Lots of things can cause a rabbit to ‘thump’, but it’s usually a response to a frightening situation. It’s probably a way of warning other rabbits that there’s something scary nearby. In fact, it’s a bit like a dog’s bark, a meerkat’s warning screech or a parent’s worried yell. Except rabbits don’t tend to vocalise, and instead use the noise of their feet. This has the advantage that the noise will likely be easy to hear underground in their warrens, and the vibrations are likely to be felt, too.
Some rabbits will thump for reasons other than fear, including annoyance. They’re using the thumps to communicate that they want you to stop doing something, or start doing something. It can be a warning to back off and not pick them up, or it may be a demand to cuddle.
How does a rabbit make a thumping noise?
Rabbits have a special posture that they use to create a thumping noise. They tend to arch their backs a little and freeze, and will look very alert. They then use one or both feet to hit the ground hard, just like ‘Thumper’ in Bambi. Some rabbits will make one thump, others will do several in a row.
What sort of things cause a rabbit to thump?
Rabbits can thump at anything that scares them. Owners have reported them thumping at everything from the smell of peanut butter to strangers in the house. One rabbit reported in the Daily Mail even thumped at a burglar, and possibly scared him off! Many rabbits will thump in the car and at the vets, especially if they don’t have their bonded partner with them to help them cope with the stress.
Just like humans, some rabbits are more highly-strung than others. These rabbits are more likely to be anxious and may react to lots of different things. Others are pretty relaxed and may only be frightened by something that they’ve had a bad experience with, such as other animals in the house.
How can I stop my rabbit from thumping?
If your rabbit is thumping in fear, it’s sensible to try to get to the bottom of what’s frightening them and see if there’s anything you can do to stop it. Long-term stress is bad for your pet’s welfare and can cause medical problems. Start making a note of when your rabbit thumps. Every time they do, have a look around you – what could it be? If a noisy car just went past then that’s your answer, but it’s possible there’s something less obvious involved. Sounds, sights, and smells can all frighten a rabbit so it’s important to keep an open mind about what it could be. Even vibrations from passing lorries could be at fault. Try to narrow it down over several thumps and find what’s upsetting them, although remember it could be more than one thing.
Once you’ve found what’s upsetting your rabbit…
it’s time to work out how to help them feel more comfortable. Some things, such as a bird swooping past the window, are unavoidable. If it isn’t happening too often, it might be best just to leave it. However, if you’ve got some birds nesting in the rafters and each swoop terrifies your bunny, then moving them away from the window or even drawing the curtains should help.
Providing them with plenty of hiding spaces should help – cardboard boxes with holes cut in are great if they aren’t likely to get wet, or purpose-built hides can be bought for outdoors. For very nervous bunnies, tunnels leading to their food, water and toilet area can allow them to move around and do what they need to do whilst still feeling safe.
For unavoidable situations, it might be best to try desensitising your bunny. This involves exposing them to very small amounts of the threat – such as a dog at a distance, a smell in the next room, or a sound played out of speakers very quietly – and then making it seem positive. It’s best to make a desensitisation plan with your vet or a behaviourist in order to ensure it remains a positive experience. You don’t want your rabbit to get worse!
Whatever the reason for your bunny to be thumping, it’s best to try to reduce it if it’s happening often. And as always, if you’re worried, talk to your vet or vet nurse.
