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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 HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Need help with my rabbit behavior dislikes

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    • Michael
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        Hey everyone!

        I would like to say that I made this account due to my situation and this is my first post so please go easy on me. I am a college student who just this year adopted a rabbit so I’d like to start my story there. Me and my roommates just moved into a new apartment this year for college and were very happy with the new space. Both my roommates thought it would be a good idea to get a apartment pet ( and yes I know this start off already sounds bad) I at first was very sure that I did not want one at first and that if they would like one they should get it on there own. They had many ideas but decided that a rabbit would be the simplest pet ( because I said any larger that I wouldn’t allow it). Slowly but surely my want for a fluffy friend started to happen. The second roommate insisted that a rabbit was simple to take care of and said that most pet stores are reasonably cheap. I first did research on the rabbits and learned that it was quite a lie. Long story short my young mind and Pooff’s cute face got the better of me and I impulsed bought ( with second roommate) Pooff for a total of 20$ ( Food, Cage and necessity). Now I know this sounds bad and it is, in my hindsight I realize I was a idiot. The pet shop is a mom and pop back of the door deal and they didn’t seem that quite reputable. Fast forward to when we brought him home, she was great , she didn’t mind being pet and she loved to hop around the boxes of cardboard we set up .She didn’t even mind being picked up. The first few weeks were great I kept her well fed, made sure she was out a lot ( the cage my roommate bought  was too small with information I gathered ) and I let her do her own thing. Well after I did more information gathering I realized that pooff was just  scared, that she just didn’t know how to react to his environment , . I realized this when the said roommate, who owned a rabbit before hand, handled the rabbit very roughly. He also started to not take care of Pooff I.E I was left to the cleaning the cage and buying supplies. We’ll my fear before buying the pet basically happened, they gave it attention for the next few weeks and slowly but surely they lost interest and I realized that  I was the only one caring about Pooff in the long run (after college). 

        We would all take turns taking pooff over break, which actually got me paranoid because I knew they would not treat pooff the way that she should be treated ( they basically treated her like a hamster ).I started to worry that the sole responsibility of the rabbit would be left to me ( which I now know is actually a necessity). This is when Pooff started to be more herself. This was the part that hurts . Basically she doesn’t like being pet nor picked up . She actually charges my hand every time I enter her cage and the only way I get her to socialize with me is to lay out a course of cardboard boxes and toys for her to play with Sometimes she’ll even growl when I give her a toy . Now I understood that she has prey instincts and that some rabbits don’t like to be pet but this ruined me. Pooff was now just becoming something I spent money on to watch play. Don’t get me wrong, I love Pooff which is weird due to the short time I’ve had her , but me not being able to play with her or pet her made it un-fun to be with her .After the first semester when I toke Pooff back home with me over winter break my parents and friends back home got to meet her. My mom and dad were at first hesitant but my mom who saw how I constantly cared for the rabbit fell for her too. She even bought me a Larger cage and even a 10 pounds of food! This made it worse because Pooff’s behavior made it harder and harder to like her. Fast forward to know and Pooff’s has begun to be warmed up to me and will occasionally run and sniff me or run across my chest and burrow ( if I lye down ) but her negative behavior still has not stopped .

        ( Sorry For the Long Story!) My Problem is this now, I love Pooff to death and now have come to put her safety and well being over anything else  but her antisocial behavior has become quite worn out she even growls when I’m in her cage or when I stop her from chewing on a item. Now I understand that some rabbits are just like that and it’s what gives it there uniqueness but it’s not the particular aspects I wanted in a Pet. I realize now that it’s my own fault, it was a stupid mistake made by a impulsive guy.I should of done more research and let pooff grow more to inspect her personality ( before adoption). Part of me  has the idea  of giving pooff away cage and all. my biggest worry though, is that if she goes to good home and not another person like me who didn’t know what they were getting themselves (completely) into. Another part of me thinks I should wait it out and see if she changes or warms up to me even more . I just want to ask what should I do? I love her to death but if I cant pet my pet then it seizes  to be a pet to me. I just wanted some advice from people with more experience then me and not just another article or document I read online. Preferably with people who have adopted multiple rabbits.


        Pooff is a dwarf rabbit and has not been fixed. Please ask questions if you have any and ill try to give you an honest response. I need all the advice I can get. In the end all I care about pooffs well being . The quicker the answer the better!


