My very first bunny!

[Chey]

Okay so.. I have seen this beautiful bunny in the store for the past like.. three or so weeks — this cute, lop eared peachy colored bunny in the front of the pet store for adoption. She’s a year old and she lived in a house with two dogs and they said she was trained to poop in her cage and just live around the house.. well being in a cage and not out for three weeks could change that.. so we got last night (We named her Fiona. ^^) and at first I just kinda let her chill out in hr cage and just pet her a little when she’d let me.. then, this morning I opened the door and after a while she came out and looked around. Now she’s hiding under my bed and pooping and she won’t come out and she wants nothing to do with me. I really really don’t want poop under my bed.. or worse.. and I’m afraid that she won’t like me and she’ll be scared like this forever. PLEASE HELP.

[Bam]

She won’t be scared like this forever, just give her time. Don’t chase her. Let her explore in her own time. Don’t pick her up if you can help it. She’s scared because everything is new, all scents and sounds and you and her home. But if you give her calm and spacce and time, she’ll come around. Bunnies are a prey-species so they are really suspicious of everything new. She doesn’t know yet if there are predators in your room =)
Give her a cardboard hidey-house that she can hide in when she’s playing in your room. Make two door holes. They like having a “roof” over their heads. That’s why she’s hiding under your bed.

She will poop on your floor and she will pee too, so you should start litter-training her asap. Put poop and something she’s peed on (piece of paper or litter with pee on it) in a litter-box. Young bunnies are smart and often take to go in their box quickly. You shouldn’t have litter in all her cage, just in the box so she learns the difference.

[Gina.Jenny]

Your house will feel very strange to her, and under your bed feels nice and safe, and a bit like a burrow to her. Its a good sign that’s she came out and looked round. A litter trained bunny needs clear places to go, if you have some empty cardboard boxes around, cut them down , line them with lots of newspaper, and some hay, and put the boxes under your bed, and in corners, and hopefully she will hop in and do her business there. If there is a place she has chosen as a toilet place, put a lined box there, and she will use the box.

After three weeks in a noisy shop, she will need time to get to know you and feel safe around you. Sit still, with something nice for her to eat, and let her take it away from you. Over time, she will learn to trust you. It can be a long slow process though, and cant be rushed. Let her set the pace

[Chey]

It’s amazing how she’s warmed up to me in only two nights. I’ve been making sure to come into my room slowly and quietly and such and I fed her some veggies and I think she’s starting to trust me because she let me pet her and she’s exploring my room now. She sniffs everything and runs around like crazy sometimes. She was brought here in a big cardboard box so last night she just hopped in there and did her buisness, so I took some of the chips from in there that she went on and put it in a corner of the cage. She just hopped in and smelled that so I think it’s working. Thank you for your advice!

[Chey]

Thank you so much! She’s calmed down so much but I’ll makeep sure to get some cardboard boxes for her as soon as possible! She is so sweet and I’m so happy I gave her a home! I’m glad I found this site as well, I was so nervous, thinking a bunny would be like a guinea pig or a hamster. Thank you soooo much.

[Author]

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