Thumping

[Amys Animals]

I know thumping feet means “get away from me” but can it have a double meaning?  Valentine thumps her feet at Rascal but then cuddles with him. Is she demanding him to love on her?  (He doesn’t groom her or anything just cuddles =/ ) I was just curious because I thought it was strange for her to thump her feet then cuddle.  Her thumping always startles me.  She has such big feet…It’s LOUD!  lol

[Monkeybun]

It doesnt necessarily mean “Get away from me”, its a warning :p Smudge always warns me if her dinner is late, if theres a bug in her pen, if monkey is in her spot, if the sun is too bright… yeah. She thumps at everything

[LoveChaCha]

Bunnies are funny. My Chacha bun’s favorite hobby is thumping at me. I am too slow with veggie delivery, she does not like when I lay in certain places because to her it means “You are in my way slave, and I want you to move. I will not hop to the other side of you.”

Thumps are also a warning. Bunnies can hear things very far away that we humans cannot hear! Amazing, those big ears are great.

[Sarita]

I’m sure that thumping can have different meanings since rabbits are basically silent animals. I think it’s usually used as a warning but it may be that she is just excited and that is her way of expressing herself or it could be that she has a bit of anxiety. We probably aren’t as attuned to the subtleties of their thumping either and for us it’s just a thump.

[Michelle&Lolli]

Just wanted to add that my Eddie used to race around, thumping when he was super excited about something. It was usually about treats. Most specifically, bananas. He wouldn’t always do this whenever I ate a banana, but if it had been a while since I bought them, he’d get all excited. But he’d also thump for other reasons – angry with me, scared, excited, danger warning, etc. Lolli thumps rarely – only if she’s REALLY angry or adamant that I don’t mess with her. lol

Most bunny related articles about their thumping list it as a warning. It *is* usually done as a danger signal, but like Sarita, I think it’s used as a communication method.

[Amys Animals]

That’s interesting. Thanks guys!

[LittlePuffyTail]

My bunnies usually only thump when they hear strange noises. Olivia hates weird noises, she stomps if her people are eating something crunchy and at the woodpecker outside.

[pippakins]

That’s so funny that she thumps and cuddles. My first two buns Ben and Misty did something like that. Ben (the top bun) would thump to get Misty’s attention (being the docile bun) if she was ignoring him.
Pippa usually seems to use to it say ‘I’m freaked out, what’s going on here?!’, that she’s really angry or if I’m taking too long getting treats. And if there is something new going on. I was cleaning the other day (just dusting the walls) and she was running around thumping and hiding in her cage. But I’d definatle say its another way they communicate without words. It works doesn’t it?

[Kels]

I don’t need an alarm clock anymore because if I don’t feed Chester on time, he thumps until I wake up and feed him. I have not been late for work in so long!! Though I gotta admit, he has no concept of sleeping in on Sundays. He thumps at the same time every day, without fail!

[peppypoo]

I think thumping can definitely have multiple meanings. Peppy has a bad habbit of chewing the underside of my futon, so I try to shoo her away whenever I catch her doing it. Now, she thumps every time before she begins to chew, probably in anticipation of the big mean human coming over to bother her. On the plus side, it’s a good warning so I know when she’s about to begin, lol.

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