Very Grumpy Bunny

[EmilyB]

I adopted Roger about two weeks ago. He was brought into the animal shelter where I work as a stray and he quickly captured my heart. I was completely against rabbits as pets until I had to care for him everyday and then I fell in love! I made sure he had lots of toys and yummy greens and I read a ton of information about rabbits. About a week after he came in he started spraying me so I had him neutered and a few days later I adopted him. Since I brought him home he has been loose in my bathroom and seemed really happy. I let him have free reign of the house for about an hour every evening so he can get plenty of exercise. I thought the only thing missing from his life was another rabbit so I began researching how to bond rabbits. I rescued a second rabbit off Craigslist 3 days ago and now things are out of control. I introduced the two in my spare bedroom which neither had been in before. At first it seemed to be going well. They sniffed each other then took turns hopping around after each other. They got in a little scuffle (lasted about 5 seconds) but quickly went their separate ways. I opened the door and Roger hopped back into his room and I returned the new rabbit to his cage. Later that night when I let Roger out for playtime he saw the other rabbit in it’s kennel in the kitchen, I went over to get his attention away from the new bunny and when I put my hand in front of him to sniff he bit me. He has nipped me several times in the past but never with any force and never enough to break the skin. This bite was so bad it took me 30 minutes to get it to stop bleeding. I wasn’t sure what I did wrong, but I was pretty sure it was due to the new bun and it was probably my fault for not understanding what he was trying to tell me. The next day (last night) when I let him out for playtime I closed off the kitchen (where the new bun’s cage is) and just let him run around in the living room, hallway, and bathroom. I went to give him some toys and he immediately changed. He smacked the toys out of my hands with his front feet, charged me, and then bit my leg. It’s not quite as bad as the bite on my hand but it did draw blood.

 

I’m not quite sure what to do. While I feel the first bite was my fault I’m not sure what I did to provoke the second bite. I’ve read that sometimes neutering can cause bunnies hormones to go nuts, could this be what is making Roger so crazy? Or could it be that he is feeling territorial about the new bun in the house? I’m hoping to eventually get them to be friends so that they can both have free reign in my spare bedroom, but I understand this may never be possible. The most important thing is that they are both happy. The new bun is an unneutered 6-7 month old male. I have an appointment to get him neutered in two weeks so maybe that will help as well. Please let me know your thoughts. Thank you!!

[Sarita]

It’s a bit of both really – I would not start bonding either of them until both are neutered and give the new rabbit about a month at least to calm down – obviously spays and neuters can whack any animal out as it is a very extreme change in their body and hormones can make us weird :~)

Bonding can also take awhile so be prepared to be patient and we have many members who have lots of bonding experience so you can post about bonding them (or anything else) and our members would be happy to help.

[tanlover14]

Hey there —

Bonding buns can be VERY stressful for both the human and the bunny. He may simply have smelled the other bunny on you and thats what is causing his aggression. DO NOT continue bonding until the new bunny is neutered. Way too much aggression and hormones. It can cause a fight that can make it EXTREMELY hard to bond in the future. I would suggest doing little things like flip-flopping their litters into each others houses – putting a towel for them both to lay on in the others area and flip-flopping them also. When bonding my fourth bunny to my bonded trio, one of the buns in my trio went nuts. On everyone. He was biting at me, at the bunnies he was bonded to, and the new bunny. But they are now happily bonded. Grooms, snuggles, the whole works. The towel trick should help a lot as if he’s feeling that aggressive towards the other bunny that he’s biting you – then he will take his aggression out on the towel rather than you or the new bunny. Getting some of that aggression out on an inanimate object can help bonding a lot.

Also, you said you introduced them in the spare bedroom. Did you have a portion kind of blocked off into a small space or did they have free-roam of the whole room? Start off bonding dates in a small sized area.

[jerseygirl]

Have an intact male around could certainly setting off aggression in Roger, especially since he’s only recently neutered himself.

I agree, hold off bonding work until new one is neutered and at least a month has passed. Their smell can completely change and rabbits use their sense of smell a lot in recognizing another & even us.

Be careful about placing your hand directly in front of them. It’s a blind spot and many will react by pouncing or biting.

Also a good idea to wear gloves during bonding to prevent yourself getting bitten. Rabbit bites hurt!

[EmilyB]

Thanks for the information! I will definitely wait until both have been neutered for a month before I try to introduce them again.

 

They had free reign of the spare bedroom they were in, but it is a very small bedroom. I will definitely try a smaller space when I am ready to intro them again. Do you think I should move Roger into a cage while he is adjusting to having having the scent of a new bun in the house?

[Sarita]

I don’t think it’s necessary to do that as long as they aren’t able to get into a confrontation.

[EmilyB]

Ok thank you!

[Perfectpongo]

My bunny Pongo was a well behaved free range bunny. We recently moved back home where he stays in his cage a lot more and although I let him out as much as possible, He is developing quite a bad attitude. Any advice on how to cheer him up? Also, any ways to keep a bunny in a designated area without fencing? I.e- peppermint oil??

[LittlePuffyTail]

Hi and Welcome to BinkyBunny. We ask that members please not respond to old threads (this one is from 2013) because it can cause confusion. You will also get more attention and responses if you start your own thread. Thanks

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