Rabbit scratching and rubbing her teeth on her litter box?

Question

So my rabbit was sick, and we took her to the vet one night, and we put her in a new cage (smaller) and we would put her back in her big cage when she felt a bit better.

So once we put her in her new cage which was around 2-3 months ago,we put her back in her big cage within 2 weeks of her in the small cage. Ever since she was in the new big cage she's started to rubbing her teeth kind of like chewing it but on the bottom on the litter box, and scratching at her litter box? I cleaned the litter box with vinegar and baking soda, I need to cut her nails soon, and I've given her toys to wear her teeth down on but she just keeps doing it! It bugs me because she's 70% of the time doing it. She is a Netherland Dwarf and spends 3 - 4 hours per day outside of her cage.

Any suggestions? Also, when she was in this cage before, she never did this..

Answer 1

You have a small bunny in cage that is an ok size for sleep time, there always could be a bit more space but what you describe is not bad. She is getting out enough so should not be feeling to "caged in". She has toys and presumably hay.

The solution may be to let her out of the cage all the time. See our question How much space does a rabbit need to live comfortably? for some ideas about minimum cage size and our question Can house rabbits have free access to the whole house all the time? for thoughts on doing without a cage entirely.

There are a few solutions for digging at the question My rabbit is digging at the carpet in the corner of the living room, what should I do? in particular the digging box may provide an outlet for her to get digging out of her system while she is out during the day.

I don't see anything that you have done 'wrong' with her, so there is nothing you can fix. House rabbits come from wild ancestors who live in underground warrens. They get the idea that their space needs to be bigger, and they work to change it (digging), and/or other strange bunny ideas. We have a nine year old rabbit who suddenly decides she needs to dig in the litter box. Sometime the behavior will continue for 2 or 4 months,often leading to a litter box nearly emptied in to her bedroom space, then suddenly the behavior stops. Months will pass and then she will start doing it again.