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Forum BEHAVIOR jealous and grudge holding Bunny

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    • bunnyjames
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        Is it even possible for a bunny to hold grudges and be jealous?????!!!!!!!! Chomper my well behaved bunny has gotten into the habbit of spraying me!!!!!! How can I “fix” this his neutered and recently started spraying me personally. His been doing this for the past 3 days!! Today when I went over to pet him he turned around flicked his legs and sprayed me. I was wearing a white blouse which was yeah ruined! also he comes over and sprays me when im not even near him or bothering him, example… today I was cleaning Zoe’s cage and he was inside the house well he saw this I guess, and saw it as an opportunity to come and spray me since I was sitting down on the floor scrubbing Zoe’s cage, he literally saw me through the spring door, pushed it with his head and walked right up to me just to spray me. He got my arms and chest!!! mind you this was the second time in one day. What could be causing this. I have to admit I got mad and put him in his cage (time-out) and his response was to turn around and spray me AGAIN!!!!!! At this point I took out all his toys from the cage and some goodies I had put in there earlier and just left him his hay and water (I was pretty pist). Couple minutes later I hear a weird noise coming from the area where his cage is and he was dashing from side to side in his cage shaking the cage door and GROWLING I didnt even know bunnies growled!! i opened the cage door and he BIT ME!! first growled then BIT!!! His never bit me nibbled, yes, but no bitting to the point where he punctured my skin! I put him down since he was squirming and ran into this tunnel Zoe had dug and stayed in there until i left. Whats going on with my once well behaved boy?!!! How can I stop this spraying, growling and biting (especially the spraying)????????????? Im actually scared to get near him and try avoiding any proximity in fear he will spray me.


      • Lintini
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          What could be going on right now that is upsetting him? Is he smelling other bunnies on you? I don’t think he understands that he is in trouble like a child if you take toys away when they have been bad. I would imagine from all the spraying he could be trying to cover up a scent on you and claim you as his again. I could be wrong though. I hope you can pin point what you think could be stressing him out like that.


        • Michelle&Lolli
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            ROFL Sorry. Brings back memories of Mr Jealous Eddie. So yes, it’s completely possible for bunnies to hold a grudge and be super jealous. I wasn’t allowed to even talk to Lolli most of the time. He’d come and chase her right of the room so that he could get all the attention. lol

            Ok…..is there any type of new scent on you? New laundry detergent, perfume, lotion, animal scent, etc. Is his eating, pooping, using litterbox like normal? If not, it might be time for a check up just to make sure everything is fine. Has his routine changed in any way? Have some of the babies left? It could be very possible he’s upset about that. Or did your appearance change? Lolli doesn’t listen if my voice changes from a cold. lol

            Eddie never sprayed me, but he was very much a creature of habit and if I disrupted his routine, he’d get pissy an start acting out. He’d basically start doing everything he knew he wasn’t supposed to – chewing carpet, chewing on the door frames, just messing with everything. I had a guy over once and we made out and Eddie was so pissed about it, he refused to have anything to do with me for a week and half. LOL And he was my snuggle bunny who would WANT to be picked up and snuggled.

            The best way to “punish” him is to firmly say no when he does something bad and then to put him back in his pen/cage for a bit. Taking away toys as well isn’t going to do anything. He will eventually understand that bad behavior + you saying no = no free time. This was pretty much the only thing that worked on Eddie when he started ignoring the water bottle.


          • bunnyjames
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              NOTHING HAS CHANGED! I Dont use scented detergent or softner because my daughter is allergic to it. We dont use products with scents in my house because Luna breaks out in hives. If I wear perfume or scented lotion I do it once im in my car in order to avoid Luna being exposed to it. And even then once I get home its not that strong, plus still wearing the same perfume and body lotion no change what so ever. Babes are still in the house they wont be leaving until a few more days. Same food, water, cage, routine. I cant think of anything that might be causing this. His eating, drinking, pooping, peeing as usual. He just had a check-up 2 weeks ago and everything is fine. His just seems to be holding a grudge against me but not quite sure as to why. Luna picks him up with no problem, he kisses her, follows her, plays with her, no change in his behavior towards her. I’ve just noticed his been “chinning” her alot but thats about it. He doesnt like my boyfriend so tends to keep away but  nothing different in that. By the way I just passed by him and he grunted when i passed by, didnt even bother to lift his head to acknowledge i was passing by him. My boyfriend cant stop laughing to see that I hide from him and runaway when I see him coming my way. Im hiding from my 4lb rabbit, I need desperate help!


