Help With Cranky Bun

[EsotericForest]

Hey everyone, I have an eight month old Netherland Dwarf, who has been developing an attitude over the last month or two.  She is an indoor rabbit and gets several hours out of her cage, free to wander my room, every day when I’m home.  I try to give her a lot of attention by petting, holding, and grooming her, but it hasn’t seemed to help.  I got her when she was around four months old, and she was always very sweet.  She’s one of those rabbits who seems completely fearless…even to the point that she’ll run up to a barking dog!  When I first got her, she would come right up to me to get treats, but now she’s getting more and more hesitant.  When she was tired of being held, she used to just nibble lightly to get me to put her down, but she has been biting harder and harder until a few minutes ago.  I had her on my bed scratching her head (Her favorite) and without warning she growled, and lunged…biting me harder than she ever has before, actually drawing blood.  I’m not sure what her problem is…she’s just been getting worse as time goes on and I’m not sure what the solution is to the problem.  I knew that most rabbits who had attitudes were always left in their cages for extended periods of time, and their owners didn’t give them much contact…so I’m at a loss since I do give her so much contact.  Any suggestions would be awesome, thanks ahead of time!

 

[Beka27]

welcome here!

first question: is she spayed yet? if not that will be your culprit right there. bunnies go thru puberty, for females this happens at about 5-6 months of age and they can become very aggressive, territorial, and destructive until they are spayed. spaying will eliminate those hormones and you will end up (in most cases) with a calmer, happier bunny. attention and physical contact are important, but it’s not enough to conteract the natural progression of puberty. another reason why spaying is so important: female rabbits have an 80% chance of developing reproductive cancer by the age of three if unspayed.

[EsotericForest]

Alright I suppose that answers my question then. No, she isn’t spayed and it makes sense because it seems like this started when she was around 6 months old. She’s also become very destructive in her cage now…can you say mayhem? Do you have an average estimate on how much it costs to get a rabbit spayed? Obviously it will vary greatly from one vet to another, but a price range would be great. Thanks for your quick, helpful reply! The site has already been very rewarding.

[kralspace]

Hi EstoericForest (I’ll call you EF since I would mess your name up everytime I typed it)

It pays to call around, I found ranges of $150 to $425 for a spay. The town I live nearest too had only one vet who does them and he was the $425. He was also very elderly and had bad arthritis in his hands so I’m glad he kept cancelling me out!

The nearest rabbit rescue in Dallas gave me the name of the vet they used and she was great, and was also on $150 (that included a week of pain meds and they called to check up on us too). It was a day trip for me but well worth it to have a vet you have confidence in.

Where are you located?

Kathy

[EsotericForest]

You can call me EF, haha. or you can call me Kayla. My boyfriend came up with the SN. 😀

Anyway, thank you for giving me those estimates. I’m in western Wisconsin. I’m really hoping that it won’t be too terribly spendy, but I think the vet we go to will have a reasonable price. Example. We we dog-sitting my brothers pug and found out he has a condition called entropian which is when their eyelids turn in a little bit and the eye lashes scratch and damage the eye. In the twin cities, where he lives, they gave him an estimate of 2500 dollars. At our vet, they gave him and estimate of 250. So, hopefully it will be the same in this case. Again, I know I keep saying this, but I really appreciate all of your help. I hope to work with animals in the future and want to soak in all that I can. 😀

Kayla

[jerseygirl]

Oh yeah! Reading your post my first thought was – Hormones! If you are looking into getting her spayed, be sure to go to an experienced rabbit vet of course. Also, be aware that it can take the hormones quite a while to settle after the op so you may be dealing with this changed behaviour a little longer. Sounds like she had some gutsy rabbitude to begin with! – lol. Your mention ^ of dog sitting also reminded me of another reason for changed behaviour. New pets in the house!

[Beka27]

OUCH about your brother’s pug!  i hate that itchy feeling you get when an eyelash gets in your eye, i could not imagine how uncomfortable that poor dog must’ve been!   and that is such a crazy jump in price…  definitely worth the trip to save that kinda money!

 

here is the link to the Wisconsin House Rabbit Society’s recommended vet page… http://www.wisconsinhrs.org/Recommended%20Vets.htm

i know you said you have a great vet, but it does not hurt to get estimates from others in your area…  you might be surprised at the price ranges you’ll hear…  in the end you need to go somewhere you are comfortable and you have confidence in thevet.  spaying is an invasive surgery (moreso than neutering) but it has become pretty routine among rabbit-savvy vets.

 

also, here is more info about the benefits of spay/neuter from rabbit expert, Dana Krempels… http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/spay.html

 

[BunnyBuns7]

(changed my display name)

Thank you for all the advice. I really appreciate it. She’s certainly a goofy little thing. Is it too late to wait til after the holidays to get her spayed or is that alright?

Funny story, this morning I was giving her some honey to lick off my finger and some dripped on her. She went crazy. Cleaning herself as fast as she could. Hopping around thumping and trying to get it off. It was so cute. She such a little goof. I have to laugh at her attitiude sometimes. Hee hee.

As for my brother’s pug, he sure was in pain. Poor baby. Hopefully we can get him surgery soon. for now, he has speical eye ointment. It helps a lot. Now he can at least keep his eyes open.

Kayla

Ps, What ya think of the picture of my little bun?

[jerseygirl]

Picture? I’m not seeing one Did you put one on as Avatar? Sometimes it doesn’t show until you log off then log back on. Will wait and see…..

[Addy]

OMGOSH! She’s soo cute.

[Beka27]

you can wait til after the holidays to spay her. you might want to make phone calls now so you can schedule an initial exam for afterwards and then the spay will be after that.

[BunnyBuns7]

Glad you think she’s cute. 😀 I sure love her.

That sounds good. I’ll start calling around to area vets. also, are there any vaccinations that she should get? Can they get anything like a kennel cough or distemper or bordetella?

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

That’s so funny I am reading ‘James Herriot’ books right now and just read a story about a poor pup with turned in eyelids! Since your in the US no vaccinations necessary. They have Myxi Vaccinations in the UK but other then that I don’t believe there’s any others. If your vet offers myxi V definitely go for it though!

[BunnyBuns7]

I actually read that in a book today. I’m really enjoying “Rabbits for Dummies”. Hee hee. It’s really helpful. Gives a list for a bunny first aid kit as well. I thought that was cool.

If your reading a dog book, have you ever read “Marley and Me”. One of my favs.

Kayla

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