Help! Grumpy, inactive bunny and frustrated bunny mommy

[BunnyMama]

So I’ve never been part of this forum before, but I thought it might be the perfect place to get some help! 

My rabbit Lissie is 2.5 years old and is a Netherland Dwarf, Lion Head mix (that’s what the pet store said, though her coloring leads me to believe there might be something else in there?). Anywho, she’s never been the friendliest (I think it’s pretty common for her breed to not be?), but under six months old she liked to cuddle, we kept her to the main room of our house so she was around people a lot, she would binky on the carpet, always trying to sneak into rooms she’s not allowed in, sniffed feet, etc. After six months old she became very territorial and grumpy, so we got her fixed, and she became much closer to her old self again. Up until about six months ago, she wasn’t as cuddly, but seemed to enjoy it for 15 minute stretches. She has free run of the entire first floor of the house except one room, and would always try to sneak in to the forbidden room if the doors were open (to the extent of sliding through the bars of a baby gate!). She would run laps in the carpeted room, binky when people came into to spend time with her, etc. She was litter box trained for many months, but has regressed and now poops anywhere in her cage (but usually only in her cage). She has two cardboard bunny mazes, one in each room, and she would spend a fair amount of time sitting in them, but not all day, every day. 

Recently though, she has stopped coming out of the cardboard mazes all together, unless forced out (by picking up the maze). She doesn’t come to investigate people, doesn’t run, doesn’t binky. She does still seem to enjoy being held on a lap and having her head rubbed, but that’s it. She’s eating and drinking and pooping perfectly well, but she just seems to really not care whether I interact with her at all! Even whether I exist! 

It’s very frustrating. I’m sure I don’t interact with her as much as I should (I’m a graduate student so I’m out of the house up to 12 hours every day), but there’s people in the house all day long, etc. If I sit down on the floor with her she just runs away or nips at me. She doesn’t seem to like any toys. I’m sure she’s bored, but I can’t figure out how to entertain her! I sometimes wonder if I’ve given her too much free run of the house? It’s gotten so bad that I’ve considered finding a new home for her. That sounds terrible, and it’s something I really don’t want to do, but she doesn’t seem to even notice me, nevertheless like me! She’s chewed every baseboard in the entire living room, the corner off my parent’s leather couch, the legs of an antique table, the rocking chair feet, etc. We’ve given her cardboard tubes to run through, cardboard mazes, carpet squares, boxes, paper to tear at, etc. and she doesn’t seem interested in any of it! Is she lonely? Is she bored?

Thank you so much for your help! 

[lunavenus]

I believe that as bunnies get older, they start to mellow out a bit though 2.5 years old is a little young. Since you are a graduate student, she may be giving you bunny butt because you don’t interact with her much or she may have just unbonded with you because you don’t as much spend time with her anymore. It happened to me a bit when I was really busy during midterm/finals season and the more i spent time with my two bunnies they started to interact with me more.

Maybe she’s bored with the layout of her free range area, and you can try to play games with her using treats and veggies. I read that thats a good way to keep your bunnies on their feet and active.

[BunnyMama]

Thank you! That’s what I’ve been thinking too. I just bough a really large cage with lots of room to run in it, and a playpen, so hopefully we can have more focused playtime when I’m home. (Right now she just runs from me!). 

[jerseygirl]

Has she had a thorough vet check since the behaviour change?

[BunnyMama]

She hasn’t. I was considering taking her, but she’s eating and pooping well. Could she still be sick?

[Bam]

It’s really difficult to say and since she’s not displaying any pathological signs, it’s hard to know where to start an investigation. Is she peeing in her litterbox?

None of my buns have cared for toys (exept tunnels, but tunnels aren’t really toys, more convenient passages for buns on their way to beg for a treat etc) and at 2.5 years, Yohio didn’t binky at all as much as he did when he was younger – but he was super-cuddly, so that doesn’t fit your bun’s description.

You want to rule out all possible physical health issues first of all when you see a sudden behavior-change in an adult bun (young buns change all the time, so for them it’s normal). That’s why I asked about pee, if she dribbles pees she could have a UTI f ex. As you know they hide symptoms of illness extremely well, but hiding and refusing to come out is also typical of a bunny who isn’t feeling well. It’s an instinct of course, a poorly bun can’t afford to be spotted by a predator.

[BunnyMama]

Thanks so much for the help! I’ve been trying to get down on the ground with her even though she’s terribly grumpy for the last few days, and she’s brightened up considerably. I feel bad now, I think she’s just been lonely! It’s hard sometimes when she doesn’t seem to want to spend time together, but when I just lay on the ground near her she ended up coming out and seeming really happy to see me. I’m considering getting her a buddy, though the idea of getting another rabbit is daunting…. I’ve been doing some reading on the bonding board. I’ll watch her pee though – she doesn’t use a litterbox currently (eye roll) but we’re about to try litterbox training again. After doing so much reading on here, I think I was accidentally neglecting her and she was lonely and bored If she get’s weird again, I’ll make sure to take her to a vet though.

[Just Ami]

I don’t know if this helps or not, and I’ve only been a bunny owner for a little over a year…

but… last january, i had shoulder surgery and had to spend a month recovering at my parents house. Lucky has a whole room (my bedroom) that he free ranges in. I had relatives go over every day and spend a few hours with him. He couldn’t come to my parents house because they have a dog that likes to kill wild animals, so there was no way i was taking him there. anyways, when i was finally able to go home for the first time in that month, Lucky gave me a HUGE cold shoulder for several days. and he pooped on me and my bed. Like, a LOT of poop on me. Like he was saving it up all month just to show me how displeased he was when I finally got home. Both were VERY uncharacteristic of him! He is a big lovey dovey, friendly guy who always uses his litter box. But he was irked off at me pretty good for being gone. the cold shoulder was so frosty that i was even starting to worry he was perm unbonded with me and hated me now. It took a couple of weeks (of being home with him) for him to defrost and start being his friendly bunny self to me.

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