Why Do Rabbits Thump

Most new rabbit owners don’t know why rabbits thump. In 90% of cases, rabbits thump if they feel threatened or hear something they think is harmful. In this article, I’m going to tell you all the reasons why wild rabbits and pet rabbits thump and how you can comfort them. So let’s begin.

Why do rabbits thump in the wild?

First, let’s talk about why rabbits thump in the wild. There are actually mainly two reasons why rabbits thump in the wild.

First reason: If they hear a predator coming into their territory, they give a loud thump to warn any of their family that’s above ground and let them know they need to alert or hide in a safe place. That is the main purpose that we know of for rabbit thumping.

Second reason: Now, the other thing that a rabbit’s thump is for is other rabbits that are not part of their family that come into their territory. Rabbits can use a thump as a warning, like, ‘Hey, this place is taken. Get out of here!’ It can be a warning that if you don’t leave, I’m going to get aggressive.

Why do our pet rabbits thump?

There are several reasons why pet rabbits start thumping.

The first sign is that when they get scared or sense danger, they will start thumping. When pet rabbits get scared, their ears will go forward, their eyes will widen, they’ll have a very rigid body, and they’ll do this loud thump with their back leg.

It’s a way to warn you and their family that there’s danger coming. Oftentimes when rabbits thump because they’re scared, they’ll do more than one thump.

So, they’ll thump once and then wait a couple of minutes to see if there’s still danger, and then they’ll thump again. They’ll continue to thump occasionally until they believe that the danger is gone.

If they are angry at us

Another reason we might notice our pet rabbits thumping is that they are either angry or irritated with us. So, if you were holding your rabbit and then you just put them down, you might notice that they thump and then flick you off with their feet to let you know just how unhappy they were with that situation.

If you have other pets in the household

If you have other pets in the household, you might notice that if a dog comes near your rabbit, they might thump. This is both because they’re scared and because they want to alert the predator.

Even if your dog is gentle and would never hurt the rabbit, your rabbit might still feel angry and scared with the dog around. It’s good to know that that’s what the body language means.

Usually, when a rabbit is thumping because they’re angry, they’ll just do one thump to get their point across. Sometimes if someone is encroaching on their territory, they might thump again if you continue, but it’s usually just as a warning. If you heed their warning, they’ll back off and they won’t thump anymore.

If they are bored

Rabbits may also thump to show their irritation. For example, if a rabbit is kept in a cage that’s too small for them, they will often become bored and then start thumping to convey, ‘Hey, let me out. This is boring.’

Rabbits Thump for Attention

Sometimes, rabbits learn that thumping will grab attention. They might think, ‘If I thump, they’ll come and give me a treat or pet me for a little bit.’ Eventually, it becomes a habit, and they start thumping for attention.

Basically, this can be a disruptive behavior because rabbit thumps can be quite loud. Most people would get a little frustrated if their rabbit kept thumping all the time just because they wanted attention.

Rabbits may thump at night because they are scared, feeling annoyed by something, or even because they know it will get your attention. It’s generally a good idea to discourage this behavior by essentially ignoring it and not rewarding it.

However, at the same time, you don’t want to ignore them when they’re scared. I’ll also discuss if they’re scared, their body language is completely different. So, if they’re thumping because they’re scared, you do want to go and comfort your rabbit and help them feel better.

How to Comfort a Scared Rabbit

The first thing I generally try to do is pet them. Many rabbits will start to relax after being petted, so begin by giving them some scratches on their head and behind their ears.

However, sometimes this doesn’t work. In that case, the second thing I will try to do is distract them. I will give them a treat that can help distract their brain so that they’re not so afraid. Now, if that doesn’t work, find the reason why your rabbit is thumping.