behavioral prob.s in an older neutered male.

Question
Hi!  I recently got a rabbit from someone who didn't have time for him
anymore.  :(  He was a rescued from a shelter.  He is around 3-4 years old.  
We'll know for sure Monday when he goes to the vet.  I have had him for 2
days now and I am starting to notice some behavioral problems I feel need
some attention.  I am not experienced with rabbits therefore, have no clue
how to deal with these:
Oh, first let me tell you he doesn't live in a cage.  He does have a carrier he
sleeps in at night.  He has free roam of my small bedroom.  He has his litter
box and his food dishes and some toys.
I left him alone yesterday for a couple hours and now I believe he is "mad" at
me.  If I try to pet him he grunts and snips at me.  This happened the other
day too.  He got over it after I gave him treats.
He pee peed where he shouldn't have and I scolded him.  I said "NO! BAD,
BAD SPENCER!"  and he grunted and lunged at me. (could also be why he is
"mad" at me)
If I am eating something he wants like cookies, his fav. and I don't offer him
any, he will circle me and grunt and lunge at me.
I can only hold him for a few minutes and he grunts and snips.
Also, if I even touch his things, he grunts and snips at me example: I wanted
to wash his carrier, I moved his tp roll while I vacuumed, I moved his food to
the other side of the room cuz he was making a mess and now he dump it
out.
So, yea, Spencer does have some behavioral issues and I am sure it's cuz he is
older, but is there anything that can be done?  How do I scold him without
him grunting and lunging at me then ignoring me all day?
Thank you.  I am sorry it is such a looooong question, but you seemed the
right person to answer!

Answer
Hi Angelica,

it has only been TWO days.  He has had trememndous changes recently and including the last two days.  His whole world changed, twice for him.  It is highly stressful for a animal that loves routine.

He is in a totally strange place and he doesn't know or trust you yet.  He is a prey animal, it takes a long time to build up trust with a person.  They are not dogs or cats.  

Plus, he probably came from a place that was certainly neglecting him, and possibly abusing him.  It makes it that much harder (as far as trust building goes).  

Yes, he will mark in places because he is just marking his territory.  It's not him being bad on purpose.  Just put a litterbox down wherever he seems to mark (or mark often) and he will most likely mark in the box.

He is 'mad' at you because he learned this behavior at his old place.  It is defensive behavior against those who neglected/abused him.  Rabbits are not like this innately.  Rabbits are not offense/attack animals by nature, this isdefensive.  He has probably learned this behavior worked to limit negative contacts with people.

It will require patience on your part.  The trust bond between a person and a rabbit may take a long time esepecially when the rabbit has had bad experiences with people before.  YOu need to be patient with him, and show him that human hands are to be trusted, that they will not hit or hurt him.  We build up trust with rabbits through our hands.

Don't pick him up right now.  Most rabbits don't like being held off the ground anyway, even if they don't have problems.  He doesn't trust you right now, don't push this.  It will make him avoid you.

Basically it may require you to wear heavier clothing for awhile, so it can absorb a nip.  You may need to wear foot protection (a shoe he can't bite skin through).  You want him to learn this kind of behavior has no effect on you, because when he figures out it is not effective at getting him what he wants, he won't do it.  By then he may trust you more too.  If he does nip you, you can't let it deter you from what you are doing.  YOu can't reward the behavior.  You may have to take a nip or two from time to time.

Also, to cut down on problems, it is better in these cases to do things inside the cage when he is outside in the room.  When they are inside the cage and you reach in, you are in their private space (warren) and they are more likely to feel need to defend it.

I would strongly, STRONGLY recommend getting in contact with a House Rabbit Society (or other rabbit rescue) group in your area, and seeing if they have someone that can meet with you and your boy, and help you out.  They do this.  They are generally more than happy to help out in cases like this.  to start, go here:

www.rabbit.org

and look up Chapter areas.  You can find them all across the US.  They also have a listing of independent groups if none are around you.

You have to give your guy time, and patience, and understanding.  It sounds weird possibly, but this guy has been traumatized and moved around a lot in a short period of time.  It's going to take awhile for him to get over the negative experiences (they do remember bad experiences) and begin to trust people.  

The upside of it is that you will feel extremely rewarded when he does trust you, when you see the behavior changes for the better, slowly start to come.  It is totally worth it.  We've had some like this, and it does pay off.  You have to be patient.  Never lose your cool.

Lee