Rabbit Biting

Question
Hi,
I wanted to ask that why my bunny has started to bite us? My mom (She really take care of him) and my brother too but he bit them last week. He likes me very much but today he tried to bite me too. I warn him lightly not to do that but he seemed like he was not listening and just started circling around my feet. When this biting behaviour started, he started to circle around our feet more frequently and just wanna grasp/snatch his food from our hands. He is not neutered and is about 1 year 6 months old. I don't know any vets around here. We all love him a lot and don't wanna sell him.Is neutering the only option?
He likes to be petted on head but when he is circling he hates it when i pat him.

Answer
Hi Syeda

What a unique and pretty name!

Some rabbits who were completely passive and loving, become hormonal and temperamental at some point throughout their live and they can display a LOT of aggressiveness!

How long has this behavior been going on? Is this a sudden change from his typical self or has he been behaving this way since about 3-6 months old? 3-6 months points to sexual maturity and he's behaving based on his hormones.

If this behavior is new however, I would check him over head to toe. Look inside his mouth, are his teeth growing normally? Look at his limbs, toenails and toes. sometimes something as subtle as a broken toenail can bring on aggression if the rabbit is experiencing any pain.

Does he vocalize at all? Normally a rabbit who is circling your feet (Or a rabbit circling a doe) will lightly grunt. This is normal. Whimpering, screaming etc is not normal and indicate pain. Other signs of pain include sudden lethargy with eyes half closed. A rabbit sitting upright in a 'peeing position' can indicate stomach pain. Is he eating and drinking and playing normally otherwise?  One painful scenario with rabbits that often goes unnoticed is if the rabbit is suffering from gas from irregular eating. (Bloat or GI Stasis) Often the rabbit will stop eating or eat very little. His droppings may become smaller than usual or he may cease pooping all together. If you press lightly on his belly, he shouldn't react. If he jumps up startled each time you try to touch his belly and other symptoms (anorexia or small droppings) are present then I would get him to a vet who would give you pain medicine and show you how to force feed the animal successfully. A rabbit can't go more than 24 hours without eating. Their little systems start to shut down fast. I don't think the above applies at this point, but if he is experiencing any kind of pain, he might act out.

Males will circle feet prior to mating. It is likely that he has chosen you to be his mate in the absence of another rabbit. One of my males used to do this and he would also start humping my legs as well! I had him neutered and this behavior stopped completely. Neutering will curb your bunny's behavior as well. Call around to different vets. There is sometimes $100 dollar difference between vet offices for the procedure.

Does he have free reign of the house to run? I would start by eliminating his 'run' to a room where he can't get under beds or behind furniture where you have to pull him out. A 'playpen' style of enclosure would be perfect. Rabbits being prey animals, once hidden underneath something and if you are trying to get them out by reaching etc. they may decide that they feel cornered and lunge out to bite. Rabbits who have the run of the house can become temperamental sometimes. If you limit his area then it may put things into perspective for him about who is boss.

Most bites are more of a warning. Is he drawing blood or is he just telling you to leave him alone by biting but not overly hard. My male, once he gets sick of me holding or petting him, will very forcefully nudge my hand away so he can get away. If I don't listen to him, then he'll sometimes nip but it's more of a warning because he has yet to draw blood.

Does he get upset when you go to get something out of his cage such as the food bowl or if you move stuff around in the cage? A lot of rabbits, especially, but limited to females display cage aggression because they don't like their stuff being messed with. If this is the case, ensure he is out of the cage before you do anything to the cage.

Here is an incredibly useful video on taming the aggressive rabbit. I found this on youtube by chance and have referred many people who are dealing with this sort of bunny issue to this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxV0j7SwBbk

Hope this helps,

Alice