My rabbit goes nuts sometimes

Question
this morning i woke up at 7am and went down to say hi to my rabbit. when i arived and walked up to his cage he started running and hopping around his cage, quickly changing directions and sometimes slaming his body into the walls of his cage. He seemed really panicked. He then started sticking his face out of the cage bars as far as he could seeming like he really needed to get out. I let him out(he hops out on his own and accoss a little obstical course, an old ottaman and couch)  and started darting around again like he was doing in his cage. he seemed really freaked out, ive only seen him do this once before when i was playing "tag" with him outside of the cage. He continued with this rapid darting action and flailing through the air. He didnt seem disoriented or sick, he urinated and pooped fine. He wasnt making any unusual sounds, just his usual clucking sound. Could this action be a sign of rabies? I found him about a month ago and took him in since he was abandoned and probably wouldnt have lasted too long in the wild in St. Pete FL. He had a small scratch on his nose which i assumed he recieved during the time when i was catching him becasue he was darting through bushes and undercars and the scratch was very fresh. He is a dutch blue rabbit, really nice markings so i know he came from a good background at some point(not some type of mutt or hybrid domestic/wild rabbit....i dont think) Hes not always acting funny like this it is just at random times, he still would sit his head down on his paws and relax and let me pet him, and then back to the crazy darting around and flailing, he is usually very calm when i see him. Is this any indication of sickness or dementia? I havent brought him to the vet yet and ive never owned a bunny before, i just happened to fall in love with him and his initial tough guy personality and knew he would be safer either way with me than roaming around my college campus where multiple gators are known to live. I hope this is normal, please shed some light on this wierd behavior if you can....maybe its just normal.

thanks,
joey

Answer
Dear Joey,

No, it's not rabies.  I can't see him to be sure he's not panicked, but it really sounds more like he's doing his happy binky dance for you.  A really happy, excited rabbit will often race around like a maniac, leap into the air, twisting his body, flicking his head, and generally acting crazy.

If he's doing this, he's just happy and loves you.  :)

Signs of panic would include bulging eyes, panting, not wanting to be touched, trying to hide underneath objects, slamming into objects so hard that serious injury can result, and an inability to calm down, even when the human talks soothingly and quietly.

If your bunny does his maniac dance, but doesn't seem frightened, then he's just telling you how much he loves you, and how happy he is to see you.  :)

Hope that helps.

Dana