This sounds very much like a rabbit to me. Rabbits don’t interact with humans exactly the way that dogs or cats do.

I know that sometimes people have different expectations of what rabbits will be like – they generally aren’t very cuddly although they look cuddly. They take time to trust people and especially if he’s never interacted with people.

Will he eventually trust you and warm up to you? Honestly it is difficult to know – every rabbit is different.

I would caution you that you may not find another rabbit that is what you expect.

One thing you could try is just to sit down on the ground and let him come up to you. Don’t grab at him when he gets close to you though – let him come to you on his terms.

He sounds like he enjoys the interactions with you based on the fact that he likes his head rubbed so I don’t think he’s totally unsociable as you may think he is.

Well, he will be very happy if you decide on keeping him instead of getting another. It has only been two weeks, rabbits come out of their shell very slowly. They are frightened easiily and don’t forget fast.

Well, I think that he does like you. Why don’t you try talking to him when he’s around. He may be shy and if you are trying to hug and kiss and do all that kind of stuff you may be overwhelming him.

Sometimes rabbit show their approval in very quiet ways and many aren’t necessarily “affectionate” in the same way humans are. The fact that he settles in to a favorite place shows content to me. Maybe you can just enjoy his company that way. Watch him just being content. I love this about some of my rabbits that I can enjoy the solitude with them and just give them pets every once in awhile. I know they are happier that way.

I would definitely give him more time. Two weeks is not enough time to judge him. He is still settling into a new environment and figuring out things for himself. In fact, you’ve already started out on a positive note since he lets you approach/pet him. One of my bunnies (I have had since March) just in the past couple months started to enjoy being pet (although some never do). I’m just saying it’s a good sign that he’s not afraid and welcomes your company.

Sarita and Petzy both have great advice. Just sit with him…I spent a lot of time doing that in the beginning, just sitting and waiting. Actually I still do that lol.. Bunnies will behave on their own terms, so they tend to be in charge of us. So he might get angry if you want to play and he doesn’t. They tend to be active in spurts, so it’s also possible he’s active when you’re not around?? I don’t know what your work/life, etc schedule is like, but normally mine don’t get super active until 9pm or 4am.. Also, both of my bunnies are young (<1 year), so I can't say from experience, but they may be less playful as they get older ? Maybe someone can answer that, I could be wrong, since 3 years isn't really old.

There are ways to get your rabbit to seek you out more. Try wetting your figer and stroking his little head, he will feel very much loved and see you as a grooming friend which is what rabbits love. There are games you can play with your rabbit: he will love knocking things over, or pushing them, and it can be fun to let him do it over and over. He will learn that you are a source of food, love and entertainment. He will come around.

It took 6 months for my Mini lop to show any sign of trust with me. While my dwarf bonded quickly. Each rabbit is different.
However, if your bunny is allowing you to pet him now, that is a great sign. Many don’t want to be touched at all.
If he can lay sprawled out in the same room as you, this is a sign of trust and relaxation. Rabbits take a lot of time normally to bond to someone and they won’t be like a cat or dog. Most don’t run up and jump on you for pets, and you cna’t really call them to you. You can however teach them you are a fun treat dispencer to get them to want to interact with you more.

I suggest reading lots of bunny behaviour, this way you can understand what signs are good ones, and feel some what accomplished with your bonding.

I am a recent first-time bunny owner too and since you already took the time to set up a new home for him, I think you should just give it more time. When Mr. Bun-Bun (the rabbit I just adopted) was temporarily staying in our clinic, I always took care of him and made sure he had exercise, but I didn’t even notice his personality much for at least 2 weeks. Their personalities are quite a bit more subtle, or hard to read, than dogs and cats. Once I picked up on it I fell in love with him. Sometimes he wants to cuddle, other times he wants nothing to do with me and runs off to get into trouble. I was worried when I first brought him home because he kind of freaked out, thrashed against his cage bars for a minute, etc. But now he’s got an enormous cage and seems very content.
A lot of animals are content sitting around doing absolutely nothing. That includes me, so I understand it. It might look like he’s bored or unhappy but he could just be chilling and acclimating to his new environment. Also, he may take longer to bond because he’s been bounced from house to house like an unwanted foster child (sorry to anthropomorphize there!) I’ve seen that behavior in cats and dogs that haven’t had a longtime home with loving humans, they get less trusting and it takes awhile to break through. Good luck, I think it’s always the effort to bond with an animal!

welcome eyeorelop

Here is a site a lot of us use to learn to speak bunny.

http://language.rabbitspeak.com/
He may be communicating with you more than you think, just in his own way.

