How to stop my rabbit from being aggressive when I reach in her cage?

It doesn't say how old your rabbit is, but if you got her as a baby then she has likely become sexually mature. In female rabbits, this can cause them to become aggressive and not like to be handled. The best and easiest way to solve this problem is to get her spayed. This will remove the hormonal influence on her behavior and help her to settle down. Once she has been spayed you can start working with her and getting her used to being handled and patted again. Keep these sessions short and positive, and use a bit of her favorite food (a little bit of banana is a favorite of my bunnies) to keep it a positive experience.

Sorry you are having this issue. She is most likely being territorial as she is becoming sexually active. Females can get very territorial and aggressive when they reach this stage. My honest recommendation would be to have her spayed - that will diminish any sexual drive and that may help decrease territorial behavior. I suggest you read these articles. They may help you try to correct this behavior. I still recommend spaying her..... http://rabbit.org/faq-aggression/ http://www.wikihow.com/Socialize-Your-Rabbit Hope this helps. Best wishes!

I am so sorry that this change is happening - it is never easy when one pet starts to be aggressive to the other. I don't know when the last time that you had a wellness exam performed on your rabbits, but I think that would be a good place to start with these two. Sometimes a more dominant animal will "pick on" the other if it isn't feeling well - this is often picked up by the animals in the house long before it is noticed by the humans in the household. Your veterinarian would perform a physical exam, and then could also perform some blood work to evaluate systemic health. Since it looks like your rabbits spend some time outside, they may also evaluate the feces for any evidence of parasites as well that they may pick up. I would also recommend weighing both of the rabbits - it sounds like a lot of the negative interactions occur when food is present, and this may make it hard for your lop to get adequate amounts of food, and weight loss can occur. Additionally, there may be a process going on in the dominant rabbit that is making it need more nutrition and, therefore, is becoming more aggressive about food items. One thing that you may try while waiting to get into the vet is separating the rabbits with a physical barrier that they can still see through - then if they still want to lie next to one another against the barrier they can, but the lop can get away easier if getting picked on. You can feed them near the barrier as well, in case they are social eaters. This may make them feel more comfortable than being completely separated from one another.

Thanks for reaching out about Zoomie. Most likely it is because she is an intact female, and is fighting for territory and dominance. She needs to be spayed to prevent uterine neoplasia anyways, so now would be a good time. If she continues to be aggressive to the dog and cat, something bad is bound to happen, so isolate her for now. Good luck.

The best way to reduce aggression is to have both of them spayed. Spaying females drastically reduces aggressive behavior, as hormonal aggression is most common in female rabbits. Hormones drive them to compete for territory and to protect their home from invaders. I recommend having them spayed before bringing them together.

It is hard for us to say without watching your rabbit's behavior but it is possible she could be either feeling territorial (rabbits can be aggressive if they feel a territory is their own) or feeling scared/threatened by the dog. It may take some time for her to adjust to the new dog. Also be sure she has an area where she feels safe/somewhere she can hide such as a sheltered box so that she doesn't feel exposed at all times and can go to this area if she is feeling scared.

Hello. I would definitely consider neutering Bun Bun in case this is testosterone/sexually based aggression. If so, his attitude should improve over the next 4 weeks. This could also be aggression based on resource protection. Some rabbits become a bit aggressive when an owner is changing food or even putting out fresh hay or treats. A rabbit can perceive this as a threat to his "stash". But the easiest thing to do is neuter him, & of course, never reinforce his aggressive behavior ( some people will see this as cute & funny & inadvertently cheer the behavior on ). Good luck & thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.