Moody male rabbit

[Alison]

I have two bonded rabbits, one male and one female. Both rabbits are fixed and have been for a while. Lately Minty, my male rabbit has been very moody and acting out. I thought maybe it was the result of the female (Nugget) picking on him as she is the dominant and enjoys reminding him of that. Upon further observation, though, I have noticed that it is always Minty who instigates “fights” by nibbling or biting Nuggets underside or behind. Mint has also been biting or chewing on me when I try and pet him. He’s done this in the past right after I adopted him but hasn’t for the past 4 months. This is not all the time though, sometimes he comes up to me wanting to be pet and then in the next second he wants to chew through my fingers. He hasn’t been eating as many veggies and has been DESTROYING the cardboard castle I made them. Like meticulously. Day and night, just chewing through it. I would appreciate any theories about why this is happening and how I can help him. Thank you.

[tobyluv]

When there is a change in behavior or a change in eating (not eating as many veggies) that might warrant a vet visit for a checkup. Sometimes when rabbits are off of their feed, they will chew/eat paper or cardboard instead. Your rabbit might have some high spots on his molars that would make eating certain things more difficult and it could make him irritable/bitey due to discomfort. Is he still pooping normally? Even if he is, it would be a good idea for a checkup just to make sure that something else isn’t going on.

[jerseygirl]

I agree. Possibly some teeth issues causing him some discomfort.

Or if he is moulting, that can make them moody and destructive.

[Alison]

Thank you for the replies. I took both of my rabbits in for a check up last week and the vet said they are 100% healthy. I believe today I found out what was causing this strange behavior for anyone who would like to know. About two months ago I asked my work to save me some nice clean boxes from their deliveries for my buns to play in. I ended up with A LOT of boxes so I got crafty and turned them into an extra large castle for the buns to hide in. Today I tore down the chewed through boxes and I have never seen Mint so excited. This came as a surprise because he has spent most of his time sulking in there. I believe that the new castle territory brought him anxiety and he probably felt like he couldn’t leave it or else he would lose it (this is just speculation though). He is now much happier with just two boxes to chew on. Mint has spent the evening cuddling with me and he even ate all of his veggies tonight.

[jerseygirl]

Haha, aren’t they contrary sometimes?!! It’s good to hear you may have resolved the problem. Thanks for the update.

[Author]

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