Rabbits and Rabies

[ilovetegocalderon]

Can someone please, tell me why in the:censored2this jerk of a rabbit, Tank, that I took in so he can have a better life bites me and charges at me and attacks me at any chance he can. It is really really scary. I let him out to run around the entire house (except the bedroom) and fed him and tried to pet him and he just goes pyscho!! At first i thought it was adorable that he followed me EVERYWHERE. He'll sit close to me and then when I get up, he will race and get up and follow me. But then I realized i dont think it's cuz he likes me, i think he thinks im invading his territory, the entire house. And he could possibly just be charging me everytime i move. He bites me non stop if i try to pet him. the scariest think happened, i had him on the couch and i was petting him, not holding him down or anything, then i look at his face, and i swear to god it looked possessed. he had this insane look in his eyes and his "eyebrows" looked all up in rage and then, bam, he bit my breast so hard and get this, he wouldn't freaking let go!!!!!!!! i was in shock. I have to be honest, I was in such pain and shock and just really scared that I grabbed him by his neck and choked him and then flung him across the living room. and get this, he shook it off and charged at me again. it was completely insane!!! he is truly possessed. could it be that he is sick? I dont think rabbits get rabies but there is something wrong. In fact, i know there is because he keeps sneezing and has this gook in his eyes. I'm going to go check out the thread about sicknesses and snuffles, i have no idea what it is but I just wanted to post this first and right now im gonna go do some research but im wondering if his behavior could be due to this sickness. i know i need to get him neutered but i mean, come on, his behavior is so scary that it has to be something more than sexual frustration. please, someone, please help me figure this out before i end up killing him.

 

[Lissa]

:shock:Wow. What breed of rabbit is this? What is his background? There has to be a reason he's acting this way.

 

[ilovetegocalderon]

He is either a holland or a mini lop. (I can't tell the difference). He is about a year old. I have never seen any animal display such ruthless behavior. And that possessed look he gave me on the couch.....totally bizarre! He is flat out scary!! I can't figure this out.

 

[Lissa]

Was he from a shelter? How bizarre!

 

[ilovetegocalderon]

Here's his background: He was at a pet shop and some kid walked in wanting some snake food. The petshop was all out of mice, etc. and so the jerks at the pet shop said he could have the rabbit to feed to the snake. the kid came home and stuck the rabbit in the cage with the snake. his sister walked by and saw this and flipped and took the rabbit out. she didn't know anything about rabbits but she didnt think it was right to feed it to the snake. so she locked it in another cage and kept him there and he NEVER came out, was never petted, etc. For months the rabbit lived like this while she tried to find someone to take the rabbit. I heard about it through the grapevine and well.....now the beastly rabbit is mine. I can understand that he may be traumatized from his short time period with the snake and then unsocialized and irritated for being locked in a cage for so long but this behavior is far beyond that. If it doesn't improve I will have no choice but to take him to a shelter. I can walk around my house with fear that I will be bitten or charged at.

 

[pamnock]

I've seen this behavior occasionally in bucks -- rather rare, but very dangerous because they are so unpredictable.

Pam



I should add that rabies is not a disease to be taken lightly. (My oldest son had to have rabies shots when he was little).

If your rabbit was not exposed to any wild animals, the chance of rabies is small.

 

[Snuggys Mom]

Wow. Sorry you're having to deal with this.

Be very careful with him around your other rabbits. The sneezing and gook in the eyes does not sound good. I would be seriously worried about pasteurella. I would be showering and changing clothes after handling him.

Good luck.

 

[TrixieRabbit]

Holy Cow! That's crazy! I can't possibly imagine what is wrong with your posessed rabbit?!????
i do know that my vet told me that Trixie is an alpha rabbit. The more territory you give her, the more she will claim it as her own. Eventually, YOU become the intruder in HER territory. She suggested that I keep Trixie in her cage most of the time and only let her out for a couple of supervised hours each day. This way, her territory is reduced to just her CAGE and not my whole 2nd bedroom. I was giving her too much freedom....
Now, maybe this rabbit has learned to be agressive out of fear? And he is protecting what he deems is HIS territory?
As far as the gooky eyes and sneezing, I would DEFINITELY be concerned for my own health and that of the rabbit. I would call a vet and also make sure you take care of any bites.
I am sorry you have to deal with all this....good luck and hang in there!