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Discussion
I have a male dwarf rabbit for over 2years, the past year he has been humping my slippers when I wear them, he runs after me and won’t leave me alone when I try to clean up, I just got a female rabbit for him to have a friend to stop humping me, she’s alot bigger then him and he still tries to hump my feet when Im around him when she’s right there, he’s now worse than ever, he runs after her to and tries to hump her when I’m not around, he won’t leave her alone and she can’t get a brake to rest without him trying to hump her, their not fixed, she’s a lot more work to clean after and feed cause she’s bigger and my male rabbit is hornyer then ever, my plan completely back fired on me and I now feel like I should get rid of both because I don’t have the time to deal with all this, I had my male rabbit since he was a baby and it will be sad to see him go but I made the situation worse, I don’t know what to do
I think the most important thing to do is to get both of them neutered! These sexually driven behaviours in rabbits will rarely resolve without removal of the underlying cause – although if he’s over 2 years old, neutering may not completely remove the problem, it will almost certainly reduce it. It will also eliminate the risk of huge numbers of baby rabbits…
hi! is it possible for my bunny to hurt himself while thumping? he thumped at me and it really made a loud noise, like the sound of a joint pop but wayyy louder. i just want to know if there’s something that i should be worried about aside from what upset him…
Yes, it is possible, especially on a hard unyielding surface. Is he at all reluctant to move; and is he showing any signs of pain (difficult to tell in a rabbit, but usually associated with a slightly “scrunched up” expression on his face)? If the answer to either question is yes, call your vet ASAP
Okay, so I got a rabbit a while ago (around two months already) today I suddenly woke up to the sound of him thunking in his cage and running around like crazy. I let him out and he’s been thunking at me and hiding, I’ve decided to let him freeroam (it’s almost 4am) what does it mean?
He and I have always gotten along so well so I’m pretty worried if I should take him to the vet or something.
As a one off, it’s not likely to be a problem – a strange or unexpected night time noise, perhaps; but if it repeats, then definitely I think a vet check would be a good idea. It’s also really important to get him a friend if he doesn’t have one already, so definitely consider that!
My rabbit (thumper) has always loved me and we are strongly connected but he has been thumping at me yesterday he wouldn’t go near me and today he was buzzing and thumping if I stop petting him I’m not sure what to do as he is demanding loads of love but I don’t know if I should pick him up and take him inside to give him love (he is a outside rabbit) what is your advice?
It sounds like he’s really stressed by something – is there any possibility that there’s someone different around, or a predator that he’s seen who’s scared him?
i got a bunny from someone that couldn’t take care of him anymore. he was good at first but after the first week or so, he started humping my guinea pigs and doesn’t learn when i put him in his cage. also, he just recently started biting and i don’t know why. i’ve had him for about two months now. he also thumps when nothing is happening and i can’t figure out what the issue is
He needs a friend of the same species – another rabbit. If he’s unneutered, it would also be worth having him castrated – that will usually reduce both the humping and the aggression.
I have two female bunnies, and one keeps humping the other one and the one being humped (may) has lost a lot of furs since and has made shrieks when it’s happened. The bunnies have now been separated but may keep thumping with her back leg since being separated. What should i do?
I think it’s important to get them both neutered, and then gradually reintroduce them again. Hopefully, that will help salvage the relationship!
My bunny just had babies. She keeps thumping at night and I’m worried that her babies are getting hurt when she does that. Please help!
She’s stressed by something – so the key is to find out what it is! Good luck!
I have two rabbits and they have the run of the garden all day. I put biscuits in and shut them in their hutch most nights. Occasionally they don’t want to go in and mess around so I then leave them in the garden all night. That happened last night and today I haven’t seen one of them at all. I’m worried he’s gone under the decking (where they hide sometimes) and possibly isn’t well so isn’t coming out. He’s probably 7 or 8 years, he’s not shown any signs of ill health and ate biscuits last night. I’m now wondering… Do they ‘go away to die’? What should I do? The other one has been sitting in the garden in full view all day and has gone to bed easily. 😢😢. I think he’s gone under the decking …
Yes, they can if they’re very unwell. Alternatively, (depending on where you are) there is the possibility of predators. Good luck finding him!
My rabbit is 7-8 years old and a week ago we just got a new puppy who is about 10 weeks old she did fin with him in the same room for 6days now she suddenly started thumping. I don’t know what to do since she keeps thumping every few minutes even when the puppy is asleep
The puppy may have just got big enough for her to recognise him as a threat! Try keeping the pup out and seeing what happens…
My bun kinda thumps before he runs around and then goes straight for a good ol’ humping! i can’t figure out why he does this, he usually only does this when he gets zoomies. i’m getting him “fixed“ at the end of the month.
