Regarding the thumps, it might be because she is a bit insecure about you, but looking at your pictures I wouldn’t think so though. But maybe you scare her as you walk in? She hasn’t lived with you for that long, so your place is still new and a bit scary. Perhaps you could call her name quietly before walking in.

It took about 1-2 months, I think, before Karl would flop. Some bunnies are a bit more alert and need to know that their new home is alright before relaxing that much. Try sitting next to her and offer some treats. Lying down as you are already doing is a also a great thing to do. If you close your eyes, it gives her a chance to sniff you without scaring her.

Once she is spayed, the pooping should lessen. But until then, pick up the poops instantly and throw them in her litter box, so she knows where they are supposed to go.

Karla gave you some great advice. Some buns are just a bit high strung and take time to settle in.

Does she thump if you approach her pen? Or just when you enter? Some buns, especially unspayed females, can be territorial of their cage space and thump to let you know that you are not welcome! Haha. If she doesn’t do this with you otherwise, it may be some territorial behavior. Spaying will help as will getting more comfortable with you.

The pooping sounds like she’s marking her new territory. It should lessen with time and with spaying as well.

You’re doing a good job laying on the floor an ignoring her. I would try holding a treat in your hand and see if she’ll take it. Then maybe when you’re laying on the floor, hold a treat in your hand where she has to find it.

Also, does she have somewhere to hide when she’s out in the living room with you? If you give her a box with some holes cut in it, she may be more inclined to flop out inside the box where she’s safe.

I couldn’t say it better myself.  All good advice!  I amost would suggest confining him/her a bit more…. till she feels more secure, and understanding where she is suppose to go potty.  Spaying her will hopefully help. Congratulations on your new bun!  Exciting!

All mine have each been confined in the cage for the first three days. Just so they know that this is their territory and know where to go and hide if the world is too scary. I think as you are pointing out yourself that you have given her too much room at once, which can be very scary for a little bunny like her. Provide her with lots of cardboard boxes around the room so she has lots of hiding places and eventually can relax and get used to it.

She sounds like she is free-roaming already? So why not continue this way, but do make sure she has an area (like a cage or a pen) which is her area with her food, litterbox et.c. And perhaps confine her at nighttime for a while so she knows this is her area like Bren suggests. If you make a pen in that size as you have shown on the picture, she will be happy little bunny

Looks like a really nice area for her! I agree with the others about giving her a cage area that is “hers” and has her stuff in it. Otherwise your living room is a great size for a bunny play area.

Also, I missed that she is only 8 weeks old. My boy was quite nervous when he was a baby and I’ll admit it made me nervous for him – I was afraid he’d always be a scardy boy, so I absolutely understand where you’re coming from. It took him many months to come out of his shell, so her behavior sounds normal. Some bunnies just take a lot of patience and months of quiet interaction. Now, at a year old, my boy loves snuggles and will flatten out on the floor for pets – a total 180 from where he was at 8 weeks. I just made sure to spend a lot of time with him. Even if he seemed nervous, I would sit with him, pet him, etc and he eventually came around.

Food helps a lot too! Lol. He’s so used to getting a treat when I approach his pen that he actually ran out for my friend (who he doesn’t know) to search his hands for food the other day. We were shocked that he would approach a stranger. We also take him a lot of places and now we can take him to a friends’ house and he’ll hope right out of his carrier and start exploring (as long as there’s carpet )

You said in your welcome thread she is netherland dwarf/lionhead, yes? My nethie Monkey was always on the go when I brought her home at 7.5 weeks. They are very curious buns, the nethies. Very active, always on the move… until they just fall over and snooze anyway

Definitely give her a space that is “hers”. Monkey is always diving into her cage when somethign is going on that she doesn’t like, and we let her be when she is in her cage. Its Her Space, and we don’t go there

One of Monkey’s fav treats is raisins.. she does dances for the things!

Oooh yeah they sure are. Monkey is the Queen of the Universe, according to her, and she won’t let anyone tell her otherwise Prepare for rabbitude! hehe

My lionhead Marlee acted a lot like that when I first brought her home about 6 months ago. She’s since been spayed but still doesn’t let me come to her without thumping quite a bit and darting away (trying to catch her to groom is a whole other adventure in itself). She will come to me if I lay on the floor and jump on my back until I try to move. She flops quite often though, and is getting a little better about not running away if I move around the room not bothering her. I think it may definately be the breed, and maybe Suki is a little more fiesty since she’s both lionhead and nethie.

Young bunnies are normally little maniacs – lots of energy and once they have some running space, they are just happy to test out their running and binky skills and just get goofy. It’s fun to watch.

The other thing is rabbit instincts, being a prey animals, are to learn every nook and cranny of a place They don’t have the best eye-sight, and need to mentally map out the place by exploring. Knowing the “lay of the land” helps them feel more confident in their escape routes and therefore makes them more secure. So right now it may be difficult to get your bunny to settle down for the first month as not only are you competing against the baby energy, but the instincts to explore and map out the place is important for your bunny right now.

I also think that you should offer more confinement right now for better litterbox habits. She needs to know the difference between her space and the rest of place (especially as she reaches sexual maturity and may have more litterbox problems and become more territorial)

I wouldn’t make her free-range this early on.

Oh…and by the way….WELCOME to BinkyBunny!

Very good advise listed above,  but one other item I did not see mentioned …. but again there are many posts and I did not read them all.   In case it is not mentioned above, let me tell you my experience.    My bun was thumping hard too when I entered the room …. this went on months after I got her.   It is only my hubby & I in the home, so we could not understand why she was so frighteded.   Finally, after a few months,  I realized she was deaf …….. therefore, she was not hearing me talk to her when I was approaching from another room.    And, she often does not feel the movement in the floor when I am walking into the room.    My bun is also free range.    Now, when the room is darker … I will turn on a light to let her know I am approaching … and she does fine.   During the day time when the room is bright … it can be tricky …. I try to walk harder so maybe she can feel the vibrations.    Once I learned she was deaf, she and I became much better friends.   She began to allow us to pet her more.   I read articles about deaf rabbits & this how I learned better to communicate with her.   Thanks to a few here on Binky Bunny …. they had sent me links to read about deaf rabbits.    These readings helped me greatly.    These are wonderful people on this forum.