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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

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Forum BEHAVIOR My rabbit keeps biting me and other people and drawing blood!

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    • Leo
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        Hello
        My one year old male Angora Lion Headed Lop has become very moody. Sometimes for no reason he will bite me (or for something so small as I am in his way on the floor) but he is leaving me bruised and is drawing blood! One time a big bite on my arm and scab and this morning he bit my face for no reason and my nose was bleeding. My friend (who he used to live with) was bitten twice on the hand last night, drawing blood when patting him! He bites me on the face! One minute I can be cuddling him the next a bite in the face and I’m left with scabs! I actually flinch now when he moves quickly. It’s horrible. He has been castrated four months ago so I do not understand. He was taken by a dog a few months back so I am not sure if this has effected him with this (he is pretty much back to normal and I did a separate post on that) but really, this behaviour has been building up for a while now. He did used to growl and lunge at other people but never at me! I used to get all the kisses! He is like an old moody parrot! Any thoughts as to why this could be and how to stop it? I yell out (with shock and pain!) and try grabbing his head and pushing his face down towards the ground, saying no. I have resorted to biting him back (not hard obviously just so he gets the idea) but he doesn’t even notice and I’m left with a mouthful of fur! I would never hurt him but I’m desperate now! He was moved recently and now instead of having the run of an apartment is confined to a small bedroom but he is uncaged and is let out of the room when I know he is safe to roam the rest of the house (he seems to prefer the bedroom anyhow).

        Has this happened to anyone else and how did you stop it?

        Thanks!

        Sharon and Leo (Mr Nippy)


      • Sarita
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          Yes – is your rabbit free roam? Is he neutered. These rabbits are usually very intelligent and they need alot of space. They prefer to be appreciated from afar too.

          I know your guy was attacked by a dog so this is really more fear aggression than anything. Sometimes just reassuring them that they are safe is a good idea.


        • ms17katusha
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            I don’t know how much this will help, but my rabbit used to lunge at me and bite me as well, even after being neutered. I read much about it, and from what I read, I started trying to be more respectful to his personal space and how I pet him. I stopped trying to pet him in his cage and in the areas where he sleeps, and I also started putting my hand out on the ground a few inches away from him before trying to pet him. Whenever he is okay with me petting him, he shows it by stretching his head a bit forward. It might be helpful for you to read this great website on bunny language: http://language.rabbitspeak.com/ 

            When I read it, and actually tried to communicate with Chuckles in his own language, he stopped biting and lunging! 

            I honestly hopes it gets better for you!


          • Leo
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              Thank you for responding to my post! It’s a little difficult at the moment because we are living in temporary circumstances where we unfortunately have to share the same space. The other problem is that sometimes he is absolutely fine and at other times cranky and crazy! He is never cranky in the mornings. He will jump on my bed (where he is not allowed) when I’m on it and bite me and try to move me and push me off and toss my things on the bed off onto the floor. He is very, very bossy! It is quite humorous (until I started getting attacked and started bleeding and feeling abused and started flinching!) I had a quick look at the website you suggested and will continue reading it – thank you! It makes me very sad when he is like this and I feel like I am failing him somehow 🙁 He is free to roam (he is never in his cage) but because I am currently living at a property where there are some outside dogs he doesn’t come out of his room so much as he realises there are other people/animals in and around the house so doesn’t feel so secure like before. He was neutered about four months ago or more. He loves attention and cuddles. If it is fear aggression then when he ‘attacks’ I will try reassuring him instead (and hopefully don’t lose an eye). 🙂


            • ms17katusha
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                Yeah, I hope he starts being less mean to you! Chuckles was never really cuddly, and still isn’t, so I think you are lucky that he is quite cuddly at least sometimes!


              • Tessie
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                  Have you thought about taking him to the vet to check he’s not unwell? If they’re ill it can change their temperament.

                  I suggest you continue to make a squeak when he nips, and gently move him away.
                  I don’t suggest you bite him at all, I doubt that will make any difference.

                  Is there something you’re doing that he doesn’t like, does he do it when you try and pick him up perhaps?


                • Gracie
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                    I have a biter too, Sharon. He’s reformed now, but for a while my arms were always bloody and bruised. (I don’t know how many people asked me if I was being abused by my boyfriend.) I’m sure it’s really hard since your little guy just started being like this, but try not to feel like you’re failing him. You’re not. Something’s stressed him and he may be upset for a while but with a little time and care he’ll start feeling better.

                    I agree with Tessie that you should take him to the vet, especially, since this aggression has come on suddenly and he was thrown around by the dogs (my heart stopped beating when I read that post. I’m so glad he’s okay).

