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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.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum BEHAVIOR Bunny behavior 180.

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    • LauraPalmer
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        We just adopted a seven-month-old, chinchilla Dutch, and were elated to find out that she was very sweet, loving, and litter box trained! It has been a little over two weeks since we brought her home. When we let her out of her condo for playtime, she sometimes pees on the carpet, in room she is let out in. She has done this three times since we brought her home. I feel like, since she is already a litter box trained, that I should not have to reverse the process, and keep her in her home. There is also a litter box outside of her condo, that she uses regularly, as she has access to her Timothy hay there.

        Secondly, I went in this morning to let her out for her morning frolic, and she was nose bumping, and nipping me. I thought that maybe she just wanted some attention, but when I went to go pet her, she wanted nothing to do with it. She also kept kicking her feet at me when I tried to play with her Willow ball with her – which she usually loves. The one thing that we have changed in the last day, is feeding her year less alfalfa pellets. We noticed she was not eating her Cecotropes, and she looked a bit thicker than when we brought her home, so we have skipped the pellets for the last day. I gave her about 2 teaspoons of pellets this morning, and she seemed a bit more amicable. Was she crabby about the lack of pellets when she was used to having them , or is that a physiological symptoms of not having enough nutrition?


      • Muchelle
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          Is she spayed? it can be she’s just being hormonal


        • toki
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            First I would probably recommend not taking pellets away for whole days, as healthy pellets are needed for a balanced daily diet. About the litter thing, is she peeing in different spots each time she has peed outside the box? My bun is neutered but, when a new part of the carpet is discovered that he is unfamiliar with, he will usually pee there (just once). Recently I moved a shelf, and he started sniffing around where it had been, and then he just peed there. He also peed under my desk the first day I got him. He is litter trained and very well mannered – it’s just new bits of floor that he can’t resist putting his mark on. Maybe this could be what your bun is doing? I’m presuming she is spayed however if not, like Muchelle says, she may just be being hormonal.


          • LauraPalmer
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              She is not. We do not plan on spaying her. If she was a buck, we would, as it is less invasive, with less potential complications. Also, the procedure is $400 which makes it not worth the risk.


            • LauraPalmer
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                I have read that they do not actually need pellets. She has free access to as much Timothy hay as she can eat per day. I was giving her about 4 teaspoons per serving, morning, and evening. With the fact that she was not eating her cecotropes, it seemed that she might be overnourished. As far as the peeing goes, it is in weird, random places…not even in corners, or anything.


              • vanessa
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                  Litter training in an unspayed female is not perfect. As long as she is intact, expect pee where you don’t want it.
                  Female rabbits have an 80% chance of developing uterine cancer by age 5yrs if not spayed.
                  The risk of uferine cancer is far worse then the risk of the spay surgery.
                  Try looking around for a low cost spay clinic. That’s what I did. My loval rabbit vets also quoted around $400. I found a low cost clinic 80miles away for $75.
                  Aside from the almsot guaranteed uterine cancer and poor litter box habits, she will also continue to get grumpy, crabby, nippy, and occasionally aggressive – as long as she is intact. Everything you have described here sounds like a hormonal intact bunny.

                  As for the pellets – there are different theories. There is a school of thought that says bunnies don’t need pellets. In this case – they do need more variety in their forage. Not just Timothy Hay. If you prefer not to use pellets, then I suggest adding diversity to her hay so she doesn’t develop a nutient deficiency.


                • Tuppence
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                    I don’t think it is advisable to cut out pellets, especially not while she’s still growing. Young buns needs a certain amount of crude protein to support their rapid growth. Additionally, if you’re not planning on breeding her and don’t get her spayed she has an 80% chance of developing uterine or ovarian cancer. It’s in bunny’s best interest to have her spayed. At the risk of sounding harsh, if you don’t want to spend money to ensure the well-being of your friend then perhaps you should reconsider owning a rabbit.

                    With regards to her piddling, is it possible that she is actually a he? It sounds territorial. I’m no expert, so perhaps someone else here can share their thoughts/experience re: does also engaging in this behaviour when hormonal/left intact.


