My bun is becoming demonic.. HELP!

I have an 8-month old MALE Netherland Dwarf rabbit named Chai.


He has become increasingly moody and unpredictable. It started with nipping around 4 months, then biting, then lunging, growling, etc. About a month ago, he was on my couch and my boyfriend reached down to pet him, and Chai bit into his arm and wouldn't let go. My boyfriend had to throw him off of his arm and across the room to stop him from biting. I didn't see this incident, so I didn't really believe it completely (my BF can be dramatic, lol). But today, the same thing happened to me!!

My BF also owns a Netherland that is Chai's brother (Apollo). The two can't even be around each other without Chai mounting him aggressively and ripping out his fur. So I'm babysitting Apollo right now, which I know is the reason for most of Chai's moodiness today. Last night when Apollo first came over, Chai was running around his cage like crazy and thumping every minute, obviously being territorial. His cage has an opening on the top so I can feed him, give him water, etc. without him escaping. My friend opened this door, and chai JUMPED out! He has never done this! Then immediately starts running at our feet and trying to attack us. It was absolutely ridiculous. We got a towel and threw it over him and put him back in his cage. And the thumping and running continued all night.

Today, he had calmed down and was letting me pet him and I even held him for a second without any problem. So, I decided to let him run around. Well all he wanted to do was run circles around Apollo's cage and bite on the metal on his cage and pull aggressively. I kept shooing him, but he continued to return and do it again. I moved Apollo's cage into my room where Chai couldn't get to him but Chai kept following me and wouldn't get away long enough for me to do it. So I gave him a gentle push with my hand and he backed away letting me put Apollo in my room.

As I walked down the hallway, however, he was lunging and pouncing at my feet, and eventually tried to bite me. I got a chance to catch him to put him in his cage, so I did. I put my hand on his back to stop him from running, and he turned his neck around and grabbed onto my arm and WOULDN'T LET GO. I even tried biting him back to get him off because I was so desperate. I could HEAR my skin ripping as he sunk his teeth in.... So after like 10 seconds, he let go and BIT ME AGAIN!!! And wouldn't let go AGAIN. I had to squeeze him really hard and he let go and I threw him into his cage. It was RIDICULOUS. Now I have three, centimeter deep bites on my arm and swelling and bruising.


I planned on getting him fixed next week with my next paycheck, however, I've been reading up on it and I read that sometimes getting them fixed does not change their attitudes. I am a college student and I really can't dish out $250 just to have to give him away because I can't take care of him. I can't let him out of his cage, or hardly even give him food because he is acting so crazy and I'm not sure if I can deal with it! Is there anyone who can give me advice or has had a similar situation?? He used to be so sweet, even if he bit every blue moon. He would hop on the couch with me and cuddle. It's like day and night with his behavior lately... I am very attached to him and do not want to give him away at ALL. But if he would do better with someone more experienced, I would have to. :faint:

In older rabbits, the aggressive hormonal behaviour can become ingrained and habitual, so even neutering doesn't help much. But your rabbit is still pretty young, I'm positive if you neuter him now he will calm down considerably.

Yours is a textbook case. Hormonal bun = not very nice. Two hormonal buns = absolute terror. Having them both near each other definitely exponentially increases aggression levels. Neutering is awfully expensive, but so so worth it!

I just had my 11 month old guy neutered 5 days ago and he's calmed down significantly. He doesn't run around my feet biting at my legs anymore or start spraying at every chance he gets, there aren't any poos or pees on the bed or any where else either ;_;

It's called 'referred aggression'. Your male bun was feeling territorial about his space being invaded and basically wanted to seriously injure or kill the other bun, but you basically got in the way and were the outlet for his aggression and frustration. It's not that he wanted to bite you, he was just keyed up wanting to get to the other male and you got in the way. This is why it's not good for two hormonal males to be around each other.

Though none of us can guarantee that neutering will resolve the behavior, in all actuality it most likely will. This is typical hormonal behavior, and neutering and getting rid of those hormones will most likely resolve this. Just be aware that it can take between 4-8 weeks for the hormones to completely die down.

The smell of the other bun on your boyfriend may also be why he got bit. Best thing to do is not let these two males anywhere near each other. And until your bun is neutered, your boyfriend may want to put on freshly laundered clothes when visiting, or he could get bit again if his rabbits scent is on his clothes. If any of the behavior isn't hormonal, you can make changes and work with your bun to correct the behavior.

Agree with everything said above regarding neutering and his behaviour. You may still have to work with him some, but it should significantly improve.

Also, he's a real cutie