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BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately!  Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES 

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.

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Forum BEHAVIOR Help! Is she mad at me or sick?!

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    • cynrama
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        I’m wondering if anyone can help me out.  I got a bunny a few weeks ago and then another about a week ago…first bunny is about 3 1/2 months old and newest bunny is about 9 weeks old.  I have read just about everything on the internet to learn about bunnies, their needs, behaviors etc.  Everything seemed to be going wonderfully…as in like, PERFECT.  Kiska (the oldest bunny) had bonded to me in such a wonderful way…in just a few days she came to me when called, bunny flopping beside me, running binkies through the house, going in to her din for “night night”, mastering litter training at a surprising pace, grooming me, loving life and just an all around joy!  I brought home Nibblett (the littlest one) and they bonded immediately.  I had read so many articles that said rabbits couldn’t be happy unless they were in a pair and I didn’t want my little fur baby to be unhappy!  And she was such a joy that I thought two would be double the pleasure   Anyway…they bonded immediately and Nibblett bonded with me immediately AND learned all the tricks from Kiska…litter box, snuggles, coming when called etc.  Everything fine.  Well, a few days later Kiska started peeing on my couch…she had loved hanging out on the couch.  She would perch up there and relax, do her bunny rolls, come to visit us and give an adorable bunny flop and beg for pets.  But when she started to pee and poop on my couch I would just pick up the pellets and put them in the litter box (which is just a cat litter box of hay inside a cardboard “clubhouse” (she seemed to prefer this over an exposed litter box).  Anyway….then the next day while the buns were enjoying their outside time in their outdoor bunny condo I took suggestions found online and cleaned the urine spots with vinegar/water mix.  I had also found a few places in a different corner that she had urinated (or maybe Nibblett) and I cleaned them with vinegar/water mix.  I also mopped my floors with a vinegar/water mix hoping to deter any further accidents on my floors.  Anyway, that was Sat…and she seemed fine yesterday evening.  However, this evening she is either seriously pissed off at me, in rare form, having a bad day, sick or something!  I’ve never seen her act like this!  She will not come to me when called, as a matter of fact she is totally ignoring me which isn’t like her.  And she had previously been trained (or figured out) that upstairs is off limits and she had stopped trying to go up but this evening she just totally ignores my objections and she has ran upstairs 4 times already and then won’t come to me when I go to get her.  She WILL NOT get on the couch…and she used to love the couch!  She’s acting like a little brat…she still does her spurts of running and doing a binky but when I say anything to her she goes in her little club house.  She was laying down and I went to give her a stroke…normally she would love this but she got up, thumped her feet at me and scampered off!  And she is dead set on chewing my rug which she has never done before…they have a TON of toys and love chewing on them and playing with them normally.  In addition, she seems to be breathing a little faster than normal.  She is still eating and drinking…she actually took a treat from me but she snatched it out of my hand and took off with it…she has never done that before. she normally will eat out of my hand while I pet her.  I don’t know what’s wrong with her!  I’m so afraid I have done something and I’m going to lose our bond but I can’t think of what I’ve done.    Can anyone give me some insight or advice?  Thanks! 


      • cynrama
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          Oh and now she is rolling over all over my rug right after I get onto her for chewing it again….my “get onto” is a loud “AAAHHHNNNT!!” and a stomp of my foot.  This has totally worked as this is how I taught her not to scratch on the couch and not to go upstairs.  She would stop what she was doing and then come to me and put her head down like “I’m sorry mom” kind of thing…SO ADORABLE.  But tonight…omg…nope.  Roll all over my rug after me getting on to her for chewing it for like the 5th time tonight.  And I finally just had to put a gate up to keep her from going upstairs….again.  I’m totally puzzled.  What happened to my bunny?


        • MoveDiagonally
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            Your babies are growing up and getting full of bunny hormones. They will have mood swings much like human teenagers do. They are going to go through a lot of personality and behavioral changes in the coming months.

            Do you plan on having them spayed/neutered? I wouldn’t keep them together unless/until they are altered. It’s common for bunnies to be misgendered and some people think they have two girls/two boys when they actually have a male female pair. An unaltered female/male pair WILL have babies and they can start really early. They can even mate through cages if they’re too close together. If they’re same sex they can and often fight as they grow older.

            My advice would be to separate your young bunnies and alter them when they’re old enough. After they heal I would re-introduce them and start the bonding process.

            http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/spay-neuter.html


          • cynrama
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              I thought about this just a few minutes ago and mentioned it to my husband. They are both still too young for spay/neuter but we had already previously made a vet apt for thurs for check up, gender confirmation (ha!) and to make a spay/nueter plan. As soon as doc gives the ok then we will have Kiska spayed And Nibblett when he/she is old enough. Nibblett is seriously the size a a full grown mouse right now. My neighbor has 3 free roam bunnies that were believed to be all boys…well they are into 3 litters now. Momma is pregnant and about to have the next by the time one litter is barely wheened! She finally got the hint and had daddy neutered! I got Kiska from the first litter and Nibblett from the second litter. Spay/nueter was always at the top of my priority list but I thought since they couldn’t do until 4 months that they would not be “hormonal” until then as well. . Poor baby.


            • MoveDiagonally
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                I believe they start getting their teenager hormones between 3-6 months. My velveteen rex girl started acting out at about 3 1/2 months. She would grunt and charge when we were feeding her but thankfully that behavior went away when she was spayed. I’m glad to hear you about your plan!

                You should post some pics of your babies they sound adorable!

                I’m glad she had the male neutered! 


              • cynrama
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                  I tries to load some pics but my phone won’t upload for some reason. I will get on the pc tomorrow an upload some pics. Maybe you can tell me what kind of bunnies they are because I have no idea and my neighbor doesn’t know either. She said the feed store she bought them from just told her they were domestic rabbits. They also told her they were all boys!


                • Sarita
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                    Yep, she’s just growing up and becoming a rabbit. Sounds like you do have a good plan as well.

                    Hopefully your neighbor did not put the male back with the female as well immediately after the neuter as sperm can still be viable for up to 30 days after the procedure.

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                Forum BEHAVIOR Help! Is she mad at me or sick?!