New Bunny Issues

[Heather M]

Hello!  I just joined as we just got a black and white Dutch bunny.  My last bunny (english)  I got from a neighbor in 4th grade and it lived till I was a senior in college!! He was super tame and friendly and I have wanted my kids to have this experience with a rabbit. Upon hearing one of our pet rats died a neighbor offered us a rabbit that her relatives had and were looking to get rid of. without any details my husband said we would take it.  We never met the owners but got the bunny 3 weeks ago. The cage was terrible, it had nails so long the toes were twisted, the cage was caked in poop and pee and the poor thing was scared to death to come out of the cage. She is about 3-4 yrs but has hardly been out of the cage during this time

Over the last 3 weeks we have been working with her and trying to take it very slowly. She has really come around and will come out of the cage on her own and come up to us to be pet the last few days!   Her old cage was one of those Super Pet cages with plastic on the bottom, they had wood shavings on the bottom, a litter box and a hut and food bowl on the ground so the poor thing had almost nowhere to stand. Nothing to chew on, no mineral/salt lick, waterbottle was green with algae, and the hut was soaked with pee on the bottom inch. I am unable to feel her ribs and her food was the type with treats. Pretty much opposite of how I feel she should be cared for!I cleaned the cage immediately but we did keep her in there for the first couple weeks as she seemed to be terribly agoraphobic (though we left the door open whenever we were home so she could come out and explore on her own and get exercise). She started coming out on her own and we began transitioning her to a new cage, an XL dog crate that we built a shelf in the middle and lined with indoor/outdoor carpet, hut, hay manger, etc.   For a few days we put the old cage with her in it in the new cage for adjustment purposes.  I leave the door open on the cage almost all day if I am home (which I usually am in and out but I dont work) for her to go in and out as she pleases.  She will go to in the new cage on her own and seemed to like it and be comfortable in it. I put the old cage outside and she spent the first night in the new cage 2 nights ago. In the am, she had pooped and peed in the litter box (and around the cage too). But the rest of the day she did not go to the bathroom at all till late at night! THis seriously stressed me out!  I gave her alfalfa and had her run around a lot last night but still nothing. she was eating/drinking fine. I finally set up her old cage and put her in it. She did poop and pee in there but also had somewhat of a tantrum in it, biting on the bars, digging in the litter box, dumping it out, pushing her head against the top bars trying to get out and as soon as I opened the door a bit she busted out and went back in the new cage. So I take it that she wants to be in the new cage but she wont go to the bathroom in it!! I went to bed last night and my husband stayed up and said she pooped all over the floor when she was out playing which she has never done at ALL in the last 3 weeks.  Is it common for rabbits to not use the bathroom due to changing cages? Even if it is a good stressor, she might still be stressed? I am in the process of cleaning out the old cage and setting it up in case she wants to go back in it. I want to get her to a vet at some point but want to wait a bit if possible because we are just really getting to a point where she  is taming down and getting to trust us.

Thanks for reading if you go this far, sorry so long!! It has been 16yrs since I have had a rabbit, and I got that one as a baby and my experience has been totally different with this one Any input appreciated!! Heather (and Oreo)

[Sarita]

Welcome! It is normal for a rabbit to have to adjust to a new environment. Also it sounds as if she has never been litter trained based on her prior housing arrangements. Does she have a litter box now in her new condo?

[Heather M]

Thank you for the welcome! She does have a litter box (2 actually, trying to see what one/location she likes better) in the new cage. She had one in her old cage that she did seem to use and in the last 3 weeks we have had her, when she was running around she would go back into the cage and use the litter box in there. I did find evidence in the old cage (as in the pee soaked hut and pee crusted on the bottom of cage, poop crusted on the top of the hut) that led me to believe that she probably would go outside the litterbox, probably because it was filled up? It was around 10 hrs last night that she held it but she went a lot last night. Not too much today but she has been going. I just wasnt sure if it was common for them to hold it due to stress or what! My other rabbit was super tame, laid back, and didnt get stressed about anything. I doubt she got fed daily, she gets a little freaky about her food and anyone touching her dish!! We got a new dish that attaches to the side of the cage which seemed to help that and we keep it filled. My neighbor said basically that her cousins kid wanted a rabbit, the parents bought him one and they put it in the basement and after the first week never got played with or exercised. Sickening!!

