Nibbling my finger? Friend or food?

[Rocket Alex]

I just recently got a rabbit with my older sister. We think she is a Dwarf, but we aren’t sure. The person at the store we got her from said she was about 6 months old.

Rocket was acting pretty normally, according to the websites I checked, but now that she is used to us, she has been nibbling our fingers. When I reach my hand into her cage to love her or check her supplies, she will begin nibbling on my finger or nail. At first, it kind of tickled, but now when she nibbles on us it hurts. Afterward, the place where she nibbled me will feel like it has a splinter.

On several websites, I read that rabbits will nibble on their owner or friends affectionately because they are trying to groom them. The way she is nibbling on me feels a bit more violent. Sometimes she’ll even pull my hand further in the cage by the nail!

Does she hate me or love me?

[Bam]

I think she loves you. If a bunny bites out of genuine dislike, you couldn’t really mistake it for sth other than genuine dislike. They bite hard when they bite hard.

Rabbits do like to groom their loved ones, but their instincts are designed for grooming another furry being. We don’t have protectice fur, so it hurts. It’s not acceptable of course, so you need to teach her that it’s not an appropriate way to show love. You can do that by squealing and withdrawing your hand. You can probably find a way to communicate to her that biting is not how you socialize in your household. No physical punishment or yelling, of course.

[Rocket Alex]

My sister often screams and curses when Rocket bites her, but that’s because it’s kind of shocking. I’ll make sure to get it across that nibbling isn’t okay. Thank you for the advice!

[Rocket Alex]

Thank you for the advice! I ‘ll make sure to do that. My sister usually screams and curses when Rocket nibbles on her, but I kind of pull away and mutter something about how spoiled she is ^^

[Author]

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