Post neuter funny business

[sugarbunny515]

Hi, newbie here

I got my rabbit, Toby, on july 1st from a friend of my brother’s. He is 1.5 yrs old and I got him neutered about a week after I got him.

Since the neuter, when he is displeased with me (usually when I try to pick him up — or when he was sick for a day or two and I had to force feed him), he attempts to dig at a spot on the carpet in his playpen and tries to rip/chew at it with whatever strength he can. It seems quite aggressive the way he digs and tries to get at whatever is “underneath” that part of carpet. He has quite a few toys to chew on and tons of hay. I even got him a grass mat to dig and rip up that i put on his usual dig spot, but sometimes he will try to toss it. I’m not worried about the carpet as it’s tiles of them that I can replace, but I’m wondering if this kind of behavior will go away after maybe the hormones dissipate.

Before I adopted him, his previous owner said he is quite cuddly and would fall asleep with you while watching tv. So far has not been the case . Mind you I still had to ‘bond’ with him when we moved him into a new home. New home, new faces, new smells. definitely not cuddling environment.

not sure if maybe he’s just holding a grudge with me. sometimes he has okay days. Today was an interesting morning. He’s never bit me before, and he tried to nibble on me twice. I’ve heard that rabbits can nibble out of affection, but not sure if that is the case here?

My boyfriend and I are usually not home during the day during work hours and we live far so we leave the house early and come home fairly late, but we try and spend as much time with him as we can. We did have him have free range of our top floor (supervised) in the first week of having him but with the heat in our house, we moved him down to the basement (which is not rabbit proofed at all), just so he can be cooler. We plan on moving him back upstairs when it gets cooler. At the moment we just have a playpen for his exercise area, in which we
let him play in all day while we’re gone in case we come home super late, and we put him back in the
cage at night.

I’m wondering if his aggressive like digging is due residual hormones? maybe he’s a bit lonely and acting out? bored? 

[RabbitPam]

It takes at least a month after the neuter for the hormones to dissipate, so that’s definitely a big factor in his behavior. They can even have one last surge of aggression in the final week before they stop being effected by the hormones. Of course, he was cuddly with the former owner because he was still a baby, and didn’t have the hormonal changes yet. The good news is that his aggression has a time limit from that cause. You’ve done the right thing for him.

A bunny can, and will, hold a grudge if you displease them, so that’s in the mix. And I mean they can be annoyed with you because it’s only Tuesday. Very hard to fathom and just part of bunny life. (They usually don’t last past a favorite treat.)
You’re right that the move of home, people, etc. has also upset him. Think of him as a teenager who’s been uprooted to a new location with a new family. Going to be cranky for a while. He had a habitat, only to have it moved again to the basement. (Good to keep him cool, but going to annoy him again.) If you can set up his habitat – litter pan, food dishes, toys, hidey box or tent – in a way he likes, leave it set up. Let him get used to it. Then, if you move him upstairs again, set it up exactly the same way. Whenever you move you want to recreate a bunny’s “room” as much like what they know as possible. If the carpet is a problem, try flat seagrass mattes. He is pulling on it as a chewing project, and it’s part of his aggression.

Don’t expect cuddles, but he will settle down as he acclimates to you and the new home.
Oh, don’t worry at all about your work schedules. Bunnies are crepuscular – awake at dawn and dusk – and are perfect pets for working adults. He is sleeping deeply in mid-afternoon, so he’s fine and not ready to get up until right about the time you get home. Be sure to pay alot of attention to him in AM/PM. Sit quietly with him and let him explore you both, and he will get used to you fast.

[RabbitPam]

P.S. Leave him daily with lots of hay and water. (and AM greens.) That way, if you are not home soon, he will have food and drink. Bunnies don’t finish all their food at one sitting, so unlimited hay will give him plenty to eat until it’s time for his evening greens. I also start the day with pellets, and when she finishes them, she’s done. She sometimes eats all by 4PM, but usually there are some left for a late night snack, too. 1/4 cup max. for an adult.

[sugarbunny515]

Thanks for the tips!

I gave him a blanket and he’s started to dig on that instead of the carpet.
I’m not sure if its better? because he’s still digging just as much, he just chooses the blanket over the carpet. I think it’s more satisfying because it will actually move where he wants it to.

[sugarbunny515]

Is it still a good time to bond with him — ie: being on the floor, and interacting with him closely If he’s trying to bite at me?

or should I just be giving him space?

[Author]

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