• 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.

What am I doing wrong???

LilRabbit25

Warren Scout
My bunny Mozart is a 1 year old neutered bunny (male). Since he was small he's been very shy and afraid of new people and hides under the sofa when theres someone new.
He's fine around me and lets me stroke him and everything (basically he trusts me the most out of my family). He sometimes lunges or gets into a low position with his neck stretcher out in front sort of like he's about to pounce when someone enters the room.
He also gets very aggressive around food and tries to lunge at my had. One second he loves me and wants to be stroked and another second, it seems like he hates me! Maybe because he thinks every time someone enters or reaches for him he expects food???? I really don't know......:( he doesn't like to play with his toys or be held either (which is normal but he doesn't even like to be held or touched with both hands). Maybe he needs a friend? :cry:
 
All of this sounds pretty normal, rabbits get over-enthusiastic when food is being offered and sometimes pounce at your hand, and the hiding when a stranger enters the room is normal too. Maybe if Mozart had a friend he would become more confident, a neutered female would be the best choice. Let us know if you decide to pair him off as there are certain guidelines which must be followed in order to ensure a successful bonding.
 
Is he neutered? Being unneutered can tend to make any aggression worse.

What colour are his eyes? Sometimes shaded bunnies can have red-brown eyes that also seem to link with poor vision like you can get with the more bright red-eyed white bunnies.
 
Eyes

Is he neutered? Being unneutered can tend to make any aggression worse.

What colour are his eyes? Sometimes shaded bunnies can have red-brown eyes that also seem to link with poor vision like you can get with the more bright red-eyed white bunnies.

His eyes are very dark and I can hardly see his pupils. If he does have poor vision, is there any specific lighting inside a room that would make it easier for him to see e.g. lights on, dim, dark etc.
Also, I might be getting another rabbit from the Hong Kong Rabbit Society (I live in HK). However, for some reason, they do not do the bonding for me and won't even let Mozart come over and see the bunnies???? So I might have to get a neutered female rabbit from some other rescue centre.
Thank you for your replies!
 
I don't think changing the amount of light will help much, though avoiding very bright and pitch black may help. Try to avoid standing with the light directly behind you so you're just a big shadow and speak to him so he can use his ears instead :)

I've an article on picking up that may help you: http://www.therabbithouse.com/behaviour/problem-picking-rabbit-up.asp

It sounds like he's a bit nervous so I agree a confident female to copy may well help.

Try to avoid the triggers for his aggression and just take things slow and give him plenty of warning you're going into his space.
 
I don't think changing the amount of light will help much, though avoiding very bright and pitch black may help. Try to avoid standing with the light directly behind you so you're just a big shadow and speak to him so he can use his ears instead :)

I've an article on picking up that may help you: http://www.therabbithouse.com/behaviour/problem-picking-rabbit-up.asp

It sounds like he's a bit nervous so I agree a confident female to copy may well help.

Try to avoid the triggers for his aggression and just take things slow and give him plenty of warning you're going into his space.
Oh thank you for the link it's very helpful! Will keep the website for future reference :D Mozart doesn't run from me or anything, just gets slightly annoyed when I touch his food but some days he likes being snuggled and others he just wants to be left alone. I can see that he's a friendly bunny that just needs to be reintroduced to humans. When I got him he was apparently from some place that wasn't treating him properly or something similar so he might have had some bad experiences :( He's still young so I should be able to take some small steps to make him feel more comfortable :)
Again, thank you everyone for your replies!
 
Back
Top