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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 Fearless bunny with ninja moves

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    • Sylvansinger
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        Poe, our newest bunny, is about 12 mths old, very agile and is fun to watch, but he’s sooooo fearless we have started limiting his exercise time over concerns he’ll break a bone.  One big problem is that he was rescued with head tilt last summer and therefore his vestibular ability was damaged (balance, stability, etc.).  He binkies side-ways. He easily falls over when standing or grooming.  But otherwise, he’s a normal bunny…I think.

        It’s his fearless binkies that worry me and hubby.  He can bounce off walls with success. But sometimes he launches at a cage wall or barrier (to scale it is my guess), but usually just falls ungracefully to the floor.  The other day he was in the loft of his cage and was excited to see us, and he fell off his cage loft and bumped his head on the litter box edge.  I was obvious he was not okay with that and his ears went back and he huddled down on the floor.  My hubby and I were stunned and very worried (extra sensitive since our 1st bun just passed from liver failure 2 weeks ago). However, Poe got up and ran around and showed no further signs of distress (normal digestion and more crazy running).

        Also, he always seems to be ‘panting.’ He breathes fast, his noses goes crazy-fast, and he flops.  He is the youngest bun we’ve lived with so maybe all of this is just youthful craziness with some vestibular issues. When he’s not launching himself 4 feet into the air, he’s very happy to chill and get pets. 

        We want him to be happy and healthy, but I’m not sure how to keep him entertained and safe. We give him lots of room and exercise in general, but he can’t seem to stay grounded. 

        So…any thoughts, ideas or suggestions? 


      • Angela93
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          My little bun is about 6 months old and since the time we got him at 8 weeks he’s always had so much energy. I usually just let him do his thing to get it all out aka “ninja moves”. I know that whenever Harry releases all his energy he will sprawl out and breathe really fast which is his way of calming down after a nice run. He usually needs a 5-10 min breather and if he still has more energy left he will go at it again. I just assume let them get it out since it makes them sleep better at the end of the day. He will run into things but just keep going so I know he isn’t hurt. Sounds to me like Poe is just being a normal young bun with lots of energy like my Harry.

          I also know limiting the exercise can make them even more antsy. If I put Harry to bed before he’s had a chance to release his energy he will just wake me up at 5am itching to get out. Again just seems like normal behavior to me. Hope this helps


        • NewBunnyOwner123
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            Haha that’s so funny. My buns don’t have head tilt but they are both crazy clumsy when they do binkies. Sally will sometimes run into walls and scale them in the middle of a binky and Harley has bumped his head AT LEAST 5 times from doing a binky under the coffee table. You’d think he would learn by now that he can’t do a binky under the table! He is such a goob


          • NewBunnyOwner123
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              I wouldn’t pen him up too long. My buns get very antsy if they don’t get the chance to run out their energy. Then when I finally DO let them out they get into more trouble than normal. I swear penning them up makes them bad bunnies. I sometimes feel obligated to make them free roam 24/7 because they turn into angels when they are allowed out the full day. But work has picked up so they only get about 5 hours out and they are a pain! When I am off work they will get the whole 16 hours and it’s so nice.. except the occasional knock of a head hitting the coffee table or finding another scratch in the paint of my wall from Sally scaling them :p

              Maybe make him an exercise pen where he can’t climb up onto anything? If you have the space of course. If you have a hallway you can just put him in that so he can atleast get some run time in. I’m not sure what you could do really. hopefully someone comes along and offers advice. I have no experience with a bun with head tilt :/


            • JustineT
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                My bunny is insane too. She runs into walls and binkies into things all the time. She also has failed a couple times at hopping onto the bed or couch and falls onto the floor. Of course, she manages to land on all fours every time. Each time I hear a loud sound, I come running but she’s already back to hopping all over the place. I’ve read that bunnies are fragile but I’ve come to the conclusion that they are actually pretty strong. If I ran into walls as much as my bun, I would be sitting on the couch with ice, not hopping about the room happily.

                As NewBunnyOwner123 said, don’t keep your bunny penned too long. The more time out, the happier your bunny will be. My husband and I let Willow out of her cage when we wake up and put her in when we go to bed. We let her have the house all day even when we’re not here. Of course, we trained her in steps. We gave her more and more of the house over time and she is successfully trained now. She doesn’t eat the rug or any of the furniture. This is her day, every day, whether we’re home or not. 8am: She runs around in the morning up and down the hall, binkies in the living room, and then gets so tired out that by 11am, she’s sleeping in one of her favorite spots for the day. 3pm, she gets up, runs to her cage to use the bathroom and eat some hay, and then she sleeps again until 6pm. Then she gets up, begs by the fridge for dinner, gets fed, and then binkies again in the living room. Once we settle to watch TV, she settles on the rug and watches too. Dawson’s Creek is her favorite but any teen soap will do. She also has been known to relax to Die Hard. Bunnies are weird. At 10 or 11 pm, we get her back in her cage and she hangs out in there for the night.

                Basically, if your bunny gets to play all day, you’ll find that once the initial fascination of the house dies down, your rabbit will settle into a fairly predictable routine and not actually cause damage to a bunny-proofed house. Plus, your rabbit will learn the house over time. Our bunny used to slam into the wall where the hallway turned because she wasn’t ready for it. Now she skids early on purpose to make the turn perfectly. Plus, I can only assume that a bunny that gets to hop around a lot gets very strong muscles and holds up better against any potential accidents.

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            Forum BEHAVIOR Fearless bunny with ninja moves