It’s often difficult, sometimes impossible, to understand our own species, but with our bunnies things are greatly simplified! There are rabbit attitudes and behaviors that can be interpreted quite easily, allowing us to better understand our bunny and to create a better relationship with him; let’s find out what they are!
Understand the behavior of a dwarf rabbit
We observe the behavior of rabbits in all its facets:
- Relaxed Rabbit: When our friend lies down, even on one side, it means they feel relaxed or tired;
- Rabbit standing up straight: When we see our bunny rising on its hind legs and looking around, it means something has attracted its attention (without frightening it!);
- The rabbit rests it’s chin: Rubbing their chin on objects, other animals or people. Our little friend is marking her territory through the glands she has under her chin, releasing her smell in such a way as to be recognized by other pets;
- Rabbit Chattering Its Teeth: If the chattering is light and occasional, it simply means that our bunny is happy, so you may notice this behavior when you’re petting your rabbit;
- Crouching down into a “ball” shape: This means your bunny is relaxed;
- Rabbit with ears back and lying on the ground: she’s scared. Something has scared your rabbit and we must understand the reason for his fear; once the problem is cleared, our dwarf rabbit will once again behave normally.
Rabbit Ears
- Ears straight, forward: our friend is curious or, most likely, on alert;
- They run forward but seem a little distracted: they are interested in something far away from them;
- Flattened ears against the body: can be frightened, tired or angry.This is a sign of discomfort, but in order to understand how they are truly feeling one must consider the context in which this behavior manifests itself;
- The rabbit shakes his ears: If he does it occasionally it may mean he is unhappy about something, or conversely that they are excited and especially cheerful. In this case, one must observe the situation in which this behavior manifests itself to see if it is angry or happy.
Other behaviors of dwarf rabbits
- If the rabbit starts to shake and begins to lick, he is just cleaning himself;
- Rabbit jumping and running here and there: Well, it does not take much imagination to understand that our friend is serene and in good spirits … he runs like a small child!
- Rabbit biting and nibbling whatever he can reach! Destructive behaviors are generally a sign of stress; if our friend spend many hours in the cage, has no company, no games for rabbits or activities to keep himself busy; he will tend to find something to do and generally will not care about the value or danger of what will happen to him!
Behavior of a Sick Rabbit
Beyond manifest symptomatic manifestations: vomiting, diarrhea, etc., there are some rabbit behaviors that indicate that they aren’t feeling well:
- Rabbit who does not eat: Loss of appetite (total or partial): it is certainly a sign of some problem related to a pathology or bad management of nano rabbit feeding;
- Apathy: Be careful if your bunny starts to show no interest in their usual activities and tends to stay apart and / or with the ears lowered;
- Rabbit has a hard time walking: If our friend tends to remain motionless, begins to experience trouble walking and keeps his eyes open in an unnatural way (so-called “blinded eyes “); it is necessary to take him to the vet immediately.
- Rabbit with head tilted on one side: It is one of the most obvious neurological symptoms of encephalitosis. It is a common and very serious rabbit disease that can be cured if discovered and treated promptly;
- Rabbit that grinds their teeth: Even in this case, a visit from your veterinarian may be appropriate; as this behavior can be a symptom not only of stress but also of problems in chewing or some other ailment.
- If the rabbit shakes his ears, he may simply be trying to warm himself up if it’s cold. If he only shakes one ear continuously, check to see if something is stuck in his ear. In any case, if it doesn’t clear up on it’s own it’s necessary to take your rabbit to the vet immediately.
Let’s remember that these are just some of the behavior of dwarf rabbits and that our friends also communicate through sounds! You can find more information by reading our article on rabbit language. We encourage you to study up- pearn to know your dwarf rabbits and you will see that you will incredibly improve the quality of the time you spend with them!