            • LoveChaCha
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                Does Luna have interaction with the other bunnies that are your fosters?


              • bunnyjames
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                  Yeah she plays with all of them, that is all she really does,lol! oh FYI I got sprayed AGAIN today in the morning when I went over to let him out of the cage. =( Its getting to the point where I call Luna to serve him his food and let him in and out of his cage. Okay so i couldnt sleep last night just thinking on what might have changed with me or his surroundings and couldnt think of anything, until today when I got to work and was talking to one of the doctors I was telling him about my little dilema at home at he reminded me that I just recently changed birth control methods.  can this be causing this?? My boss was telling me his probably sensing my hormonal change, but I dont know, how could that bother him in any way??? Oh by the way Brittany I LOVE that pic of Chacha that you have that comes out right below your post.  She looks adorable!!!


                • bunnyjames
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                    Wait there has been a change!!!!! Luna has been sleeping with me lately!!! She wakes up in the middle of the night goes into my room to sleep with me! Chomper sleeps in my room ontop of a rocking chair that I have. But I dont see how this could be bothering him also….. And if that’s the case shouldnt he be bad at Luna and not me?


                  • Otti
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                      Well, I think you’re misinterpreting the pee. I don’t think rabbits spray to say “Ha ha, I’m going to cover you in pee to show my disdain!”. I think they spray to say “I am covering you with my precious pee because you are mine, just as this pee is”.

                      Maybe your daughter sleeping in the room with you when he used to sleep in the room with you by himself could have affected his behavior. However, it’s also possible that he’s just getting more ‘annoyed’ by the babies being there now that they’re getting more grown up, and therefore has just started ‘marking’ you more. I think it means you mean more to him than Luna, not less LOL if that’s any consolation.


                    • Monkeybun
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                        birth control change can also have an impact on your scent. Because its a hormonal thing. So he could just be trying to make you his again.


                      • bunnyjames
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                          So he could just be trying to make you his again

                          LOL!!! that is funny but now cool at all.

                          so how do i make him stop? and whats up with him not letting me carry him or pet him without him first spraying me or growling and biting?? Im not feeling loved I’m feeling unwanted. =( Im already planning on how im gonna get into my house without him sensing me, Plan A is send Luna in first so that she could put him in his cage.


                        • Monkeybun
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                            You have to show him its not ok. thump the floor with your hand. turn your back on him. show him in bunny language you are not pleased. make high pitched squeals when he bites. Don’t show you are afraid of him, bunnies can pick up on that. Just show him you are the one in charge.If he bites and growls and sprays when he is out, put him back in his cage, so he learns he doesn’t get play time if he misbehaves.


                          • jerseygirl
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                              I don’t think he would understand it’s inappropriate and using it deliberately against you. Males spray to claim and sometimes as a stress release.
                              I reckon he’d benefit from some one on one attention. I don’t think avoiding him is the answer. You said “Im not feeling loved I’m feeling unwanted” by his behaviour but his spraying could be his way of saying you are loved and wanted… Unfortunate communication I know. As to the growling and biting, I’m not certain. It makes me think it is stress related (the spraying, growling, biting).

                              Having Zoe away and occupied, the presence of baby bunnies the past couple months and now strangers visiting your house, he’s likely out of sorts. The birth control change and Luna sleeping in your room could well be factors too.