                  • sarahthegemini
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                      Posted By LauraPalmer on 5/04/2017 7:51 PM

                      She is not. We do not plan on spaying her. If she was a buck, we would, as it is less invasive, with less potential complications. Also, the procedure is $400 which makes it not worth the risk.

                      You need to spay her or chances are very high that she will develop cancer. 


                    • Bam
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                        Here’s some info about tumors, cancer and uterine cancer in rabbits, from the house Rabbit Society, a reliable source:
                        http://rabbit.org/tumors-in-rabbits/


                      • Muchelle
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                          Wow 400$! Can’t say much about it cause I’m based in EU but it sounds veeery expensive… maybe try to look for a bigger clinic?

                          Sadly all that’s been said it’s true, females need to be spayed for health reasons. She’s healthy so the risk of the procedure should be minimal (given that all procedures involving anesthesia carry a percentage of risk to them).


                        • LauraPalmer
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                            At the the risk of sounding harsh, Haley Jane, it is not your place to determine whether I should, or should not be owning a rabbit.


                          • LauraPalmer
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                              Hi all. I am very aware of the risks involved with not spaying. Cut rate (no pun intended) vets will not give her the testing she needs to avoid mistakes during anesthesia, and follow up medication. I have owned 6 rabbits in the past, 5 of them were does. None were fixed, and the male was the only one that got cancer, at 8 years old. They all lived very long lives. This is a new chapter, as I am going into this with my own children, and am more informed about the nature of pet rabbits.

                              She is terrified of car rides…I thought she might just keel over on the 20 minute drive home from the foster home! I can only imagine what a car ride, plus spay would do to her. Rabbits were not built for long lives, and as such, will suffer disease of old age as we force them into it, when we choose them as pets-regardless of alteration. The best we can do, as bunny parents, is give them the best we can, in return for their love and adorable-ness. Maybe that’s not a word, but I’m cool with that


                            • LauraPalmer
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                                So far, we have given her cilantro, and romaine. Should they have a different green every day? It’s so funny that the vet, when I had rabbits in the past, said never to give greens, as they would cause diarrhea. My, how much has changed!


                              • Gina.Jenny
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                                  Re the pellet issue, could you consider slowly transitioning her onto a lower calorie, higher fibre brand with less alfalfas content? And maybe just give pellets twice a day?


                                • LauraPalmer
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                                    She does only get pellets twice per day at the moment. At this point, I am just adjusting the amount, until I find the balance point. Seems like about 2 1/2 teaspoons is her magic number…I saw what me daughter had been feeding, and it was quite a bit more than she realized.


                                  • LauraPalmer
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                                      She is doing much better after going back to her normal food amount. I guess she was just hangry. ;p. The humane society offers something called “kindest cuts” for $80. However, unfortunately, I do not fall into their assistance profile regarding income. Other than that, they are all around the same price.


                                    • Gina.Jenny
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                                        Posted By LauraPalmer on 5/05/2017 6:23 AM

                                        So far, we have given her cilantro, and romaine. Should they have a different green every day? It’s so funny that the vet, when I had rabbits in the past, said never to give greens, as they would cause diarrhea. My, how much has changed!

                                        Our first rescue couldn’t eat any greens for this reason, but our current six buns all enjoy local, in season produce, plus forage from the garden. Do you have access to dandelions? Podge had a lot of tummy troubles when we adopted him last tear, we found dandelion stalks worked wonders, the leaves and flowers get scoffed down fast too, but the stalks really helped his tum settle.

                                        Two of our rescues, Gina and Jenny, were both malnourished and underweight when we took them in, they’ve gradually progressed from unlimited pellets, to twice a day and now one small portion a day, plus 2-3 different green stuff each day. Slow is essential in any change to diet, to avoid upset tums. Getting some simethicone baby gas drops in, in case a new food causes gas is wise, it can get rid of gas in a bun-tum within half an hour! 


                                      • vanessa
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                                          Sorry i have to disagree with you. Unspayed, cancer risk, poor diet. More rabbits have successful spay surgeries than not. Everyone has given you good advice. There is nothing more i can add.


