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BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately!  Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES 

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

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Forum BEHAVIOR How do I befriend my bunny>

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    • gossamer
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        I got Nyx when she was a baby. I think she was born sometime in February-March of 2011, and I got her in late April of that same year. I played with her and gave her all the attention I could, and for awhile it seemed like she was going to warm up to me. Unfortunately, there came a stretch of weeks in late May after I got her that took me away from her. My boyfriend’s brother was in a car accident, and I spent a week with him being his moral support. His brother died shortly afterward, and I spent another week being moral support. Nyx had to be taken care of by my busy mother. She didn’t get as much attention during that time as she had been getting, and when I was finally able to come back home and stay, she was wary of me again.

        It’s been almost two years, and not much has improved. :c Granted, I think she must like me at least a little, because I am the only human being that she will allow to pet her, pick her up, or feed her. I say “allow” because she does not enjoy any of those activities in the slightest, but she lets me do them without biting my fingers off. She doesn’t like to be held at all, but she’ll let me pick her up and put her in her “play pen” every day, and she’ll sometimes let me pet her between the ears or on the nose. Otherwise, she fights me. She’ll struggle if I try to put her on her back to check her teeth or claws or ears, and her breed is supposed to be fairly docile about that (according to Wikipedia anyway; the picture on the right looks almost exactly like her). She’s bitten me hard enough to draw blood most of the times I’ve had to do that, and she WILL NOT allow herself to be brushed under any circumstances. That last one is rough, because she’s fluffy and sheds quite a bit, and her fluff can get matted around her belly and bottom. I am constantly vacuuming up loose bunny fluff. 

        I know that getting her fixed will solve some of her attitude problems, but I’m almost afraid to take her to the vet now, because she hates everyone who isn’t me. She attacks anyone else who tries to feed her or give her treats, biting and clawing at their hands. I like to joke that she’s my guard rabbit, but in all honesty, I’m afraid that if I take her to the vet and give her over to a stranger, she’ll be so freaked out that she’ll have a heart attack or something. (That, or she’ll bite the vet’s face off.) I am quite literally the only human being that she will tolerate. I’m also in kind of dire financial straits right now, and have been since a few months after I got her (she was too little to get fixed then, and my parents both lost their jobs and needed help with bills and stuff afterward).

        If anyone had any advice on how to bond with her, I’d really appreciate it. I feel awful that I’ve not been able to get her fixed, and I still feel awful that she was so alone during her “formative weeks,” but that part was nothing that I could help. She was my best friend while I lived away from home, and she still is. I’ve tried every way I know how to make friends with her and give her a nonthreatening environment now that I’ve had to move back (the dog is confined to the front part of the house, and both my parents know to come into my room as quietly as possible) but she still seems to regard me as a potentially dangerous provider of foodstuffs. I’m not rough with her, I don’t move quickly around her, and whenever I can be I am down on her level. I try to keep sudden, loud noises to a minimum. I talk to her quietly and I rarely snap at her unless she’s being bad. I just feel like I’m doing SOMETHING wrong, but I can’t figure out what it is. :c


      • Sarita
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        18851 posts Send Private Message

          Well she needs to be spayed so she doesn’t contract Uterine Cancer first and foremost – it’s not a matter of her liking the vet’s, they are trained to deal with all kinds of animals with different behaviors so that should not be a concern. She may be stressed but what animal is not at the vet, that is normal as well.

          All rabbits struggle when you put them on their back regardless of age, breed, or sex – they hate it so this is typical rabbit behavior.

          I think you need to stop thinking that you can be “friends” with her – you want to gain her trust and gaining her trust is just petting her and being around her (on the ground which is her terms). I think just being around her and not forcing yourself on her will help with this.

          The behaviors you describe are very common, they really aren’t unique to her and rabbits aren’t bred for personality either, just for looks.


        • NewBunnyOwner123
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            When I got Sally she didn’t want anything to do with people. If I walked up t the cage she would FREAK OUT just looking at her. I never forced myself on her. Every morning while doing maintenance I would open the door so if she WANTED to come it she could. I wouldn’t even dare reach in to try petting her because if my hand was going towards her she would get so scared

            After abo two weeks one morning she decided to come it of her cage. De wouldn’t go far from the entrance and she crawled around on her belly. The slightest movement on my part would cause her to dart back in. But she slowly came around. She started to get curious when I was filling food and hay bowls and cleaning her litter box. She actually started coming up to me on her terms to sniff and say hello.

