Rabbit will hop on my chest while I am laying down, be very affectionate for a few minutes, licking, etc, then suddenly bite/nip me

[TeddyTruly]

Yeah it's me again- (is there a rule on posting too much? This is the only place I know to go for casual advice so I'm posting a lot ^^') my 11 month old rabbit, whom I got little under a quarter year ago, has done this thing for the past few months where, when I am laying down, he will jump on my chest, and lick my hand and shirt. He also will nudge my hand as if to be petted, I think. But after a few seconds-up to like three minutes of it, he will nip my chest/stomach. And it hurts! XD. He is fixed, and has been for over 1.5 months. He does not seem to be doing this in an aggressive way, as he will switch between biting and licking, but I am not sure. He only does this on my shirt (now I have some holes in some of my shirts), so sometimes he will nip the fabric as well. He also will sometime almost dig into my shirt, although that is more uncommon. He also does not act aggressive afterwards. I sometimes will give him lettuce while laying down and let him hop on top of me so he may be wanting food? It is not super important that he stop asap, but it is kind of annoying, and when he bites it does leave some marks. Thank you!

 

[Blue eyes]

Nudging is a way of communicating. He could be asking for more pets or he could want you to get out of the way. The digging at clothing or pulling on it is often an attempt to get at your skin. They may want to 'groom' you and so sees the clothing as something in the way of that. Try to figure out what he's trying to communicate and be alert to what actions precede a nip. That way you can learn to avoid it. If he does nip, let out a high yelp. That may let him know that that was unpleasant.

 

[CrazyChickenGirl]

I tried the yelping thing when Dune was young and first started nipping. It was super affective.

 

[JBun]

If he's doing it when he's also licking you, and it's little nibbles, he could just be trying to groom you like he would a fellow rabbit. If the nips are after he's nudged you first, then it's likely you didn't pay attention to what he was trying to tell you with the nudge so he then is resorting to a nip to get your attention.