Probably a good idea – just remember, it takes a while for testosterone levels to form, and if he had started puberty before castration (which it sounds like he had!), this can become a learned behaviour and may not disappear completely.
Hi, my Bunny is very outgoing, confident and happy.
I noticed he will thump at night when he seems to be asleep?
I’ll go check on him and he stops.
He is free roaming and usually will find a little crevice for the night.
It scared me so much I was worried he was ill but now I know it’s thumping lol.
(He is around 7weeks old)
Is he on his own without a friend? If so, that’s probably why – rabbits do not cope well on their own and should always be kept with a friend for company – otherwise they become stressed and start developing stress behaviours like this.
I have two bunnies ….one girl one boy …they have a same cage but we put a screen on the center … Tonight i decided to put the boy on the other side (in the girl bunny)…. The boy keeps catching up with the girl one… The girl one makes noise like a cracked door opening … And when i separate them again the boy keeps thumping …. I don’t know why
It’s difficult to know for sure, but probably stress/aggression. It’s probably best to give them a bit longer seeing each other through the wire before introducing them!
I have 2 outdoor rabbits and they keep thumping at night! Every time I go and check to see why thinking it could be a cat or something in the garden there’s never anything there, I’m starting to worry that they’re stressed but ive checked all round the garden and can’t find anything?
They have much better senses of hearing and smell than we do – there might be a neighbourhood cat wandering past? Or a fox?
My bunnies are 9 weeks old and came to us 2.5 weeks ago. One is extremely affectionate and only took couple of days to bond with us. Always licking and kissing my nose. The other one was very skittish but now became comfortable and lets me pet her and flops in front of me. Today, while getting inside the cage, the metal door fell on the hardware floor and made really loud noise. The affectionate one was really freaked out and kept on thumping (prob about 50 times), running around frantic while staring at me. Her heart was beating so fast that I was scared she was going to have a heart attack. I gave her space and after couple of hours, she let me open the metal door again, come near and even started to kiss and be normal again for couple of hours. I’m not sure what happened but I opened the door again to refill hay and she started thumping again, running away and her heart beating again. Is the bunny associating me entering with the danger she experienced? Will this get better?
It does sound like it yes – but fortunately, bunnies are pretty intelligent creatures, and in a few day’s she’ll probably realise that it was a one off and not something that routinely happens! Offering her a (small) treat whenever you open the door might help her to associate you with nice things not scary noises. Good luck with her!
This night it was like any other night, my rabbit just started thumping! I tried to calm him by giving him a piece of veg to chew on but he wouldnt accept it. He just kept thumping every other minute. It was a silent night and my baby was sleeping so i tried to shush him a bit, maybe he got a little scared of that.
My rabbit roams free around the house,loves to jump onto my son’s and my bed and scratch and slide on top of the duvet cover mostly when we are just lying in bed reading or on our devices.I think he just wants attention because when we ignore him,he would scratch us.He rarely thumps,only when my friend’s dog comes for sleepover
My bunny thumps when she is playing and excited about getting up in the morning or going to up to bed at night as well as being upset/scared. My bunny is confusing most of the time “normal” is not how I would describe her.
My rabbit thumps if there’s anything out of place in the house, right down to a coat hung off of a chair that usually doesn’t have a coat hung on! Sometimes we can’t find the cause, but something out of place will do it every time! And it’s very apparent that he’s on alert until we move it! Funny how they are.
My rabbit runs across the living room, stops at the booth of the couch, thumps and jumps on me or my husband for some attention lol he does this allllll the time
In the early mornings and late nights my rabbit seems to get a burst of energy and runs in circles around the room thumping as she runs and then stands on her hinds legs next to my bed also thumping until I pick her up to put her on the bed and she won’t stop until I let her. It has become a problem as it happens every single night and morning and wakes up everyone in my family. How do I stop this?
