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BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately!  Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES 

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum BEHAVIOR help

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    • anta
      Participant
      4 posts Send Private Message

        i adopted saved a rabbit who was going to be put down. i have done everything to make compfrtable… as i can.but she will run up to my husband and bite him for no reason then run away. if  he pets her afdter he is done she will bite him. if he stops… it got so bad one night he was sleeeping and she kept djumping up on the bed. bititng him this is her last stop… i dont want to get rid of her. but i do not no what to do i need help…thank you.


      • Sr. Melangell
        Participant
        1708 posts Send Private Message

          It can take bunnies time to settle and stop biting, you have asked me about this in messages, I’m no expert and tried to think of everything I’ll see if bam can help.
          Does your husband wear aftershave or sprays? My boy bites if I wear perfume.


        • Bam
          Moderator
          16836 posts Send Private Message

            Hi anta! Thank you for saving this bunny! I’m so sorry she bites your husband. It doesn’t sound like aggressive biting though. It sounds more like biting for attention. Buns often communicate by biting, especially if biting has gotten them what they wanted. Successful behaviors are as good as always repeated, and that hold true for most animals if not all. 

            A bunny can bite if you stop petting it too soon. My Bam has bit my mother’s feet for that reason before they knew each other well. A bunny can bite to get a treat or some head-rubs, my bun Yohio did that to me. A bunny can also bite to wake a person up. We have had cases here with rabbits who have chewed a sleeping person’s hair. My Yohio licks my nose to wake me up, if it doesn’t work, he bites me ever so lightly in the tip of my nos.  A bunny who’s in love with another bunny will nip as part of courtship. If you are another bunny, bites won’t hurt like they do in a human, because bunnies have so much and so dense fur. Unfortunately (or luckily, depending on your preferences of course) , humans don’t. 

            The bun needs to learn that biting a human is not appreciated and if you do it for attention, you do NOT get rewarded. Also if you bite a human non-aggressively, it should be very light. Bunnies can learn this, both my bam and and Yohio have learned it – but it might take some time.

            Can you block her from accessing your husband when he’s sleeping? I think that’d be a good first step. The problem when a bun bites a sleeping person to wake him up, the person wakes up – and that is the reward right there, mission accomplished. So it’s best if she can’t access him until she’s understood about biting people. It sounds like she’s not biting him out of dislike, but because she likes him and wants to hang out with him. For a bunny, that makes perfect sense. 

            Is she spayed? Un-spayed girls tend to be a lot more feisty than spayed girls, but spayed girls can be pretty full of bunnitude too.

            I hope people here will reply to your thread and offer more tips. If you suspect her biting IS aggressive, here’s a very good article from the House Rabbit Society on Aggressive bunnies: aggression in rabbits


          • Q8bunny
            Participant
            6345 posts Send Private Message

              Chewie used to nip when he was a baby. I would squeal very loudly, and if I could, I would then immediately turn my back to him. In bunny language, that meant I felt offended. He soon stopped. Try it consistently for a while and see if it helps.


            • Bam
              Moderator
              16836 posts Send Private Message

                She might be protective of you. If she’s been treated badly before she came to you, and you gave her love and good food and everything a bun needs, she could percieve you as the most important resource there is, and so she wants to defend you. Rabbits are very territorial and will attack intruders. She could see your husband as competition or an intruder.

                Please red the link on aggression in my earlier post. Aggression can be dealt with, often successfully.


              • anta
                Participant
                4 posts Send Private Message

                  thank you alll for the advice. i want her to be comforable in our home. where she can go where she likes i have proofed the house. but she wont leave our rooom. i put her up last night. and she has yet to come on the bed this morning and bite jesse.
                  also i no i can read articles on rabbits which i do. i just no that reall life advice from people helps so much more.
                  ALSO. DO RABBITS LIKE TO CUDDLE. WILL THAT TAKE TIME. HOW CAN I SHOW HER THAT I LOVE AND CARE FOR HER. anytime i pick her up tell her. or we will try to do RAKI on her but she gets very entergetic thanks yall


                • LittlePuffyTail
                  Moderator
                  18092 posts Send Private Message

                    Thank you for taking in this bunny.

                    To answer your question, some bunnies like cuddling, some don’t. Most bunnies who do like cuddling, however, prefer it to do be done on the floor. Most bunnies hate being held up and will not be comfortable being cuddled in your arms. This comes from being a prey animal. Anything restraining is scary. My bunnies like for me to lay on the floor with them for cuddles and pets.


                  • Azerane
                    Moderator
                    4688 posts Send Private Message

                      I’m so glad you’re trying to work through this problem. It doesn’t seem like you have a home base or cage for her in your room, if not, I’d suggest getting one that you can shut her in at night time, this will at least prevent your husband from being woken by her jumping on the bed and biting. It’s also safer for her, because if she’s on the bed while you’re sleeping and one of you moves, she may get hurt accidentally.

                      Having a cage will also benefit interactions between her and your husband, he can get down to her level, and talk to her quietly and feed treats through the bars, without her being able to bite him. Biting is self-rewarding. Meaning that the rabbit wants to bite, then they get to, so they just got what they wanted no matter the motivation. This means you need to be strict when it happens. Making a high pitched ow sound and turning your back on her is one option. There is a physical response you can use, which is pressing her head down firmly (but gently) to the ground for a few seconds. Rabbit mothers will pin down their kittens heads as a way to tell them off, so this is a naturally understood behaviour. It doesn’t hurt them, because you don’t do it roughly, but it’s up to you whether you try that or not as not everybody is comfortable using that method.

                      Like others have said, it also sounds like she’s biting to get attention, such as when your husband stops petting her. In this situation, I’d recommend that when he stops petting her, that he moves away from her and out of the room the moment he stops petting. That way she can’t bite him or chase after him when he stops petting her. But really the main thing is, if she bites, the attention stops. Then give it 15 minutes or so before returning to her.

                      In regards to her not leaving the bedroom, does it have a different type of flooring to the hallway outside of it? Not all rabbits like all flooring surfaces so she may be hesitant to try walking on the different surface. The other option is of course that she’s still settling in, and because there’s issues she’s not yet confident enough in her surroundings to try to venture out.

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                  Forum BEHAVIOR help