Why do rabbits bite your feet?

Why Do Rabbits Bite? Could This Be Love?

Did your rabbit randomly bite you or did they give you a nibble? It may be a small one or it may be an actual bite that is unwanted. When a rabbit bites you there are many possibilities behind the action. Knowing the why’s will help to make you the best rabbit care provider you can be. Keep reading to learn the answers to the unnerving question of “why do rabbits bite?”

Your Rabbit May Be Showing You Love

Is your rabbit just giving you slight, little nibbles on your fingers or toes? Typically this isn’t something you should worry about especially since it often doesn’t hurt.

Many times this is how your pet rabbit will show its love for you. When a rabbit nibbles or bites you softly it is often accompanied with licking, which is a sign of love. He is trying to groom you and is simulating the grooming process (however, you have no fur to build up knots in so it results in just a little nibble of the skin). A rabbit will often only groom those for whom he cares about. Lucky you!

Indicators to watch for : If your rabbit seems calm and has his eyes closed and does not have its fur puffed out he is most likely giving you a love bite.

Your Rabbit May Be In Pain

If your rabbit bites you [rather hard, or more intense than usual] he may be trying to alert you that he is in pain or something is wrong. This is especially true if you are touching him in a certain spot and his reaction is to bite you. If you notice that he is reacting to a certain area you are touching, take him to the vet immediately, it most likely means there is something wrong.

Your Rabbit May Be Scared

Your rabbit may bite you out of fear. If something has spooked him or he is scared of you as an owner it could be the reason he is biting you.

Indicators to watch : If your rabbit is stomping his feet repeatedly, his fur is puffed out and has very wide, anxious eyes this is a sign that he is scared or something had just frightened him. Also, if your rabbit is squealing or yelling, something is really wrong or he has recently been frightened. If he does not calm down over a period of time, a trip to the veterinarian may be needed.

Note : Thumping or stomping happens often in many different moods. A rabbit can thump when they are especially excited, when they are trying to get your attention or just for the heck of it. However, when they do it over and over, repeatedly, it is often a sign of disapproval or that they are frightened.

Your Rabbit May Have Aggression Issues

Some rabbits are just a little more sensitive than others and don’t know how to control their aggression. This is especially true if you have adopted the bunny or rescued them for they may have had a bad past, been abused, were stuck in a cage or weren’t ever around people.

A thing called “threat biting” may occur, which is when your rabbit bears his teeth at you but doesn’t actually bite you nor does he want to.

Times This Can Happen:

Putting your rabbit back in his cage
Picking your rabbit up when he doesn’t want to be picked up
Not giving your rabbit what he wants
Taking your rabbit to the vet

For more information on aggressive rabbits, read through this article posted by Rabbit House Society!

You can also download our Hay is for Rabbits eBook to know all about the different types of hay, the best ones to feed your rabbit based on their age, and more!

November 07, 2014

Want to Win Cool Prizes?

#RabbitHoleHay

Take a selfie with our product and your pet and email it to Selfie@RabbitHoleHay.com to win!

Watch Our Story

What people are saying about us..

«They love it. My rabbits would not eat any hay. I bought a sample pack from Rabbit Hole and they loved the Orchard hay as well as the mountain grass. It’s fresh and long strains instead of all chopped up like most hay you purchase in a store. I highly recommended this hay and the auto ship is convenient as well.»
Heather S. (Florida)

«Great hay and great people. This hay satisfies all of my picky eaters. My guinea pigs and my chinchillas both go crazy for it. Not only is the quality of the hay wonderful and consistent, but so is the customer service. I’ve been buying this hay for exactly a year last week, and I’ll never go back.»
Cortney V. (California)

«I should have ordered a bigger bag. My 4 year old guinea pig, Hulkie, gobbled this hay up quickly! I should have bought a bigger bag! This hay is so soft and fresh! In fact, all of the hay that Rabbit Hole Hay has to offer is high quality! Before I became a repeating customer, I tried out their sample packs! Such a great deal and a great way to find out which hay your pet will love!!»
Jessica H. (Washington)

«Awesome Timothy Alternative! I bought this hay while looking for an alternative to Timothy Hay. I was struggling to find a hay that was just as crunchy as Timothy Hay. I didn’t know there could be soft and coarse orchard grass! My bun was never a fan of softer hays but luckily the Coarse Orchard Grass crunches like Timothy! Will definitely be reordering once our 5lbs is eaten through!»
Claire C. (Ohio)

My rabbit keeps biting me, what should I do?

Rabbits are timid, gentle, curious, and affectionate if given the opportunity. However, they lack the ability to communicate directly with people and this can lead to miscommunication between rabbits and people. The use of body language (e.g. thumping their feet, biting, or licking you) is the only way they have to make their feelings known. When your rabbit licks you, feel privileged. It is an open display of trust and affection. But biting can break down the human-animal bond, and lead to isolation of your rabbit from your family. To prevent this happening, it is important to understand why your rabbit may bite you and how to prevent it happening.

Rabbits must never be punished for biting. It completely destroys the bond between you and your rabbits and will lead to far greater problems.

