Strange Rabbit Behaviour

This is my first post in this forum. I have a dwarf rabbit, he is 3 years old. Lately he began acting very strangely and I'm a very worried about him. He became very aggressive and began biting when putting food in his cage or putting my hands in front of him. He is also doing strange things like trying to dig with his hands and throwing away his food and water bowls. Is this behaviour normal in rabbits? or is this a heat which he passes through this time of year? N.B lately I changed his cage.. can this be one of the factors of this behaviour?

Welcome to the site

Is he neutered? I see you're in Malta, I don't know if they do that over there?

I would be inclined to worry about a health issue, such as dental issues, so I think a vet check would be needed.

Has anything else changed in your world or his world around the time you noticed the change?

Hello!

Is he neutered?

The change of cage could be a factor, but hormones would make him more susceptible to behave in this way.

Also, does he have less space than he used to have?

No he is not neutered, the only thing that had changed is that I've got him a bigger cage and took him to the vet to trim his nails..

The not neutering may well be the key here - and may be related also to the larger cage. Often natural development including hormonal development appears (I am not a vet so this is just experience) to be suppressed if a bun has not enough space . .

Having some extra space may have encouraged his natural territorial instincts and hormones

May I ask how much space her regularly has access to?

Here we would say a hutch or cage size of minimum 6ft long by 2ft wide by 2ft high PLUS free time in a run area of 8ft by 6ft for several hours each day . . or in the case of indoor buns - free range in the house for several hours each day.

Any less than this and his natura behaviour will be cramped.

However if at all possible I would have him neutered otherwise he will be frustrated and can become quite grumpy and difficult to handle.

He is an indoor rabbit, the cage is about 3 feet by 2 feet and a height of 2 feet.. and he spends several hours a day running around, and trying to escape