Hi all,
I just joined, but I have been lurking through the archives for a while trying to learn as much as I can about rabbits. I recently adopted a bonded pair of bunnies. They are about 5 years old, spending 3 of those years in the rabbit rescue from where they were waiting to be adopted.
They are the sweetest pair of bunnies- perfect litter box skills, hearty appetite for hay and greens, but they are totally disinterested in me. My previous bunny loved to nudge me for pets, sit on my lap, and follow me around my place. I’ve never had a bonded pair before (my other bunny was solo) and these two seem to only be interested in themselves. When I met them at the rescue, they were curious about me and liked to be petted. Now they don’t really seem to want anything to do with me.
I adopted them almost two weeks ago. I specifically was looking for a pet that would be a companion and I’m concerned that the rabbits will never like me now. I have read several past posts on this and saw people’s advice saying that it takes time, but they were mainly discussing younger rabbits. If my bunnies are not adjusting to me, are they too old to trust me?
Since adopting them, I’ve set up their x-pen in the living room. I sit on the floor with their x pen door open more than 4 hours a day while I work from home. One of the bunnies will occasionally investigate me. When I first brought them home, this same bunny would binky about. The other is more reserved and shy. However, now that they’ve spent a week with me, their initial curiosity is totally gone. I’ve bought them different toys, set up new areas, tried to bring them into other parts of the house, but they only like their little x-pen for the most part and stay there almost the entire day. I don’t know what more to do to get them more excited about being around me. I tried treats like the forums say, but they have NO sweet tooth at all. It’s crazy, not even bananas or apples get them going. They love their cilantro and parsley.
Would appreciate any advice anyone has for me. I feel like I’ve tried everything except time. I really want them to be bunnies who will sit with me on the couch or follow me around the house or at least like to sit next to me on the floor and let me pet them. I recognize that most bunnies are not like this, but when I talked to the rescue, they assured me these were sweet bunnies who liked attention and being around people so I’m just really confused and feel like they just don’t like me.