Rabbits may bite for several reasons, none of which have anything to do with being vicious, deliberately naughty, or wishing to upset you. Most rabbits only bite as a last resort – as a ‘prey’ species, flight is more natural to them than fight. They are much better adapted for running than fighting, and of course they will have noticed that you’re much bigger than them! So, they will only bite you once they’re backed into a corner and out of other options. Since rabbits who resort to biting are usually also very stressed, finding a solution will make both of you happier in the long run.

We mentioned earlier about your rabbits using their body language to communicate with us. It is vital that we learn to understand this body language and respond appropriately. Rabbits who don’t want you to get any closer may:

crouch low
hunch their body
freeze in place
flatten their ears
try to run away.

If your rabbit behaves like this, back off and give them some space. This gives you some time to think about what is happening and work out some solutions. This is known as the ‘ABC’ of animal behaviour, A = Antecedent; B = Behaviour; and C = Consequence.

Antecedent

This refers to the social and environment conditions that led to the Behaviour (in this case, biting). There are several reasons rabbits will bite, but they never bite out of spite. A biting rabbit is usually a very scared rabbit, and this may be due to one of the following reasons:

They have not bonded with you, either because they are new to the household, or this vital process has not been completed yet. Attempts to pick up your rabbit may lead to several loud thumps as a warning. If this warning is ignored, and your rabbit can’t escape, they may charge at you and bite in an attempt to frighten you off. If you then (understandably) back off (inadvertently reinforcing an unwanted behaviour), charging and biting can turn into a learned, repetitive behaviour – experience has taught your rabbits that it works.
Some rabbits, even ones who have bonded with you, don’t like been picked up or hugged – this is not a normal thing for them. As they cannot run away, they may end up biting in an attempt to escape.
Entire rabbits, especially bucks, can become quite territorial. If you ignore their warning thumps, a bite may be the next level of territorial aggression.
If your rabbit is constantly stressed, e.g. their enclosure is to too small and uninteresting, especially without daily freedom to exercise, they can become frustrated. This leads to unusual behaviours such as biting.

Behaviour

This is what the rabbit does, expressed clearly and simply. You must not try to interpret the reasons for the bite using human emotions such as anger, hate, and jealousy – you cannot verbally communicate with your bunny to find out how they feel, and so you should not attribute emotions that may not be there; e.g. that my rabbit ‘doesn’t like me’, that they hate people, or that they are jealous of other rabbits, etc. This attribution may stop you thinking about other possible causes and result in you ignoring these causes.

Consequence

This is what the rabbit gets out of biting. Often, this is obvious – you put the rabbit down on the ground, and they run away feeling safer. Other times it is very difficult for us to understand this behaviour, but it is vital that we try.

In order to change B (the Behaviour), we must change either A (the Antecedent) or C (the Consequence). As we don’t usually recommend ‘taking the bite’ and ignoring it, we focus instead on the causes of the behaviour.

Solutions

There are some simple solutions to help reduce biting:

Ensure your rabbit is desexed, whether male or female – find an experienced rabbit veterinarian to do this. The option of keeping bunny as a desexed house-rabbit increases the opportunity of bonding, quality of life for bunny, and the house/enclosure never has to be specifically cleaned (just a litter tray).
Interact with your rabbit every day so that they become your friend and will not see you as a threat entering their territory. Remember, your bunny is not being naughty or nasty, they are just trying to protect themselves. The best training tip is to use reward-based training in these situations. Never punish a bunny as it is confusing as they are only doing what is natural to protect themself and it is likely to increase aggression. If your bunny won’t come near you, you’ll have to persuade them that coming to you is a really good thing. The easiest way is with food rewards:
Find a food item they really like and which isn’t part of their normal diet (e.g., quarter of a sultana or other tiny piece of dried fruit or banana) and then move it around a bit to help get their attention. Keep going until they will come to you, or near you, to get the treat. Gradually you can work up to making them take it from your hand, and then gradually letting you stroke (not pat) them. The ultimate aim is for you to be able to stroke them for a moment or two while they are calm and receptive, and reward them for that calm behaviour with a treat. It is important not to give too many treats – just a couple over five minutes or so is sufficient every day.
If your rabbit bites you when you are cleaning the enclosure, distract them with a treat (as described above), or allow them to leave the enclosure for some exercise while you do the cleaning. Alternatively, provide your rabbit with somewhere to hide or shelter – somewhere safe to go when you are changing the food/hay.
Spend time on the floor just ignoring them and they will probably become curious and come up. Let them dictate how much contact they want and let them approach you. Have treats ready so that when they do approach and are calm, they can be rewarded for this behaviour and so they start to associate you with treats (something very positive!).
Allow your rabbit time and space to explore outside their normal environment, so if they spend most of their time inside with you or are kept in an outside rabbit house, let them out every day but ensure it is safe to do so. It is essential that they cannot escape, access toxic plants, or are not at risk of attack from a cat, dog, or other predator. If you are unable to let them outside every day, then provide enrichment toys to keep them occupied on the days when outside exercise isn’t possible. It’s also important to provide adequate ‘chewing’ opportunities by providing a constant supply of meadow hay – this is essential for dental and mental health in rabbits. For more information, see our articles on what to feed your rabbit, dental disease in rabbits and how to keep your rabbit entertained, alert, and interested in their surroundings.

What if none of this works?

If your previously placid rabbit has started biting you suddenly, get a veterinarian to examine them for possible sources of pain. There may well be a physical problem that needs to be identified and treated.