Licking is an instinctual behavior in rabbits. Often, rabbits will lick people or objects to assert dominance or show affection. The scent of people on items like blankets, pillows, and sofas can make your rabbit want to lick these objects. Rabbits are drawn to specific textures, such as leather, carpet, or velvet, they use their mouths to explore their world around, employing their whiskers, teeth, and tongues to investigate various tastes and textures. Some rabbits enjoy exploring with their mouths so much that they lick everything they encounter. Usually, this is perfectly normal, but it’s important to monitor for excessive licking and grooming behaviors, which may indicate boredom or anxiety.
Is it normal for rabbits to lick a lot?
Like digging and chewing, licking is an instinctual behavior for rabbits, though some are more inclined to lick than others. This behavior helps them interact with their environment. Rabbits enjoy licking all kinds of objects, including people. You may notice that your rabbit prefers certain objects over others. For instance, some rabbits spend a lot of time licking the carpet, while others favor a specific spot on the couch. Some rabbits only lick people or their clothing, while others lick everything except people. This behavior depends on your bunny’s personality. All of these behaviors are normal for rabbits. Concern arises only if your rabbit causes bald spots on themselves or their bonded partner by over-grooming, or if your rabbit licks everything due to anxiety or boredom.
Is licking dangerous to rabbits?
This behavior is not only normal but also poses minimal risk. Rabbit chewing and digging can damage carpets, baseboards, and furniture, but licking typically only creates temporary wet spots. The only danger is if your rabbit licks something with a harmful chemical residue, like a freshly mopped floor. To avoid this, use pet-safe cleaners or keep your rabbit away from cleaned areas for a few hours. Some theories suggest that rabbits licking pillows for salt from human sweat might be salt deficient. However, there is little research on the salt requirements of rabbits, and no evidence that domestic rabbits with healthy diets suffer from salt deficiency. If your rabbit licks your pillow for salt, they might enjoy the flavor, but it’s unlikely to indicate a health concern.
Claiming territory:
Similar to chinning, licking helps rabbits claim territory. This often happens when rabbits give a few licks to various objects in an area. You might see this behavior in new places or around new objects. Licking spreads the rabbit’s scent, marking ownership of the area.
Grooming behaviors and licking:
Rabbits use their tongues to groom themselves and others. They are very clean animals, spending a lot of time self-grooming to keep their coats shiny. Bonded rabbits will even groom each other, a common behavior signaling friendship.
Grooming between rabbits:
Grooming shows affection between rabbits, indicating they care about each other’s cleanliness. Typically, a dominant rabbit receives more grooming than a subordinate one. A few licks from the dominant rabbit to the subordinate are rare and significant, depending on their relationship. After a small fight, a lick on the forehead signals the end of the dispute, as rabbits wouldn’t groom each other if they were still angry.
Self-grooming behaviors:
Rabbits, being clean animals, frequently lick themselves. Spending a lot of time with your rabbit, you’ll notice long self-grooming sessions several times a day. This is normal and rarely a cause for concern. Grooming becomes worrisome only if your rabbit creates bald spots on themselves or their bonded partner due to over-grooming, which may stem from stress, anxiety, or boredom.
Why does your rabbit lick you?
Rabbits lick people for the same reasons they lick other rabbits: to groom you. This behavior shows affection and indicates they care about your cleanliness. Rabbits often lick faces and foreheads, mimicking bonded pairs. They might also lick your clothing, which smells like you, to show affection. Occasionally, you might get nipped if they mistake a seam for matted fur. Sometimes, rabbits lick you or your hand because they like the taste, possibly from treat residue.
Why do rabbits lick pillows, floors, sofas, and other objects?
Caretakers often worry when rabbits obsessively lick objects, spending a lot of time licking items like pillows, sofas, blankets, and carpets. While not common among all rabbits, this behavior isn’t unusual or concerning. The exact reasons are unclear, similar to why some rabbits chew everything. It’s natural rabbit behavior and harmless. Some reasons for this include liking the texture or the scent of you or other household members on the objects.
When is licking caused by boredom or anxiety?
Excessive licking can stem from boredom or anxiety, often seen in obsessive self-grooming leading to bald patches. Rabbits may also lick objects to comfort anxiety or alleviate boredom. You can differentiate between fun activity licking and anxiety or boredom licking by observing their body language. Happy rabbits, displaying behaviors like binkying and zooming, are not a concern. However, if they show signs of fear or frustration, investigate the root cause. Confident rabbits will have relaxed postures and explore without hesitation. Happy rabbits enjoy tossing and chewing toys, digging into cardboard or mats, and exploring with tunnels or platforms.