Rabbit doesn’t like me anymore

[Marjery]

So basically, me and Harvey were doing pretty fine the first few months. He was really sweet, giving me occasional bunny kisses etc. Then I left for summer holidays and things are going down the hill since. I was gone about 12 days. He must have been about 5 months old then (not sure how old he really is as the person selling him didn’t really know). He’s about 10 months old now.

When I returned, he seemed to recognize me – he let me rub his head and ears etc, but things never really got back to where they were. Back then, for example, he would hop on my lap, place his head on my tummy and let me rub him and sort of fall asleep (although I guess he was never really sleeping). He hasn’t shown any aggression (never ever, he’s a peaceful bun), but the only thing he lets me do now is rub his head and ears, but only when he’s inside his cage (I place my hand around the entrance and he usually positions his head underneath my hand to signal he wants to be rubbed). If he’s outside, he doesn’t ever let me touch him anymore – he just hops to the side or walks away from me or so.

At first I thought he was just mad at me for being away or something, but it never really got better. My boyfriend took an excellent care of him – he wasn’t traumatized or starved or anything, he had the same regime we’ve always had (the 3 of us live together). Harvey basically treats me now how he has treated my boyfriend ever since the beginning – “no touching, just gimme food and go” kinda feel. I get like 2 minutes head rub through the cage door if I’m lucky and that’s it. He does come to sniff around me time to time when he’s out, but he doesn’t want to be touched or held. He hops on me sometimes when I lie down, but it’s mostly out of curiosity and he hops off soon after that.

How do I fix this?

M.

[LongEaredLions]

Baby bunnies are generally more friendly than adult bunnies, so he may never return to exactly how he was back then. Bunnies are prey animals, so in general they aren’t big fans of being held, though there are many other ways to interact with your bunny.
Something that might help tremendously is getting your bunny neutered. Your bunny has entered the teenage bunny stage, so his hormones are more likely to dictate his behavior. After he surgery, you can work with your bunny to help him warm up to you.

[Bam]

I totally second LEL. Baby bunnies love everybody. They’re like puppies. Then puberty hits, and the bunny becomes more wary. It’s very natural and in the wild, absolutely necessary because a bunny has so many enemies. I’m sure you’ve done nothing wrong, this is just the way rabbits are.

An adult bunny can become very affectionate though. I have a neutered male bunny that sleeps in my bed and wakes me with bunny-kisses in the mornings. When I’m sitting at my writing desk, he comes to lie under my foot or next to it =)

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