Rampant Rabbit!!! HELP!

[mangobiscuit]

Hi,

Just some background on "us"....

I am a first time bunny owner - my bunny is a Mini Lop (black and white) and is around 4 months old.

He is a friendly and outgoing little bunny and I have completely fallen for him, even though he wasn't actually acquired for myself......!

I booked him in with a vet a few weeks after I got him - I wanted to have him checked over and also to get some advice on having him neutered. We thought he was around 10 weeks old at the time of his vet visit (based on what we were told at the time we got him) but the vet advised us that he was most certainly around 4months old.

Anyway, booked him in for neutering which took place thsi Wednesday.

From about a week before the vet visit up until today :? he has been displaying ever increasing "sexual" behaviour towards ME.

He circles me constantly, sprays me with wee (and anything with my scent on it). He started off by nibbling my arm and trying to hump it and then started really latching on with his teeth:shock: (which hurts quite a lot!)

Now, it's go to the point where he pursues me around the house and has, a few times, lunged at my ankle latching on with his teeth and trying to hump my foot......

On the three occasions he's done THIS, he has really drawn blood - the first time he did it I snapped my leg up and he remained dangling off my leg.

I'll be honest with you.....I feel worried about all this. I understand it's not his fault and it's just his hormones. I don't feel like he's being aggressive for the sake of it or that he feels threatened as he pursues ME and seems like quite a laid back and friendly thing.

I have a young daughter and whilst he hasn't shown much interest in her - I am worried about him starting the behaviour towards her..

So, after all this rambling (really sorry!) my questions are:

Is this behaviour now ingrained in him and will it continue regardless of the neutering??? How long will it take to show improvement in hormonal behaviour (if this is the case)

Are there any things I can do to make things easier for both of us - I don't want to keep locking him up in his cage. The idea was for him to roam pretty freely around whilst we were there but at the moment we have been held under seige on the sette a few times!!!!!!

I want to do the right thing by him - I absolutely adore him I really do....

I just need some advice.

I have been reading books and internet searching but I would really love some expert advice from you guys.

Thank you so much for reading all this and (in advance) for any advice you can offer us.

Domino and Lucy

x

 

[rachylou]

Hi i am sorry to hear you are having a lot of trouble with your baby bun, i would imagine that the behaviour should definatly calm down around a month after neutering.
Jimbles our bun was 6 months when he was neutered and before the op he was a bit nibbly and was showing sexual desires towards me like circling and he did once spray but i am happy to say that since the op he has only been circling when he is really happy and wants food which is also accompanied by a soft honking noise, he very rarely nibbles anymore only sometimes if i am in his way but he has never drawn blood, he has also never sprayed since the op either.
The vet told us that it can take a little while to see results after the op but we started to notice a change after about 6 weeks.

I hope this helps.

Rachael and baby Jimby xx

 

[bunny babe]

I'm sorry, I shouldn't laugh........... but I had "visions".

Seriously, my male took a fancy to me, especially my arm when on the settee, when he was a similar age. At the first sign, I booked him in for the op the following day. He settled pretty quick but I think in general terms their hormones should settle over the next few weeks.

He is beautiful by the way.

 

[mangobiscuit]

Thanks so much for your reply

I am pretty sure 3/4 days is nowhere near enough time to notice a change in behaviour......I just want to know that I'm doing everything I can to keep him happy etc and the right thing!!

I feel a bit lost and nervous about the whole bunny keeping thing - it's such a new thing to me and there's so much to learn!

He most certainly a bit of a randy bun.....I can tell when he's in one of his "moods""""

The vet mentioned thinking about getting a female for him at some point - I would obviously have to wait until this behaviour ceases I guess???

My daughter has let him out again just now and he has come straight up on the settee and is circling me and making this weird little noise (which you can only hear when he's right on my shoulder or close up)!!

Gosh they're funny little creatures!

Thanks again for your help...:wave:

 

[mangobiscuit]

Thank you bunny_babe and hello:wave:

Yes - he is rather gorgeous. The nurses at the vets said they all thought he was so cute.

