean he acts nervous, that should pass in time.

And third question is something I do with my crew. Though I usually cradle them like babies instead of putting htem in my lap. Only two have liked it right away, the rest took some time to get use to it. Don\'t force it, give him time.

lol I suppose I should\'ve been more specific with the jumpiness I did mean nervous though so that\'s good to hear although quite funny seeing a white streak when I enter the room sometimes.

does anyone have any thoughts on the cardboard and newspaper?

Newspaper is okay i use it for nestboxes sometimes.cardboard is usually not a problem unless they are eating large quantities of it.bluebird

ok well that\'s good to hear he does eat a bit of cardboard but mostly shreds it up.

I have cardboard rolls in my cages as well ghaldos. I don\'t think they really eat it as much as nibble it. Don\'t think that small amount will hurt. I did notice my one got ahold of a chicken feed bag -they are lined with plastic -that is not good! Silly boy.
Rabbits have sudden spurts of energy -especially from being in a cage. They can literally hurt themselves if they are being totally spazmatic. Be careful he isn\'t falling down steps, off the couch or something similiar. When I put mine in the outside run I have to laugh outloud (yes, by myself) because they are totally hysterical! I did have a rabbit once jump from my arms and break his leg. Be careful. Accidents do happen.
A rabbit that isn\'t used to being handled the way you are handling him may not be as receptive to a new idea and it may take time as suggested before he trusts you and your handling. Be patient -lots of handling and attention will ease his transition. Hopefully he will learn to enjoy it and trust you aren\'t going to hurt him.

Hello Everyone
I\'m new and have a question about biting.
F2 who is a white flooped - earred black eyed cutie is being house trained. He is really comfortable with every one and seems particularly partial to my daughter who is 7. He likes her room best. But now he is nibbling. Last night he fully bit her. This is not acceptable and so my husband arrested him. So now F2 is lock down in raggit row. How can I train him not to bite. There is more to this story but too long to explain.

hdapple so cal

Did your daughter have something on her fingers? Sometimes they will smell something and bite because of it. They are not usually intentionally nasty animals ~ maybe it was just a bad moment?! It can happen and they don\'t know any better. Your daughter is young maybe she grabbed him wrong or he was startled or scared -then they will bite in defense. But not meaning to be nasty. Maybe he had enough \'out\' time and was just getting tired?
Generally, most bucks are pretty layed back and are calm and usually it is the doe that will get the attitude. Are you sure its a buck? Just a few thoughts that came to mind...