Help to understand my bunny''s behaviour

[Heli]

Hi all, I am new to forums so not too sure if I'm doing this right. My bunny Hopper is a little over 1 year old and is a beautiful rex. I adopted him from a friend who''s children had lost interest in him. He lives in a large run in our living room and his cage is in the middle giving him constant access to his run and he''s able to see all the goings on in our house. I spent a lot of time bonding with hopper when we got him 4 months ago and eventually he would hop onto my knee and my shoulder and lick me furiously. When I come home from work he runs up to the edge of the run to greet me. Lately, he has become less affectionate, only hopping on my knee for treats. Are bunnies prone to moodiness? . He has never enjoyed being held or stroked, in fact the only way to have a crafty stroke is when he is chewing a toy or eating a treat, is this normal ? If I lay on the floor he will lick my face and bump me with his nose, but I'm not sure if this is him being affectionate or not. Also, despite having lots of toys (probably too many) and attention from us all, he persists in chewing the bars of the run and lifting them with his nose in a tantrum. Do bunnies have child like temper tantrums ? I am currently saving up to have hopper neutered as my vet says that it's the right thing to do. He isn't spraying at the moment, but could the other behaviour be sign's of frustration and that it's getting time I booked him in for the op ? I got him a little stuffed bunny friend in case he was lonely (Mrs snuggles) and he licks her and brings her toys and sleeps next to her, but I don't think it's doing the trick. Any advice would be helpful, I'd love nothing more than to have cuddles and strokes with hopper and have him content and happy to interact with me, I'm not sure if I'm doing it right.

 

[Watermelons]

Hello and welcome to the forum.
He sounds like a pretty normal bunny.
Licking is a very positive behaviour. No bunnies typically do not like being picked up, held or pat (some do some don't), even if they do like you (the licking) scary things coming from above can be worrying in their minds. But they also like to think they rule the world so he has learned to work you over for treats it sounds like.
The lifting of the bars sounds like attention seeking and boredom. How big is this run he has? How big is the cage in the run? Does he have free time out of the run?
Rabbits are not like dogs and cats. Sounds like you have a pretty good relationship with your bunny.
Neutering him is another great thing to get done, glad to hear you have that planned all ready.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Definitely have him neutered. All are unique and different, so comparing one to another is an exercise in futility mostly. Even our most grumpy ones like having their head rubbed lightly while stroking their cheek/jaw area. Remember, train your bunny or get trained--they may not like being picked up and handled, but they will get used to it and some come to enjoy it.

 

[Azerane]

Hello there and welcome I think everything has pretty much been covered, it sounds like you're doing great with him. His recent aloofness may or may not have something to do with him coming more into sexual maturity, or it could simply be his personality now that he's grown up. Rabbits do have tantrums, but they seem to mainly consist of throwing things around, or shredding things when you've either fed them late, or haven't let them out for play time etc

Keep working with him to bond with him down at his level. Rabbits as a general rule do not like to be picked up and held. When I first got Bandit he would always kick and struggle any time I picked him up. With a bit of time he stopped struggling at all and learned to accept it, but I could still tell that he didn't like it. So I only picked him up when I needed to, for grooming or putting him in his carrier etc. Some rabbits like sitting on laps for cuddles, Bandit would not sit for cuddles on my lap, but he would sit next to my lap for cuddles. So you just have to find what works for Hopper and what he's comfortable with, even if it's only sitting on the floor next to him and stroking his head.

 

[Heli]

Thank you so much for your advice. Hoppers cage is a ferplast 120 w=120cm, D=58.5cm, H=51.5cm, he can stand upright on his back legs and hop across the cage. The cage is situated inside the run with the cage open all day allowing him to freely run around and pop back in his cage whenever he likes. The run is made up of 6 panels, each panel measures 92 x 76cm. On reading your advice I makeshift bunny proofed the living room today and opened the run so hopper could have an explore. He had a blast jumping on and off the sofas and attacking the curtains lol. Having seen how much he enjoyed himself, I'm now looking to find more permanent bunny proofing fixtures so he can have much more fun without squeezing into places he shouldn't. Do you think his cage and run are big enough ? I have seen a 2 tier cage, but will have to save some more before upgrading lol

 

[Watermelons]

If youre going to give him free time out of the cage and run, i think youll be fine with the cage and run you have.
Im having trouble picturing the size of your setup even with dimensions.

So when youre not home he still has access to his run correct?

 

[Heli]

Yes thats right, and its 8 panels not 6 sorry, its shaped like an octogon, i leave his cage open all day from 8.00am up to 11.30 pm at night, he has access to his run all that time. I hope thats ok for him ��