Will my rabbit warm up to me?

[kraine]

I haven’t had my rabbit for very long, and I know they are the type of animal that requires lots of patience. But.. I’m wondering if anyone can give me an idea of how much rabbits can warm up to petting/laying on me or any kind of affection. He is only a little guy, three months old, but he shies away from most petting, just acts uninterested. He minds his own busoness most the time, and I’m curious if that’s just how he will stay, or if he’ll ever take an interest in me?

Personal stories and advice are very welcome!

[LBJ10]

It really depends on the bunny. Some bunnies warm up fairly quickly, some can take over a year to warm up their their humans. Personality plays a huge role as well. Some bunnies will become affectionate, but maybe not in the way we may have hoped.

Both of my boys warmed up to me pretty quickly (a couple of weeks). But they aren’t very cuddly bunnies. They will come up to me, run circles around my feet, take treats from my hand, etc. I am allowed to approach them and pet them when they are lounging in their room. However, they do not seek out pets, nor to they want to sit on my lap. Leopold used to run up the dog’s ramp onto the couch so he could sniff me. If I tried to pet him though, he would zip right back down! LOL

[Bunbun]

All it needs is time.

I didn’t know that when I got my little bunny. My family and I pet him, cuddled him, and didn’t really give him much space. However, within three days he let us pet him and hand-feed him. He warmed up pretty fast (I would say in about a week or so), strangely enough!

I’ve seen many suggestions online on how to show love to your bunny: spend time with him, no matter what you’re doing. Read with him, talk to him, whatever! When you give him treats, make him sit in your lap. Let him get used to your presence. Hopefully, he’ll warm up to you. Like LBJ10 said, it depends on is personality!

Best of luck!

[kraine]

Thanks, guys. I’ll try to find a good treat he likes so I can reward him for coming closer – he seems to hate banana, hehe. Either way, I love watching him and he seems to love frolicking around and exploring, so we’ll always have that!

[MintJulep]

It took my bunny a few months to really warm up to me. She was an abuse and neglect case from the shelter and didn’t realize just how good petting can be!! She also loves dried apricots and papaya as fruit treats so maybe your bunny will enjoy one of those instead of banana! Just be patient and spend as much time on the floor with them as you can. I read to Julep and did my homework when I first got her home to get her used to my voice and I just let her check me out and didn’t try to pet her or anything for a while. Once she started booping me I began stroking her on the forehead. It’s also great that you can just love watching him be a happy bunny! Still one of my favorite things to do with my little girl! I’m sure he will warm up to you, especially when you figure out what treats he likes! Good luck!

[kraine]

thank you so much for the advice. I really am learning to appreciate the value of patience and acceptance and how they can pay off. rabbits are special animals.. they csn teach some pretty important values.

right now clover is sprawled out resting against my leg. it feels so special.

[kraine]

thank you so much for the advice. I really am learning to appreciate the value of patience and acceptance and how they can pay off. rabbits are special animals.. they csn teach some pretty important values.

right now clover is sprawled out resting against my leg. it feels so special.

[vanessa]

1 of my bunnies warmed up to me in a few weeks. Another took a few months. The other 2 took 3 years. The first 2 are very cuddly with me. They run up to me, circle my feet, nudge me for petting, they love getting attention from me. They don’t lie on me, sit on my lap or anything like that. They want to be on the ground. The first bunny warmed up to me with no effort on my part. Second bunny – warmed u to me after a few months of constant handling while bonding her with the first bun. The other 2 started to warm up to me after tryign to bond them with the 2nd bun. It seems ot me that by picking them up and handling them every day, made them realise that I wasn’t going to eat them. I didn’t hold them and cuddle them, I just picked them up, carried them to the bonding area, and then put them back again after the bonding session was over. But those last 2 bunnies were still very aloof. So I decided to leave those two alone. Just feed and water them, bring them their treats and veggies, and sit with them and let them approach me, or not. After a while, they started to become curious and approach me. They now allow me to pet them as long as I want to, but they still dont’ seek me out like the first pair. Each bunny is different. Most web pages say to approach the bunny slowly, let it approach you, dopn’t force the relationship, use food and treats as bribes etc. I would add – feed them on a routine. Free feeding means food is always theirs, and you ar enot involved. Routine (twice a day), means they learn to rely on you to bring them food. They start to dance around yoru feet at feeding time. A good sign. Stress bonding is what did it for my second bunny. Picking her up everyday, twice a day (for her bonding session with the first bunny), bonded her to me. She is also bonded to the first bun, but picking her up was the stressful part for her. They are super cuddly with me now. For the second pair, it took stress bonding (picking them up), and then ignoring them and allowing them to approach and investigate. And they are still not “cuddly”. Bunnies recognise people. My buns avoid strangers. The first bun too to my boyfriend very quickly. The second bun tok a year of him ignoring her, for her to investigate him. The 2nd pair are still aloof with him, and allow some petting. Each bun is different.

[Love4Bunny]

Just adding another thing – bunnies are super smart at reading body language. You may find that what worked as a lure one day (perhaps a treat), will suddenly garner a quick stomp! and run, or a “bunny butt”. My rabbits tend to create associations really well, so I change my tactics regularly to break negative associations, like when I have to clip toenails, or lift them to relocate on occasion, etc. Their papaya treat can mean glory one day, and then a sign of impending bunny-doom the next, as I get them ready for the vet, or for syringe feeding over a week. At that point, I will change up the order in my routine or use willow sticks as a lure, or even ignore them beforehand, so they have less time to stress out. It’s pretty much like clicker training a dog, where you have to re-establish positive association with something after they’ve given you the stink-eye. It works for me!

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