                    In addition to Katusha’s great advice (which I also used with my biter). This video helped me out, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1abIFF_fgpY . It’s advise from Mary Cotter who’s a rabbit rescue titan. One of the things she talks about is how rabbits see, which is a major cause of aggression. Because rabbits have no visual depth perception they rely on hearing and smell to tell how close something is and whether or not it’s a danger. Your bun might not even realize it’s you that he’s bitten until after the fact. He might be more prone to biting you if you’ve just showered/washed your hands and don’t smell like his big bunny is supposed to. Or you have friends over and he’s not sure they’re safe. Or he can hear the dogs barking. There’s lots of things that he might be worrying about that contribute to him being jumpy. I would particularly try to avoid the dogs and anything that smells like them. Bringing that smell into the room will almost certainly contribute to him not feeling safe. My biter was hurt by another rabbit (bad bonding), even months later he’d find her smell somewhere in the house and go into berserker mode.


                  • Leo
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                      I am taking all of this on board thank you 🙂 and am going to note what it is that I am possibly doing to get this reaction from him each time and if it keeps up I will take him to the vet in case he still has an injury. I will try not to react and I will make a noise and say no to him but not touch him at all. He is moody with it so it isn’t consistent! I think he is also possibly being more territorial because his space is smaller? And obviously the move and the dogs/incident hasn’t helped. Too many factors to consider! I watched the video thanks but he is actually a very affectionate rabbit usually! I can pick him up, pat him, he can’t get enough of head rubs. He will jump up on the bed with me, I can cuddle him with both arms around him like a baby and he will kiss me back and grind his little teeth! He just sometimes has these upsetting violent outbursts and seeing people he knows remove their arms from him dripping with blood is very shocking from such a sweet little guy so it’s very concerning. He’s so gentle and cute normally it’s unbelievable he has this ‘other side’.


                    • Tessie
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                        What video?

                        You say he’s normally very affectionate but has episodes of aggression, which makes me think you must be doing something to upset him. (No offence, bunnies are sensitive )

                        So does he do it when you pick him up? Or clean his cage perhaps?


                      • Leo
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                          There is a link to a video on Major BullMoose’s post 🙂

                          Okay, I have been much more cautious since posting but am still covered in scabs ha! He seems to do it when I approach ‘his territory’ (perhaps I have moved a bit fast and he didn’t realise it was me some of the time) which could actually be anything that he decides is his at the moment – including places he isn’t supposed to be like when I am trying to shoo him off the bed in the spare room where he is never allowed! Unfortunately due to circumstances, he is sharing the same space as me! He does not respect my space either. AT ALL. In fact he tries to claim that too and pushes me away and throws my things around and off where I am sitting, chewing them, digging… And if I close the door (to keep him safe) when he wants it open I come back to a trashed room! The worst example of his nips being one night when I came home and I got down on the floor to say hello to him without my arms out and he came up to me and just bit me on the face, making my lip bleed. He also can be ‘nippy’ when he is laying next to me and I stop stroking him! So basically he is just a grouchy little beast who seems to communicate by nipping me hard enough to make my face bleed and scab! I just need to find a nice way to let him know that this is unacceptable (he doesn’t always do this he is just moody and he does know to push his head into my hand if he wants more strokes!) And yes, there have been one time when I have picked him up knowing he wasn’t in the mood and yes, I was punished for that (now I have two scabs on my mouth) but that is very rare and sometimes he does need to be picked up for safety reasons! He is actually very comical for such a cute innocent looking little guy but the vicious biting is not acceptable! A friend joked the other day about all the sores on my face asking me if I was sick!


                        • Sarita
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                          18851 posts Send Private Message

                            Don’t you know all the space is the bunny’s space :~)


                          • Clarajb
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                              Did the nipping begin before you moved to your temporary space? Watching my two bunnies together as I bond them- the dominant one does not respect the submissive one’s space at all- he will chase her away from spaces to claim them as his own. Your rabbit could be establishing himself as top rabbit with you, particularly if you’re sharing the same sleeping/ living quarters.
                              Giving him extra things to do, explore could help with distraction at least. Open boxes, tunnels, etc although I’m sure he is doing plenty of exploring in your room 🙂
                              Also even if there isn’t a dog in the room- he could be smelling the dogs and hearing them bark, and that could be triggering the ‘flight or fight’ response and perhaps making him even more territorial.
                              You could try positive reinforcement- giving him a treat when he is sitting quietly or has let you pet him without biting.


                            • BunnyBrigade
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                                Give him some more time. It took roughly six months before my reformed biter stopped his nipping. He’ll nip every once and a while now and it’s not hard. He’ll just gently lay his teeth on me to show his displeasure.

                                I do have to ask, when you came home did you announce yourself? It’s really hard to notice when a bun is sleeping and we can take them by surprise when we stick our hands or face in front of them. Some buns will attack if they are startled. I have a REW and his sight is not as great as my other buns so I take extra care to let him know I’m there. If not he’ll get defensive and want to lunge/growl. Have you, also, done the squealing technique when he bites? If that doesn’t work, right after he bites quickly turn around and give him “the bunny butt”. It’ll let him know that you do not like his behavior at all. After sitting with your back to him for a few seconds look over your shoulder at him to let him know that you will figure him if he is nice. Normally this will prompt a bun to come up and bonk you in an apology or they may just hop away a little miffed that you got mad. But it is another way to get the point across.

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                            Forum BEHAVIOR My rabbit keeps biting me and other people and drawing blood!