            Then a few days later she would start coming up and slowly exploring the whole room and even crawl in my lap to explore. I still couldn’t really pet her but it was nice she graced me with her presence lol

            Another few days and she would come up to me for pets and I would give her some pets for as long as she wanted. Wouldn’t last long, she would hop off after a few minutes or if she spotted movement from afar.

            Lets just say that now that she trusts me fully and if comfortable with her surroundings, she runs up to you every time you enter the kitchen. And lays her head down for some love and attention. She would sit there and demand pets for a good half hour if you let her lol While I’m in there making lunch or dinner she will follow my every step lol. She still doesn’t like to be picked up but she tolerates it.

            I just never really forced myself on her from the beginning of having her. As hard as it was because I just wanted to jump right in and be best friends with her. Just took time and patience and self discipline to not rush it but its definitely worth it in the end when your bunny finally decides that you’re not so bad after all )


          • tanlover14
            Participant
            3617 posts Send Private Message

              First off, she NEEDS to be spayed. For reasons Sarita mentioned. It may also help her personality a bit. Not for sure, but maybe. My girl was VERY skittish, didn’t want to be pet, touched, or anything. Her spay was very hard on me (I think more for me than her as I was so worried about her, about the stress, everything) BUT my boyfriend and I used an article we had read and became her “crutch” to lean on as she healed. We sat next to her cage, just talking to her with no touching, and handing out little pieces of veggies for her to munch on as her appetite started to come around. We babied the HECK out of her. With the hopes that helping her would make her more comfortable with us. Well, it slowly began working. Like Sally, we had to force her out of her cage for her to even begin to come out and one step towards her and she’d be running back inside again. So we would sit outside her cage, when she’d come out we’d give her veggies or treats to get her to slowly begin coming up to us. She began coming up to us looking for those goodies. Her tummy got the best of her! And then slowly she began climbing on our laps, and rubbing up against us, and flopping down next to us. Throughout this time, we didn’t try to touch her. Except for pets when she began getting closer to us. Her personality has really come out after that and she realized she could trust us. I think it just takes a lot of time and work and you have to be willing to learn what your bun does and doesn’t like and respect her for that. If she doesn’t like pets, but likes coming up and lounging. Let her lounge next to you without the fear of being pet. Bribe her with treats to get close to you so she can see being close is a GOOD thing. It’s really important to respect her likes and dislikes though and let her come around on her own accord. Try putting her favorite treats in a line up to you. She’ll probably run away a few times but eventually she will begin to want them more and her tummy will overcome!

              As you said you’re having financial issues, I would check out some low-cost spay options around you. Shelters are usually pretty good at providing options like this or pointing you in the direction of some other one that can!


            • LittlePuffyTail
              Moderator
              18092 posts Send Private Message

                I just want to first Welcome you to Binky Bunny. Second, I agree with the others about the spaying. Give her attention at her level. Sit on the floor and ignore her. Let her come to you. Some bunnies really make you work to gain their trust.


              • gossamer
                Participant
                16 posts Send Private Message

                  I know it’s been awhile–schoolwork caught up with me–but I wanted to say thank y’all for your help! She’s gotten better, and she’ll come to me now. She even licked me a few days ago She still won’t let me brush her, though, which is unfortunate since it’ll be warming up soon, but she’s so much more friendly otherwise.

                  I should probably have explained more about the vet thing. I live in a pretty rural/small town area, and there are very, very few people that keep rabbits as companion pets. The couple of vets in my area work with dogs and cats, but their main area on the whole seems to be bigger farm animals like cows, pigs, and horses. So while I know the vets have of course been taught about rabbits, I also know they haven’t had very much actual hands-on experience with them, so to speak. They also don’t have reduced spay/neuter rates for anything other than dogs or cats, which seems to be the case in surrounding areas as well. So I’m currently doing some research on vets in the two largest cities within driving distance. My hope is to have her fixed (or at least have an appointment to get her fixed) by next month, barring some unfortunate event taking a toll on my finances.

                  Thanks again everyone for your advice! I appreciate it very much!

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              Forum BEHAVIOR How do I befriend my bunny>