                                        • LauraPalmer
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                                            I’m a bit leery of giving her things I find outside my home. We use chemical lawn care products, as, I’m sure, do many of our neighbors. I am worried I would pick the wrong lawn, and inadvertently poison her. I am pretty much overly paranoid about everything at this point! We are walking on eggshells, trying to make sure we do everything exactly right. I guess, now that my kids are 13 and 15, I just need something to helicopter mother. ?


                                          • sarahthegemini
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                                              Posted By LauraPalmer on 5/05/2017 6:15 AM

                                              Hi all. I am very aware of the risks involved with not spaying. Cut rate (no pun intended) vets will not give her the testing she needs to avoid mistakes during anesthesia, and follow up medication. I have owned 6 rabbits in the past, 5 of them were does. None were fixed, and the male was the only one that got cancer, at 8 years old. They all lived very long lives. This is a new chapter, as I am going into this with my own children, and am more informed about the nature of pet rabbits.

                                              She is terrified of car rides…I thought she might just keep over on the 20 minute drive home from the foster home! I can only imagine what a car ride, plus spat would do to her.

                                              Then you were very lucky. You’re playing with your rabbit’s health here. If you can’t afford to get her spayed by a good vet, you shouldn’t have got a rabbit  And if you think stopping her chances of developing cancer isn’t worth the £400, again – you shouldn’t have got a bunny. 


                                            • vanessa
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                                                If you are breeding – then it is less likely that the females will develop cancer.


                                              • LauraPalmer
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                                                  Wow…lotta judgemental folks out there…?


                                                • LauraPalmer
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                                                    Posted By sarahthegemini on 5/05/2017 7:25 AM

                                                    Posted By LauraPalmer on 5/05/2017 6:15 AM

                                                    Hi all. I am very aware of the risks involved with not spaying. Cut rate (no pun intended) vets will not give her the testing she needs to avoid mistakes during anesthesia, and follow up medication. I have owned 6 rabbits in the past, 5 of them were does. None were fixed, and the male was the only one that got cancer, at 8 years old. They all lived very long lives. This is a new chapter, as I am going into this with my own children, and am more informed about the nature of pet rabbits.

                                                    She is terrified of car rides…I thought she might just keep over on the 20 minute drive home from the foster home! I can only imagine what a car ride, plus spat would do to her.

                                                    Then you were very lucky. You’re playing with your rabbit’s health here. If you can’t afford to get her spayed by a good vet, you shouldn’t have got a rabbit  And if you think stopping her chances of developing cancer isn’t worth the £400, again – you shouldn’t have got a bunny. 

                                                    First of all…It’s not £400 I live in the United States…it would be £300 to you. You are not a good listener, if you think it’s about money. So much judgement behind an empty screen. ? How about you just skip the judgment, and stick to answering the questions.


                                                  • LauraPalmer
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                                                      For those of you that would like to learn something from this thread, rather than simply jumping on the “judge the entire life and meaning of the new member (that you know nothing about, save for the information gleaned from one post)” bandwagon, here is some information for you, and what I have personally discovered in the last 2 days.

                                                      A.) my daughter was feeding her more than she should have-hence, not eating cecotropes.

                                                      B.) her behavior coincided directly with a change in her routine and was attention seeking, not territorial. She was pulling on me to get my attention. She wanted food, as she would normally get at that time, and was very mellow and easygoing once she got it.

                                                      C.) she is nondominant to the point that we can climb in her house to clean it with 0 issues, save for her adorable curiousity, wondering why the heck we are in there, and if there is anything in it for her.

                                                      D.) I would rather have 5-8 good years with my sweet, wonderful little bunny than to pay someone whatever sum to potentially kill her right now, when I have just gotten her. If she has $400 worth of founded, medical bills, I will gladly pay them.

                                                      E.) as far as peeing outside of her litter box goes, I was merely asking as it can be a sign of bladder infection and other animals… I was not sure if it was in the rabbits, as well.


                                                    • vanessa
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                                                        Peeing outside the litterbox could also be a UTI/Kidneystone issue or a myriad of other health problems.

                                                        You are confusing judgment with sound advice from experienced pet owners. If you didn’t want advice, why did you ask a question?