~Denise

 

[ilovetegocalderon]

pamnock wrote:

I've seen this behavior occasionally in bucks -- rather rare, but very dangerous because they are so unpredictable.

Is there anything I can do to cut down on this until I have him neutered? Will he stop this behavior completely once I have him neutered?

 

[bunnydude]

Yikes! Neutering might help, but I don't know how much. This behavior sounds extreme. Amber was quite territorial before her spay, but she would just growl and occassionaly nip. Spaying fixed that, but like I said, Tank's behavior sounds extreme.

:goodluck

 

[ilovetegocalderon]

Laura wrote:

Wow. Sorry you're having to deal with this.

Be very careful with him around your other rabbits. The sneezing and gook in the eyes does not sound good. I would be seriously worried about pasteurella. I would be showering and changing clothes after handling him.

Good luck.

I don't let him near my other rabbits anymore. His cage is out in the living room. I am going to try to bring him into the vet when I get out of work today. Should I be worried about the cat catching anything from him? Or is it only other rabbits that are in danger?

 

[Snuggys Mom]

I don't believe pasturella can be passed to a different species. I think it only affectslagomorphs.

 

[Haley]

Sorry to hear about your troubles!

Im not sure about the runny eyes..etc, but the behavior sounds a bit familiar to me. My rabbit Basil would get out of control before I had him neutered. It wasnt as bad as yours, but he would be my little angel and then all of a sudden freak out. He would get so mean and chase me around the room trying to bite me. He would even follow me up on the bed and I would have to use a pillow to shield myself! He would just get crazy all of a sudden and start grunting and trying to attack me. He would get like this when I had company over especially. I think he wasjust being aggressive and territorial. I had him neutered as soon as possible and he's been fine ever since. It took about a month or so for the effects of the surgery to set in. Hes a little angel now.

It could just be that he's sick and in a new place and taking it out on you. I would get him to the vet to get his eyes checked out. Maybe once you can get his infection under control he will let up a bit. If you can, try getting him neutered as soon as possible. This might really help things. If you take him to the shelter, chances are they will just put him down... :-(

Good Luck

Haley

 

[Bassetluv]

Not sure if I can offer any great advice, but I can empathize. Raph has become quite aggressive, ever since I introduced Anna to the household. He is particularly aggressive with both myself and the cats...with Kaya (my dog) he doesn't usually bother with her - although he did nip her twice in the past.

I have been very hesitant to have Raph neutered since I lost my last rabbit during a neuter...and I'm not sure if Raph would be more complicated to do, as his testicles never did descend. He does, however, have all the raging hormones of a frustrated male rabbit, and as such I've learned to respect him a bit more. I have a couple of suggestions for you with Tank that may or may not want to try.

First, when Raph would run after me aggressively, I began spraying him full-force with the hose. Bad mistake. It only made him more aggressive, as will any retaliatory behavior such as slapping, tossing the rabbit, kicking, etc. I do know that often we will have a knee-jerk reaction to being bitten and might do any of those things, but if at all possible, refrain from doing so. It is seen as the rabbit as a threat (sort of a throwing down the gauntlet and challenging him to a duel). What I wound up doing with Raph was this...when he would charge me I would grab him around the shoulders at the back of the head and 'pin' him to the ground, telling him "NO" in a firm voice, and I wouldn't let him up until he'd stopped fighting it. Doing this might sound cruel, but I believe I am actually putting him into submission this way. As a result, after doing this a few times he seemed to respect me a bit more. He stopped charging as often, and when he did, he would stop just short of actually nipping me and turn away.

The other thing I do with Raph is put him on his harness as often as possible. As soon as he is on it, he becomes totally submissive. You'd never know he was the same rabbit who would run wild-eyed across the yard to attack. At least it gives me control over him while he is running outside. If your rabbit is trained to harness, or you think he could be, you might want to give this a try. It's certainly not a solution to his aggression, but it might help keep him from attacking, or will at least give you the chance to 'rein him in' if he does. Unfortunately, rabbits who do attack can be quite dangerous, so handling him with a great deal of respect, combined with gentle, yet firm movements, is essential. If you have problems handling him in his cage (fortunately I don't have that with Raph...I simply put my hand on his head and pet him and he won't lunge), wear gloves to protect yourself.

And hopefully, if all else fails, neutering might work for you....good luck with Tank, and I wish you the best with him.