You need to try and work out why it’s happening – is there a trigger, e.g. a noise outside, or people moving around that wake her up? Does she have a friend? If not, it’s cruel to keep her on her own, and loneliness could be the cause. Alternatively, there might be a medical cause, so if there’s no clear trigger, explain the problem and ask your vet to give her a thorough check over for any medical issues.
Keeping a single rabbit is not necessarily cruel, my rabbit is petrified by other rabbits. But she loves cats, dogs and guinea pigs. My rabbit is like a surrogate mother to 1 of my genetically challenged guinea pigs. Show my bunny another rabbit she will thump, honk and launch at it before running a mile then she will hide in a corner shaking and peeing out of fear (this includes her own reflection). So I think it does depend on the rabbit.
It is pretty unusual for them to be completely content, but I agree there are some rabbits that can be happy with another species.
Am having a relationship with a family of wild rabbits in my yard. They are adorable and have inspired a children’s book.
My rabbit thumps if her breakfast or dinner is late. Today I slept in later than usual because it’s the weekend and she thumped angrily at me when I came out of the bedroom as if to demand where her breakfast is.
Hello!
I’ve been taking care of this rabbit for a few months, and this was the first time I’ve heard her thump. She finished eating the piece of food I gave her, then after a few seconds she ran over my leg, and went under one of my furniture. She then began to thump. I was quite worried so I read this article about rabbits thumping. She’s happy, and content. I let her free roam almost daily, (she has a cage) so she has a large area to explore. I went to check back on her, and she in the sleeping position “The Flop.” Her nose wasn’t twitching, so she’s deeply fallen asleep. Can anyone tell me what this means?? Thanks!
Sounds like she was scared by something!
My rabbit thumps and then binkys, could her thumping be an indication of happiness or something more deep rooted? I have only had her 3 weeks and she isn’t as sociable as our other rabbit, she is still a little uncertain when it comes to giving her a stroke but every now and again she will happily let us stroke her, she also has a tendency to bite at the cage enclosure and the floor, is there anyway of being able to educate her in what is right and wrong?
My bunny does the same thing my vet don’t worry normal thumping is fear but sometimes it’s because she is over excited too
Some rabbits are naturally more nervous than others; 3 weeks isn’t a very long time. She should gradually get used to the way you do things – but from what you’ve said, nervousness is likely to be the cause of her thumping. In general, I’d suggest very gradually doing more with her, perhaps rewarding her with a small treat when you come closer, and see if you can persuade her you aren’t scary!
My rabbit lives outside and I have a large piece of carpet that covers the hutch. She sometimes thumps late at night and if I’m awake and hear it whenever I go out to her she seems fine.
It might be that there’s a predator prowling around outside – or that she’s been disturbed by something.
It might be a good idea to get her a friend – rabbits should never normally live alone – and it may help her feel safer.
My new female baby bunny stomps at me whenever I try to pick her up. I try not to hold her often but I need to get her back into her cage. I have sat with her silently and let her come up to me many times but nothing seems to be working.
It can take many weeks – from her point of view you’re a scary predator!
My rabbit is free roam in a huge living room, plenty of toys, she’s happy. However if me or me partner tries to leave or go towards the door (to go to the bathroom mainly) Our rabbit follows and then runs around our feet in circles and thumps, what can this be? Because it’s only when we go towards the door. We do have another 2 rabbits in another room which are also free range but all 3 don’t get along so they’re separated. If we close all doors and let Our rabbit come with us to the bathroom she goes straight to the door with the other rabbits behind it and scratches to get in???
Stress in rabbits can be really hard to get on top of! Check out some ideas from here, then if you’re still having issues, get a check up with your vet to make sure there aren’t any other underlying issues.