                            • bunnyjames
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                                He does get one on one time, Chomper has been my baby for awhile after Apple(our first bun) died he became really attached to us (luna and me) His a total free range bun in the house (his cage is basically used as a potty) where as Zoe is confined to a cage at night. Chomper is the main attraction in our house since his the bunny that does tricks and likes to follow you around the house. The strangers visiting only happen when its announced and he is usually in my room or Luna’s room when they come around. Is there any specific action I can take towards this, i do the whole time-out in the cage when he does this but he just seems to get more upset by it. Maybe if I try a different birth control method…. Its really hard for me to believe Luna sleeping with me is causing him to do this, I mean I spend all day with her and he LOVES her so I already have her scent on me, her sleeping with me at night cant make much of a difference… can it?????


                              • Michelle&Lolli
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                                  A friend’s rabbit suddenly got aggressive on her and it was possible that her new glasses affected the bunny. So yes, it could be possible. I don’t know that we ever truly know what makes our bunnies go wacky sometimes but it is possible it could be something about US. At least he’s not peeing on your head in the middle of the night as my friend’s Stacy’s bunny Lullabelle has done to her. We have no idea why either. LOL

                                  I swear that when Eddie was alive, if my voiced changed from a cold, both of them quit listening to me. I’d tell them no and they’d just look at me like I was crazy or something and just go back to what they were doing. And at this point, they knew what NO meant – sprayed with water or put in the pen – and they’d usually quit doing it.

                                  I don’t know what else to suggest to get him to quit. I’d try some of the things mentioned above such as thumping at him and turning your back to him. If all else fails and depending on how difficult for you it is, you might want to try switching back to your old birth control or maybe try something else. But hopefully he’ll get through his little stubborn brain that you are still his.


                                • jerseygirl
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                                    It is a bit odd because spraying is something normally associated with an amourous bunny, yet the biting and growling not so much. But it’s specific behaviour toward you.
                                    Maybe he needs to be checked out to be sure there’s no underlying health problem? Particularly with the aggressive stuff.


                                  • bunnyjames
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                                      Thanks guys, im taking some your advice and i scheduled a vet appt. for him tomorrow. I also scheduled a doc. appt. for myself to see if I can switch back to my old BC, doc. switched me because I was loosing waaaaaaaaaaay tooooo much weight. But I’ll see what I can do about it. I just want the my old Chomps back. Today in the morning I found him on Luna’s bed chinning every single little toe on her feet while she was asleep, LOL!!!! Im probably thinking its a hormonal thing.


                                    • bunnyjames
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                                        My bunnies Vet called me and told me she could see Chomper today instead of tomorrow if I wanted to Took him in and she did a whole physical, she said his perfectly healthy!! She did some blood work and took a fecal sample also did a urinalysis. I will have those results on Monday. She checked his mouth to see if maybe there might be something wrong with his teeth, and they are perfectly healthy. They cleaned out his glands, which he did not like at all. First thing he did once the vet let him go was run to me and right away started rubbing his chin on my hands, arms and chest, lol!! BUT once we got home and put him down he went around the whole house rubbing his chin on everything, E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G! went into every single room, I was downstairs washing dishes when I heard him come up behind me, I looked at him, he turned around lifted his butt and sprayed my legs!!! I got him and put him in his cage for time-out. And yes bit me when I pit him in the cage. At this point im thinking there is something wrong with me.

                                        Vet said animals are highly sensitive to a hormanal change whether it be on them or someone around them. she said the BC im taking might have altered my hormones a great deal and there is a chance Chomper is picking up on this. She found it really weird Chomper is doing this since she’s known him since he was a babe and was never the sprayer type or has potty training issues. She said there is also a chance Chomper is doing it to get more AND keep the attention on him since there is other buns in the house. And about him chinning Luna constantly is a way of him making sure all other buns know that is his property and might be doing it more since she has been sleeping with me and my scent has rubbed off on her  even more. But Monday once we have all the lab work she said she would help me rule out some of the factors. Im still going to doc. on Monday though. Maybe I am having a significant hormone fluctuation due to the BC and need something different.


                                      • bunnytowne
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                                          goodness this sounds very aggravating

                                          hope he stops soon

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                                      Forum BEHAVIOR jealous and grudge holding Bunny