Aggressive bunny

[BunnyBit]

Hi guys my rabbit is 1 year and 3 months old unneutered. He is pretty much a sweet baby to me and my sister but turns into a rabid dog when he notices my mother within his line of vision and would suddenly pounce at her with a wide open mouth with an intention to bite her.
Now my mom is pretty much scared when he is free to roam at the living room so I transferred his cage to my room and now he just basically wanders around my room and to the balcony.

When I got him it was always my mom who was attending to him when I got work but suddenly he started with an aggressive behaviour towards her.

I directly asked my mom if she did something that he disliked but she said no.

PS. He calms down when my mom picks him up or just pet him.

Any advise?

 

[Hermelin]

Are you sure he calms down when being picked up and pet. Sometimes bunnies freeze/stay really still when they are stressed and scared.

I don’t really know what trigger him to be aggressive. He’s not neutered so it can be a territorial or he’s scared. I would first go with territorial because he’s not neutered. When he bite do he break skin or is it nipping behavior?

But if it’s because of being scared or feeling unsafe. You can try make your mom have treats every time your bunny free roam. She just need to drop a few treats he likes and he will later associate her with something good.

Myself used food for my scared bunny to build up his trust and fix his cage aggression.

While I also had a bunny that would always nip, I got really big bruises and it hurt quite bad. With her I would let out a squick and walk away when she nipped me. But I rewarded the good behaviors, she later learned nipping weren’t okay.

 

[BunnyBit]

Are you sure he calms down when being picked up and pet. Sometimes bunnies freeze/stay really still when they are stressed and scared.

I don’t really know what trigger him to be aggressive. He’s not neutered so it can be a territorial or he’s scared. I would first go with territorial because he’s not neutered. When he bite do he break skin or is it nipping behavior?

But if it’s because of being scared or feeling unsafe. You can try make your mom have treats every time your bunny free roam. She just need to drop a few treats he likes and he will later associate her with something good.

Myself used food for my scared bunny to build up his trust and fix his cage aggression.

While I also had a bunny that would always nip, I got really big bruises and it hurt quite bad. With her I would let out a squick and walk away when she nipped me. But I rewarded the good behaviors, she later learned nipping weren’t okay.

With my mom he would always bite with breaking skin but with me he would just nip when he doesn't get much attention esp when I am on my phone or working.

I am also considering to have him neutered.

When my mom picks him up his breathing would slow down and his nose would sometimes stop moving like he is asleep and ears folded. Does this means he is calm?

 

[Hermelin]

With my mom he would always bite with breaking skin but with me he would just nip when he doesn't get much attention esp when I am on my phone or working.

I am also considering to have him neutered.

When my mom picks him up his breathing would slow down and his nose would sometimes stop moving like he is asleep and ears folded. Does this means he is calm?

Do the ear touch when folded down or are they more pressed down and not touching. If they touch or more lay really close it’s a relaxed bunny.

It seem like he have gotten used that nipping is okay. So he might be doing the same towards your mom but it’s harder because he’s not as close. I think you need to train him to stop nipping you and other people.

I know my bunny Odin when he accidentally bite me or my little brother, it will never break skin or even leave a bruise but when he use the same pressure on my mom it will break her skin and she will start to bleed. He knows he’s not allowed to nip and only can accidentally do it when he’s excited over food.

You can first start with training the nipping part. Neutering can help if he started to nip because of a hormonal behavior and it can make him not be as territorial.

 

[BunnyBit]

Do the ear touch when folded down or are they more pressed down and not touching. If they touch or more lay really close it’s a relaxed bunny.

It seem like he have gotten used that nipping is okay. So he might be doing the same towards your mom but it’s harder because he’s not as close. I think you need to train him to stop nipping you and other people.

I know my bunny Odin when he accidentally bite me or my little brother, it will never break skin or even leave a bruise but when he use the same pressure on my mom it will break her skin and she will start to bleed. He knows he’s not allowed to nip and only can accidentally do it when he’s excited over food.

You can first start with training the nipping part. Neutering can help if he started to nip because of a hormonal behavior and it can make him not be as territorial.

Thank you for the advice. I'll have him trained on his nipping habit but I might have him neutured if nothing changes on his nipping.