                                                        I can’t read this thread anymore. I feel sorry for your bunny and I hope that you will reconsider and feed her a proper diet, take her to the vet, get her health checked out, and get her spayed.


                                                      • LauraPalmer
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                                                          Vanessa, I can’t read your replies anymore. They are laughable, and rude. I feel sorry for you, that you feel the need to be that way in order to find joy in your life. I did not ask for anyone’s opinion on spaying, nor did I ask for my opinions on the matter to be judged. Your mistake was to answer question that wasn’t asked. I mistake was thinking that you had a valid answer.


                                                        • LauraPalmer
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                                                            Here I was, thinking you guys were informed rabbit owners… Turns out, it’s just a giant, brainwashed cult who’s sole existence is to bash those who do not subscribe to their way of life ? I know this response does not speak to everyone on here, obviously I made it here…but good grief! I am astounded by the ridiculousness of some of these responses! I came here for support, clearly, there is none to be had. My mistake.


                                                          • sarahthegemini
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                                                              Posted By LauraPalmer on 5/05/2017 9:34 AM

                                                              Here I was, thinking you guys were informed rabbit owners… Turns out, it’s just a giant, brainwashed cult who’s sole existence is to bash those who do not subscribe to their way of life ? I know this response does not speak to everyone on here, obviously I made it here…but good grief! I am astounded by the ridiculousness of some of these responses! I came here for support, clearly, there is none to be had. My mistake.

                                                              No, this is a forum full of wonderful rabbit owners that care for their bunnies properly. Does need spaying. It’s not negotiable. Chances are she will develop cancer and die a traumatic death (or be put to sleep) at a very young age. When cared for, rabbits can live 10 to 12 years, so living to be 5 is nothing to brag about. 

                                                              And there is nothing ridiculous about stopping your animal developing a nasty disease that can easily be prevented! People here aren’t going to tell you it’s okay not to spay because it ISN’T okay.


                                                            • LauraPalmer
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                                                                I did not ask for anyone’s opinion on the matter. If you don’t have the answer to my questions, that’s fine. I think it’s hilarious that very few people answer the actual question, and all launched on a tirade about spaying… Just ridiculous. I am of the impression that this is the sole purpose of the blog: bash people that do not choose this traumatic surgery for their friend.


                                                              • sarahthegemini
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                                                                  Posted By LauraPalmer on 5/05/2017 10:29 AM

                                                                  I did not ask for anyone’s opinion on the matter. If you don’t have the answer to my questions, that’s fine. I think it’s hilarious that very few people answer the actual question, and all launched on a tirade about spaying… Just ridiculous

                                                                  You are so irresponsible, I feel sorry for your bunny You’re clearly disregarding all of the risks of not spaying in an attempt to justify your decision. It’s awful. The reason why we ‘went on a tirade’ is because you sounded uninformed  (when you said “it’s not worth the risk” and “if you had a boy, you’d get him neutered”) People then advised you on the importance of spaying (in case you weren’t aware) and that’s when you said you basically know all the risks but you’re still not going to spay. 

                                                                  In addition to stopping the risk of developing cancer, a non-spayed female can not be bonded to another bun. She might also go through false pregnancies which is very upsetting and traumatic for her. 

                                                                  If you’re not concerned about the financial side of it, why did you say cheap vets won’t take proper precautions? Surely the obvious answer is go to the £400 vet. You know, if it isn’t about the money…

                                                                  It’s funny you say surgery is so traumatic yet you disregard how traumatic cancer would be. A few days of discomfort and no chance of uterine cancer? I think we know the best choice here. By the way, my doe recovered in 2 days. Just saying.


                                                                • LauraPalmer
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                                                                    Posted By sarahthegemini on 5/05/2017 10:38 AM

                                                                    Posted By LauraPalmer on 5/05/2017 10:29 AM

                                                                    I did not ask for anyone’s opinion on the matter. If you don’t have the answer to my questions, that’s fine. I think it’s hilarious that very few people answer the actual question, and all launched on a tirade about spaying… Just ridiculous

                                                                    You are so irresponsible, I feel sorry for your bunny You’re clearly disregarding all of the risks of not spaying in an attempt to justify your decision. It’s awful. The reason why we ‘went on a tirade’ is because you sounded uninformed  (when you said “it’s not worth the risk” and “if you had a boy, you’d get him neutered”) People then advised you on the importance of spaying (in case you weren’t aware) and that’s when you said you basically know all the risks but you’re still not going to spay. 

