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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 BEHAVIOR The Strange Case of Bunny Rolo

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    • BunnyBliss
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        Hello all,

        I posted awhile ago about the bonding of our older, and recently widowed, rabbit, Evee, with a new partner, Rolo.  The bonding finally completed after a couple marathon sessions on the big living room rug.  But, after they were settled together and living free range, we started noticing Rolo being less active. After a couple days, I made the “hands on” discovery of thick sludgy piddles (some dry, but unfortunately not all – ewww) on the “big” carpet and their sheepskin pillow.  We realized at that point that Rolo had not been traveling back and forth over the carpeted path to get to the litter box and feeding stations on the other side of the room and as a result was getting dehydrated and losing his litter habits.  We had been sometimes picking him up and moved him over, assuming he was just a little confused about where Evee had gone, at which point he would drink and eat with gusto, but we hadn’t seen him go on his own. So we set out a second litterbox, water and food dish, in the living room area, which they both made regular use of, and eventually Evee was able to get him to follow her across, but not always.  This was all a couple weeks ago.  They stopped using the second litterbox when it was cleaned a few days ago, so we assumed he was getting in the habbit of going to the main litterbox.  Since the bonding there has been A LOT of poops infront of the litterbox, and just yesterday we noticed sludgy white piddle stains, leading us to believe he is not using the litterbox and getting dehydrated again.

        Question: How can we help him learn to cross the room at will to eat/drink/poo? He will sometimes follow Evee, we have shooed him across, but he will never go on his own.  

        We noticed he wasn’t the “sharpest knife in the drawer” during the bonding, so we are wondering if he is just slow or what? Could there be a dominance battle taking place over the litterbox?

        Thoughts, please, we are at a loss for ways to help him.

        Thanks!


      • Bam
        Moderator
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          What was the thick slugdy stuff like? If it’s really thick and almost like runny fine concrete in texture amd color it could be a bladder-problem. Just chalky white is not sth that’s considered bad though, since rabbits do and should eliminate calcium via the uriine. A bladder-problem could account for him being less active and less willing to move.
          A lot of poops and even generall loss of litter-box habits is not uncommon after recent bonding. It’s about territory. It can take a long while before it subsides, but I’ve never experienced succesful bonding, just read about it.

          It’s the bladder sludge that worries me somewhat.

          Does Evve show hostility towards him so he maybe is scared of her?

          I hope you’ll get more answers soon!


        • LBJ10
          Moderator
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            No no no, it’s the Curious Case of Rolo Bunny.

            I second Bam, what do you mean when you say sludge? If there is a problem (more than simple dehydration), then it could explain some of his behavior.

            My only other thought is that perhaps he has been given too much freedom too quickly. Would it help if you made the area smaller to get him accustomed to using the litter box? Otherwise, a second litter box may be necessary if Evee is hogging it.


          • BunnyBliss
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              Thank you for your replies.

              The “sludgy” piddles looked like old paint that had seporated, oil over pigment, and the dried spots are very opaque white. I googled that immediately and read that he was dehydrated, but this wasn’t a medical emergency.

              Evee has taken on sort of a motherly adittude towards him. She is teaching him about bunny behaviour as they go, which had been a stumbbling block during bonding. All the chasing, pouncing, fight-like behavior has stopped, a nd they are generally peaceful together.

              We think the big issue is he wont cross the room on his own. He will go right up to the endge of the big livingroom carpet and stop. He will sniff a little beyond the edge, with curious ears, but will not step foot on the mats that lead to the feeding area unless he is following Evee or one of us is shooing him from behind. We are now regularly picking him up and carrying him over so he gets access to fresh veggies as soon as they are served (before Evee eats everything).
              Before they were bonded, the two pens were on that side of the room, with the mat bridge to the living room, and he would cross back and forth, though a little hesitently.
              At his foster parents, he had a spare room all to himself most of the day, and they would open the door in the evening to give him free run, so he is use to open space.

              What can we do to help him get use to crossing the room? He has no interest in treats as we have tried tempting him forward with crasins with no luck. Help!


            • JackRabbit
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                What are the mats made of?


              • BunnyBliss
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                  The mats are small cheap (dollar store/Ikea) ones you would put in front of the kitchen sink or put your boots on near your door. They have rubber grip on the back so they don’t slide on the hardwood floors. And there is almost no gaps between them (four mats in all).


                • JackRabbit
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                    Although bunnies normally mentally map their area, I wonder if he hasn’t gotten that far yet. May sound odd, but are you sure he can see well?

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                Forum BEHAVIOR The Strange Case of Bunny Rolo