Shy, Skittish

[SochiBunny]

Ok, so this is my first post to this forum although I have read many for advice. I figured I should finally write in detail my issues, because its really starting to affect me emotionally. I have had my 1 year old Holland Lop for almost a year now, I have had her since she was 8 weeks old. She is 6lbs, where as her parents, grandparents, and great grandparents never reached 4lbs. 

This is irrelevant to my question however. When I first got her she was decently friendly, I was able to pick her up, however she was wary of it, understandably. Then only a month or so after I got her she got very shy and unsure of everything. I had her spayed at the right time, she has a very large cage made out of storage cubes, multiple levels, balanced diet, eats fine. She loves to get out and run throughout my room, although if I close off a smaller area of my room and I am in it, she hides in her cage. 

Whenever I am near her I try to stay very calm, quiet, yet sure, but it doesn’t help. The slightest move makes her jump, and its quite honestly depressing me

Not to mention my best friend just rescued a 1 year old rabbit, who follows her around begs for pats, and flops next to her. That doesn’t help when my bunny can’t bare me simply looking at her. :/

I know some bunnies don’t like attention, but when I bought her a year ago I was told that she would warm up. Everyone tells me to give her time, but she seems to be getting worse. Just recently she had been starting letting me pet her a little, but just these past two weeks she refuses any type of petting, or even movement in her direction. She is even wary of eating pellets out of my hand, which she used to go crazy for. 

I just want advice. My moms advice was to re-home, which I almost cried at the thought of. I love Sochi, and I have put so much time into trying to get her to trust me, but none of it is working. And I wouldn’t wish the trauma of re-homing on her either. 

Anyways, thank you for reading, and hope I get some advice and opinions on what I should do soon!

-Marley 

[JackRabbit]

Welcome! Don’t give up on your bunny. Some bunnies are just a little less trusting than others and take a little more work on our part to get them to open up. Just spend time in the room with her, and this may sound odd, but ignore her. Let her do her own thing. When she comes over to check you out, talk to her softy but don’t reach for her or make any sudden movements. When she gets more comfortable coming over to her, offer her a treat (bites of salad are great for this) but still don’t reach out. When she’s comfortable with that, hold your hand out slowly to her coming from the side (bunnies can’t see well directly in from of them and you don’t want to startle her by having your hand suddenly appear). Slowly work up to pets.

If my three, Marlee is the most standoffish and only accepts pets on her terms. She’s miss nosey when I’m in the bunny room, but in the play area, she often just sits in the litterbox and stares at me. Sometimes if I lay on my stomach on the floor, she’ll hop all over me but other times its total bunny butt. With her, I’ve found that talking softly to her gets the best results. My lops will be 2 years old in August and I’m finally figuring them out!

Every bunny is different, but taking slow baby steps with the shy ones often works best. It’s so hard, patience is necessary!

Good luck!

[MissGabbster]

I really like the advice JR gave you. It took Ox around 8 months to finally trust me fully and even now petting and cuddles are on his terms only. Every rabbit has a different personality and if timid and skittish is her normal then it may just be taking her a long time to warm up to you and trust you. Some bonding activities that you could do with her while ‘ignoring’ her is sit on the ground (or couch if she has access) watch a movie, read a book to her, browse the web, do your homework, yoga/meditation, crochet, talk on the phone, talk to her, have a nap. Pretty much whatever activities you normally do as long as they’re quiet and you can do them in a place where your rabbit has access to you. Let her explore you without having her worry about what you’re going to do to her. Then like JR said, you can finally start working your way up to treats and pets. And as frustrating as being patient is it really is key to getting them to trust you.

I’d also suggest getting her checked out by a vet just to make sure she doesn’t have any health problems that could be causing a change in personality; such as a loss in hearing or eyesight, any kind of pain, tooth spurs, etc.

[SochiBunny]

Thank you for your advice! I will definitely try to take it slower, on her terms. As I told JackRabbit, I am currently revamping and better bunny proofing my room, which will allow for her to be out more often without me having to constantly worry about her getting into things when I am trying to stay still and quiet.

I am also planning on taking her to the vet soon, as she just turned one. Hopefully everything is golden!

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