My bunny is a year old. He is not good around people, because when he was younger we had to handle him a lot to give him medicine. He is fine around me, but when my mom gets in the play area with us. Or when she feeds him he charges at her and grunts. Today he was hanging out with me and my mom came in the play area and he charged at her and then he came to me for comfort. I thought he was fine so I lowered my face to his level (but nowhere near his face) and he charged at my face. I'm not sure but maybe he know the tension between my mom and me and maybe he is acting on it. But why is he charging and running away from me. He used to lie with his feet out and be happy, but the last few months he doesn't really want me to pet him and he is kind of acting mean. What do I do?

Judging by what you've said I'd bet that your rabbit isn't neutered. This is classic aggression and the most likely cause is hormonal.

The only real way to stop this is to have him neutered. It should stop the aggression, it will also stop any spraying (if he's doing that), and it will prolong his life by up to 8 years.

Search for a rabbit vet in your area and find out the cost of a neuter. This really will change your bunny for the better, and make him a much more pleasant family member.

'and it will prolong his life by up to 8 years.'

Hmmmmmm..

Stringer

He is neutered.

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Originally Posted by Stringer

'and it will prolong his life by up to 8 years.'

Hmmmmmm.....?

Stringer

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Hi Stringer.

Rabbits that aren't neutered are prone to cancer because of the hormones. The life expectancy of an unaltered rabbit is around 3 years. For a spayed or neutered rabbit it can be as long as 12 years. Huge difference isn't it?

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Originally Posted by kstaylor921

He is neutered.

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When was he neutered?

End or June 2011

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Originally Posted by Alty

Hi Stringer.

Rabbits that aren't neutered are prone to cancer because of the hormones. The life expectancy of an unaltered rabbit is around 3 years. For a spayed or neutered rabbit it can be as long as 12 years. Huge difference isn't it?

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Yes it is that's why I was wondering... neutered? A possibility of 8 more years, what do you think Marta would say?

He was only 4 months old? You did say he's a year old now.

When did the lunging start? Has it always been this way, or did it just start recently?

How big is his cage? How often is he fed? How often is he allowed to stretch his legs? When he does lunge at you or your mom what do you do?

I am willing to help, but if you are the one that rated my first post to you as unhelpful I will move on. I am an expert in rabbit care, I have 4 rabbits of my own at this time and I've raised rabbits all of my life, as well as worked with rescued rabbits at our local shelter,most of which had behavior issues. You will not find anyone else on this site with my experience when it comes to rabbits, but I do volunteer here and getting an unhelpful rating when I did not say anything at all unhelpful is not something that I will accept. I'm not trying to be mean, but an unhelpful rating is like a slap in the face. It's not something most people will take lightly, especially if they're doing their best to give you accurate and helpful advice. Just fyi.

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Originally Posted by Stringer

Yes it is that's why I was wondering.....neutered? A possibility of 8 more years, what do you think Marta would say?

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LMAO! Well it doesn't really work that way with humans Stringer. If you were a rabbit I'm sure Marta would take you to the vet herself. ;)

No got him neutered at 6 months or 7, he was born in Feb. he has a large dog size cage I make sure to put blankets down so his feet don't get sores on them. I clean his cage everyday. And he has plenty of toys. I also let him out several times a day

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Originally Posted by Alty

LMAO! Well it doesn't really work that way with humans Stringer. If you were a rabbit I'm sure Marta would take you to the vet herself. ;)

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Well, I just told her what you said; 8 more years and what it would require and she just laughed her *ss off. And said absolutely not! I don't think she sees the benefits.

Sorry, as you were...

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Originally Posted by kstaylor921

no got him neutered at 6 months or 7, he was born in Feb. he has a large dog size cage i make sure to put blankets down so his feet don't get sores on them. i clean his cage everyday. and he has plenty of toys. i also let him out several times a day

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Has he always lunged at you or your mom?

Where did you get him from and how old was he when you got him?

Sorry for all the questions, but I need more info in order to figure out what's going on, because the behavior he's exhibiting is mostly behavior exhibited by an unaltered male. Since he is neutered there's very obviously something else going on, but in order for me to figure it out I need to ask questions.

The more info you can give me the better I can help.

He lunges at my mom, he only lunges at me after he lunges at my mom. I got him from pet world in April 2011, and about 2 months when I got him. When we first got him, he got sick and almost died, we had to pick him up and force medicine into his mouth. I know that is a large cause of his problems.

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Originally Posted by kstaylor921

he lunges at my mom, he only lunges at me after he lunges at my mom. I got him from pet world in april 2011, and about 2 months when i got him. When we first got him, he got sick and almost died, we had to pick him up and force medicine into his mouth. I know that is a large cause of his problems.

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The fact that you had to force him to take meds could very well be why he's doing this. Not that you did anything wrong. You had to give him the medication otherwise he would have died. But he doesn't understand that you did this for him, he only knows that he didn't like it, it scared him, and because of it he lost some of his trust in you.

The lunging seems to be his way of saying "leave me alone, I don't like this". It could also be a trust issue, fear of your moms hand because she helped hold him down when he was sick. Lunging at you because he just didn't want to be held at that time and unfortunately he can't tell you, he has to show you.

Right now your bunny is a young rabbit. He's going to be more feisty and aggressive then an older more mellow rabbit. He will grow out of this stage. If he wasn't neutered this stage would only get worse, but he is, so you just have to wait for him to grow up a bit.

For now I would suggest that your mom work on her bond with your rabbit. Instead of just reaching in his cage to feed him, try to get him to come to her for food. If he has a favorite bunny friendly treat then get her to hold it near the opening of his cage, and get him to go to her. A few days of this and then she can try petting him while giving him the treat. She has to build trust with him.

With you, since he has only lunged the one time, or so it seems, I wouldn't worry too much. He was just letting you know that he didn't like what you were doing at the time. He wasn't in the mood for a cuddle.

He will mellow out as he gets older, and I'm very glad that you had him neutered.

You just have to learn to read his body language, and you have to understand what he's trying to tell you because the only way he can communicate is with the things he does.

I'd love to see a picture. :)

I have a question --
Can he sense when I'm not okay with something. Meaning I have some issues with my mom, could sense that and lunge at her because he knows I have issues with her? I know it sounds funny.

Not a good picture but, other ones wouldn't open

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Originally Posted by kstaylor921

I have a question --
can he sense when i'm not okay with something. meaning i have some issues with my mom, could sense that and lunge at her because he know i have issues with her? i know it sounds funny.

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If you have a very tight bond with him then yes, he can sense how you feel. Rabbits are very social animals. If he doesn't have another rabbit to bond with he'll bond with a human. From what you've said you and he are very close. So yes, he will likely sense that you're not happy, and he may even sense that your mom is the issue.

But I wouldn't blame all his behavior on that. The fact that your mom had to force him to take medication is also a huge indicator in this whole thing.

Just don't stop loving him. Accept that he is a rabbit, and there are times that rabbits lunge and nip. If it's 24/7 then you have an extreme behavior issue, and you'd really need to talk to a rabbit behaviorist, one that can come to your home and observe your rabbit (which I sadly can't do). But if it's only once in a while, and not an issue he has with every member of the family, there are things you can do that I outlined in my other post, to try to make that relationship better. For the rest, it's just him being a bunny and most of that behavior will go away when he's a bit older and more mellow.

Awww. You have a rex. I also have a rex, but mine is a female.

He's adorable.

Thank you