Do I have an aggressive bunny? :(

[mybabyjack]

Hey everyone! I'm new incase anyone missed my intro on the new people thread
My boyfriend and I are new bunny owners and got Jack only yesterday.
Well yesterday my boyfriend took one of the fake carrot chew things we got at the pet store and tried putting it near Jack's mouth to see if he was interested. Jack nipped at the toy, but it looked like he was trying to take it from him so my boyfriend did it again. This time Jack took the toy in his mouth and literally threw it across the cage! :shock: Then he lunged at my boyfriend's hand, but didn't try to bite him. After doing that, he did the "thump" thing with his hind legs. This means he's upset or feeling threatened doesn't it?

Up until that point he was okay with us holding him, petting him, letting me brush his fur. After the "incident" he acted very skiddish around my boyfriend but was fine with my and my friend. However today my boyfriend held him while he was watching TV and he was okay again... then the two of them played on the floor and Jack was fine... he was so excited to be running around (I think for the first time in months!), he was running and jumping and twisting in the air! up until Mike (boyfriend) put his hand on the floor and tapped it to get Jack's attention. Jack then lunged at Mike (no biting), thumped his feet again, and seemed upset. Mike put him in his cage after that because he seemed upset to be out (according to Mike, I wasn't home).

Then just now Mike hand fed him alfalfa by hand and Jack took it right from him fine! But when Mike tried giving him fruit he spazzed out. He tried to attack Mike, swatted at him until Mike dropped the fruit and then he ate it. Mike tried to reach into the cage to show him it was okay, that he was his friend, but any time Mike would put his hand remotely near the cage Jack would flip out and start to go after him.

It's been about 5 minutes since then and now Jack is perfectly fine now with Mike petting him.

It's strange to me because he's really a nice bunny! He's very loving 95% of the time but sometimes he acts strange like this. He also sits in the corner of his cage (on a box) and stares at the wall. Maybe he's depressed?

I'm so sorry for babbeling!!!

 

[VNess2010]

Hey!! Welcome to the forum! Do you know how old Jack is? If he's reaching puberty, he might be alittle edgy...maybe take him to the vet for a checkup? That would be best..and getting him neutered would be a great idea, if he isn't already. Also, maybe it sounds like he might be a little cage aggressive...take a look at these websites on rabbit aggression:

http://www.wihumane.org/education/WisconsinHumaneSociety-AggressioninRabbits.aspx

http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/aggression.html


http://www.petcarevabeach.com/behave.html




Hope everything works out! Pleasepost pics if you can....and any questions if you've gottem!

-Vanessa

 

[naturestee]

Vanessa is right- part of it may be hormonal. And he is the right age for it. But part of it is also just learning Jack's personality, and he needs to learn yours. He was probably irritated that you put a toy under his nose, and then I'm guessing that you moved the toy away from him. So the next time you did that, he made sure you knew that it was HIS toy and HIS personal space. Sprite does the same thing with me, but sometimes she turns it into a game. If I touch her toys, especially her plastic keys, she picks them up and throws them across the cage. How dare I touch her stuff! But if she's in a mood to play and I do the same thing, she tosses them repeatedly, then puts them down and waits for me to touch them again or for me to pick them up and offer them to her.

With the fruit, was Mike trying to hold it while Jack ate, or just give it to Jack? I only hold treats until the rabbit takes it from my hand. Some like me to hold it for them, others like to snatch it and retreat.

Reaching into the cage can make rabbits feel threatened. It is their space, after all. Especially with new rabbits, I avoid putting my hands in the cage while they are in there. Once they get used to me I can do it more, although I try not to pick them up in their cage too often. They need to feel that their cage is their safe place.

You'll need to give him a little time to get used to you and vice versa. Since he came from a petstore, he may not know how to deal with people very well. Or he might only be used to dealing with people in a negative way such as being picked up or pushed around, with little freedom of his own.

Hope this all made sense.

 

[TinysMom]

I think its important to remember that Jack is new to both of you and he may be feeling threatened or uncertain. Trust has to be built.

He could've been showing anger too I guess. One time we were giving Kyo (a Netherland Dwarf) some medicine and then tried to follow it with a raisin. He took the raisin from my daughter - and then THREW it at her and stomped off. We laughed because we knew he was just expressing his anger at having to take meds....

Peg

 

[Bo B Bunny]

My rabbit is really fun with his toys. He has one or two that he loves to place in our hands and then we roll to him again - kind of like a little fetch game.

If we do this while he's in his cage - it makes him mad and he acts all huffy but it's only because we are messing with his space. He also will act like he's going to ram us if we reach in.

We have a game on the floor of "gonna get the bunny" and he pretends to be a mean bunny but never is and usually gets all excited and binkies after his "ram" towards us.

Learn his games but try not to invade his space.

 

[mybabyjack]

He is about 6 months, according to the lady at the pet store. Is that the age when they are going through puberty?
As for having him neutered, we were discussing taking him to the clinic at the SPCA tomorrow and having it done tomorrow since you don't need an appt there (usually). We don't have a vet yet so this would work best for now until we find someone I think.
Thank you for the links too! (By the way, the last one is funny because I live in Virginia Beach! haha) Judging from the info I've seen he doesn't seem like he's really aggressive... maybe just occassionally upset and scared, which completely makes sense since he's in a new environment. New people, new cage, new area. Poor baby

Mike says he was trying to hold it for Jack to take it out of his hand...

Here is a picture of him VNess2010

 

[VNess2010]

naturestee wrote:

Sprite does the same thing with me, but sometimes she turns it into a game. If I touch her toys, especially her plastic keys, she picks them up and throws them across the cage. How dare I touch her stuff! But if she's in a mood to play and I do the same thing, she tosses them repeatedly, then puts them down and waits for me to touch them again or for me to pick them up and offer them to her.

Definitley! Sometimes I'll toss a toy in front of Cosmo's face and he'll pick it up and toss it back to me! But most of the time, he'll just toss it away...hehe..but I think he's just playing!

Mybabyjack: Yes, 6 months is a perfect age for puberty to kick in...esp in male rabbits! My Cosmo was neutered at about 6 months...cost about $120..but the price can vary greatly in different places. Here is a website on the benefits of neutering:

http://www.rabbitrehome.org.uk/ourwork/neutering.asp

By the way, Jack is adorable!! Love the pic..can't wait to see more!

-Vanessa:bunnydance::bunnydance: