Out of the blue aggression

[ILikeBigBuns]

Hello!

My bun is about 5-6 months old. He is neutered (for about a month now). I brought him home after he was fixed. He’s been a happy playful boy. Very adventurous and VERY social.

Today I went to clean up his cage a bit and he bit me. I then went and sat down and he jumped into my lap and snuggled in (which is strange for him), he likes attention but doesn’t like being held or sitting on someone. A bit later I went to give him some apple and he lunged at it. Absolutely savage! Made a horrible noise and was very vicious. Never had that problem. Also following up to this his litter habits have been irregular. He had always used his box but was starting to go elsewhere.

Things to consider:
1) I had just helped out at a bunny rescue early today. Held two bunnies. Maybe the smell of the others made him upset? But doesn’t make sense that he crawled on me to snuggle. (This is my main thought for culprit)

2) I got rid of some stuff that was surrounding his cage. Then tidied up his cage. I also moved his litter back into his cage. It was just in the bathroom since he is a free roam bun.

3) I’ve started putting him in the bathroom while I sleep since he’s learned to get on the bed and likes to wake me up at all hours. And potties on the bed.

Let me know your thoughts. He’s always a good boy and this is literally overnight.

 

[Blue eyes]

First off, it can take some bucks 6-8 weeks past neuter surgery before hormones are fully dissipated. Until then, his behavior can still be affected.

In addition, I think you are on the right track that the odor of other rabbits on you could make him behave differently -- moreso if hormones are in play.

Changing or re-arranging his normal environment (and his litter box) can certainly be disagreeable to some rabbits as well.

His lunging at the treat could possibly be due to lingering hormones. Or, who knows, he could be upset at the recent changes or he was startled at your approach with the treat or was just being plain moody. It could be a one-time thing. You'll need to keep an eye out to see if he does it again, and if he does, see what is happening immediately prior.

The litter box habits can certainly change if you've changed the location of the box. Hormones can also play into litter habits. Once hormones have fully dissipated, he should start being more consistent. The right litter box set-up is important for ease of training. The box should also remain in the same place. You could also consider keeping one box in the bathroom and one in the cage. (what is your current litter box set up? size of box? bedding?)

 

[ILikeBigBuns]

Thanks for the feedback. He isn’t being aggressive toward me so I think the smell of the other bunnies made him upset. He’s still wanting love from me and showing no aggressiveness directly at me.

I went ahead and moved his litter back to the normal place. His box is a square shape kitty litter bin with high sides. He’s a pretty small bun so plenty of space for him. And I tried rearranging the area to mimic how it was before (now he can climb into some shelves as he was able to prior).

I’ll keep an eye on him. The way he took the treat from me was the most shocking. He was absolutely vicious. And he always takes apples. Is a little forceful but never aggressive. Hopefully it was a freak incident due to the hormone spike.

Thanks again!

 

[JBun]

Might want to shower and change clothes to get the other rabbit smell off of you too.

If the behavior continues, something else to consider would be health issues, especially if he continues to have pee accidents outside the litter box. UTI and bladder sludge can be a cause of loss of litter habits, though it could also just be him marking territory because of the smell of the other rabbits.

 

[Luigi]

@ILikeBigBuns this is as baffling to me as it is to you. My buck is also at a similar age (7+ months), also recently neutered (5 weeks ago), but he has never shown aggression or made any aggressive vocalizations. He never bites or lunges, not even when I smell like other humans and animals. Is this the first time you've come home smelling of other bunnies/animals? Have you rearranged his cage area before? I realize what others have said about the lingering hormones, but it seems odd that a bunny that is normally docile and sociable would behave like this out of the blue.

 

[ILikeBigBuns]

@ILikeBigBuns this is as baffling to me as it is to you. My buck is also at a similar age (7+ months), also recently neutered (5 weeks ago), but he has never shown aggression or made any aggressive vocalizations. He never bites or lunges, not even when I smell like other humans and animals. Is this the first time you've come home smelling of other bunnies/animals? Have you rearranged his cage area before? I realize what others have said about the lingering hormones, but it seems odd that a bunny that is normally docile and sociable would behave like this out of the blue.

I’ve come home smelling like another rabbit before. The only thing I can think is that this time I was at the rescue for two hours as opposed to just usual 30 Mins. And I held two buns instead of the usual one. Maybe the smell was too intense this time around. Or maybe he doesn’t like the new bun I held. Also I have rearranged his cage before. And even done it while he was in there without issue. I think it was the combo of smelling like another rabbit then reaching into his cage.

As an update, he’s back to being his sweet self. My boyfriend hand fed him some apple last night and he was back to normal. No lunging or nasty sounds. So I’ve learned my lesson to be mindful of coming home smelling like other buns. I’ll be sure to strip down and shower before interacting with my boy. Crazy to think there was such an instantaneous flip of personality just from smell. The adventures of bunny mom life!!