Yet another suddenly spooked Bun :(

[JuJooGuppy]

Hi all,

So our Bun of 4.5 months has never been afraid of our place since the moment he got here. ALWAYS wants to explore and go new places, following us etc. Well, the last, 3 or so days, that took a sudden and dramatic change. He is CONSTANTLY getting spooked by something and we cant for the life of us figure out the what.

He will jerk his head up a lot while eating, and start slinking away from it low to the ground while being bugged out looking for something. While in this state, sometimes our movements even get him spooked, so we keep it to a minimal.. heck, earlier I was checking his poop in the litter box and didnt realize he was on edge, the litter box tray being moved by me spooked him to where he didnt want to go near his own pen / litter box… I think he is past that currently, but still, not good.

I don’t think he is as terrified as he could be, he will still find a spot and sprawl out with his legs behind him which I know thats a good sign. But he is extra quick to react to anything at all currently, where as normally you could drop a pan right next to him and he’d barely flinch lol.

Other notes:

-We recently got an eliptical from a friend, and it was placed in the living room where he free roams during the day. He was curious of it, marked it, and did zoomies around it quite a bit for the first 2 days, so we assumed it was fine. Its been the 3 or so days past that that have been an issue. I just moved it into the spare bedroom, just to see if thats possibly the cause..?

-Its getting colder, and thus mice a.re trying to move in from outside. We had mice bad last winter, and I imagine they are getting under the house already. This is currently our probable cause as its something we cant percieve, but I am not sure?

-He did have a poop issue earlier, looked like some kind of hair or strand in his poop and even pieces of a ceco mixed with the poop (I know, doesnt make sense.) I recently started Fennel, so I am thinking of stopping that, as I am concerned it may tie into his poop issue. I DID start the fennel about the time this started, too, though. Is it possible him eating that has some how caused him to be jumpy..?

– I have put him in his smaller pen area for the time being today, where he has room to move but not the full house. Even though he was sprawling out on the carpet here and there, my thoughts were that a more secure environment might help..? Or should I just go about as normal? I mean he is sprawling out in the open at times, just super jumpy.

I appreciate any and all help, I was really hoping this would clear up by now, I hate seeing him so on edge. The only plus side is that he has been a bit more lovey, happy to have us love on him when he lays down and laying down closer to us, so thats nice. But we dont like the WHY behind that, heh.

As always, ty for your time!!

[Wick & Fable]

I’d like to mull over this some more, but I will say the stringy poop and called string of pearl poops. This is the result of a rabbit ingesting its fur through grooming. When you see pearls, two thoughts should go through your mind. 1) Your rabbit is ingesting fur and it’s going through its system successfully, but also 2) is there a possibility too much fur is being ingested, leading to a hair ball being literally stuck, causing huge health problems.

If you see string often, be extra resilient grooming your rabbit to minimize how much fur is being ingested. Wick is a Netherland Dwarf, so not a long haired breed, but I still need to groom him every day because of the molting process!

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

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