Suddenly Aggressive/Fearful Rabbit

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 5sd replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 5 months ago by LittlePuffyTail.

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- 10/26/2017 at 5:51 PM
  OldBunter
  Participant
  33 posts
  Henryk was acting affectionate and healthy last night, but today he’s been quite moody. He’s a 1 y/o neutered male, that’s been living with us for over 3 months. He had a vet checkup three days ago that reported him healthy with a slight risk of tooth spurs.
  
  This morning, while feeding him, my significant other was bit twice when trying to put food in his cage. Something that has never happened before. He’s been avoiding me all day and when does look my way he has wide fearful eyes and ears in either a fearful or aggressive posture, instead of being relaxed by my presence (about every day at lunch I’d talk softly to him while he falls asleep usually leading to him flopping over).
  
  Henryk has been eating, drinking, and pooping normally, he doesn’t seem to be in any noticeable pain. What’s wrong with my boy?
- 10/27/2017 at 6:11 AM
  Muchelle
  Participant
  1141 posts
  Might it be something happened that frightened him/made him uncomfortable? Loud noises, arguing in loud voice? Maybe he smelled some different smell on you guys? (different soaps/detergents, other animals smell)? Is he getting enough time out of his cage?
  
  Do you have any way to check how he’s keeping his posture when he’s not aware of your presence? I’m thinking maybe he has some discomfort but hides it by going into defensive mode…
- 10/27/2017 at 7:52 AM
  Wick & Fable
  Moderator
  5834 posts
  If a rabbit isn’t comforted after it gets spooked, it usually stays on guard against anything and everything. Potentially, your rabbit was spooked by something.
  
  I do reiterate what Muchelle says which is it’s possible your rabbit is in a bit discomfort or pain. Although you saw a vet 3 days ago, rabbits are silent sufferers and sometimes if we don’t vocalize concerns of discomfort, it’s difficult to actually realize it during a check-up.
  
  The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.
- 10/28/2017 at 9:48 PM
  OldBunter
  Participant
  33 posts
  Hi again.
  Sorry for the late response. I kept an eye on him and later that evening he seemed to warm back up to us and he hasn’t behaved like that since then.
  The only thing I can think of is that we had spicy jambalaya for dinner that night and our whole apartment smelled like it for 1.5 days.
  I’ll keep monitoring him though. Any tips for checking his posture without him noticing?
- 10/29/2017 at 6:15 AM
  Wick & Fable
  Moderator
  5834 posts
  Some rabbits are very sensitive to cooking smells. I’ve heard people lighting candles near their rabbits area during this time.
  
  The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.
- 10/29/2017 at 5:58 PM
  LittlePuffyTail
  Moderator
  18092 posts
  I’ve read about this happening often enough. Some bunnies get freaked out with strong cooking smells, especially meat.
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