There are several reasons why rabbits bite your clothes. It can result from a medical condition, hormonal changes, or habits. It may be hard for you to determine what causes this behavior. So, we created a list for you to understand their behavior.
3 Possible Reasons Why Your Rabbits Bite Your Clothes
Though rabbits have similar personality traits and characteristics, still, they have different reasons why they do unusual things or show unusual behaviors. These unusual behaviors include but are not limited to biting your clothes.
The reasons for this behavior might include medical conditions, hormonal changes, or simply a habit. Let us dissect these reasons below.
1. Medical Condition
One way to determine that rabbits feel discomfort or are in pain due to medical conditions is when they start scratching and biting. Rabbits usually scratch the affected body part to ease the itchiness. You may also see them biting their body parts that they can reach but don’t get this mistaken as part of their grooming.
You may also see your rabbits biting any objects near them. You may see them biting their toys, the hay feeder, or they may bite your clothes. Sometimes, they tend to eat the objects they bite as well. These things are normal to rabbits who have digestive issues and are eager to feel well.
2. Hormonal Changes
Hormone change is another common reason why your rabbit is biting your clothes. This usually happens when the rabbits are around three months old. Around this time, your rabbits’ will start to mature.
As the rabbits’ bodies undergo hormonal change, they will develop some attitudes. They become temperamental, more active, and more territorial, which affects their behavior towards things and the people around them. Unfortunately, this ill behavior includes biting your clothes orbiting you.
Whichever the two may be, these rabbit behaviors need to be addressed.
3. Habit
Rabbits biting your clothes may seem not normal to humans. But to them, the rabbits, it is quite the opposite. Unlike our other furry friends, frequent chewing and biting are entirely normal to them.
6 Common Reasons Why Rabbits Bite Your Clothes
It may be hard to classify which of the three reasons above is the main reason why rabbits bite your clothes. So, we gathered all common reasons instead.
1. They are afraid of overgrown teeth
A rabbit without its two big front teeth is not a rabbit. Though they are portrayed this way, their teeth must not overgrow. Overgrown teeth may cause them pain and suffering as it may cut their face. The rabbits will also have trouble chewing their food and swallowing it.
Thus, biting your clothes may be their way of helping themselves to keep their teeth’s size regular.
2. They are mad at you
Rabbits are highly sociable, and confining them to their pens for days or months will frustrate them. They need to be in a place where they can do what they want and need to do, like rabbits. If they can’t do the things they are supposed to do for a long time, they tend to be aggressive.
Their aggressiveness results from them getting mad at you for limiting their freedom and frustration for knowing that they can’t do anything about it unless they can get out from their hutches.
As a result, they will show you how mad they are and will start biting your things, including your clothes.
3. They are marking you
Rabbits are one of several species that are territorial. To ensure that no one gets what is theirs, they will start marking places or marking you by biting your clothes. It is not a common way to tell you who the boss is, but it is their best way to get your attention.
There’s also a huge possibility that the reason why rabbits bite your clothes is that they smell another rabbit’s scent in your shirt, and they want to get rid of it.
4. They want your attention and time
Rabbits are part of the group of active furry friends. They love to exercise and play, and if they want you to get involved, they will catch your attention by biting your clothes. However, there are some instances that they will bite you instead. If this happens, just be patient with your rabbit and understand that getting you to play with them is very interesting for them.
5. You are irritating them
Rabbits are naturally sweet animals except on a select few. They love to have people’s attention. They like being petted and spoiled. However, these traits get expired quickly, and anything extra irritates them.
Thus, it is okay to pet your rabbits any time of the day but avoid over petting them. Do not pet them for more than 10 minutes. Though it is just 10 minutes to us, it is more than that to the rabbits’ time. It could mean 20 or 30 minutes for them. It is too much!
Then, the rabbits will start biting your favorite clothes as a form of revenge.
6. They want you to pet them
Rabbits know what they exactly want, and this includes you petting them. Unfortunately, since these cuties can’t talk, they will get your attention by scratching or biting you or your clothes instead.
Do this, pet your rabbits but make sure that you stay within their time limit. Otherwise, they might bite you or your clothes again. This time, they might be a little bit aggressive. So, be careful. Now that you already have an idea of the possible reasons why your rabbits bite your clothes, let us check how we can prevent or avoid this behavior.
How to Make Your Rabbits Stop Biting Your Clothes?
It can be very frustrating if your rabbits keep biting your clothes, much more if they will be biting your favorite shirt. To avoid this from happening, here are the things that you should do to make them stop biting your clothes.
- Do not let them own you: If your rabbits start marking you, teach them a lesson by putting them in a cage for hours or days. Do not let them out of the cage for at least a day. If the rabbits are persistent in marking you, your clothes, and some areas in your house, put them back into the cage until they realize what they did is wrong. This process will take you some time and a couple of worth-it tries.
- Keep them busy: Give them toys that can excite them. It could be a mind-boggling toy or an exercise wheel that they can use to keep their mind occupied. Once they are busy, the mind will not be diverted to you or your things. They will surely forget that they have clothes to bite to.
- Let them dig: Rabbits love digging. They are born to explore to create burrows for themselves and their families. So, if you see your rabbits start biting their toys or anything near them, help them prevent them from biting your clothes by giving them their clothes to dig and bite. This step will save your favorite shirt from the rabbits.
- Have them neutered or spayed: Any neutered or spayed animal has the same trait after the medical process. They become more behave, less violent, but still playful. The four ways listed above will neutralize your rabbits’ behavior from biting your clothes. But what if the rabbits will bite you instead of the clothes? What will happen? Those are common questions that need to be answered. Here’s our take.
What will happen if your rabbits bite you instead of your clothes?
Rabbit bites might hurt you a little bit. You might see a drop of blood from your skin when they bite you, but that’s just it. Their bites will not cause any health issues, but you might get bacterial or parasitic infections.
Can you get rabies with rabbit bites?
It is exceedingly rare for rabbits to get rabies, as they are not a common reservoir for the virus.
First Aid, Rabbit Bites
Here’s what you should do when your rabbit bites you. Whether your rabbit accidentally or intentionally bites you, do the following to lessen the possibility of getting an infection from rabbit bites.
Clean the wounds
Clean the bitten area with soap and running water thoroughly. Clean them for at least 30 seconds. The longer time you wash it, the better, though.
- If no blood comes out from the bitten part, leave it as is.
- Do not pinch it and force the blood to come out.
- Remember, though it is rare that the rabbits will get rabies, there’s no assurance that the rabbit that bit you is rabies-free.
So, to avoid rabies getting inside your blood, do not pinch and force to have blood out of the wound.
Apply antiseptic
Regardless of the rabbits’ teeth scratch you or bite you, you must disinfect the wound by putting antiseptic on it. Choose those antiseptics that contain povidone-iodine. But make sure that you wash the wound first before adding the antiseptics.
If needed, dress the wound
You should cover the wound to avoid getting any infection. If the rabbit bite is too small, you can leave it open or just put a band-aid on it.
Monitor the rabbit that bit you
If the rabbit shows unusual behavior like restless, disturbed, and nervous, or if it shows that it has a fever, you may need to bring the rabbit to the vet and have it checked for rabies. Go to the nearest clinic and have yourself checked in case your rabbit has rabies. You may need an anti-rabies injection to fight the anti-rabies virus.
Summary
Rabbits are intelligent animals. They have their way of communicating with people, and one of them is biting you or biting your clothes. Thus, we must learn their body language to understand them better and give them what they exactly need.
