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Aggression?

22 9:54:53

Question
I've had my rabbit about a week now and in many ways he's extremely friendly. He approaches the door hoping for food when you approach the cage and although he doesn't like being handled he accepts it without complaint, everyone in the house loves him.

But for the last couple of days he's started nipping. The first time I put my hand in his cage and he seemed quite agitated, then I went to take out his food bowl which every other time he has been happy with and excited. This time, he lunged at my hand and nipped me, just slightly breaking the skin.

I thought this was territorial aggression until he did it again today after i fed him - he sniffed my wrist blockig the cage door and then nipped again, although more gently this time, but still leaving a mark. Why is he nipping? I noticed he had diarrhoea when i cleaned him out yesterday and wondered if this could be making him more grumpy now.  

Answer
Are you sure it is diarrhea???

Is the poo sticking to his bottom (sticky bottom syndrome)?

or is it caecotrophs?
These are raspberry shaped droppings which he will re eat as long as there are not too many of them in which case his diet is not up to scratch.

If he is suffering from runny poo this is diarrhea. In this case it needs further inspection as young rabbits can get mucoid enteritis from high carbohydrates in the diet and low fibre
If he is under 14 weeks of age he should not be having greens for this reason and certainly no fruit due to high sugar content causing SBS

As for his nipping and lunging:
This is common in rabbits reaching sexual maturity. It does not just happen when you place the food in his cage it will happen if you approach to touch him or touch his cage.

You donot say how old he is but at 16 weeks old have him castrated to reduce this unwanted behavior which can increase with the rise in testosterone.
He may also be circling your feet and nipping your ankles if it is behavior due to hormone increase.

Another thing some rabbits do is test you patience with this behavior to see if they will get away with not being touched. It is just like having a naught 2 year old child. Do not give in to this behavior and do not back away from him because he will learn from your reactions.

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