Advice Needed!!

I am a new rabbit owner and have had my rabbit for about a month. I adopted him from a friend who told me he's about 4 months old. He is neutered. I think I am doing something wrong. While in his cage he is pacing around or biting at the sides. He is grooming himself constantly and I think he is biting his nails off. When I take him out for play time he continues to pace and run back and forth also at times he jumps in the air or turns around very suddenly. Also I have never seen him sleep during the day and is active most of the night. I go to bed around 23:30 and wake up at 6:30 and he is always awake during that time. I really need some help knowing how to keep my rabbit comfortable and bond with him. I am starting to wonder if I am perhaps not the right person to own a rabbit.

welcome to RU :wave: Don't panic - we can give you lots of ideas about to make sure you & your rabbit are happily living together. When your bunny runs, jumps & twists in the air its called a binky. Happy rabbits binky so hopefully there is some reassurance. They are most active at dusk & dawn. Rabbits often sleep with their eyes open, if you watch quietly you can tell as their noses don't twitch when asleep. Space is really important, they should have 24/7 access to exercise. They also thrive in the company of their own kind

I was thinking of having him out all the time when i am at home like after school and on weekends but i am nervous because of how difficult it might be to get him back in his cage at the end of the day or if he will become restless if he cannot come out some days. The nail biting is what is making me particularly nervous because i dont see him leaving it around his cage and am worried he's ingesting it. He also seems to not like me at all and doesnt like when i am around him or try to pet him while he is out

Do you give your bunny lots of hay for him to munch on. As rabbits are grazing animals they like to spend considerable amount of time eating the hay and I find it has a calming effect. Make sure he also has some privacy in his cage or put a cover over half of it so he can feel safe, otherwise he could become aggressive as he feels threatened all the time. If he is used to being outside he may find being indoors strange and scary.

How large is his cage? Does it have a run permanently attached? Rabbits need lots of space and lots of hay to keep them well and happy.

If he is running and jumping like you describe then it sounds like he is having a great time when let out to play
Biting at the cage means he's probably bored when he's in there - could you attach a secure pen to the cage that he can have access to 24/7 so he has more space to explore and play whilst you are out? Also, if you hang wooden chews/ gnawing toys along the bars of the cage then he should hopefully chew them instead of the cage bars. You could make toys for him out of cardboard rolls stuffed with hay and pellets which should also distract him for a while!

As for bonding with him - that will take time. Some rabbits are naturally more confident towards people whilst others need a bit more encouragement. You could try sitting on your floor whilst he is out playing. If you hold food in your hand then he'll eventually come over to investigate you. If you give him a little pellet each time he comes close to you/ climbs on you then he'll soon learn that you are a good person to go near. Don't try to stroke him until he is comfortable being near you. When he has learnt that he can sit next to you then you can try giving him a pellet and gently giving one gentle stroke on his head. Just don't try to go too quickly - bonding with you rabbit will mean doing things at his pace and which could be quite slow!

Getting him to go back into his pen at the end of the day can be difficult! If you stick to a certain feeding routine then he'll eventually learn to go to his feeding bowl at that time. You could feed him at say 8pm with his bowl in his pen. He'll get hungry and go to his bowl eventually. You could also put a trail of bits of veggies leading into his pen up to his food bowl which will encourage him to go into the pen