My bunny is very territorial. ¿What can I do?

[Manchas21]

<p class=”p1″>Hi everyone! My name is Aida and I’m Manchas mommy. So I wanted to ask you guys your advice on this matter.</p>
<p class=”p1″> I have a male 8 month bunny, his name is Manchas. We’ve had him for a little over a month, his been more open to us now and I have noticed him more calm. He loves to explore around our appointment. I taped part of his house and a lamp with clear scotch because he has started bitting 😒. And his chinning everywhere hehe to leave his sent around. However , I feel his been very territorial. So he has a bed on the second level of a hutch, when I take his bowl to add more food, he acts like he will snatch or scratch my fingers  or something. He does that to me and my husband. ¿What can I do? </p>
<p class=”p1″>Also when we grab him to hold him he breathes heavily most of the time and then other times he scratches my stomach like digging a whole. I correct him by saying NO in a firm way and I add with a stump the floor when I say No. I saw that on a YouTube video from Lennon the bunny.  He does that still occasionally and it seems to work at times. ¿What else can I do? </p>
<p class=”p1″>I will take my baby to get neuter on Friday January 7th, and I’m feeling a bit nervous and scared for him, specifically because I’m scared on how to take care of him after the procedure. </p>

[Bam]

Some of the behaviors you describe are likely to improve after your bun is neutered and his hormones have died down, which will take about 2 weeks. Biting and chewing on things is however normal rabbit behavior, and you should try to bunny proof his area so he doesn’t chew valuable things and/or things that could be harmful for him.

Digging on you is another young rabbit-behavior that isn’t quite easy to interpret. I remove my bun from me and put her back on the floor when she digs on me. Rabbits like to dig, so its good if you can provide him with for ex cheap fleece blankets that he can dig in and bite holes in to his heart’s content.

A male rabbit neuter is a simple and quick  procedure. The surgical wounds are small and heal fast. Young males tend to bounce back really quickly.

He should not be fasting when you take him in. Rabbits can’t vomit, so there’s no risk of aspiration  and they need to have food in their tummy always for the proper function of the gut.

You should ask the vet about pain relief post surgery -some vets give a long-lasting painkiller and doesnt prescribe a painkiller to give at home – but some sort of post-op pain relief should be given.

The most important thing is that he starts to eat when he comes home- so you can stock up a bit on his favorite vegetables and herbs. Send some of the goodies with him to the vet so he can start eating as soon as he wakes up, if he wants to. In rare cases a neutered male won’t eat and needs to be syringe fed, so its good to have a syringe and some Critical Care or similar on hand. You shouldn’t go to bed on the night of the neuter before you know he has eaten something.

He should be in a small-ish area the first day-days post neuter, and obviously give him a clean litterbox so you can keep track of how much he pees and poops. If he normally drinks water from a bottle, give him a water bowl as well  in case he thinks its too much work to drink from the bottle.

 

 

[Manchas21]

Thank you so much for your response, it has been really helpful and I just hope things will get better for him and us. Sorry I couldn’t reply earlier.

So Manchas got neutered today. We were both really nervous and scared. But everything went well. I’ve been noticing that he licks his wound. I see a little blood, but I’m trying  to prevent from him opening his wound. I’ve tried to remove his face from licking it but it’s not working. I don’t know what else to do.
He only drinks water but doesn’t want to eat. I know it has only been a few hours but please Help me!!!! 😥

thanks

[GlennTheLionhead]

Hey!

Its really important that he eats post op, As Bam mentioned if he’s not eating on you may need to syringe feed him critical care. If he’s already refusing food I would just go ahead and syringe feed him gently and then continue to encourage him to eat on his own by offering a variety of temping grasses/forage/veggies.

 

[Bam]

It’s important that he eats. He might respond to enticing food like small pieces of fruit, fresh herbs, favorite greens or any kind of treats. My girl bun was spayed 6 weeks ago and dried goji berries was the first thing she ate – it’s not something you’d want to feed a bun a lot of due to high sugar content, but a little bit of pretty much anything your bun likes can make him perk up so much that he starts to eat other things as well. If not, you can syringe pellet mush. Wear protective clothing, you’re likely to get pellet mush on your clothes and everything else within a few yard’s radius. As long as you get something in him, he’ll be fine.

If he keeps busying himself with his wound, you can make an E-collar out of a paper saucer. You cut a into the middle, make a neck-sized hole and apply it around the bun’s neck. You can then tape it shut. A paper saucer collar is light and malleable and often a lot less horrible for a bun than a plastic cone or an inflatable E-collar. Then you could call and ask his vet for some painkillers – the main reason a bun is bothered with his surgical incision site is pain/discomfort. Many vets dont routinely prescribe painkillers after a boy’s neuter, but if the bun seems bothered by the wound, they shouldn’t mind writing a prescription for meloxicam (Metacam, Loxicom, Opokan and other brand names). A boy rarely neds painkillers for more than a few days.

Don’t be surprised if his hormonally driven behaviors (grumpiness, cage aggression, nipping, circling and peeing on his love-interest) to get worse for up to 2 weeks, sometimes even longer, post neuter. This is fully normal and not to be considered a problem, because it subsides as the hormones that are circulating in the blood stream die down. Just try to bear with him, it’s just his body and brain being temporarily confused due to the suddenly stopped influx of testicle-produced hormones.

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