Quick Navigation
Does your rabbit bite your clothes, and you think that you have had enough?
This article is for you.
Rabbits can make fascinating pets.
But did you know that they are the third most common animal found in animal shelters after cats and dogs?
Why?
Is it because they have weird habits that some people can’t get used to?
Why do rabbits bite your clothes, for instance?
This may be why people decide a rabbit isn’t the pet they thought it would be.
We’re going to look at this odd habit of your furry friend.
In this article, we will discuss the reasons why rabbits bite your clothes.
9 Reasons Why Rabbits Bite Your Clothes
1. Your Rabbit Is Just Being Their Normal Self
When your rabbit bites at your clothes, it behaves perfectly normally.
It’s a rabbit, after all, and rabbits are natural chewers and diggers.
Remember that your bun’s teeth can grow up to 4 or 5 inches yearly.
They need to gnaw, nibble, chew and bite to trim them down.
While this chewing is natural for rabbits, this behavior can become destructive in captivity.
Ensure your rabbit has exciting chew items to keep it happily occupied.
This won’t only keep your pet occupied, but chewing on fibrous materials is also good for their teeth.
It will stop your rabbit from chewing on your clothes, rugs, and the hems of curtains.
A rabbit’s teeth are growing continually, and this constant chewing is a way to keep them trimmed.
A rabbit will chew on grasses and plants in the wild, but when he’s your pet, your clothes will have to do!
2. Just Bored
One of the reasons a rabbit chews on things such as your clothes is that it is just plain bored.
Rabbits are social.
Your sweet furry friend doesn’t like spending too much time alone.
It’ll chew on your clothes if it doesn’t have anything to keep itself occupied out of its cage.
It could also mean that your rabbit is trying to get your attention.
And if chewing on your clothes is the way to do that, nothing will stop it.
Therefore, buy your rabbit a special grass mat made from edible woven materials.
They’ve been made especially for rabbits that your critter will love sitting on them and chomping away at them.
Chewing is, after all, one of the rabbits’ favorite activities.
The mats are affordable enough to replace them when they’re in tatters.
It will keep your rabbit’s attention away from your clothes.
See also: How To Tell If Your Rabbit Doesn’t Like You
3. They Just Want To Play
If you’ve just brought your pet rabbit home, your first play session might set the tone for future playtimes.
Playfully or trying to get your attention, your rabbit will nibble at the hems of your jeans.
It will also pull at your shoelaces or even start nibbling away at the rug you’re sitting on.
When you clap your hands or wave him away to stop him, it’s the encouragement he needs to continue.
He may even leap into the air with delight.
Then he returns to start his good-natured biting away at your clothes again.
4. Your Rabbit Is Arrogant
Some of a rabbit’s biting has to do with their age.
Like human teenagers trying to assert independence, so do young adolescent rabbits.
They like to assert themselves and might even become a bit aggressive.
You could easily annoy them, too, by giving them unwanted cuddles and kisses.
So if you try to become affectionate with your rabbit and it bites your clothes in response, it only means that your rabbit wants to get off you.
And if you keep your rabbit inside its cage for too long, it could become so frustrated that when you want to get ahold of it, it will bite your clothes.
Once your rabbit is spayed or neutered, it calms down considerably.
They have nothing really to prove, and the aggressive form of biting will come to an end.
Spaying and neutering a rabbit is usually done when your rabbit is 3, 4, or 5 months old.
This is when they reach sexual maturity.
There are benefits to spaying or neutering a rabbit.
One is that it can ensure a longer, healthier life.
A ‘fixed’ rabbit calms down and becomes much easier to manage.
5. Your Rabbit Is Hormonal
You’ll notice significant changes in your pet rabbit when it gets to 3 months of age.
It becomes hormonal as it grows into early adolescence.
At this early age, your rabbit is mature already.
Don’t be surprised if your rabbit is highly temperamental at this stage.
You may get an impatient bite from him, a kick, and a squirt of urine, too — he is warning you to stay away.
Female rabbits, too, aren’t particularly friendly at this age.
They become territorial with their cage, growling at their owners.
As suggested, neutering and spaying can change this behavior.
6. Your Rabbit Loves You
If you get a pet, it is your responsibility to take proper care of it.
If you take good care of your furry little mammal, it’ll be delighted to see you.
Your rabbit may even love you in its weird rabbity way.
A dog will wag its tail when happy, and a cat purr with contentment.
A rabbit also has its own unique body language.
Your pet rabbit uses it to tell you that it is content and loves being around you.
It will gently bite you or your clothes and nuzzle against you, basking in your love and care.
7. Looking For Attention
Rabbits have their own body language unique to their species.
They thrive on lots of attention.
If nibbling on your clothes is a way to get your attention, then it will not stop.
If you have just one rabbit, you will have to fulfill the social needs of your long-eared friend.
When you let it out of the cage, your rabbit will want your undivided attention.
It even expects you to provide it with social interaction and entertainment.
8. He’s Frightened
A rabbit that is frightened and surrounded by unnatural smells is out of sorts.
The strangeness is fearful, and it bites your clothes for comfort.
Most rabbits are offended by strong smells.
It won’t come near if your clothes have strong, unfamiliar smells or you’re wearing a new perfume or deodorant.
If your rabbit senses strangeness or danger, it may scratch, dig and bite.
This is because they feel fearful and irritated.
Out of fear, your rabbit might also dig its way into your pile of clothes to shelter itself from harm.
And while in it, they find comfort in chewing on your clothes too.
9. A Grooming Ritual
Your rabbit may have entered its shedding season, and you’ll notice fur flying around.
You’ll see tufts of loose fur between your rabbit’s coat, making him look raggedy.
You can try brushing your rabbit’s fur if it will allow you.
Nuzzling up to you as a loving gesture might include a nip or two at your clothing.
Nibbling away at your clothing is also how your rabbit is grooming you.
Rabbits spend a good part of their time grooming each other.
Your pet rabbit wants to involve you in its grooming ritual as well.
Gentle nipping is part of the grooming ritual.
Final Words
Rabbits have their own body language unique to their species.
These furry mammals, with their long ears and sweet little bobtails, have unique personalities too.
As a pet rabbit owner, getting to know a rabbit’s quirky moods and tendencies will pay off.
A misunderstood rabbit is often seen as a pest.
It’s why animal rescue centers have a high intake of rabbits.
But knowing how to read your pet’s behavior can help establish a mutual understanding.
If your pet rabbit bites and nibbles at your clothes, it doesn’t mean that it is a rogue rabbit.
Instead, you should see it as a pet with weird characteristics.
It’s this very quirkiness that makes a rabbit so lovable.
A passionate content creator on pet behavior, nutrition choices, and health, Mike is an experienced pet expert. He has been writing on multiple websites to compensate for his passion for cats. Mike grieves around plenty of pets in his parents’ house. At the start of his career, he had a sturdy intention to be a part of pet care by any means.
With his affiliation to Purrfect n’ Pawesome, he found a way to satiate his craving to participate in pet health, wellness, and behavior analysis. He has been a significant part of our team and a major contributor in equipping our site with useful, authentic, and research-backed articles.
“I love pets as much as I love to travel to explore multiple places and lifestyles. I have been attached to this pawsome platform for many years, and my experience regarding pets has enhanced significantly by using various devices to write articles. I believe in writing my thoughts and experiences, so I try to write down the experience and learnings for my readers no matter where I am and what my mood is.”