I’ve just woken to a thumping noise an gone round the house an realised it’s the rabbit outside. I’ve never heard him do this before. Should I be worried?
It suggests that he is for some reason! It might be that a predator like a fox or cat passed through the garden; or it might be that there’s something else causing him stress – check his hutch or paddock to make sure it’s secure, then see if there’s anything you can do to help him feel safer and more relaxed.
my bunny is usually very social and happy because she lives in my room but lately she has been running around as if she’s mad and thumping her foot while making weird noises as if she’s humming, she has also been waking me up by pulling my hair out. any suggestions why she’s doing this?
This behaviour would suggest either pain, or severe stress. We’d advise ruling out medical causes – call your vet for advice, and see if they can do a remote consultation. Other possibilities would include reproductive behaviour – is she neutered? Because if not, it might be worth discussing that with your vet too.
It doesn’t matter what I do my male always thumps at me. I’ll give him food water toys and I have a female bunny. She doesn’t do anything thumping at all. She come to the edge and everything. I made there cage 3x bigger for them but he’s not happy about it. He won’t let me touch, take care of him or play with him. I’m going to rehome him at this point. I’m trying but he’s not having it.
Sometimes a relationship just doesn’t work! However, have you considered having him neutered? It may help.
My rabbit just thumped foenthe first time while staring at me. He loves me and loves to be around me alot. He is clearly not scared of me because he follows me around. He thumped really loudly once then a silent timenstaringnat me and then a second time and then he stared at me and then played down. We think he was trying to show that he wanted out of his cage. Could this be the case?
It’s not impossible – while it evolved as a warning, rabbits are intelligent social animals and if he’s learnt that by thumping he gets what he wants, he’s likely to remember it!
My foster rabbit lived out back. One day a mom/baby racoon coyly entered the yard for food. Knowing nothing about rabbits, I was fascinated to see this rabbit go all the way up to them and thump very loudly and distinctly. She didn’t want them in the yard! I scooted her away and the raccoons left. No harm done.
My rabbit has only just started thumping in the night! I don’t think she is scared but I couldn’t be sure. When I go over to the cage she runs over straight away and lets me stroke her face and is eating fine so I don’t really know why she is thumping, do you think it could be for attention from me?
I don’t take there brains out I’m so sorry it came out imprint like that damn Google voice so sorry I apologize for that I was just stating that we take her out into the front yard to play
We have an 11 and a half year old Netherland dwarf and a three month old Holland lop and are Netherland dwarf stomps when he wants food or play time with us and our Holland lop just stomped for the first time today and it was in demand of cuddles both are rabbits are free roam we’ve always had free roam and litter trained I find it’s the best way we take her brains out in the front yard let them play they don’t even get scared when other people are even people with pets walk by email me if you have any questions I’m not a doctor or a nurse but I’m one hell of an awesome bunny dad
It’s not impossible – if she’s learnt that you give her attention when she thumps, then she’ll thump! Remember, rabbits are social animals and should always be kept in pairs or groups, if she doesn’t have any rabbit friends, she might be relying on you for social support.
My rabbit vibrates or “thumps” on my legs and arms and does it anytime I take him out. Do you know what’s happening?
I would suspect that it’s a stress or fear response – from his point of view, a large predator has just picked him up! Try to spend time with him on the ground, rather than picking him up, to let him get used to you. Most rabbits don’t actually like being picked up, so whenever possible, make a fuss of him at ground level.
Just so you know I have him in a cage and let him out daily. He also bites an tries to lift up the cage.
We have an 11 and a half year old Netherland dwarf and we just bring home our new arrival baby girl Holland lop our oldest rabbit is litter trained and free roam and just in the past four and a half days our new arrival which is only 3 months and she’s already free roam and on the way to being potty trained their poops are dry and crumbles try setting up a boundary the whole length of your house so that your rabbit can stretch its legs and your bunny will be able to binky it’s so awesome