• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

Banging foot, I'm confused

Tasmin's MOB

Mama Doe
:shock:

Bernard has been so happy and was just 5 minutes ago flopped out chilling but all of a sudden he had a little hop around, stopped in the middle of the room, looked at us and banged his foot!!

then after a few seconds of us just staring at him, he did it again!

I went over to him gave him strokes and he enjoyed that and then hopped off.

Is he attention seeking?

From what I know about foot banging it's meant to be a sign of either stress, danger or anger but he doesn't seem to be showing any other signs of this.

I've just cut his nails... could it be this?

ETA (lol to anyone who read my thread on general chat):

He was neutered a week last thursday, could it be hormones leaving his system?
 
Last edited:
lots of reasons

Our previous male lop, Bunster, was thumping heavily one night, so I investigated - the lower door of the hutch had been left open, and he knew all was not well.

Our current female lop, Buffy, thumps heavily if she is bored. She enjoys the awareness of me putting first the bedroom light on, then the rear outside light, when I go down to check if there is any danger. There never has been (our garden has high walls and is fox-proof, and our own rabbit-friendly cat is King Cat). She also thumps if they have not been put out for free-range time early enough in the morning, and if we go to bring them back in for the night earlier than she feels is right!

Does that help?
 
Ours thump to attention seek, or if we are not doing what they want.

One day Badger was doing something naughty out of sight at the end of the sofa :no: I told him off, and he ran around the front of the sofa, stood in the middle of the room and, staring at me, stamped his feet at me giving me daggers :shock: little devil! :evil:

They all stamp for different reasons, maybe he needed reassurance or maybe he just wanted attention.
 
Our previous male lop, Bunster, was thumping heavily one night, so I investigated - the lower door of the hutch had been left open, and he knew all was not well.

Our current female lop, Buffy, thumps heavily if she is bored. She enjoys the awareness of me putting first the bedroom light on, then the rear outside light, when I go down to check if there is any danger. There never has been (our garden has high walls and is fox-proof, and our own rabbit-friendly cat is King Cat). She also thumps if they have not been put out for free-range time early enough in the morning, and if we go to bring them back in for the night earlier than she feels is right!

Does that help?

Good grief - I thought I had a little madam in Lola, but your Buffy wins hands down!!

Lola thumps if they come into the kitchen from the garden and I close the kitchen door on them!! :roll:
 
Thanks guys this really puts my mind at rest, I thought we had upset him or that he was scared. :(

I think he was attention seeking as he seems pretty happy now :)
 
The only time ive ever heard Indy thump is when i put a wicker carrier outside the hutch (i'd been given it from work) - later found out that a dog had been in it, probably explaining why he was thumping...

"AAAAAAHHH - THERES A LION IN THERE!"
 
When Poppy wants to go inside from the garden and to bed (in summer mostly) and she has to wait whilst Nno is being brushed still she repeatedly sits and looks at the closed door then rushes over and sits in front of my OH looks directly at him and bangs her feet! :lol: Then goes back to the door again.... Rabbits thump for all sorts of reasons, short of very limited vocal sounds it is one method of communication that they know makes a good deal of sound and impact.

A quick, sharp thump where the foot is quickly lifted off the floor ready to thump again is a warning/danger thump, and very instinctual.

A stamp is more purposeful and the foot stays down afterwards, it is also a longer but duller type of thump in tone and is usually a sign of frustration or communication.
 
Funny you should mention this!

This morning Louie has just had his breakfast and has gone into the back room and suddenly started thumping. We have wooden floorboards and the racket is unbelievable!

I went in to see what had spooked him but couldn't see anything different!
 
Radish is thumping at the moment because I'm late feeding her. :lol: she always thumps if I'm late feeding her.

Waffle rarely thumps unless she sees the pet carrier and then she gets upset and starts thumping at me.
 
Sebastian thumps when I put him in the carry case when he doesnt want to be :lol: he also thumped when Mae was ill and I kept taking her away from him :love:
 
When Poppy wants to go inside from the garden and to bed (in summer mostly) and she has to wait whilst Nno is being brushed still she repeatedly sits and looks at the closed door then rushes over and sits in front of my OH looks directly at him and bangs her feet! :lol: Then goes back to the door again.... Rabbits thump for all sorts of reasons, short of very limited vocal sounds it is one method of communication that they know makes a good deal of sound and impact.

