We have a 9-year-old Holland Lop who has been the absolute sweetest rabbit since we got her at 4 months old. 2.5 years ago she lost her mate, and shortly after started showing signs of Snuffles (Pasteurella). I know the bacteria lay dormant in most rabbits but can be brought on by traumatic events. Anyway, we’ve been treating her on and off with medication, and now she gets a daily dose of Metacam, along with mixing in antibiotics when things get really bad. 4 months ago we rescued a 2-year-old male hoping they would bond and be mates. She has no real interest and they’ve been in some pretty vicious fights, so they are completely separated by way of gates (she is free-roam, he is not). In the last month or so (3 months after we got him), she’s become extremely aggressive toward us, biting and attacking. To the point where she’ll draw blood when she bites you. She’s in attack mode. We now have to be cautious around her, getting on the floor, or putting our faces near her because she seems to “snap” at any point. One minute she’ll let you pet her, then all of a sudden she’ll turn and bite your leg or arm.

I know there are a lot of factors at play, and I think any of the following could be attributed to her behavior change: age, long-term illness (although she seems very healthy), other rabbit (she didn’t display behavior the first 3 months), some sort of cognitive issue (dementia?). We aren’t really looking for answers but wanted to see if anyone had ever experienced anything like this before. Our vet is at a loss, and so are we. We recently started her on daily doses of CBD to see if anything changed, but so far no luck.

Thanks!