DEAR JOAN: I recently read your column regarding a puppy that chews up everything in sight. We have a dwarf hotot rabbit, Rosebud, that sounds like the puppy, Penny, you wrote about.
Rosebud is now about 6 months old, and has mastered potty training fairly well. However, when permitted to roam freely in the family room, she chews on everything, and has even bitten occasionally when being handled.
Is this typical dwarf hotot rabbit behavior, and will the chewing and biting eventually subside? What can we do to make our time with Rosebud more enjoyable? We love her dearly! Please, please help!
Bernie Kulwin, Bay Area
DEAR BERNIE: Congratulations on your little bundle of cuteness. The dwarf hotot (pronounced like oboe — if oboe was spelled with a T, instead of a B) is one of my very favorite domestic bunnies. There is just something about its small, solid white body and striking black eyeliner that makes this bunny stand out in a crowd.
Chewing is not just a hotot trait; all rabbits have a need to chew. That’s because, like rats and squirrels, their teeth continue to grow, and the chewing and gnawing help keep the teeth from getting out of control.
Females chew more than males, and unfixed bunnies have more chewing issues than neutered ones. If you haven’t had Rosebud spayed, you should.
Rabbits also tend to chew less as they age, but they still have the need, and thus the desire, to chomp on things.
Trying to change that behavior probably isn’t going to work all that well. Rabbits are smart, but biology trumps your living room chair legs, and trying to train them not to chew would sort of be akin to training them not to hop. The best you can do is to provide Rosebud with other things to chew on, and to protect the things you don’t want her gnawing on.
Wires and cables are particular favorites, so cords that are at ground level should be placed in plastic tubes. Rosebud might still chew on the tubes, but she is less likely to and you’ll probably spot the damage long before the lights go out. Consider other things that will protect your furniture and belongings, although it might just be easier to not let Rosebud wander unsupervised.
Make sure you’re giving Rosebud a proper bunny diet, which should include a quality rabbit pellet food and fresh hay. The hay will give her supplemental nutrients and help satisfy those chewing urges.
According to the House Rabbit Society, you also can provide her with apple, willow or aspen branches, untreated pine firewood, cotton towels (just make sure she doesn’t eat the towels), compressed alfalfa cubes and a basket of hay — she can chew on the basket as well.
As Rosebud gets older, she should become less interested in chewing, except for teeth maintenance. If she continues to chew everything in sight, she might have developed a habit or is bored. In that case, you can try to distract her when she chews by introducing some fun activity. A playmate might also ease her chewing, although then you could end up with two little chewers.
The biting is an indication she didn’t like the way she was being handled, so be careful how you pick her up.