 

[Spring]

Oh wow! I've never heard of anything like this with rabbit.s I've been around some pretty mean rabbits, but they weren't insane!

Well, taking him to a shelter probably wouldn't be the best thing. From another thread that says the shelter animals that biteare put down at most shelters, this guy wouldn't last a moment before being destroyed.

I'm not sure about what to do with him. I'm pretty sure neutering would help.

 

[tamsin]

I'd start with a health check at the vets. His eye's sound like they need treatment and it's possible he has other problems. Being in pain or discomfort can make a rabbit grumpy.... I guess his front teeth are fine but I'd get the vet to check the back ones as he may not have been having a great diet in the past and his eye symptoms could be associated with teeth issues. I'd also get the vet to check his vision and hearing, sometimes that can contribute to aggression especially if he's had a traumatic past.

Once you've ruled out physical problems or treated any he has and he's neutered then at least you know what you're dealing with is a behaviour issue.

Btw, the best way to remove a hanging rabbit is put the palm of your hand over his head and the first finger and thumb in each side of his mouth behind the front teeth. Draw your finger and thumb back towards his ears and that will open his jaws. There is a big gap between the front and back teeth so he can't knaw on you. You'll end up with less damage than trying to pull the bun away too.

 

[pamnock]

Laura wrote:

I don't believe pasturella can be passed to a different species. I think it only affectslagomorphs.

It is most commonly passed on to humans through bite wounds. The strain Pasteurella multocida, that is most commonly cultured in rabbits, isalso found in the saliva of other species of animals including dogs and cats.

[font="Arial, Verdana, sans-serif"]"Rabbit
Diseases of major public health importance in domestic rabbits are rarely encountered. Biting is uncommon but rabbits can inflict painful scratches with their rear limbs if improperly restrained.[3] Among the infectious diseases Pasteurella multocida may cause cutaneous infection in humans.[4] Other diseases to which rabbits are susceptible, e.g. salmonellosis, yersiniosis, tularemia, are extremely rare and are more commonly transmitted to humans by wild animals. Direct zoonotic transmission of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis from domestic rabbits has been documented.[5] More commonly some external parasites of the rabbit including fur mite acariasis (Cheyletiella) and dermatophytosis (Trichophyton) may be transmitted to humans."[/font]

Source: http://anapsid.org/chomel.html

 

[ilovetegocalderon]

tamsin wrote:

I'd start with a health check at the vets. His eye's sound like they need treatment and it's possible he has other problems. Being in pain or discomfort can make a rabbit grumpy.... I guess his front teeth are fine but I'd get the vet to check the back ones as he may not have been having a great diet in the past and his eye symptoms could be associated with teeth issues. I'd also get the vet to check his vision and hearing, sometimes that can contribute to aggression especially if he's had a traumatic past.

Once you've ruled out physical problems or treated any he has and he's neutered then at least you know what you're dealing with is a behaviour issue.

Btw, the best way to remove a hanging rabbit is put the palm of your hand over his head and the first finger and thumb in each side of his mouth behind the front teeth. Draw your finger and thumb back towards his ears and that will open his jaws. There is a big gap between the front and back teeth so he can't knaw on you. You'll end up with less damage than trying to pull the bun away too.

Thanks for the advice. I have scheduled a visit to the vet for this afternoon. I will have him looked over and treated, set up an appointment to have him neutered, give him sufficient time after he his neutered for the hormones to go away but if he is still pyscho bunny......well, i'll just cross that bridge when I get there.

fyi - if i had to take him to a shelter i would make sure its a no-kill shelter. but i would never give him away to someone else. he is just too dangerous. so my options are very limited.

 

[Lissa]

ilovetegocalderon wrote:

Thanks for the advice. I have scheduled a visit to the vet for this afternoon. I will have him looked over and treated, set up an appointment to have him neutered, give him sufficient time after he his neutered for the hormones to go away but if he is still pyscho bunny......well, i'll just cross that bridge when I get there.

fyi - if i had to take him to a shelter i would make sure its a no-kill shelter. but i would never give him away to someone else. he is just too dangerous. so my options are very limited.

Good idea. That is probably the route I would take too. What a tough decision though. :?

 

[naturestee]

As a bit of encouragment, Saffy's Benji was downright vicious but calmed down some after being neutered. Here's one thread on him:
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=9063&forum_id=1

And look through her other threads for updates.