                                                                    In addition to stopping the risk of developing cancer, a non-spayed female can not be bonded to another bun. She might also go through false pregnancies which is very upsetting and traumatic for her. 

                                                                    If you’re not concerned about the financial side of it, why did you say cheap vets won’t take proper precautions? Surely the obvious answer is go to the £400 vet. You know, if it isn’t about the money…

                                                                    LOL…what?!?! Neither option is the right choice – $400, or $75. Aka, £300 or £50 to you, as I have mentioned, I am an American. Wow, you are not very good at listening, or something is getting lost in translation. When I say it is not “worth it” I mean that it is not worth it to stress her to the point where she might die, or just that she might flat out die being operated on. I’m not doing that to her. Sorry if you have some twisted sense in your mind that makes ME out to be the bad person for feeling that way. I have no intention of paying $75, for $400 for someone to kill my rabbit.


                                                                  • sarahthegemini
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                                                                      Stopping cancer = right choice. Not stopping cancer = wrong choice. How are you not getting that? If you have a vet that knows what they’re doing, the chance of your rabbit dying is teensy. Far smaller than the chance of developing cancer if not spayed…. You’re irresponsible. You cannot convince me that you’re doing the right thing. I stopped my doe from developing cancer and yet you think that’s twisted? 

                                                                      You shouldn’t have rabbits. 

                                                                      Why are you more concerned that I put a pound sign rather than a dollar? That’s hardly the issue here…


                                                                    • LauraPalmer
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                                                                        You have no idea who I am, or what I am. And your inability to comprehend difference between dollars and pounds is equally as ridiculous as your judgement..


                                                                      • sarahthegemini
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                                                                          Posted By LauraPalmer on 5/05/2017 11:17 AM

                                                                          You have no idea who I am, or what I am. And your inability to comprehend difference between dollars and pounds is equally as ridiculous as your judgement..

                                                                          What’s ridiculous is you disregarding everything that’s been said here and focusing on a typo  You ARE irresponsible. I shan’t debate with you any further. Here’s hoping you come to your senses or you get bored of your bunny and find a better home for her. Poor, poor bunny.


                                                                        • Muchelle
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                                                                            Guys, sorry to interrupt but I think this is going too far. Ultimately is the owner’s choice to spay or not, and there’s nothing to do about it, if not hoping that it’s a bunny as genetically strong as the previous other does.

                                                                            As for the main question, it’s been replied to and I’m sure everyone’s willing to answer other questions that Laura may have

                                                                            So chillax everyone, plz


                                                                          • LauraPalmer
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                                                                              Thank you. I appreciate that. ? and also, thanks to those that took the time to reply to my OP with information directly related to it. I did not realize that urinating outside of the litter box was related to being intact, I thought it was only spraying that occurred due to territorial marking. Regarding her food, I will have to keep playing until I find her perfect balance. I’m sure this is not dissimilar from any other rabbit owners experience, as every rabbit has different needs. I may still get her spayed, I just need to talk to about 1000 different vets first. I’m really nervous, because she is traumatized fairly easily. Like I said in an earlier comment, I thought she was going to get scared to death just buy the 20 minute ride home.


                                                                            • Muchelle
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                                                                                Take your time and do your own research. About the car, you can safely train her to be comfortable during rides, it just takes a bit of time
                                                                                You’ll decide what it is more fit for her, especially if she develops behavioural issues that would be only controllable via spay. As for now I guess all that’s to do is to monitor her behaviour and her eating and see what happens!

