Bunny help on behavior

[elybun]

Hello everyone,
I am the owner of my rabbit Magnus (born on 09.28.23). He has been home for 8 days now.
He is a good behaved bun, very gentle and affectionate. When I brought him home, he was already eating plenty of hay and showing interest.
I just wanted to ask something... Lately, he has started peeing in his play area around the litterbox, and I have noticed he does it especially when I am interacting with him. He usually likes to honk when I greet him in the morning but also during the day.
However, upon the “usual” pee he leaves here and there, today he was circling around my feet and honking/clucking. On top of that, he also peed beside me.
I just wanted to know: is this a normal behavior? Should I start to think that he is transitioning to his “adult” phase? When should I be concerned with this kind of behavior?
It’s my first time owning a bunny and I’m still figuring out bunny’s behavior. He just seems young to be already hormonally developed.


P.S
I am planning to schedule soon a check visit with my exotic vet.
Sorry for any mistakes but English is not my mother tongue!

 

[JBun]

Sounds like hormonal behavior. Circling and honking/buzzing is typical. 10 weeks is a liitle young, but not impossible, particularly for male rabbits. Urine marking is pretty typical too. Neutering should help improve litter habits and reduce the urine marking, if not eliminate it completely. If you don't already have a knowledgeable rabbit vet, there may be one in the link below. Usually a vet will neuter when both testicles have descended, between 3 and 6 months old.

https://www.rabbitvet.net/Eurovets.htm
https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Spaying_and_neutering_rabbits
Also go over your rabbits litter box and area set up, to make sure it's set up to maximize good litter habits. Where you place the litter box can make a difference, how the litter box is set up, and what you're using in the litter box.

https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/litter-training.html
https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Litter_training

 

[elybun]

Thanks for the reply! I will look into that with my vet. In either cases, I believe he is still too young to sustain spaying/neutering, right?
I understand it’s just a “regular” behavior but I am wondering if I should in the meantime behave in specific ways with him. He still pees and poops in the litter box but is regularly marking in the play area, especially when I’m close. Of course I will let him have regular exercise and I’m never going to keep him confined in the cage just because his hormones are starting to kick in…

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Definitely courting behavior. We had the same problems with males til they were neutered--it corrected their "marking" behavior and in general terms they were much better behaved and still great companions without the hormone driven behavior.