New Rabbit. Need Advice.

[Tyrannosaurus_Rex]

I purchased this rabbit yesterday and around 4 p.m. Central Time. Every time I get near him he lightly nips my hand, and I’m not sure if this is an aggressive behavior. I’m not even trying to pick him up, just trying to change his bedding and give him water and pet him to calm him. He also tries to flip over his litter box and I tried to put a water bowl in there so he wouldn’t wake me up at night, and he flipped that over as well. Any ideas on getting to stop flipping stuff? I was wondering if you guys could tell me if the nipping is normal behavior for a new rabbit in a new home as well. Thanks!

[Luna]

Hi! It takes a long time for a bun to get settled into a new home and for him to get to know you. The nips could be his way of saying he is not comfortable being touched yet, though it seems more likely that he is nipping for territorial reasons (ie. his way of saying “get your hands outta my cage”), but either way it’s normal for a bun in a new home. He will adjust better and become more comfortable with your presence if you spend as much time as you can with him. You don’t need to pet him right away, even just sitting by his cage and talking to him is enough.

I don’t know how to get him to stop flipping stuff over, but try using a heavier water bowl (thick ceramic). You should also put a water bottle in his cage so that if he spills his water, he can still drink from the water bottle. Also, he might be trying to move his litter box if he doesn’t like where it’s at now. Try placing it in a different corner of his cage, but make sure his hay is still right by his litter box.

[Tyrannosaurus_Rex]

Alright, that’s kind of what I was thinking the case was. I’m gonna keep my hands off for a while, but maybe try talking to him and maybe hand feeding him so he gets to know that I am his owner and thaf I love him. How long did it take your buns to trust you?

[LBJ10]

I agree. Being in a new place can be overwhelming. He sees his cage as his and it’s comforting to him. So he wants to hold onto that… hence the territorial behavior/nipping. How long it will take him to settle down and begin to trust you depends. It could be weeks or months. My boys were both fairly quick to come around, but I know others here had to be very, very patient.

[Love4Bunny]

Yes, it can take a while. One of my bunnies took about a year to get comfy with me petting her and not running away. She’s better with me now. My other is super friendly and took to me instantly. I think it really depends on the individual rabbit. It’s a really good feeling once you connect with your rabbit, and that will look different for every bunny, so don’t get discouraged if someone else has Bunny Of The Year, and you end up with ‘Snowball’ from “Secret Life of Pets”. You will get there for sure if you continue to be patient and consistent.

[Luna]

I’ve seen a few posts where a member is petting their bun and snuggling within a week of meeting, which is shockingly awesome. The norm is months, so as LBJ10 and Love4Bunny said, just be patient. Luna was originally my sister’s bun and never really bonded with her. A little over a year later, my sister tried to find her a new home but couldn’t, so I adopted Luna and brought her to my house. She would always let me pet her, but it wasn’t until about the 3rd month with me that she would come out of her cage a lot and hop around to explore, and then by the 5th or 6th month she was 100% settled and trusted me completely.

[Author]

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