My rabbit is being an ***hole.

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StormyB

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SO I have two rabbits, Benny and Thumper, who is new. Benny is a little mean anyways. I brought Benny out to meet Thumper[who was in his cage] and Benny sniffed Thumper, tried to bite him, ran over to me, bit me hard on my leg and ran back to his bunnyroom. He's being a bully. How do I convince him that Thumper is a friend and I have not replaced him and I still love him?
 
SO I have two rabbits, Benny and Thumper, who is new. Benny is a little mean anyways. I brought Benny out to meet Thumper[who was in his cage] and Benny sniffed Thumper, tried to bite him, ran over to me, bit me hard on my leg and ran back to his bunnyroom. He's being a bully. How do I convince him that Thumper is a friend and I have not replaced him and I still love him?

Are they neutered? Have you bonded them? If you answered no to either/both of those questions then that could be the problem.
 
Benny is neutered, Thumper, I'm trying to find a vet to do that. He's also 4 months old, is that too young? Last time and only time I took Benny to the vet, was because of what I believed was necrosis on a ruptutured cyst, but turned out to be discolored scar tissue. But they haven't replied to my email or phone message.

How do I bond them? Benny is just a mean mean rabbit. I mean, only a few days ago did he start letting me pet him head to tail without biting my hand off. He still bites if I go for his belly, feet, or try to touch his back without starting at his head or pick him up.He's just an *** of a rabbit who I love to death.
 
i have had mine in two separate cages ( next to each other ) and after time they will get used to one another. plus having him neutered is a plus ( and will make life easy on all three of you all )
 
You'll probably want to get him desexed before you bond them along with the 4 or so weeks after the operation so that the hormones have all gone and the rabbit has recovered enough. My vet will desexed at around 5 months of age as long as the rabbit weighs more than 1 kg, not sure if it is the same for you.
In the mean time you can have a look through the bonding posts on this website http://www.thebunnychick.com/category/bonding/
Make sure to look through the one titled "5 ways you're hurting your rabbits' bonding" as it has some great do's and don't's that lots of people slip up on.
 
Benny is neutered, Thumper, I'm trying to find a vet to do that. He's also 4 months old, is that too young? Last time and only time I took Benny to the vet, was because of what I believed was necrosis on a ruptutured cyst, but turned out to be discolored scar tissue. But they haven't replied to my email or phone message.

How do I bond them? Benny is just a mean mean rabbit. I mean, only a few days ago did he start letting me pet him head to tail without biting my hand off. He still bites if I go for his belly, feet, or try to touch his back without starting at his head or pick him up.He's just an *** of a rabbit who I love to death.

Since they are both males and only one is neutered, I would advise seperating them after a few weeks of his neuter because it could get a bit viscous. 4 months is not too young, the younger is usually the better but there is an increased risk if you do neuter operation under 4 months, check with your vet to see when you can. I neutered my rabbit when he was 4-5 months old, they normally check weight and health in advance before the operation. Look up some rabbit savvy vets in your area and do the neuter there.

It looks like Benny gets annoyed when you pet him. Let him choose when he wants to be petted not you. With my Oscar, I lay down on the floor and he would come up to me and sniff me, after a bit of binkies he comes back and lays down, this shows they are relaxed. Ask permission to pet first by hovering yor hand in their eyesight, if they move then don't pet them, if they don't then it means you can. Sometimes this technique doesn't always work but when it does you get a good long petting session. Also about belly and feet areas, those areas might be too sensitive, so don't pet your rabbits paws they will nip you. I would continue petting his head, and back area but start from the head first like you do.

Hope this helps :)
 
Bunnies are hardwired for petting behavior because they are hardwired for expressing dominance and subordination in grooming and interpret petting through the lens of grooming. You need to pretend to be a subordinate rabbit, placing your hand palm downward some inches before his nose. If he bows his head he is giving you permission to groom/pet his forehead. The more you pet his forehead the more he learns to trust you and will give you permission to touch him further back on his body.

Hope that helps.
 
Bunnies really like to live with a mate. I have two sisters who just really love each other so much. But, unfortunately, you cannot just bring a rabbit home to your rabbit and expect they'll love each other. Usually, from what I've read, the home rabbit will attack the new and strange rabbit. There are posts about how to introduce bunnies to each other. It has to be done on neutral territory. You can't introduce the new bunny to your bunny on your bunny's territory. I've read where bunny boarding services offer bunny "dating" services where bunnies are introduced to each other. Once they accept each other on neutral territory, the story goes, you can bring them home. Does anyone have some actual experience with introducing bunnies?
 
Hi OscartheBunny! I addressed Bennys issues with being petted in my earlier post.
flemishwhite is right that bunnies love to be bonded once they are neutered or spayed. Two neutered males are actually the easiest to bond.
As to neutering Thumper, that can be done as soon as his balls drop (sorry to sound so course). If your vet does not return your calls try rabbits.org for local vet recommendations. That website also has good articles about how to bond bunnies as does the section of Rabbits Online on rabbit knowledge. There are no better resources for that than those two sites so I beg you to read them so Benny and Thumper can be happy together.
 

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