Why the sudden aggression?

[rhianna]

Pardon me if my thoughts seem a bit scattered; I'm just really confused and worried right now.

Bear is a year and a half old and has already been through the whole hormonal stage. I adopted him last October. We've had such a strong bond, and he has always loved cuddles and pets from me. But now he's acting different. He's suddenly turned aggressive toward me. I don't know what's happening with him. When I go near him, he sniffs my hand and then starts growling, bearing his teeth, standing in that aggressive bunny stance, and then hops away. His normal reaction would be licking my fingers and hopping closer to me.

He's having problems with his teeth and I'm bringing him to the vet soon to get them trimmed. I know that pain from things like that can make a rabbit moody. However, he's seemingly happy otherwise. He's happy to hop around and explore like usual. And he doesn't act aggressive toward me until he sniffs me. So I don't know if it's related to the pain or not.

I really hope that this isn't the end of our bond. I couldn't handle it if this was permanent.

 

[JBun]

Are you using any type of scented hand lotion/soap on your hands that he may not like the smell of? Any new smells from petting another animal? Any changes in his environment that might make him upset, or any changes that might make you smell different to him?

If none of these things is likely, pain can certainly alter a rabbits behavior. If you could get a pain reliever like metacam, from your vet until you can get his teeth fixed, this may help him. You don't want to wait too long with teeth issues, as rabbits will often stop eating if it is too painful for them to chew.

 

[rhianna]

Yesterday, the aggression did start when I was holding one of my gerbils and then reached down the pet Bear. It stopped after I put the gerbil back. He was normal until just about an hour before I posted this thread. I was around other rabbits earlier today, but came home and Bear was fine directly after. I've washed my hands several times and changed my clothes since then. Bear is always around other animals in my room as well, since I have 3 cages of rodents as well as my cat. I haven't used any scented lotions or anything recently at all.

I actually had Bear at the vet Monday due to weight loss, which had followed no noticeable change in his diet. Long story short, the vet blamed his lack of interest in hay (which has been going on since I got him) and prescribed Critical Care. Bear stopped being able to chew solid foods about three days later which is when I realized that he's having teeth problems. So he's been on a steady diet of only CC and vegetable baby foods for the past couple of days. I'm planning on having him back at the vet for a tooth trimming very soon, as soon as my dad is able to loan me the money. I'm really hoping that this will take care of the aggression. I'm not sure though, since the tooth thing has been going on for a week or so, and the aggression is very new.