Hey everyone! I’ve been stalking old posts on this forum for the last few days, and finally decided to join!
Anyway, I’m a brand new bunny mother to the most precious 8 week old Holland Lop. His name is Igloo and he’s very sweet. I’ve had him home for about three days now, and he seems to be adjusting remarkably well. But, since he’s my first rabbit, I want to make sure his behavior is, in fact, indicative of a happy bunny.
I’ve mainly noticed that he is very mellow, and because of his age I find this kind of strange. I’m certainly not complaining, but if what he does falls under lethargic behavior, then I want to get him to the vet ASAP. Most mornings I wake up between 8 and 10, and immediately set up his gate and let him out of his cage. Because he’s still so young, I don’t feel confident letting him have the run of his section of the room if I’m not awake. So basically, he has a medium sized cage, that houses his food, water, litter box (WHICH HE’S ALREADY USING CONSISTENTLY FOR PEE!!! ) and hiding place. I always make sure he has several small toys in there to entertain himself when he cannot have the run of the room. As he gets better with the litter box, and I continue bunny proofing larger portions of the house, I more or less intend to just let his cage function as a kennel would for a dog – just his kitchen and bathroom, if you will lol. I was wondering if anyone else does the same thing, and if it could be an living arrangement for his lifetime?
But, I digress, what I’m most interested in is hearing some experienced bunny parents weigh in on Igloos behavior and whether or not I’m letting him out enough, and any general advice you have on raising such a young bunny successfully.
So, I work part-time at two different jobs, but I never usually work for more than 6 hours a day, in the middle of the day. Most mornings I wake up between 8 and 10, set up Igloos gate (It divides my very large bedroom in half, keeping him away from the areas that have a lot of cords and such), and open his cage. Usually he lazes about for a few minutes before deciding to come out. When he does come out, he usually goes and sits in his plush bed to groom himself. While he does this, I scoop his litter and refill his cage with fresh litter (I intend to give his cage a good scrub once a week, since I change his litter about twice a day). He doesn’t seem especially interested in any of his toys yet (he has a variety, including a crinkling tunnel, a ball with a bell in it, chewing toys, and other noise makers), though. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like he only ever lays around, but he does lay around A LOT. He usually ends up being out of his cage for around 12 hours a day, and he will intermittently leave his cozy spot to explore, find me, or cautiously investigate his toys. He also does do a fair amount of running, leaping, attempting to climb things (at which he’s been surprisingly successful). I suppose I just expected him to be a little more active because of his age. He’s extremely docile, and lets me do whatever I want to him (he doesn’t tense up like he’s scared, he’s relaxed and most of the time shuts his eyes). But still, I find myself sitting here wondering if he’s just docile or if something is wrong. I’ve read that babies this young can be very difficult to keep alive sometimes.
I also wanted to know if clingyness is normal for rabbits or just for babies or not at all. Igloo follows me most places, and gets rather upset if I’m close by (say sitting on my couch) and he can’t get to me. Earlier I was distracted with my phone and he somehow managed to claw his way up a pillow, onto the couch and into my lap, where he laid down and stayed until I had to get up. However, my dad, who’s home all day and routinely checks to make sure my room is staying cool and Igloo is fully stocked, says that he doesn’t appear to get upset when I leave the house, he just goes to sleep for most of the time. He did mention to me, though, that he often hears the Igloo thumping and jumping around when my car pulls into the driveway. I love that he’s so cuddly and has bonded to me this well in just three days, but I’m concerned it’s not normal or could lead to problems down the road.
ANYWAY. I’m sorry for this horrendously long post, but no one else I know has rabbits! Thank you guys so much, in advance, for all your input!!