Aggression in SPAYED Rabbit

[Hokankai]

My little Ariadne was spayed while ago and is almost 7 months old, and in the last two weeks has started to get slightly aggressive and territorial. She has a spot in her cage that she sits, and if I need to get something from around that area she lunges and grunts. She also grunts at me when I attempt to pet her and if she knows I have a treat to give her and will lunge towards me to get the treat (she doesn’t get it when she does that). She is also becoming more of a problem when it comes to feeding Theodore who is housed with her and she will grunt at him too. They’re fed in different spots and she gets more food than he does, but she insists on trying to eat his food. Finally, she just has a grouchy look in her eye that’s hard to explain…like when a human kind of closes their eyelids a bit to show they’re mad?

Would illness cause something like this? She’s been battling some kind of infection in her nose that comes and goes even though she’s been treated with Baytril. I plan on getting a culture and sensitivity done once she has another bout of white snot. Is there anything else that could be causing this?

[TH004]

My first buns got aggressive with me at one point and I took it personally. It turned out she was sick and was in pain. One dose of a pain shot at the vet and she was back to her normal self. It sounds like yours is eating OK, so I’m not sure if that is it or not. I’m a fan of when in doubt, have a vet check it out.

My buns now will get mean and grunt a lot when his stomach is upset. Some baby gas meds, greens and a few hours, and he is back to normal. He will even be pooing and eating normally, but we can feel some tightness when rubbing his stomach. That is something you can try too. Have you done a rabbit belly rub before?

[bullrider76543]

hmm, I have had one, Nibbles who has been agressive since his neuter a couple of years ago. but I think its nore or less just his personality of being bossy.

[Hokankai]

I have not done a tummy rub before, what should I be looking for and how do I do it? It very well could be stomach upset as she enjoys eating nonedible parts of her cage like mats (the rubber backs and strands sometimes), linoleum (when an edge becomes uncovered occassionally), and who knows what else she tries to chew in there. She loves chewing wood though so that too. The thing that stumps me though is that she loves to eat still and is still pooping normally.

She’s also in the middle of a big molt, does that cause behavior changes at all? 

The reason I’m worried is that she nipped my hand for the first time since I’ve had her and I’ve had her since she was born. I’m not sure if she’s just all of a sudden getting territorial despite being spayed or if there’s another underlying problem. The vet has told me not to worry until she shows any clear symptoms of progressing illness since the next steps are going to be a bit spendy and she doesn’t want to waste my time or money.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Molting can definitely cause a bunny to be grumpy and stressed out. I would suggest, if she’s done molting and still displaying this behavior to get a vet check to make sure there is no pain or illness. Sudden change in behavior can be a cause for concern.

[Hokankai]

Alright, I’ll wait for her to be done molting and then reevaluate. This is her second molt and the biggest one yet, so maybe that has her frustrated and uncomfortable.

[LBJ10]

You said she was spayed awhile ago. How long ago was it?

[TH004]

Mine gets upset during molts too, because he eats too much hair and it upsets his stomach. Here is a website that explains stomach rubs: http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html

Don’t let the site scare you. It doesn’t mean your rabbit has GI Stasis, but the rub helps relieve gas. Have you tried baby gas meds too? My 4.5lb rabbit gets .5ml to 1, 3x a day when he is acting off. Those are things that you can do every molt to keep things moving.

[Hokankai]

Posted By LBJ10 on 09/06/2012 06:46 AM

You said she was spayed awhile ago. How long ago was it?

Hmm, it’s almost been a month and a half? She was spayed at 5 months of age and she’ll be 7 months in a couple weeks.

[Hokankai]

Here’s a PERFECT picture of the look I was referring to. HAHA

She is a hot mess right now

[TH004]

Poor baby!! Mine gets that same look (coat and look in the eye) when he is molting. He is definitely a little mad at life when he molts. You know something else you could try… I just started using Oxbow digestive supplements (I call them hay cakes). I really think it is working. Seeing your post reminded me that I haven’t seen that look for a while and he is still molting. The only change is the supplements. I think I’m sold! (He thinks they are the BEST treat EVER, so you shouldn’t have trouble getting that buns to try it out) We haven’t even done baby gas meds in a while– which is a daily regular routine during a molt. We do still do weekly tummy rubs, just to make sure everything is moving.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Aww…poor girl. She looks miserable. Hope she’s done her molt soon.

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