New here, but I have a question

[sargetun]

So I have a dwarf-lion head bunny named joey, hes a male if you havent guessed. He isnt fixed yet, and he is 7 months old. First thing I’d like to address/ask if behavior he has, he never bites anyone ever…I read a few forums where after 4 months hed become destructive and what not, but hes so sweet and more timid than anything, if really upset by me or anyone hed thump hes 2 hind legs and run away, before ever even attempting to bite. Im just wondering did I luck out? He bites the walls, I havent found a sound solution for that yet, I put duck tape on one part he chewed and he refuses to even go near it, maybe he doesnt like the scent of the tape?

My main question here is, he will bite my clothes and socks and act out until i pet him, hes free roam like a dog/cat so often I’ll be busy with something and hell come over and just bite my socks and nonstop nudge me until i pet him, and he wont stop until i keep petting him haha, I was wondering is there anyway to stop this?  I love him and I give him attention plenty of it, but sometimes I’m just busy, and its difficult to deal with you know?

[Azerane]

Hey there and welcome. Rabbits are really naturally biting animals, they will nip to get attention as you have discovered, but it’s not particularly natural for them to be mean biters. It can come with hormones and being territorial about their cage space, but it isn’t terribly common, and more often happens with rabbits that have been abused or mistreated in some way I believe.

If the duct tape works as a deterrent, that’s good. Just be very careful that he doesn’t take to chewing it as well because it would be bad for him to ingest some as if he eats too much, it could cause a blockage.

In terms of him nipping at your clothing and feet for attention, that is reasonably common. Bunnies can be very persistent. The problem with this behaviour is that he’s being rewarded for it when you pet him. It will be hard to break but can probably be done. You will either have to ignore completely for longer than he can keep it up, or there is another method of telling a rabbit off which in some ways mimics what a mother rabbit would do. When they act out or bite, push the head gently to the ground and hold it there for a few seconds. You don’t want to be rough of course, and pressing their head down in this way doesn’t hurt them. It simply gets the message across that hey, you’re the boss and you want them to stop that. It doesn’t work in all situations, but I’ve seen it recommended quite a bit for nipping. You can also give a little squeal or shriek when he bits your clothes or socks, to pretend that it hurts, because that may help deter him also.

[sargetun]

Thank youfor the reply and hes been better since I put duct tape every plaxe he chews, he’ll go to chew it but I think he dislikes the taste as he quickly almost runs away from it hahaha here’s a picture of him btw

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