Have you ever observed a rabbit closely and been captivated by its twitching nose after gazing at their beautiful face for a while?
Many beginner pet keepers do not understand the reason for nose wiggling and consider it one of their natural behaviors, but there are a few fascinating reasons for it.
A few pet enthusiasts dive into the deep world of rabbit’s behavior to uncover the hidden mysteries. So, let’s unravel them because you also seem interested to know the reasons.
Rabbits twitch their nose to improve their smelling abilities for better survival, avoid overheating, investigate surroundings, exhibit alertness, and for better breathing. Also, it occurs when they need food and feel stressed, happy, excited, or curious.
Rabbits engage in different physical and behavioral activities, like thumping feet, soil digging, grooming, hopping and leaping, and nose twitching. These behaviors make them look more adorable and capture pet keepers’ attention when they twitch their noses more often than usual.
Their noses commonly wiggle around 25 to 50 times in a minute when relaxed. However, it occurs more frequently in a state of excitement or feeling threatened and reach up to 140 to 150 times.
In this blog article, you will come to know about the mystery behind the twitching noses of rabbits. So, read it thoroughly to get information about nature’s most endearing quirks.
Reason # 1: Improve smelling ability
It helps enhance the sense of smell in rabbits as they can draw in more air and capture many air molecules. Odor molecules can quickly reach their odor receptors in the nasal cavity.
It is an essential organ containing millions of sensory receptors sensitive to scents. Their smelling ability is around 16 times better than humans due to large number of sensory receptors.
The speed of twitching noses determines the efficiency of smelling the surrounding areas. The nasal membrane can pick the faintest odor molecules by moving the nose faster.
So, this behavior improves their ability to interpret smells in their surroundings. It is essential for survival because they mostly rely on their odor receptors and vision for survival.
They can identify their friends and foes by detecting body odors or pheromones. This ability also helps them locate their mates during mating season.
Reason # 2: Better Breathing
It allows rabbits to get more air inside their bodies and fill their lungs with fresh air molecules. Not only do they sniff air molecules like us, but they inhale them to maintain respiration.
This twitching of fur balls on their face helps them breathe better by keeping air flowing through their lungs, as their respiratory system relies on efficient airflow.
Moreover, their nasal passages are narrow to support a continuous flow. So, they have to make an effort to increase airflow by moving nasal muscles.
Similarly, it also helps moisten their dry nasal passages, which are crucial for an optimal functioning of respiratory system. So, they wiggle their noses more often in dry and dusty environments.
Reason # 3: Happiness or excitement
Rapid twitching of the nose indicates that a rabbit is happy or excited about something that can be food, a new house, or a new friend in the house.
My bunny got excited after seeing Ragdoll cat and jiggled its nose quickly. It seemed overwhelmed and happy to find a companion that was a new addition to my family.
The happy rabbits usually hop and jump to show excitement. But, nose movements are the most common indicators of their good mood.
You can get better insights into their emotions and moods by observing their body language, which helps people interact with their pets accordingly.
One of my neighbors has a pet rabbit who told me that his pet got excited and began twitching its nose rapidly when he placed a plastic tunnel in its enclosure.
Reason # 4: Showing alertness
Rabbits have to stay active and show agility in their behavior because these prey animals are prone to attacks by dogs, ferrets, and other wild or domestic animals.
They expand their nasal passageways by jiggling their noses when they detect something unusual around them, such as a new pet inside the house or a new object.
You can even try it by experimenting with your pet bunny by throwing some object near it from a distance. They become motionless momentarily and begin to investigate it by wiggling their noses.
In addition, this functional behavior is also accompanied by an unusual body posture, erect ears, and many other behavioral patterns that are indicators of alertness.
Reason # 5: Avoid overheating
It is more common to see bunnies twitching noses in summer as they do not cool themselves by sweating or panting. The wild species burrow in the soil and hide under the ground.
However, the domestic species find it difficult to find a shady spot if you have put them outdoors without any protection on a hot day. Shift them to a cool place if they are rapidly wiggling their nose.
They move it at a slower rate when sleeping because their mind is relaxed. So, you are more likely to notice the tiny ball of fur moving on their face when they are awake.
So, it means the sleeping rabbits exhibit such behavior to regulate their body temperature. It helps prevent the risk of heat strokes due to overheating when the airflow increases.
Thick fur coats on bodies can cause overheating, so nose twitching cools them. In the same way, this also helps retain the body heat in the cold weather when they are exposed to cold air.
Reason # 6: Investigation purpose
One of the primary reasons for twitching nose by rabbits is the investigation of the surrounding environment. They do so when they get curious about something.
It allows them to gather sensory information from their environment by drawing air inside their nose. Their nasal passageways are equipped with more than 50 million scent receptors.
Additionally, it helps them interact with their surroundings and explore different things around them that are not familiar to them.
They have whiskers on their face that are rubbed against the object’s surface to determine its nature, as their vision is not so good to see them.
Also, the stimulation of millions of receptors enhances their ability to discover the surrounding environment by sniffing the nearby areas and objects to deal with them accordingly.
Reason # 7: Indicator for food
One of my friends has great knowledge about rabbits as he has had a pet bunny for the last 2 years. He has first-hand experience dealing with them and understands the reasons for typical behaviors.
He told me that his pet usually jiggles its nose when hungry and needs food so it can be a sign of their feeding time. It will not do this when its belly has no space for food.
Accordingly, you can relate their fur balls’ up and down movement with hunger and detection of the food smell. It helps them determine the food suitability for consumption before eating.
Reason # 8: Predator stress or fear
It can be a sign of danger or stress if the predator is near them; that could be a snake hidden in the grass or any other ambush predator.
You should check the nearby location to ensure their safety after seeing them wiggling their noses or move them to a safe location indoors.
So, you can see them moving noses rapidly if they are scared of predators or feeling fearful of the unfamiliar humans around them.
Sometimes, they feel frightened by the noise of children playing around them or trying to hold them in their hands. Over-handling is fearful for bunnies, and they twitch noses in discomfort.
Reason # 9: Communication
It can be a mode of communication in rabbits when they move nose to send signals to their mates or other rabbits present around them.
It is a versatile behavior that serves multiple purposes, including the communication of emotions. It helps them interact with humans or pet owners to tell about their state of mind.
Moreover, they can also send their mates signals about their willingness to mate and convey messages to companions by this behavior. They can also establish social bonds with other pet animals.
However, nose twitching sometimes relates to their aggression and is considered a warning signal. It helps threaten their predators or keep them away.
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