Help! Depressed, Sicj, Hornobal??

[Attie's mama]

Please help! I’m trying to figure out what’s wrong with my bunny. He is the most affectionate bunny EVER and wants constant attention. He loves to be picked up and play. He loves scratches and delights in treats. Sometimes he even nips so you’ll pay attention to him, pokes you with his face, crawls in your lap and even puts is paws on my leg so I’ll pick him up. It’s sweet but to be honest it’s a bit much sometimes. Lately, I’ve started to “eekl” when he nips and bites so he knows that’s not ok. He seemed to be fine with this for the past few weeks and would redirect his efforts. This doesn’t seem to be the cause of a change.

Last weekend, he began bonding with my smaller son. My 10 year old loves him but Attie is always more focused on me. My sons live with me half of each week so as far as the bun is cocncerned there’s no consistency there and he doesn’t pay them much mind usually unless they’re petting him. Over the last month or so, my son has taken responsibility for feeding him on the mornings that he is there. Over time the bun has developed routines around that. Still, not much in the way of any changes.

Last weekend my boys and I had a rainy, lazy weekend and just sat around snuggling up and watching movies and ordering pizza. The bunny was his usual self, following me around, honking, nipping and yearning to be pet. I was sitting under blankets with my son a lot so I gave him pets and my 10 year old gave him lots of attention too. Because my bun has reached puberty and hasn’t yet been neutered he was trying to “mate” with us. I’ve been very firm about not allowing the bunny to do that with me. My son didn’t really get what he was doing to him though and saw it as a sign of affection and sometimes let it go on longer than he should have or until I realized what was happening and pulled the bunnyy off of him. He continued to give our bun lots of attention and feed him.

On Tuesday my son went back to his dads. Later that day I came home alone and the bunny ran to me like usual. I picked him up but he squirmed and jumped out of my arms from too high. Unlike other times he didn’t land well but seemed to be utterly fine and continued runnng around a bit though it was obv he was initially taken back by the jump. Later that dayvhe was himself again. By the next day the bunny had changed. He was very aloof towards me and would “allow” me to pet him but was FAR less interested in me than normal. He even chose to stay in his cage which he rarely does. Like he was volunteering to be in there. He’s eating fine and pooping fine and I THINK he’s drinking water but I don’t always notice. That seems to have slowed a little bit. He’s going off on his own a lot. I thought maybe it was GIS but he doesn’t have much in the way of symptoms other than wanting to be on his own. He’s flopping more than usual-meaning, he’s lying stretched out on his side a lot more than usual I think. His nose is SLIGHTLY wetter than usual but no other signs of snuffles. He does suddenly run to me and hop in my lap sometimes but doesn’t stick around like usual.

So he’s eating ok, seems to be drinking ok, doesn’t have a firm gassy tum, is sleeping more and closing his eyes more like he’s tired when I am holding him and he comes on my lap which isn’t as frequent as usual. So what is it? Did he bond with my son shortly before he went back to his dad’s and he misses him? He will be back Sunday. Could he have bumped his head the other day when he tried to get on my lap from under the table and failed? Is he having winter blues? Am I missing signs of GIS? I’ve looked up symptoms to all bunny issues and nothing stands out other than depression. It’s like- nothing seems to be wrong with him except he’s a bit more lethargic than usual but I KNOW my bunny and his personality is different since my son left which happens to be the same day he jumped down from too high but I really don’t think that’s it. He runs and walks fine. Grinds his teeth in happiness just not as much. No one else would be able to tell there’s something wrong but I know him and I want to make him feel better. Seeing him be so limpy and “down” makes me so sad and worried. In truth, he just seems really tame all of a sudden and that’s just not consistent with his personality.

Please help. I love my baby and I want to make him happy!

[jerseygirl]

Hi Attie’s Mama

I think in this case I would get him seen by a vet. Because the change came the next day after is awkward landing, I would be concerned something is paining him. The wet nose could be because he is breathing faster if he has some pain.
Sometimes it’s only subtle signs that alert us to something being amiss. The lethargy is concerning also.

Owners have definintely reported signs of depression in their rabbits when owners have been absent, so it is possible he is missing your boy, but I would want to rule up health concerns first.

Hope he’s okay! {{{Attie}}}

[Author]

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