A quick, sharp thump where the foot is quickly lifted off the floor ready to thump again is a warning/danger thump, and very instinctual.

A stamp is more purposeful and the foot stays down afterwards, it is also a longer but duller type of thump in tone and is usually a sign of frustration or communication.

This is what he did! I've seen some of your posts before pretty lupin and you seem to really understand rabbit behaviour. I'm still learning as I go along as Bernard is our first rabbit.
Right now he is rearranging my bed covers to how he would like them :lol: we have been sleeping in the living room on the sofa bed because he was neutered recently and we wanted to keep an eye on him but now it seems to make more sense to stay here over the winter and only heat one room. He seems to think that he is the boss of the family now and likes to jump on OH's head at the same time every morning for his breakfast :lol:
 
Funny you should mention this!

This morning Louie has just had his breakfast and has gone into the back room and suddenly started thumping. We have wooden floorboards and the racket is unbelievable!

I went in to see what had spooked him but couldn't see anything different!

I couldn't believe how loud Bernard was :shock: we have carpets so I can imagine the racket Louie must have been making!!
By the way Louie is a fab name for a bun so cute :love:
 
He seems to think that he is the boss of the family now and likes to jump on OH's head at the same time every morning for his breakfast :lol:

Harry does this he doesnt do it to me only the OH who isnt tht keen on rabbits really :lol:
 
Harry does this he doesnt do it to me only the OH who isnt tht keen on rabbits really :lol:

He jumps on me at stupid hours during the night so that he can either snuggle up under the duvet or sleep on my pillow, then he knows that the OH feeds him so knows exactly what time to jumo on him!

He woke me up at half past 5 the other day and snuggled under the covers with me, I have to force myself to stay awake so that I don't roll over and squash him :shock: he only stays for 20 mins or so then hops off so I can go back to sleep :lol: if he's on my pillow tho I go back to sleep anyway and he just curls into a ball next to my head :love:
Luckily my OH is in love with Bernard just as much as I am
 
I couldn't believe how loud Bernard was :shock: we have carpets so I can imagine the racket Louie must have been making!!
By the way Louie is a fab name for a bun so cute :love:

:lol:
Louie thumping on a wooden floor must have been loud! :shock:

Poppy can make a hell of a thump on the concrete patio slabs.... we find it more funny when she does this cos it must really HURT! :shock::roll::lol:
 
His thumping on floorboards echo's around the whole of the downstairs area!

He does it a lot, he gets spooked very easily due to being blind. He must imagine dangers where in reality there are none!
 
The Dudster thumps when he's excited as well. There used to be a set time when they had a treat in the morning, Daisy would always be waiting but Dudley would often be upstairs binkying around. If I callled him he would come flying down the stairs, leap of the bottom stair and as he rounded the corner to zoom down the hallway he would thump his foot, almost as if to say hold on Im coming :lol: very funny and very cute :D
 
Mine usually thump at the vets :lol: Very rarely at home do they thump, fortunately!
 
Charlie thumps if he hears anything its pretty handy at times as he does it if there's people hanging around outside the house :)
Delilah thumps after I put her down after her morning health check :roll:
Lola has only ever thumped 3 times in the whole time I have had her but it makes me jump when she does thump its soo loud!:shock:
 
The first time I heard a rabbit thump I couldn't beliiiieeve how loud it was! :shock:

We were looking after Mitzy and she was in her hutch in the back garden - I was in the front bedroom having a lay in on a Sat morning (mind it was only 8am) and I heard this thump, thump, thump ..... turned out it was Mitzy being very unimpressed that she hadn't been uncovered yet!! :shock:

Dizzi thumped at me yesterday when I shoo'd her out of our bedroom ....... the previous day she'd got under our bed, into a box of books and started eating them!! It took me 20 mins to get her out!!! Little monkey!! :lol:
 
Back
Top