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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.

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Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Bunny Help! Sudden Behavior Change, Decreased Appetite

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    • Alvin
      Participant
      1 posts Send Private Message

        Hi Everyone, 

        I’m a bit worried about my bun and would appreciate all advice and opinions on the matter on hand. I’ll start off with the facts about my bun and then get to the problem.

        So my bunny, Little Derp, is about a 1.5 yrs old. She is a black lionhead dwarf. She’s given birth once but is now spayed. She currently lives by herself in my room in a penned off area and doesn’t have any bunny companions.

        The problem: So since Thursday (4/17) night, I’ve noticed that little derp has been acting different. She’s been eating less hay, pellets, and just everything else. I also feel like she’s decreased the amount of water she’s drinking too. In addition to the decrease appetite, she seems to be extra anxious and alert. She’s always been a bit of a flighty bunny but this is markedly different. She seems to be on extra alert a lot of the times and has now taken to sitting on top of her hut instead of ontop of it. She usually never jumps ontop of her house but now spends the majority of her time there. She also stands up more often and seems to always be looking for something or on the lookout. 

        Some other weird behaviors is that she seems to be spending more time smelling everything and licking things. I have her housed in a pen in the corner of my room, and she seems to be spending more time biting the bars and wanting to get out. The strange thing is that little derp is still very energetic, if not more so now. I know with gas problems, a lot of bunnies become lethargic, but little derp is just so alert and still moving around normally, if not a bit quicker, so I just don’t know what this is.

        I currently have two theories on what has caused this change in behavior. The first one, which I find unlikely, is that my girlfriend returned from taiwan on the 17th after being away for a month, and the extra person in the room may be causing the bun some anxiety. I find this unlikely though because before my girlfriend left, she and I have been with Little derp for over a  year. 

        My second theory is that my bunny is anxious after being barked at by my housemate’s small dog. I’m leaning towards this theory because I noticed the behavior change a few hours after the barking incident. So as I was helping my gf bring in some of her luggage, the dog managed to get into my room and was barking at my bun. This the first time my bunny has seen a dog and she seemed quite scared by the barking. As soon as I noticed the barking I immediately shushed the dog and removed him from the room. I would say the bunny couldn’t have been alone with the dog for more than 2 minutes. 

        Since that incident I’ve made sure the door is closed at all times and I’ve tried to keep the room as quiet as possible to create a calm environment for little derp. I’ve been hoping that she would return back to normal but that doesn’t seem to be the case. She is still eating and drinking, but just a lot less than I’d like. Her poops are definitely smaller, and I’m worried because since she has so much hair, I don’t want her to be grooming herself and eating hair when she’s not getting enough hay.

        I’m considering taking her to the Vet soon if she doesnt get better, but I’m just afraid the trip may spook her further.
        Any ideas, advice, solutions, insight into this problem would be great appreciated, thank you!
        Oh, and if anyone needs more information regarding anything, I’d be more than happy to provide it.

        p.s. Sorry for the wall of text, I was just trying to cover everything I thought was relevant, although I’m sure I missed some stuff..

        tl;dr: I think my housemate’s dog really scared my bunny, and now she’s acting all alert and weird and has a decrease in appetite. She also spends a lot of time sitting ontop of her house, instead of in it, which is weird. Anyone experience this with their buns? 


      • Sarita
        Participant
        18851 posts Send Private Message

          Welcome. It sound very possible the dog is the culprit of her anxiety. I think you haven taken good measures to ensure the dog won’t go in the room now but she may still know the dog is around.

          When you take her to the vet also have the vet check her teeth – it’s unlikely it’s dental at her age but you just never know :~)

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      Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Bunny Help! Sudden Behavior Change, Decreased Appetite