Is it possible for a bunny to be autistic?

[Chrystie]

Our 5th and last addition to our bunny brood, Arthur, is a bit odd and always has been. He’s a 1 year old neutered Holland Lop that we have had since mid December. He was not neutered when we gor him. We got him from a 4-H breeder who has an autistic son. He is also a younger sibling of our Moose and Nutmeg….same parents different litter. Arthur is very people oriented and has been from the start. He will snuggle for hours and sit on laps. At first he was a little territorial and we all got bit a lot.l I l We kept him separate until after Luna was recovered from her spay in April this year. We decided to bond him with Adagio and Luna as they both have very accepting and mellow personalities. Adagio (neutered male)bonded easily with Luna (spayed female) and did not even display any aggressive or dominant behavior towards Luna and even is submissive around Moose and Nutmeg.  Luna is afraid of both Moose and Nutmeg and she just runs and hides….she is a very little Holland Lop…..not quite 2 lbs. M & N are a bonded pair housed separately. They tolerate Adagio most of the time but M does chase Adagio sometimes but no real fights or scuffles. However N tries to murder Luna at every opportunity she is given. Nutmeg is the resident alpha and everyone goes along with that and adheres to the bunny hierarchy, pecking order and rules.. ….except Arthur….we managed to bond Adagio, Luna and Arthur for approximately 2 weeks then overnight, it ALL went seriously south. Seriously south. So south that my poor gentle Adagio had to get part of his ear amputated last week due to the extent of the damage Arthur has done.

As I said, Arthur has always been a bit odd.. .kinda clueless….he definitely didn’t know how to bunny. The breeder said that she had to keep him separated from the other bunnies as he didn’t seem to like them and only wanted to be around people. He seems to be in his own little world much of the time and doesn’t adhere to any of the established rules of our Warren. He isn’t aggressive or trying to be alpha….he gets along with only Luna but Adagio doesn’t like that so Luna need a wide berth.  He didn’t understand that he needed to groom in return. We don’t know what caused the issue between A & A but it was sudden and very violent. I think Arthur wants to be in with Adagio and Luna. He sits and stares and has even made incredible jumps to get back into Adagio and Luna’s area…..only to get into a big fight with Adagio…..at this point….both are the aggressors…even when Adagio walks away from the fight Arthur will continue to chase Adagio……but the next time he sees Adagio he will act like nothing happened and right now Adagio is very very angry and doesn’t want anything to do with Arthur.

I have experience with autistic children and Arthur serious seems autistic to me. Is that even possible in bunnies? It would be good to know as it may change our bonding strategy.

Thanks

Chrystie

 

[Mikey]

According to my vet, autistic rabbits tend to be very very friendly. They rarely want to fight, are perfectly fine being submissive, and often just want to snuggle and play, then nap. They can be clueless to their surroundings, but they often wont push the rules so they dont get in trouble (or get hurt if the alpha is easily angered). That said, there is no cookie cutter version of autism in animals, like there isnt in people either. I would consider talking to your rabbit vet about it if you feel knowing would help you out with bonding and training

From what you wrote though, it sounds like he wants to be near Luna and may have gotten jealous that Adagio was with her. Its not uncommon for rabbits, even neutered/spayed rabbits, to get upset if their favorite friend is with another rabbit/not showing them attention they want. For example, i have a bonded trio. Bombur really loves Blue and likes Badger. If Blue spends too much time around Badger and not Bombur, Bombur will lash out by nipping Badger and/or Blue. It doesnt cause a fight any more, since the rabbits learned to understand one another, but it used to cause minor scuffles before the three were cemented in their trio bond. Our little Badger is likely on the autism spectrum according to our vet, which makes sense because hes the most submissive of our three, and is super friendly to anyone (even animals) that he meets

[Chrystie]

Based on personality, I think it was Adagio that got jealous and started the problem…..Luna is his…….and I think Arthur was just clueless to the social bunny clues that he should behave a certain way…..he was not socialized with other bunnies so I honestly believe he doesn’t know how to be a bunny within a bunny group. I think that if Adagio would ignore Arthur, Arthur wouldn’t attack…..but Arthur keeps doing things he shouldn’t….Luna and Adagio do NOT venture into M & N space often at all….they know better.. Arthur just feels free to waltz right in even when Adagio is sitting right there….which clearly….. doesn’t fly. It’s like Arthur just doesn’t pick up on those cues…. he’s very friendly and loves people and loves to cuddle and play… he’s adorable… I’m just not sure how to help everyone in this situation….they both have had to go to the vet twice with stitches, antibiotics and partial ear amputated for Adagio. I’m not going to try to bond them any time soon…..but I do want to try again… I think Arthur is kinda lonely and that makes me sad.

[LBJ10]

Could he be deaf? It’s relatively common in Holland lops. My Leopold is deaf and I would say he doesn’t know how to speak bunny. At least not “verbal” language. He never learned that biting hard hurts because he cannot hear squealing. He never grunts or honks or makes any sounds at all. He is bossy with Wooly and he will push and shove to get his way sometimes.

[Mikey]

I think it might get better when Arthur can have a mate of his own. He might be a little curious why everyone is paired, but he isnt, which is why he wants to go say hi to everyone. If possible, when you do want to find him a friend, it might be easiest to take him to a pet store or shelter and let him pick out the bunny he plans to bond with. Bonding will go a little more smoothly that way

[Chrystie]

Funny you say that LBJ because that was my very thought!! I actually have a Deaf son and I had read that deafness can be common in HK so I did some at home testing and had the vet assess as well and we don’t feel that is the issue at all. He actually comes when I call him Arthur MacArthur…..not just Arthur….. he’ll only stop when I say Arthur, but if I say Arthur MacArthur he comes to check out what’s happening!! Lol

[Chrystie]

Prior to bonding the trio shortly, he had zero interest in the other bunnies. Literally zero. It was only after I separated him from Luna and Adagio, since their bond is stronger and longer, we chose to remove Arthur. I think he misses Luna and Adagio but again, the whole social cues….. I spoke to the breeder and she said That he has never been interested in other bunnies…just people…he is not afraid if people at all. Even new people. He’s not afraid of other bunnies either. His emotions are REALLY flat unless you try to take something out of his condo…..he loses it!!! I can tell when my other bunnies are happy or mad or pouting….but not Arthur.

Unfortunately, we do not have any plans on getting another bunny. 5 is one too many already. That’s why I really want to make this trio work. I don’t want Arthur feeling alone. I think that regardless of bonding him with Adagio and Luna or a completely new bunny, we will still have the social cues problems.

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