Sometimes people who have adopted a rabbit ask themselves: Why does my rabbit lick itself? There are several answers to this Question:
Rabbits do not usually communicate through sounds, although they are capable of emitting a limited range of them. The fact that they are animals on which there is a strong predation in Nature, has made them eminently silent animals.
Rabbits are gregarious, social animals and need to communicate with each other. They do this through a series of predetermined gestures with specific meanings that it will be convenient to learn. On our site we will point out the meanings of some typical rabbit gestures, and tell you why your rabbit licks itself.
Hygiene
Just like cats, rabbits lick to groom themselves and keep their fur clean. If there is more than one rabbit in the house, one licks the other for the same hygienic reason, but also to show friendship to their partner or companion.
Therefore, an action that the rabbit will appreciate is that you brush it regularly, which the rabbit will interpret as a sign of friendship towards it.
Trichobezoars
The fact that rabbits lick their coats to keep them clean means that they can suffer from the hateful trichobezoars (hairballs that lodge in the rabbit's stomach).
Frequent intake of hay makes it easy for the rabbit to evacuate the blissful furry balls from its intestinal tract. Hay is very beneficial as it provides the rabbit with a large volume of fiber. The fresh hay, or feed where hay is its main food base, are essential foods for rabbits. Find out more about them in recommended fruits and vegetables for rabbits.
The action of frequently brushing our rabbits will prevent the possibility of trichobezoars forming in their body.
The rabbit insistently licks itself at a specific point
If the rabbit frequently licks a specific spot on its body, it may not be a cleaning gesture. It could be that there is a wound in that area It could be the cause of a bruise, or the bite of some parasite We must check the licked area without delay to discover the cause of the repetitive gesture and take the necessary measures. If we have doubts, the ideal would be to go to the veterinarian who will help us effectively.
Rabbits lick our arms or hands
Sometimes rabbits lick our hands or arms. As rabbits lick each other as a social form of coexistence, the fact that they lick our arm or hand while we caress them means a high degree of acceptance by the rabbit.
This gesture could be translated as: " I appreciate you too, that's why I clean you". A formal declaration of friendship from the rabbit.
The rabbit puts its head between our fingers
The action of the rabbits when they put their head between ours means that they want to be caressed Although the verb to want may not be the most appropriate to define the idea of the rabbit when it sticks its head between our fingers. Perhaps if we said that the rabbit demands that we caress it, the definition would be more exact.
For this reason it is advisable to caress him without delay, since if he feels ignored he may take it as a hostile rejection and bite us spitefully.
