First of all, don’t worry. I know it can be intimidating and disappointing when your bun doesn’t immediately love you and give you all the affection and trust in the world. It’s natural for most rabbits to take a long time to build trust, even months! I have definitely experienced this with my bun, who is also my first bun! But it’s very much worth it. Until you’re bonded, here’s some tips.
1. As you may know, most rabbits really don’t like being picked up and carried. It scares then to leave the ground, as in the wild this signifies one thing: they’re someone’s lunch! So it is natural for them not to enjoy being picked up. Therefore, you should avoid trying to pick him up and carry him as much as possible. It is easier and much less stressful for you and the bunny to try and lead him using treats or fresh veggies/herbs that he likes (preferably nothing too high in sugar or carbs – cilantro is often a good choice). But you will need to know how to pick him up sometimes, this is true. I recommend going to YouTube and watching videos that can show you how to do this properly. A really good video series in general is the Howcast rabbit videos hosted by Mary Cotter and Amy Sedaris. (I would advise you to ignore the videos that show you how to do a “bunny trance” where you flip the rabbit on its back – this is highly stressful for rabbits!) The main idea is support. You want to make sure you’re always supporting the back legs, as rabbits’ spines are fragile and they can break their backs if they kick too hard without support!
2. Building trust can be a real process with any animal, but it can be even more of an endeavor when youre dealing with a prey species like rabbits. They’re hardwired to be scared of everything! You have to remember this and alter your psychology to try and see the world through their eyes.
3. The best thing you can do is to allow your rabbit some time to get used to his new environment. It sounds like he’s already getting comfortable in his pen, which he will now think of as his house. A tip you might want to follow is to avoid cleaning his pen while he’s inside. Doing this sometimes annoys the rabbit, who sees you moving his furniture and stuff around!
4. Your bunny really is a baby, so it will be a while before you can neuter him. Most rabbits are neuter/spay-ready around 5-6 months of age. When he hits this age, I highly recommend you get him neutered. This will be best for his health and behavior and attitude, and therefore best for you!
5. For right now, bonding sessions with your baby bun should consist of allowing him to explore a binny-proof area with you and/or your boyfriend sitting quietly with him. You can offer him small healthy treats like alfalfa pellets (you should slowly make the switch between alfalfa and Timothy hay hay when he gets around 1 year old) or herbs. Check out rabbit.org for good diet info. Let him come up to you and explore you – if you reach out to pet him and he accepts, great! If he wants to get away, let him. You don’t want to seem like something that will chase him.
6. It may be a while before you can start really picking the bunny up. I would wait until you feel he trusts you more before you start doing this. The motto overall is GO SLOW. You can reward him for allowing you to touch him by getting him used to little things – gently lifting his front end and then giving him a treat, then once he’s comfortable with that you can try lifting him off he ground an inch and then giving him a treat, and so on and so forth.
The big thing to remember is that he won’t trust you right away, but that’s okay! Just give him some time and encouragement and show him you’re a safe and friendly presence, and you’ll bond in no time!
As far as the teeth/licking thing goes, he probably smells something tasty on your hand and is trying to figure out what it is, or he’s trying to figure out what YOU are. Just licking you though is a sign of extreme trust and bonding – it means he’s grooming you. Not to be a buzz kill, but o think that because he’s new and you feel his teeth, it’s more likely he’s trying to figure out just what your hand is.
Good luck!