My rabbit bit me really hard?

[Aiko]

So I was sitting on the couch with my wonderful lop eared rabbit that is 6 months old, he has been showing signs of being hormonal like humping, grunting, and absolutely refusing to be picked up! I used to be able to pick him up easily, but it seems that ever since I left him for a week while I went to a beach for work he started acting strange… The babysitter said that nothing bad happened and he followed his routine as always… This morning I was sitting on the couch and he hopped up and wanted to cuddle, so he sat beside my bum and I was petting him gently. Suddenly he decides to take a huge and slow bite on my buttocks! It was like he was trying to sample me! I didn’t yell or hit him I just put him back in his cage. He looks angry now and keeps running around in his cage and he’s making a huge mess of his shavings that he didn’t do before! I don’t know what to do, is this because he’s not neutered? I can’t find any vet in my area who would do it which really sucks because I would have to go to a different province just to get a good vet that knows a thing about rabbits can I correct this behaviour in any way before he hurts my little sisters? If he ever bit them my mom said that I would have to get him put down I absolutely love him and he has never EVER had this behaviour before! I used to be able to pick him up, I used to be able to feed him with my hand, but all that has changed… Now I have so many scratches on my arms because he fights being picked up to the point where he almost hurts himself  I really don’t want to give up on him. He is my first rabbit.

[Mikey]

Yep, sounds like hormones. One of my bunnies turned into a huuuuuge jerk before he was neutered. He would box, kick, and bite. He would always aim for blood. Neutering him calmed him down within about a month. Sadly, the only way to “correct” it is by neutering your bun. Biting is normal, please ask your mom to look around this website so she can learn a bit about rabbits before wanting to kill him over being a normal bunny

[tobyluv]

Sometimes, we have to travel outside of our areas to find a good rabbit savvy vet. So you should start researching and hopefully you can find another vet that isn’t too far away to do the neuter surgery. Even after neutering, your rabbit may not want to be held. Almost no rabbits do like it, since they are prey animals and it scares them. I never have picked up any of my bunnies unless it is really necessary. I let them come to me and sit beside me when they want to, but I never try to cuddle with them. A rabbit can severely injure himself, even break his back, when struggling and thrashing around, trying to get out of someone’s grip. And of course, they can inflict scratches on anyone trying to hold them. That can also cause them to be injured, if the person holding them drops them due to being scratched. So try to limit picking up or holding your rabbit. It’s safer for everyone.

[Fiona]

Just wanted to note, your mom wanting to put him down is just TOO extreme! That’s like wanting to kill a dog for barking.

Even if you are unable to neuter him to quell the behavior, just reach out to rabbit rescue groups who would take him. It’s totally normal for an unneutered bunny to make a fuss out of the blue. Mine bit my finger and drew blood out of nowhere, only a week or so after I brought him home. I got him neutered, and everything calmed down gradually in a couple weeks.

[Author]

Messages