                                                                                I guess we’re all very passionate about our buns and it can happen to have some clashes my buck was not spayed for health reasons and I got super crap on an italian website (that’s why I fled to the international community lol)


                                                                              • LauraPalmer
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                                                                                  Yeah…I guess the car ride self was just an example of how terrified she is of something that I never would have thought would be scary. I don’t even wear certain pants around her, because she is scared of the sounds that they make. I have heard, and read about rabbits dying, sheerly out of stress after the fact. One vet I spoke to, told me that in one year, they had one rabbit died during the surgery itself. I couldn’t get her to tell me how many died immediately following- due to the stress


                                                                                • Muchelle
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                                                                                    Well, it all boils down to habituation. As for humans and all other animals in this world, exposition to a stimulus will lower the response. When I first got my bun (he was sick and traumatized, so maybe he’s a bit of a particular story), he remained in defensive position, almost froze and, for example, was absolutely terrified of male hands and voices. So I started asking my father to come be with the bun every evening, at first a few minutes without addressing the bun, then a bit more, then trying petting him… now they’re best friends!

                                                                                    Keep trying and keep adjusting the enviroinment of the bun until she is desensitized to normal household noises (tv, fabric, kids’ playing…). Probably, if you got her just recently, she needs also to adjust in general. Anyways I wouldn’t base my decision to spay or not to spay only on the knowledge that a bun died during surgery or after (surely cause of anesthesia related problems). Try not to cherry pick, find one vet that is honest and capable and that can reassure you instead of terrifying you I think it’s a bit like picking a good pediatrician for the kids… and I don’t even have kids lol!


                                                                                  • LauraPalmer
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                                                                                      ?. So true! I won’t go to doctors most of the time, because I always get the feeling that they are not really interested in my wellbeing. It’s almost like they forget that we are living, breathing, thinking beings, or something.

                                                                                      So, that’s all you had to do? You didn’t use positive reinforcement, just exposure therapy, and it worked? She is actually super well adjusted to us…she just spooks really easily. She binkies, zooms, grooms us, and flops when we have her hanging out with us…has been super comfortable with us since we met her at the foster home. Honestly, I am probably the one needs the adjustment period! ? I am pretty much on high alert about anything that might scare or hurt her! Do you think she will get even more mellow, as she adjusts? I always thought rabbits were much colder, and more difficult to get into good graces with. Five of the six rabbits I had were mini lops, and they really couldn’t care less about people, but they also weren’t really scared of anything. We could make all kinds of noises, and sounds around them, and we might as well have been whispering, and walking on eggshells.


                                                                                    • Bam
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                                                                                        I agree with Muchelle, exposure to a stimuli will create habituation or desensitization. It needs to be done in small steps, much like phobia therapy for humans or like when you desensitize a dog to the sounds of fireworks. Fearfulness is hereditary to an extent, but lots can be done to make a scaredy pet more confident and to ease stress if the pet still get scared.

                                                                                        As for spaying or not spaying, this decision is one that every pet owner must make for themselves after having carefully considered the pros and cons. I linked to the article from the HRS for informational purposes, because in order to be able to properly weigh risks against benefits, we all need to gather info, preferably from several different sources.

                                                                                        ETA: I have a rabbit that I found outside, so I don’t know what he’d been through in his life. He was an adult of unknown age and very suspicious of his new environment. He basically sat under the coffeetable for a whole year before he started to come out of his shell. But he came out of it and became a very cuddly and confident bunny who absolutely adores being pet. So they do come around, even those that need lots of time. 


                                                                                      • LauraPalmer
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                                                                                          Oh, wow…that’s awesome that he came around. I am against spaying, I am just scared to do anything to traumatized her to that degree. The vets that I spoke with Paul told me that it is much more Trumatic for a DO to be sterilized, then a book. Any suggestions for how to get her not to react fearfully to unpredictable sounds? That’s one thing I can’t control much. Maybe my other rabbits were just desensitized by exposure without me realizing it. I was young, and did not have the knowledge that I have now.


                                                                                        • Muchelle
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                                                                                            Posted By bam on 5/05/2017 3:06 PM

                                                                                            He basically sat under the coffeetable for a whole year before he started to come out of his shell. But he came out of it and became a very cuddly and confident bunny who absolutely adores being pet. So they do come around, even those that need lots of time. 