This is the thing.....he's very friendly and adorable but at times only has ONE THING on his mind....WITH ME:shock::shock::lol:

Note: As far as I'm aware I DO NOT resemble a bunny.....? Perhaps I shold just be flattered and continue to wear very thick socks and trousers at all times when he's out!

 

[lilbun]

He is a gorgeous bunny
It will probably take at least 6 weeks for his behaviour to calm down, so you might want to start wearing wellies around the house.
You could try a cuddly toy for him to vent his frustrations on.
Maybe in the future you could think about getting him a spayed ladybun to take the place of your foot in his affections
By the way: the title of this thread: I was almost afraid to read it...

 

[bunny babe]

Thank you bunny_babe and hello:wave:

Yes - he is rather gorgeous. The nurses at the vets said they all thought he was so cute.

This is the thing.....he's very friendly and adorable but at times only has ONE THING on his mind....WITH ME:shock::shock::lol:

Note: As far as I'm aware I DO NOT resemble a bunny.....? Perhaps I shold just be flattered and continue to wear very thick socks and trousers at all times when he's out!

Oh dear, this does have me giggling - brings back memories. My Homer too is very affectionate but no longer tries to hump me, he just pins Katy down occasionally if he can be bothered - but he is 6 now.

Wellies sound a good idea from lilbun and the cuddly toy.

 

[mangobiscuit]

Lilbun,

That's a great idea - we have horses so plenty of wellies around the place! I would feel a lot more confident with those on:lol:

Our vet mentioned getting a lady bun for him maybe from a rescue centre.....I will certainly look into this.

Does anyone know if the female should be around the same age etc or does it not matter?

I can't wait to back into cuddles on the settee with him minus the spraying and biting and humping:lol:

 

[mangobiscuit]

Bunny babe - I'm off to hunt down an old toy from my daughter's bedroom to see if it takes his fancy...

Although if he's got a thing for human looking creatures maybe a Barbie????:lol:

 

[lilbun]

Age, size, breed doesn't matter but it helps if you let him choose his own mate so take him along to the rescue so he go on dates with available girlies.
it is also worth making sure there is at least one room in the house that he never goes in so that you have somewhere neutral that you can use for bonding xx

 

[mangobiscuit]

Thanks!

Gosh - so he gets to have the pick of a load of girlies.....??? Lucky bunny:lol:

 

[bunny babe]

There are quite a few rescues on here and some will do the bonding for you.

 

[mangobiscuit]

Sounds good!

Bunnybabe - do your rabbits like pineapple? Just looking at your gorgeous bunnies in your sig

What breed are they?

 

[bunny babe]

Yes, they love the little bunny sweets - pineapple and papaya. They are only given as a treat but go mad for them.

Pineapple has some enzymes that is supposed to help breakdown the fur that they ingest. I do get a pineapple and squeeze it for the juice out for them - give them a syringe full each a couple of times a week during a heavy moult. Need to be careful though as it is high in sugar.

I give them Oxbow fruit tablets which are pineapple flavoured as there is no added sugar.

I think they are both Heinz variety buns. Homey is from a pet shop - he stole my heart - and Katy is from the RSPCA. Capel and Lea-anne did think that Homey had a bit of beveran in Homer when they met him (always knew he was special )

 

[janice]

Thanks!

Gosh - so he gets to have the pick of a load of girlies.....??? Lucky bunny:lol:

Whereabouts are you? ARC is based in Twickenham and have a number of girls looking for homes, we also offer a bonding service.

We rehome in the Surrey, Berkshire, Middlesex and a large area on the South West of London.

 

[purplebumble]

ooh i thought this was a "naughty" thread from the title too..glad its not just me:lol:

ahhh memories..horny boy buns:lol:

oscar was a demon for nikki..her legs her arms..her side and one night whilst kissing his goodnight thru the open cage door..he attempted to hump her face:shock::lol::lol:
he used to honk at my cat bumble..she knew what that meant an legged it!
he had to be confined to his cage in the end until he was done..about a week after having him!!
he was still horny like it until about a month after being done but day by day his urges waned:lol:
give him a cuddly toy bout same size as him or a little smaller or a teeny bit biger..he can love it all he wants then!

