Rabbit slapping his tail?

Question
Hi there,
I have 2 pretty bunnies kept indoors.
They are males and i had them both neutered. they are about 6 months old.
The past few days i have noticed a strange behavior; sometimes out of the blue one of them looks extremely annoyed and after a quick run and hide he starts banging his tail on the floor for a 5 minute period.
Should i be worried, could it be an infection?

Thank you in advance,

Antonis


Answer
Dear Antonis,

If you are actually hearing a sound along with this, then it is probably the bunny thumping his hind foot, not his tail, that you are witnessing.  This is a natural behavior in which bunnies engage when they are frightened, excited, annoyed, etc.  The nature of the thump tells the listener the message.

Rabbits do sometimes "talk" with their tails, but one almost never sees this behavior in neutered males.  An intact male will sometimes wave his tail around in a wild, jerky motion, especially while urinating.  It may have something to do with leaving scent with the urine.  But there is no sound associated with the "squirrel tail" wiggle.

For all the best information on how to care for your bunnies and understand their communications, please visit

www.rabbit.org

Hope this helps.

Dana