                                                                                            Just like K! He only let me and my cousin around him for the longest time, petting only while eating or humping

                                                                                            I did use some positive reinforcement with the “human males” issue, by having my father be the only one giving him treats… so if he wanted treats he had to cope with him, he came around his fear pretty fast, considering bunny times  

                                                                                            Everybun has its own personality, so it can be she’ll be on the scaredy side or it can be she’ll become a little boss… we’ll be glad to stick around and know about her (and your family’s) journey

                                                                                            EDIT: about surgery I guarantee you the bun is so high after waking up that she won’t even remember the mandatory 6 hours post-op at the vet… sadly I’ve become an expert of bunny surgeries, so yeah…


                                                                                          • LauraPalmer
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                                                                                              Huh. I guess that would make sense. ? Do they get mad when they are in pain from the surgery? How long do they feel it? I guess it’s not like they know that we are the cause, right? She seems pretty dang smart to me…I feel like she’d give me stink eye for at least a good year.


                                                                                            • Bam
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                                                                                                To an extent most rabbits will react to unpredictable sounds, sometimes even to things we can’t perceive. Suddently the bun thumps and runs and hide, and as a human, we don’t know what the heck happened. That’s sth most rabbits do now and then. I think the best thing is to act as normal as possible, don’t make a fuss (with a scared dog you must never acknowledge the fear or the dog “understands” it as there really is danger). With time she’ll get used to the noises and sounds that occur in your home. Also when she feels more and more at home she’ll react less strongly. She should always know she has a safe place to retire to should she need it, f ex a hidey box with two door holes (they hate feeling trapped). They don’t always use a hidey box, but just having it seems to create a sense of security.


                                                                                              • Muchelle
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                                                                                                  Posted By LauraPalmer on 5/05/2017 3:30 PM

                                                                                                  Huh. I guess that would make sense. ? Do they get mad when they are in pain from the surgery? How long do they feel it? I guess it’s not like they know that we are the cause, right? She seems pretty dang smart to me…I feel like she’d give me stink eye for at least a good year.

                                                                                                  If the vet is a capable one, there’s minimal pain in the animal thanks to pain management meds. It’s more likely that they have discomfort once the pain meds treatment stops. 

                                                                                                  Oh, she will know that YOU left her there (then YOU’ll be the one to med her), so there will be some post-op hate involved. Although I’m willing to be hated, if it’s for K’s health. About one month ago he had 2 emergency surgeries in a row and remained between life and death for two weeks, with me having to force feed him & med him every 3 hours around the clock… I had to go out of the house for a whole weekend before he forgave me but now he’s healthy again hehe

                                                                                                  Posted By bam on 5/05/2017 3:31 PM

                                                                                                  To an extent most rabbits will react to unpredictable sounds, sometimes even to things we can’t perceive. Suddently the bun thumps and runs and hide, and as a human, we don’t know what the heck happened.

                                                                                                  At 2.00 am, K goes in a precise spot in the kitchen and stares at nothing, then thumps. He either is seeing monsters or I have to call the Ghostbusters…


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                                                                                                  • Gina.Jenny
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                                                                                                      I currently have three rescue does, all 3 were highly traumatised when I adopted them. Snickers in particular was really terrified of any sudden sound, just a sneeze was enough to send her into total panic. We adopted her last August. In order to acclimatise the buns to loud sudden sounds and bright lights in the run up to bonfire night, I played through all the star wars movies, starting quietish, and gradually getting louder each night, so when the fireworks were going off, with star wars playing loudly indoors, they were all unfazed by the extra flashes and bangs. Adapting this method could help your bun get used to sudden noises, though it will take time, and need to be done slowly.


                                                                                                    • Bam
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                                                                                                        When my dog was a pup I had a CD with all kinds of noises, fireworks and ambulance sirens, construction work, heavy traffic, gunfire etc. You’re supposed to start playing it in August at the latest in prep for New Year’s, on gradually higher volume, so it does take time. We listened to it in the car all the time that fall.


