Strange Behavior....

Question
Hi, Dana! I really need some help with my bunny. I am going to give you as much info as possible, because I need some pinpointed answers! I have a 3 year old, neutered male Dutch that I am VERY bonded to. I have had him since he was about 5 weeks old..I rescued him from very bad outdoor conditions, and within a few days of bringing him home, he started to exhibit wryneck symptoms. Well, we don't have any rabbit knowledgeable vets around here, so I prayed about it, and found Barbi Brown, out of California who was a huge help, and told me to treat him with Ivermectin every 3 months. He has NEVER had another symptom. His head and neck are totally straight, and you would never ever guess he ever had wryneck.(If there is anyone else reading this question, please do NOT try to treat your bunny yourself without a vet's diagnosis, and the corect dosage  of Ivermectin!) Anyway, I don't know if his past history factors into my question or not..I doubt it, but I want to tell you everything...OK, here goes..Ben,(my bunny)is extremely affectionate towards me. I get him out every night to cuddle, which he does..he cuddles on my chest while I'm watching TV, and will continually lick the side of my face for an hour. He grinds his teeth contentedly, and gazes at me with what I could only describe as "love and friendship" in his eyes. Anyway, he has had the very same cage--(a huge one on a stand, about chest high)for over 2 years. He seems very content in his cage, and he has NEVER been cage aggresive toward me. However, he goes through these periods of not wanting to be lifted out of his cage, and it really upsets and frustrates me. At first,(about 2 years ago)I would kind of "drag and scoop" him out the front door of his cage. He was fine with this for a long time, then one day he decided he didn't like that anymore, and would tense up, and grunt/slight growl when I tried to take him out. He did this repeatedly, but never nipped or bit, and ONLY when I would try to pull him out of the cage. Anyway, I quit trying to pull him out the front, and started "lifting and scooping" him out the top of his cage instead. This worked well for a long time, then just recently he has started doing the tensing up, "grunt/slightgrowl" when I go to ift him out of his cage again. I have resorted to "scruffing" him, which I HATE to do, because I feel like he is dangling for a second while I pull him out the top...the cage is such that I can't really "scruff and scoop" at the same time. Ben doesn't like this and acts the same towards this method of pulling him out of the cage. He is obviously annoyed at my attempt to pull him out of the cage, but the funny thing is, once I get him out, I hold him for a minute, and he starts to lick my face. He will always  lick my face a few times, and then when I put him down, he flicks his feet a little as he's hopping away. When he is out of his cage,(laying on the floor or on top of his cardboard box), most times when I come up to him to cuddle, he will lick my face then, too. He is most affectionate during cuddle time at night, though--he licks me continually, and snuggles, purrs, and sighs happily. I am very confused, and kind of heartbroken that he is doing this about being pulled out of the cage. This is the ONLY time he acts like this, yet when I do get him out, he licks my face right after! He seems to only have this behavior about being pulled out of his cage at different times...I mean, he'll do it consistently for a period of time,(everytime)-- then he'll go a long while without doing it. I'm really puzzled because he loves his free run time, and he's a bit overweight, so I need to get him out to run! He never acts like that about being picked up and put back in his cage, either. In fact, sometimes I have to play "chase" a little to catch him to put him back in there, but he never acts annoyed about it. Can you help me? I am crushed, because we do have a really tight bond, and I don't understand what he is doing, or trying to tell me. I am having a very hard time not taking it personally. I know that probably sounds dumb, but is he starting to not like me? Anyway, I will leave this question public, but can you please send the answer to my email address as well? I really appreciate any help you can give me...suggestions on how to handle this, and what he is trying to tell me by his behavior. Thanks much, Heather  P.S.-In case it matters, he eats a very good diet-Oxbow timothy pellets, and Oxbow Oat hay.  

Answer
Dear Heather,

I can't send this answer to your email address because AllExperts doesn't show your address (for your security, I guess).  So I hope you get this message via the web site.

What your bunny is doing is showing what we call "cage aggression."  This is normal for a rabbit who is being pulled out of his "home base," which he considers his inviolable territory.  It's the same as if you were being yanked out of your bedroom when you didn't really feel like it.  You'd grump and complain, but once you got over it and realized that the person who'd gotten you out of bed was someone you loved, you'd get over it.

The best (and really only) solution for this is to modify the cage so that the door is on the *side* of the hutch, and not on top.  This will allow you to open the door and let your bunny come out *of his own free will* when he feels like it.  Dutch rabbits are highly intelligent and like to be their own bosses.  When you reach in and grab him when he might not feel like it, you're violating his personal space, and the more you do this the more he'll resent it.

This will take a little bit of adjustment on your part, but not too much.  Once you modify the hutch so he can come and go as he pleases, you'll find that he will lose his aggression and become very happy to jump up on the couch with you when he feels like it.  But if he wants his privacy, he'll let you know that by staying in his hutch and grumping at you if you reach in to grab him.  That's okay.  It's normal rabbit behavior, and you can't expect even your best friend to *always* want to cuddle exactly when you do.  It's a give-and-take relationship. But the more he realizes he is free to do as he wishes, the more time he'll choose to spend with you.  That's what usually happens!

Incidentally, ivermectin is used to treat ear mites and roundworms.  If it cured his head tilt, it's possible that he had a bad internal ear mite infection that was possibly resulting in inflammation of the middle ear.  Ordinarily, ivermectin will be completely ineffective against head tilt, as this condition is most commonly caused by either a middle- or inner-ear infection or by a protozoan parasite known as Encephalitozoon cuniculi.

Bacterial infections must be treated with the appropriate antibiotic.  You can read more about this here:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/culture.html

and more about the causes and treatment of head tilt here:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/tilt.html

You can also find a good rabbit vet with the list linked here:

www.rabbit.org/

I hope he never develops head tilt again, but in case he does, you'll be well equipped to fight it.  (And if he ever has mites again, a more recent "cousin" of ivermectin, selamectin (brand name Revolution) is even *more* effective against the parasites that cause this problem.  It's topical, and lasts for about a month!

I hope this helps.  Please write back if you have any other questions.

Dana