Thank you for the reply

[LBJ10]

Perhaps she is feeling more comfortable with things now and has decided it was safe to start claiming stuff. Is she spayed?

[Heather M]

I am not sure about the spaying, I was just reading up on this site on how to tell. She came from a pet store in Chicago though I am not sure if it was Petco or what, if so, she was probably spayed?. I am going to ask my neighbors to ask their cousins if they know. I havent tried picking her up to check but she has a dewlap so I am assuming it is a female. I wondered if she was ‘marking’ because we do have other pets (cats) who dont often go in the room she is in (front living room/kitchen area) because they hang out in the bedrooms but they have met, and things went wonderfully……..just some sniffing and a lot of ignoring which is all I wanted!

[jerseygirl]

Welcome Heather. I’m pleased you now have this rabbit as the life it had before is saddening…

Do you know how long they had her for?
I highly doubt she is spayed unless this was done before they got her.

What are you using for litter in her box? If they used shavings on her cage floor, try that in her litter box. Aspen shavings are considered safe. If she gets the hang of it, you could then start to change over to a different litter if you prefer.

[Heather M]

Right now I am using Critter Litter, because that is what they were using (by SuperPet). I didnt want to change too much at one time!! They had some sort of shavings on the bottom of the cage when we got her, but the cage we made for her has indoor/outdoor carpeting instead of any type of shavings.  She pooped a LOT last night but hasnt gone much again today but it seems more behavioral?  Like maybe she is holding it in due to stress.I set her old cage up as it was when she lived in it but when I put her in she starts acting up (biting the bars, digging on the floor of the cage, throwing the litter box around….she didnt do these things before) then the humans who live here get upset with me :0 When we let her out of the old cage she runs right into the new one, obviously preferring it but not wanting to go to the bathroom in it. Her stomach is soft and not hard and she otherwise acts normal. Hoping for another poop explosion like last night, my husband said he couldnt believe how much there was!!

 I am sure the previous owners didnt get her spayed, though if they got her from a Petco/Petland type place around here they are generally spayed. I am going to ask my neighbors to ask the previous owners, maybe they could at least say where they got her from and I could call and ask. She is about 3-4 years old my neighbor thinks.

 Thank you all for the replies and ideas!

 Heather

[lmais]

I’m so glad she’s in your home now, the thought of a bunny in the old situation makes me cringe. Thanks for being a good bunny momma

Since she is starting to relax, I’d recommend getting her to a vet when you can. They can do a full check up, make sure everything is good and healthy, etc. I have no idea how to tell if a rabbit has been spayed other than the territorial/aggressive behaviours, but sometimes they’ll still be territorial after being spayed, so who knows – maybe a vet can tell? It may stress her out a bit but once she’s back home and gets a treat they usually just forget about it.

The one thing I do want to mention is I noticed you said you gave her some alfalfa and that she is 3-4 years old. You should switch her to timothy hay unless she is underweight to begin with (don’t want her going on a hunger strike if that’s the case )it’s more healthy for a rabbit her age!

[Heather M]

I fear this is how many pet store animals end up. spoiled kid wants pet, whines and parents give in, plays with pet for a few days then ignores it

The stuff I bought for her is Timothy, the previous owners gave me a small bag with a little leftover alfalfa so I was finishing it up. I wasnt sure of the difference, but I remember that we fed my other rabbit Timothy and occasionally gave alfalfa cubes. thanks for the info. She is definitely not underweight, I can hardly feel any ribs on her and her dewlap is pretty big, her feet are really small so I think she is fairly overweight from lack of exercise. I did move her cage insides around a bit, I found a bunch of poop inside the hut, I guess she wanted that as her corner so I stuck one of the litter boxes over there. I definitely plan on a vet visit……it is amazing how much she has come around in the last 2 weeks!! The first few days i was thinking this might have been a mistake because she was so skiddish but she has really come around the last week especially. Thanks again!!

[jerseygirl]

She’s probably loving all the attention!

Does she have an ear tattoo? Sometimes they do that after desexing. Though I don’t know what symbol is used as I opted not to have mine tattooed.

Maybe when it’s quieter at night she eats most her hay and poos the most. They tend to do a lot when munching on hay.

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