Hello friends, hope you all doing very well. Today’s article topic is one of the biggest questions in the bunny community: Why does my bunny bite me? Now, I want to make it clear that a bunny biting you is actually not normal, okay? I know I’m going to get a lot of comments probably arguing with me about this, but when a bunny is biting you, something is wrong. Typically, bunnies are very sweet-natured and docile. They’re prey animals, so they’re actually quite timid. Unfortunately, they have this reputation or stereotype of being nippers. If you ever talk to a non-bunny person, they always have this strange recollection that they feel compelled to tell you about that one time a bunny bit them, and therefore they don’t like bunnies. To me, it’s very strange because, again, bunnies don’t typically bite. However, it does happen, and when it does, it can be startling. So, I’m going to break down in this article why exactly your bunny could be biting you, as well as the different kinds of bites that you might experience because not every bite is created equal.
Okay, so first I want to talk about why your bunny could be biting you. What are some of the possible causes of biting or aggression? We could call it aggression; it depends because if it’s an isolated incident, it could be something that is immediately fixable. But if it’s ongoing and there’s also a history of it, then that’s probably going to take a little more work to undo.
Trauma:
Okay, so some of the main causes of a rabbit biting you are: one, probably the most obvious, is some kind of trauma. Let’s just say you adopted your bunny or rescued them from a bad situation, and maybe they’re coming from a history of constantly needing to be in self-defense mode. Maybe there was abuse, mishandling, mistreatment, or they were perpetually faced with a predator like a dog or a cat who was scaring or agitating them. Maybe they were previously attacked by a predator.
Dominance:
The next reason is they are asserting their dominance. As you know, rabbits are very territorial, and they operate on a hierarchical system within their community. So, when you first bring a bunny home, maybe they want to show you who is boss. This is a little more on the rare side because this is most likely to occur with another rabbit, but I wouldn’t put it past them to maybe lash out in this way if, again, they are coming from a less than ideal situation.
This brings me to my next point because it’s related: you’ve been handling other rabbits or other animals, maybe a dog, cat, or something else, and they can smell that on you. That can be extremely intimidating to a bunny, especially a very territorial bunny, a single bunny, or even a bunny that has a partner but is very protective of their partner. The quick solution to this is to just go wash your hands, maybe change your clothes if you really have to, and then things should kind of return back to normal.
Stressed:
Next, your bunny is very stressed, and maybe this could be due to an environmental change. This could be something major like you’ve moved to a completely different house or state or country, or you’re traveling, or you have to take them to the vet, and they don’t like going to the vet. No rabbit likes to be in a car and go to the vet; it’s the thing that they dread. Maybe you just bought a new vacuum or a new washing machine, and every time you turn it on, it freaks them out, and they think the vacuum is going to attack them, so they go for your ankle instead.
Territoriality:
Next, one of the reasons your bunny could be biting you is due to their habitat or their living space. I have personally seen a correlation between aggression and rabbits that live in cages and hutches, and my theory on this is really if your bunny is isolated and they are not sharing a space with you. If you are just visiting your rabbit once or twice a day to feed them, and then you go about your day and don’t ever think about them again, you’re not bonding with them, and so there’s a lack of bonding that takes place when your bunny lives in an enclosure like that. Free-roaming bunnies are more likely to be happy, and they are more likely to bond with you because they’re not going to be as intimidated by you. Think about it, if your bunny is spending all their time in there, it becomes their safe haven, it becomes the only thing they really know. The outside world is completely foreign to them, and so you come in there with your hand and you’re sticking it in the cage, unhinged and unwelcome, they will probably attack you, and it can be very alarming if you mess with that.
Not spayed or neutered:
Next reason is your bunny is not spayed or neutered, and I bring up the importance of getting your rabbits fixed all the time, but it really is because it’s that important. Not only to prolong your rabbit’s life, but you are going to simmer down some of that aggression, that hyperactivity. I get a lot of concerns from people about, well, is it going to change my bunny’s personality? Are they going to love me less? The answer is no, absolutely not. Getting them spayed or neutered doesn’t change their personality; it just diminishes the territorial behavior. So, they’re not going to be pooping and peeing everywhere, they’re not going to lunge at you if you’re in their territory. As a bunny owner, why wouldn’t you want that?
I think ultimately, most of these fall under the category of your rabbit being scared and acting out of fear, maybe feeling threatened in some way. So, at the end of the day, it’s really important to comfort your rabbit in scenarios where they’re afraid.
Not socialized:
The other reason is the bunny is not socialized. There is a difference between coming from trauma and not being socialized. They can go hand in hand, but they don’t necessarily have to be related. Not being socialized means that they really haven’t had a lot of human interaction, maybe they’ve lived at the shelter their whole life. It doesn’t necessarily mean they came from an abusive situation, but they’ve just never been in a home with love and warmth and all that stuff, so they don’t even know how to act around people. Every rabbit is going to react differently, but after a while, the bunny warmed up.
Protective mood:
Finally, your rabbit may bite if you have a female specifically who is either pregnant or has had her kits already. She’s given birth to them, and she’s extremely protective of her kits. So, don’t mess with the babies when she’s nesting them and stuff.
Alright, so the kinds of bites that you’re probably going to see with your bunny. There are only a few, but one bite is the self-defense bite, and that’s the one that’s going to apply to a lot of the points I just brought up. It’s really your bunny just trying to protect themselves and protect their territory, and so that’s going to be a pretty gnarly bite. That’s going to hurt, they can draw blood, and it’s not fun. They have some really sharp incisors, alright? Just remember, they can bite through wood and bark and hay.
The next bite that you’re going to see is accidental. This means it is not on purpose, and it is not out of malice. Yes, it might hurt, but you’re probably not going to bleed or anything like that. You might feel a little bit sore. Usually, this has to do with a little bit of food aggression. If your rabbit is really hungry, and maybe you’re teasing them a little too much, if you’re hand-feeding your bunny and they bite your finger instead of the treat, that sort of thing. So, that’s not something you should be mad at your rabbit for.
Then finally, the last kind of bite you’re going to see is actually more of a nibble. It’s more of a nibble, and it is actually out of affection. You’ll catch your bunny nibbling maybe your clothes, your hair, even your skin because they want you to keep petting them and grooming them, and they’re just kind of returning the favor. It’s really cute, it shouldn’t hurt, although sometimes it can because they don’t understand human pain thresholds. The easiest thing to do is to just “ow,” pull away, and snatch yourself away, and they’ll stop.
How do we solve the underlying issue, though, especially if this is an ongoing situation? I’ve made article on how to bond with your rabbit, but this really boils down to spending quality time with your bunny, and you’d be surprised just how many folks don’t do this. They don’t prioritize it, but it’s as easy as getting down on their level. Get down on their level, let them come to you—that is the ideal scenario. If you’ve got a lot of homework to do, a book to read, get down on the ground, bring your laptop with you, grab your book, and lay down on the floor. It will change a lot of things.