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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum BEHAVIOR Suddenly aggressive?!

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    • bunnygirl
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        Apollo was neutered before his hormones had chance to kick in, I don’t remember the exact age, I just remember it was the minimum age a male bunny could be neutered at. He was very sweet from then on….then he hit 1 year of age. Now, any hand that enters his cage gets lunged at, and bitten. The bite isn’t hard enough to draw blood, but you can definitely feel his teeth. I’ve tried everything, from moving slowly towards him – to putting my head in and rubbing noses with him – (as crazy as that sounds!) to trying to be confident and dominant. Nothing’s working! It’s horrible, having such a cute little bunny that’s a monster to pet! 

        Of course, I’m not going to get rid of him – he’s well loved by everyone in the family, but surely there has to be some solution!

        Is this just a phase? 

        Thanks everyone!


      • LBJ10
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          Sounds like he is becoming cage aggressive. Solution: Don’t stick your hand in his cage while he’s in there. LOL
          Seriously though, this isn’t all that unusual.


        • Zombie-Sue
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            Right, let him out to hop around first when you need to clean his cage. If you have to reach in to get him out, get the garden gloves on… lol


          • Deleted User
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              Hey bunnygirl – My boy Henry is very possessive of ‘his’ stuff (or what he believes is his??? Lol!), and his house is one of them. We wait for him to have his morning ‘nap’ under our bed before we even consider cleaning out his cage. He’s caught us a few times, and boy… he’s not happy! The only time he finds my hand acceptable in his space – if there’s a yummy treat in it! Cheers bunnygirl.


            • bunnygirl
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                Okay, thanks guys! I guess he’s just a little brat, hehe!


              • Hazel
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                  I have the same problem with Oscar, although he has always been that way to a certain extent. I do feel like he has actually gotten a bit worse after he got neutered though. Might be his lovey dovey feelings were overriding his natural brattiness until after the neuter

                  He will grunt at anyone reaching into his cage, even as I’m feeding him he will voice his displeasure, often he will lunge and nip. I have tried to wait until he’s out of the cage to do whatever I have to do in there, but whenever he hears me messing with his stuff he will actually come running back and jump into the cage to chase me off.

                  What a couple of brats, Apollo and him would probably be best friends. 


                • tanlover14
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                    Do you have the option of trying an x-pen for him? Simba is a VERY cage aggressive bunny (which is why the shelter was going to euthanize him). If you put him in a small cage, he very quickly digresses into becoming extremely cage aggressive. He is perfectly fine in an x-pen though and shows absolutely no aggression of you entering his area now that he’s in there.

                    If not, as the others say, this is extremely normal and you simply have to learn to live around it. It’s simply THEIR house and you’re intruding on their personal space. Kind of how teens don’t want their parents searching through their room – your bun bun doesn’t want it either!


                  • Bam
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                      My bunny Yohio can growl at me if I intrude on him in his home (under the bed). He used to box me, even. He’s stopped doing that but at times, there is some growling.

                      The comparison Tanlover makes to a human teenager is great! In other places than under the bed, Yohio’s perfectly friendly – ie when he nips me it’s for attention (food or cuddles) and that’s not hostile, just rabbit-speak.


                    • bunnygirl
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                        Hazel, I think they would be best buddies – Oscar and Apollo sound like twins that were separated at birth!

                        Tanlover – Apollo is in a 2 by 3 by 3 condo, all to himself. While I would love to try an xpen, when upgrading Apollo from his petstore cage, my parents ruled out an Xpen. They preferred something that was similar to a cage if he was to live in the house. I think the condo was a pretty good decision though, it’s a lot bigger than his petstore cage – the bottom floor alone is larger! He did have these habits in his petstore cage – they died down a little when he got the upgrade.

                        Bam – Sounds like Apollo and Yohio were meant to be aswell!


                      • Peony
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                          How does the hands approach inside the cage? Do you keep in mind to do it slowly and a place for him to see? (Meaning do not approach his head but the side, they have a blind spot in front of them)

                          Is there a way for you to take care of his cage when he is not looking? (like cleaning the top floor when he is on the bottom.) My two floor hutch even has a horizontal hinged door (closes up and down like a trap door in a floor) on it so I can stop my bunny from moving floors if it was ever needed.

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                      Forum BEHAVIOR Suddenly aggressive?!