                                                                                                      • LauraPalmer
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                                                                                                          That’s a good idea. I also like the idea of playing sudden sounds repeatedly, but quietly, and slowly building volume. For the most part, she is pretty iron clad, but it is super unpredictable what will scare her-i.e., folding laundry in her room! She took one look at the pile, and flew back into her condo, back behind her little hut, and thumped a few times. Even when I took it all out, she refused to come out for a good 45 minutes! ? Who knew that would be traumatizing?!?! Meanwhile, my kids can jump around like crazy people, being goofy while a good song is on, and she will just stay flopped, looking at them like, “dudes…what the heck?! Man, humans are weird!”


                                                                                                        • Bam
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                                                                                                            Some bunny things just aren’t possible for us human to understand. Our senses are terribly dull compared to a rabbit’s. Our sense of smell is comparatively useless, we can’t hear at all as well and we’re not as good at identifying directions of sounds. And no whiskers. No wonder they look at us is disbelief sometimes =)

                                                                                                            But it seems like she’s a happy rabbit, kids can be very boisterous and if that doesn’t phase her, I think she’ll come along nicely with other sounds as well.


                                                                                                          • Gina.Jenny
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                                                                                                              Re the laundry – if she is a rescue, its quite possible that she associates someone folding laundry with someone hurting/scaring her in the past. Snickers reacted really badly to sneezing and I assume there was an association there. Snickers had the advantage here in that she has 5 other buns around her who all totally ignored sneezing, and she did eventually desensitise and now doesn’t react to sneezes at all.

                                                                                                              Maybe you could try a small pile of unwashed stuff, say a couple of t-shirts that smell of you, on the floor, so she can sniff at them. Then come in, sit down and fold them, leave them folded for further sniffing, see how she is with that?


                                                                                                            • Azerane
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                                                                                                                I just wanted to add regarding sudden sounds and being scared that they do adjust

                                                                                                                We have an Eclectus parrot, most of the time she doesn’t make any noise, but when she is loud, she is LOUD! We’d had her 3 months when we adopted Apollo and Luna and so she got freaked out by the sudden appearance of these other moving creatures in the lounge room that would hop around. So occasionally when the buns would run around suddenly, our parrot would get freaked out and go into a squawking fit. At first, the bunnies would bolt and thump and hide in terror. After about a week they would start, before running into the condo but would quickly be back to normal as soon as the noise stopped. After about 3 weeks, they started to completely ignore the noise. Now when it happens, they barely lift an ear and just keep going about their business. It takes time, but bun will learn that nothing terrible happens with those scary noises or sights.

                                                                                                                That being said, some things seem to always scare them. My previous bun bandit never got accustomed to the sounds and smell of cooking and after three years would still run and hide in his box and thump.


                                                                                                              • LauraPalmer
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                                                                                                                  LOL…that’s true. I can’t hear for beans, anyway! ? Worked around noisy conveyors 10 years too many.


                                                                                                                • LauraPalmer
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                                                                                                                    Oh, wow…cooking scared him? That’s kind of adorable! (Though, I’m sure he didn’t think so)


                                                                                                                  • Hazel
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                                                                                                                      Welcome to BB! Things sure got heated in this thread… I hope you still know that everyone here had good intentions and was genuinely concerned about your bunny’s welfare. Spaying is considered a life/death decision, so unfortunately it can quickly become a hot button issue. I would advice you to find a rabbit savvy vet and have her spayed, as well. Spaying is a more invasive procedure and thus has more potential for complications. But it’s important to consider that in those cases where rabbits don’t make it through the surgery, it’s usually because of the anesthesia (either the vet gave too much/the wrong kind, or the rabbit had a bad reaction to it). Keeping that in mind, a spay really isn’t more risky than a neuter. The main difference between a spay and neuter is the recovery time, rather than the surgery risk. As long as you have a vet who knows what they’re doing, she should be fine. Concerning the car ride, she will be stressed on the way there, but on the way back she will still be under the influence of the anesthetic and likely won’t even realize she’s in a car.
                                                                                                                      Sometimes we can’t get around doing things that scare our buns. Ours gets scared when I vacuum, and I hate to see him upset, but it still needs to be done.

                                                                                                                      We’d love to see some pictures of your girl!


                                                                                                                    • Bam
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                                                                                                                        We really would love pictures!

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                                                                                                                    Forum BEHAVIOR Bunny behavior 180.