My rabbit WILL NOT let me sleep

[Anthony707]

Okay so my rabbits name is Blake. Named him after a musician I love. Anyways he will not let me sleep. He's a free roamed rabbit and I love him to death, but I cannot find anything else about this online, all of the threads I see have to do with rabbits being IN a cage.

So for some understanding: everytime I try to sleep, he would jump on my bed and dig and bite everything. Which isnt an issue, I can ignore that, but here these last few days he started doing it on me. Like if I'm laying on my stomach, he'll do it on my back. He will get super close to my neck and start doing it. Last night was the worst when he started doing it on my head. Every time he does it I'll wake up to play with him for awhile then try and to back to sleep but he doesn't let me and does it again and again. Eventually I been getting annoyed and put him in his 60" exercise pen with his food. Water, toys, and blankets to lay in.

Is there anyway to train him out of this? I'm planning on getting him a friend in a few months once covid-19 passes. Waiting to get him fixed so he wont be as aggressive towards the new one.

 

[TheBuns]

I use to have the same problem with my bun. I laughed at your post sorry my bun also did it at my head too(only when I was asleep). She mellowed down eventually and stopped doing it (she is spayed). During those times I didn’t get much sleep. Neutering your rabbit might help though if you are going to bond him make sure you get the other bun spayed/neutered too.

 

[Apollo’s Slave]

Hi, welcome to the forum! Rabbits are crepuscular, meaning they are sleep during the day and are awake at dawn and dusk. I have a rabbit that is free roamed in my room and he’s a thumper. And he can be very energetic. The digging behaviour has probably increased because you give him attention when he does it.
Make sure he is fed and has hay. If he makes noise or digs at you when you don’t want him to, move him from the bed and onto the floor, and say a stern ‘no’. When my rabbit thumps at night, I check to make sure there isn’t anything wrong. If he does it again, I clap and say ‘no!’
Neutering might help this behaviour also.

 

[Hermelin]

Myself lock my bunny in the cage but that’s just he’s turned on 04:00 that’s the time to binky and do zoomies on the bed.

But best would be don’t give him attention and say no. You giving him attention reinforce the behavior of disturbing you. Try to give him new hay and let him have his pellets + veggies right before you go to bed.

 

[Blue eyes]

Neutering should help as well. Remember that it can take hormones 6-8 weeks after surgery to dissipate. It is best to wait 8 weeks after surgery before trying to introduce him to another fixed rabbit.

You may want to take a look here for tips on bonding. The surest way to have a successful bond is to find a fixed rabbit from a rabbit rescue (different from generic shelter) to pre-screen for potential compatibility. They typically allow exchanges too if one rabbit refuses to work with your boy.