      • kirstyol
        Participant
        580 posts Send Private Message

          Female rabbits are often very territorial, especially if un-spayed. Female rabbits need to be spayed for health reasons as a ridiculously high proportion of unsprayed females will get uterine cancer if left un-spayed. I would make getting her spayed a priority. Spaying or neutering often calms down behaviour like you are describing which sounds very much like hormonal behaviour to me, although I am certainly not an expert. have you been to the vet for a check up?

          Most rabbits don’t like being picked up because they are prey animals but they will often tolerate being petted, its better to let them come to you though than you suddenly going over and petting them. However I am a little concerned that you say that if you cannot pet her then she isn’t a pet to you, that sounds a little unfair on your bunny who really does appear to be displaying normal bunny behaviour for her age and the fact that she isn’t spayed yet.

          She also needs a bigger living area and you will almost certainly find that this improves her behaviour. Pet store cages are pretty much never big enough for a bunny, no matter what they tell you. Having more space to lounge around in and exercise will likely improve her behaviour. Also a place for her to hide when she is scared such as a cardboard box with ‘doors’ cut in it will give her somewhere that she knows is safe to run to and hide when she feels the need.

          Have you tried letting her out of her cage and just sitting on the floor to see if she comes to you? This is a great way to bond with a bunny, it does take time but they will often come over and sniff you after a while and you can build up to petting her from there. It just sounds to me like she is maybe not used to being petted and doesn’t know that this is safe. How are your housemates treating her? If she doesn’t feel safe with them then perhaps she doesn’t feel safe with you because she doesn’t realise that your behaviour will be different to theirs? It may also be difficult for her trying to adjust to so many different people at once, it may just take time. how old is your rabbit and how long have you had her?


        • Michael
          Participant
          2 posts Send Private Message

            I have been trying to find a place to get her spayed for awhile, but most places that do it near me don’t offer it or not well recommended. I also know that they are prey animals and know that her behavior towards being petted is pretty normal for most . The fact is that pooff is my pet, but I was only saying that from only being able to admire her from a distance isn’t quite ideal. I enjoy spending time with her but not being able to bond in any way besides the occasional arm sniff  is really not fun. I also said I acquired a bigger cage for her during Christmas , one that has a second level and is long enough for her to run around in.  I also have plenty of card board boxes that she constantly uses for cover or as a second home when she’s out around the room. 

            I have tried opening on the cage and reading a book or even watching TV whiles she’s  out ,  she’s has gotten comfortable enough to run across me or to sniff me but that is about it. Also I have done this type of bonding for awhile when this behavior first started to happen She was said to be three months old after we adopted her , so she is about six months old now. I understand why she could be scared because nearly every time I initiate petting she balls up and puts her ears back but is it normal for this to happen after two months of bonding this way? Also recently my house mate has spent less time with her but he’ll occasionally enter the room and play with her. Surprisingly she lets him pick her up without much fight  and he doesn’t handle her as rough as he previously had ( after I told him ). 


          • kirstyol
            Participant
            580 posts Send Private Message

              One of my rabbits will let my partner pick him up but not me, I have no idea why if I am honest. Two months isn’t really that much time I guess, remember you rabbit has had to adjust to new surroundings with multiple new people, you then took her to your parents house and she had to adjust to that and you then brought her back home and she had to readjust to that. Her age is about right for hormones starting to kick in too which will not be helping matters.

              You did say that you got a bigger cage but unfortunately almost every cage available to buy in pet shops is not big enough for a rabbit really, could you put an exercise pen round it and leave it open? Thats what we do with ours, they have an xl dog crate with a pen attached now but when we first got Bramble we did keep him in a shop bought cage, the improvement in his behaviour since moving to the bigger setup (and being neutered) is remarkable.

              It honestly sounds to me like you are doing the right things sitting and waiting for her to come to you and she obviously is starting to do that to sniff you. I just think maybe because she has been moved a few times in two months she is perhaps a little nervous, it may just take more time I guess. Food is often the way to a bunnies heart, could you try hand feeding veggies? that could make her associate you with good things and might help. There is a list of vet resources at the top of this forum that might prove useful when trying to get a spay done too, that would calm the hormonal behaviour.

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          Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Need help with my rabbit behavior dislikes