Do bunnies forget?

[BunnyBites]

Ok so Pikachu has a huge hutch with a 2 meter by 4 meter pen around it which he has access to all day and all night with all of his toys and food in etc. and we let him have full run of our bedroom every couple of days in the evening when he wakes up, and he’s usually out for 2 to 4 hours depending on what’s happening at the time.

Anyway, on the days we let him out he’s much happier (as you can imagine) and he’ll always nudge my feet and lick my clothes while I’m sat on the floor with him, and he’ll also be extra affectionate and want lots of petting and attention once he goes back in his pen at the end of the night too, and this friendlyness wll carry on until the next morning and day, but by the next day which is the day we will let him out again later on, he wont be so friendly, he wont come to my hand to be petted as much etc. But obviously once he’s let out again it all starts again.

So my question is, do rabbits forget who you are (to an extent) after a couple of days if you do not spend a lot of time with them? Its almost like he has to learn to trust me again everytime he comes out to play (again, to an extent,).

[Sarita]

I’m not really sure if they remember or forget.

I do know they prefer a routine so that it doesn’t disrupt their sleep or playtime or food/treat time. I think they don’t like the unexpected.

[BunnyBites]

Maybe I should make his routine a bit more obvious for him then, like keeping the days he comes out the same and for the same amount of time. His feeding time is always the same anyway. Thanks for your help

[Monkeybun]

Is there a reason he can’t come out every day to play?

[Elrohwen]

I don’t think bunnies can really understand a routine that isn’t every day. For example, a bunny won’t understand that he comes out on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, so since it’s Tuesday he doesn’t get to come out. They just don’t think that way.

While bunnies like routine, they can adapt to changes, especially once they are comfortable and trust you (I’ll be working from home this afternoon so the bunnies can come out when normally they’d be locked up – they won’t have a problem with that change in their routine)

I’m not sure why your bunny is more friendly on the days he gets to come out – it could just be the timing or it could be that he doesn’t really like you in his space. After being in one area for more than a day at a time he might consider the pen area his space and prefer to interact with you outside of it. I’m just guessing – I really don’t know why he would act like that.

[Sam and Lady's Human]

He’s probably sulking. Is there a reason he doesn’t get daily runs?

[Stickerbunny]

My bunnies like me better when I am not in their space, so it probably is because of that. Neither of my buns really like me messing with them in their room.

[Beka27]

I would try to let him out everyday, even if it’s just for an hour so he can at least stretch his legs.

Edited to add:  If the space is bunnyproofed, everything is picked up, and he’s relatively well-behaved, you don’t even have to be present in the room the whole time.  I know evenings can get busy sometimes, so if time is an issue, keep that in mind…

[Cheddar33]

My buns definitely like a routine more. When it’s a weekday and they don’t get their food or get let out on time (around when I get up for work), they start stomping around and flipping dishes and make lots of noise. I agree that they do remember if it’s routine for them.

[Author]

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