Bunny Behavior????

[BunMarley]

Hello!

So Benny has a few things that he does that I don’t quite understand!

1. thumping. I know for sure that I know what his thumping pounds like because he thumps and runs away after I put him down from grooming. But sometimes I will just be sitting here minding my own business on my bed while he’s free roaming when all of a sudden *thump!* and off he goes! Is something upsetting him because I’m 98% sure that means he’s upset..

2. Sometimes, not often, he will dig or scratch my lower back when I am sitting on the floor. Just now he came up to me scratched my knee and ran away 3 times!! Why is he doing this?? It hurts and I’d like to know why he’s doing it. I’ve read that sometimes bunnies do that when they want attention, which is what I thought he was asking for but when I went to pet him he just hopped away lol. He doesn’t dig anywhere else like the carpet or litter box. The only other thing I’ve seen him dig at is his food bowl just to knock it over, then I started feeding him on the floor because what’s the point yknow? ?

What’s my lil bun thinking?????

[BanditCamp]

Judging from your first post your rabbit is as old as mine.

Thumping is a way for rabbits to communicate danger OR to show disapproval. Sometimes bunnies thump to play or get attention but primarily it is because of danger or annoyance. In nature a rabbit thump can be heard for 2 acres.

If your bunny is not fixed this could be one of two things your in a place he wants to be, since your laying or sitting somewhere he might want to sit or lay there just because he sees you there. As for the food try and get bowls that cant be flipped such as wide base bowls or bowls with a box frame attached.

[ThorBunny]

My rabbit also does mysterious thumps occasionally. Their hearing is so much better than ours, and as prey animals they are tuned into different alarm cues than us humans. He may be responding to something outside, not something you did. As long as it is just occasional I wouldn’t be too worried

Agree with BanditCamp about the fixing, he may be trying to lay claim to your space!

[LittlePuffyTail]

Your bun is probably thumping after grooming because he is ticked off. Most bunnies hate being groomed. My big boy growls at me.

[Tuppence]

I can only speak for my big bun, but he thumps when he is excited. I’ve mentioned in another thread that he is a big ol’ couch potato and doesn’t really run around much save for short bursts (which is always when I get up in the morning and when I get home from work – dawn and dusk, when rabbits are most active) but sometimes when he’s having a scamper around the lounge room he’ll thump in an attempt to get his large derriere airborne. He has only ever given me an “I am in a right strop with you, missy” thump once, which was actually a couple of nights ago. I want to get him neutered in the next week or two so I lifted him up so I could inspect his boy bits to see if his bollocks had dropped (they have) and when I let him go he gave me an almighty stomp, which actually made me laugh. I got down to apologise and give him a conciliatory pat/rub noses with him and he just licked my face as per usual so I’m guessing he wasn’t too cranky with me! I really dislike picking him up. I only do it when absolutely necessary (like when I take him outside for a forage) and he’s completely fine with it, but I still don’t like doing it because of how much having paws off the ground is stressful, or at the least not very pleasant for a prey animal. Plus he’s getting quite heavy!

[BunMarley]

My bun is big also, a flemish! Maybe it’s a big bun thing

[WRXFamily]

My bun is also a Flemmie and she thumps if I don’t wake up and let her out early enough ?

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