bunny problems!

[Chasen]

I have a 6 month old Flemish giant rabbit named Douglas. He has always been the sweetest most playful bunny. We rescued him two days after we rescued a new kitten and they took to eachother immediately. Grooming and playing and sleeping next to eachother.  We got him neutered at about 5 months when he started spraying. All was well. (Other than him not being able to play with his favorite kitten friend ) That was a month ago and NOW when she goes to play with him he lunges and growles at her ! He won’t let her groom him or play nice at all! Also he used to love to play fetch and run around and play with me. Now I start trying to do that and he pins his ears growls and paws at my hands. I know he’s probably just a teenager but I thought the neutered was supposed to take that behavior away. Or at least some of it. I just need some help on what other people’s bunnys are doin at this stage. Whether they be unneutered or neutered. He’s my first bun and I love him to bits. I miss my little pal  

[tanlover14]

Is there anything new about your kitten? Rabbits recognize things by smell so if the scent of the kitten has changed, that could be his cause for not taking to her as much as before.

There’s also the possibility his hormones are STILL there. It can take a month, sometimes a little longer for those dreadful hormones to go away. I also wonder – was this behavior something that started to happen before his neuter or only after? Sometimes change in behavior is cause for concern. It can signal an underlying health issue. If he’s not feeling well, that could definitely trigger some aggression or pushing you away on his part. If you believe this is a possibility, I think most vets will do an aftercheck (my vet did when my boy had been neutered and was showing signs of aggression) to make sure they A) got everything and B) to make sure nothing else negative came around because of the procedure. Extreme stress can bring out a number of different health issues and if the procedure was particularly stressful for him, it’s definitely a possibility something came out or surfaced that is causing him to feel off, kind of like how you feel off when you’re sick.

I had some particularly rambunctious teenager bunnies though. With my aggressive one, I turned to clicker training to help interact with my boy. It worked awesome although I don’t do it anymore with him. Ever since I interacted with him via clicker training his attitude got much better and we didn’t have a need for it anymore. It’s a great way to teach your rabbit tricks and is a very positive way to bond with them. Rabbits love mentally stimulating challenges. I would try it either way! You will surely be surprised at what your boy can do!

[Chasen]

Hes always been very hard to handle, lol. hes totally a teenage boy! but he did have a check up about 3 weeks after this neuter and everything was fine. i cant think of anything new with the kitten other than her litter box litter changed. but that was a month ago. Now that i think about it though, he had his neuter and then about a month later we borded him at a facility who caters to exotic animals and i trust them dearly. i was nervous leaving him with just a friend because i worry too much lol, but he stayed there for 11 days and i guess the behavior started soon after that… maybe so much stress in such a short amount of time could have caused this behavior… Do you know any ways i can help releave the stress for him? if this is the case.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Sounds to me like he is trying to re-establish his territory. After being away from home for 11 days he is probably concerned that the cat has taken his territory and that is why he is being aggressive towards her.

Is he free range or just allowed out for play time?

[Chasen]

He is in a 5×4 ft c&c cage right now but we are slowly introducing free roam. He is out whenever someone is home though which is every day except about 1 or 2 days. He gets about 8 hours out of his cage. Today he didn’t poop from the time of 12 to 8 pm. But then pooped as normal. So this worried me a lot.

[Chasen]

He is in a 5×4 ft c&c cage right now but we are slowly introducing free roam. He is out whenever someone is home though which is every day except about 1 or 2 days. He gets about 8 hours out of his cage. Today he didn’t poop from the time of 12 to 8 pm. But then pooped as normal. So this worried me a lot.

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