My Bunny Is Suddenly Aggressive: Should I Get Her Spayed?

[katiefultonn]

I adopted my rabbit Ollie just over three weeks ago, and due to this all I know is that she is between 1-2 years old. 

At first Ollie was obviously timid after being naturally shy and being rehomed, but she quickly became accustomed to me and I’ve come to realise she is such a gentle and loving rabbit, who is comfortable enough to flop down beside me, happy enough to binky around my room which she gets free roam of when I’m there, and is beginning to allow me to pick her up to place her back in her cage. But for a couple days now she has began to hump my arm excessively while nipping me hard and is muttering angrily if I try to pull back the blankets she has pushed and pulled around. She is still so loving and lays beside me as I clap her, and I really wanted to wait longer before getting an appointment to spay her but my arm is littered every day with red marks from where she has nipped and scratched me as she attempts to hump me.

I understand this is just her hormones and until she is spayed she’ll be frustrated (especially since it is spring). 

The vet advised me to wait a few months until she had settled in fully before spaying her, but I feel that she is settled in extremely well and is as comfortable as she can be. It’s becoming hard to spend time with her without her inadvertently hurting me when she’s not relaxing. 

Do you think it would be ok for me to make an appointment to get her spayed as soon as possible? I really don’t want to stress her out, but I truly do believe she has completely settled in to her new life with me.

[Wick & Fable]

This will need to be a combination of your observation and your vet’s professional opinion. Getting her spayed is definitely important, but making sure she’s physical and mentally ready is important. While the behaviors may cause some frustration, it may be something you’ll need to troubleshoot until she’s ready.

Some rabbits are pretty quick with adjusting to a new space. You should call your vet and maybe verbalize some of your observation and thoughts about pushing up the appointment, though at the end of the day, I pretty much always go by my vets advice.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[jerseygirl]

Could you give her a stuffed toy as a “hump buddy”?

She is certainly old enough to be spayed and it would be better for her long term health. Is the vet confident in spaying rabbits?

The only thing I would be watching for at the moment is if she is going into a false pregnancy with this current hormonal behaviour. If she starts nesting, I would definitely wait until a few weeks after a false pregnancy has resolved.

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