oscar used to hump his toy bunny every now and then until we took him to a rescue and got him a wifey. she was timid he was he loud one..but she finally had enuff when he was humping her whilst she was sleeping:shock:

after that she used to turn on him if he even thought about it. but that time was purely territorial pseudo humping that bunnies do to say..im boss..you not..to the other buny.

we adopted bandit from southampton rabbit rescue and he came to us with a very grubby toy..i was told it was a hippo..he humped it to death every single second he could....but he had terible poo probs....so i washed this hippo and disocverd it was an original moomin snork maiden..ha ha i said...youre humping something worth a bit of cash..upper class totty is she?
he got so mess cos he coudlnt eat his soft poos or clean himself but no one knew why..tilt he vet said....omg hes. plums are HUGE bigger than most bigger buns...she said they were huger inside than outside too.
once hed been done his tummy was fine...it was his well enodwed plums stopping him from reaching down there:shock::shock:

both bandit and oscar are bridge bunnies now..but i will never forget trying to explain the nois eof them humping their toys in the wee small hours to our neighbour

hell take a month to stop it fuly....get a little water pistol and squirt him if he gets too amourous!
btw hes picked you..as his mate...oscar did this with nikki and when we adopted bif she fell for him right away...but every bonding session..he didnt want her..he kept begging nikki to cuddle him...:lol: so be warned!

when he is over the hormonal bit...hell be uber affectionate to you..so try and get him a girlie before he decides your his partner forever....:lol:

 

[mangobiscuit]

Bunnybabe - thanks for the info on the treats.....

Your two look adorable!! It's amazing all the different breeds and crosses that are around. We went to an agricultural show at the weekend and for the first time, I ventured into the "bunny tent"......I was fascinated by all of them. If only I had more room I would love to have lots

Janice - we live in Chelsea. If we go down the route of getting a female we will certainly come over to you (as you were recommended by the lovely vet we used )

Purplebumble - your post made me giggle!! I hoped that the title of this post didn't come across to risque but it sums Domino up perfectly!
I feel very flattered that he is so taken with me.....if only human man thought so:roll:

Water pistol is great idea.....I know you can't really reprimand a rabbit in the same way you may a horse etc so I wasn't quite sure what to do when he's launching his sex attacks on me.

I think it may be time to invest in a new settee when he has stopped his squirting..........there's only so many times you can spot clean them I fear!!:lol:

 

[Bex09]

Oh I'm so glad I'm not the only one going through this! :wave: Your post is nearly identical to one I posted last week! My bun is being nuetered in 3 weeks time and it can't come a day too soon. He has gone from a lovely cuddly bunny to a nightmare. He has drawn blood hanging on to my leg in exactly the same way that yours did. I have been told to wear thick clothes! :lol: Also someone suggested a cuddly toy to me or a flyaway ball... apparently they like to hump them!! Good luck and I hope the hormones die down soon.

 

[mangobiscuit]

Bex,

Ah it is somewhat comforting to know I'm not alone!!

Domino was neutered on Wednesday and I actually was doing quite a merry coutdown of days beforehand......(although I did well up in the vet's when I handed him over)

I hope all goes well with your boy....it's painful when they latch on isn't it?

People think it sounds hilarious when I tell them....until I lift my trouser leg up and show them the "damage":shock:

The toy bunny has gone down quite well although after three "goes" with her he came back to me and decided he prefered me.........bless

Let me know how you get on progress wise - how old is your boy?

 

[Bex09]

Thanks, I will keep you posted. My OH thinks its really funny when I'm being attacked!!! Don't think he realises how much the bites hurts me.

I have double the trouble as I actually have 2 boys! Billy and Barney, they are 17 weeks and 19 weeks old. They have to be kept seperated at the minute until well after their ops and hormones have gone. Billy isn't that bad at all he still just loves cuddles, although he will sit and lick me to death if I let him. but no biting or scratching.

Barney (the younger one) is the nightmare bun! Sometimes I just have to put him back in his cage for a while to calm down because I can't cope anymore, but then I feel awful on him. I would be getting him done earlier but his plums haven't fully dropped yet!! Surely it can't get any worse when they do. I still love him to bits though and I know I should be flattered.