SageCat adopted a bonded pair of bunnies- Kay and Winston. And it took them awhile to warm up to her and her husband.  And I bet she would not trade them for anything in the world now!  Once they got comfortable they began to show off their quirky personalities and have become a close part of their family!

And since you only have the one- he should start to look to you for companionship quicker than a bonded pair would, I assume.  I just takes awhile for them to trust you.  Then you get to see what mischievous little stinkers they really are!

Welcome!  I’m happy you want to give him some more time. We’re here to help with any questions.

Posted By MayaConsuelo on 08/17/2010 10:45 AM 
Their personalities are quite a bit more subtle, or hard to read, than dogs and cats.

Very much so. It’s a real learning experience with rabbits. It is so rewarding for when a prey species learns to trust you but it does take some time.  And when you do see the personalities peeking out, it’s rather funny. 

His past may come into it a bit. Having had some uncertain situations and loss of a mate. He can be happy as a single rabbit though. They just need a sense of security, routine and another live being around them – not necessarily another rabbit.  So going about life at home as usual and letting him adjust to the sights and sounds will have him feeling more comfortable. Then let him come out of his shell and approach you in his own time.  If he’s letting you pet him then continue with that as this will help with your bond.

Absolutely! They’re very smart and perceptive, once you can pick up their signals. It took weeks, but I noticed one day suddenly that Bun-Bun would get very excited and agitated when I walked into the room (when he was caged in the clinic), because he knew I would let him out and talk and play with him, and when other people walked into the room he had no reaction whatsoever. Likewise, now that he’s home in my apartment, he gets excited and gnaws at the bars of his cage when I walk into the room, but when my roommate walks through he doesn’t appear to even notice her (she’s never touched him, just exlaims “he’s so cute!” every time she walks through.) And when I have time to hang out, I open the door because he’s excited to see me, but now since he has a huge cage and is still rearranging it, half the time he doesn’t even leave the cage! It’s very cute, and very rewarding. I think it might be easier for cat people to get used to rabbits, because we’re used to being shunned by our pets on a regular basis.

I am also glad you are going to give him more time.    It can take months, and I ditto what others have said about just hanging out with him. Bonding happens between rabbits via grooming and laying near or cuddling with each each other. So just spend some quiet hang out time with him and pet him (bunnies see that as grooming).  He may also need some time to realize that this is his permanent home. For him this may just be routine –  Three homes and possibly fosters, plus the shelter itself — that’s alot of places!   So only time will allow him to know for sure that this is his permanent home.

On another note: You said when you try to play with him he gets mad.   If you do try to play with him like a cat or dog especially with toys (putting it front of them, then pulling it away, and then back in front of them)IF that is sort of how you are “playing”  this can actually be a sign of aggression to a rabbit. which may then make them aggressive or snub you.  

Check out the link about rabbit language that Kralspace posted for you. It’s a great resource to understanding rabbits.  They actually interact quite a bit, but in a “prey” way meaning they have to be much more subtle and it’s fun to figure out what their thinking through their body language. 

As far as toys go — it’s more of watching them enjoy something rather than actually playing with them like cats and dogs— try some of the homemade toys https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/Toy…fault.aspx.        Putting a few treats in hay and putting it in a treat ball or even just putting it in a brown paper lunch bag (punch a few little holes in it) can be a fun thing to watch as some bunnies will dig, toss it and chew at it to get the treat.  Some bunnies like to just explore, so get some cardboard boxes, make an entrance and exit and hide some goodies in there — See some of the toy test archives to see exactly what I’m talkin’ about https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO…fault.aspx

One thing you can try to do that is directly interacting with your rabbit is Clicker training.  Here’s just one example of many clicker training videos you can find on youtube. .http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phf9…re=related

Sending bonding vibes between you and your new beautiful bunny. 

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/shybun.html

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-5/like-a-rabbit.html

Here are a couple good links that might explain the “rabbit personality” a bit further.

Thank you for adopting him.  This was an excellent first step because you are not having to deal with a temperamental, hormonal baby rabbit.  At this point, his hormones have been greatly eliminated due to neutering, his litter habits should be pretty good (you didn’t mention that they are an issue), and it doesn’t sound as if he’s being overly destructive.  He sounds like a normal, well-behaved, content rabbit.  In my opinion, that 2-3 year age is an ideal time to adopt a rabbit.  He’s past the teenager stage, but you should still have many years together.  That being said, if you decide not to keep him, it’s good you figure this out now, and you should still have some time to give him back to the rescue where he can find a home that will want him.

Rabbits are not for everyone, and even the people who do have them and claim to love them, don’t always care for them properly.  There is so much involved and the rewards are much different from what you might get from a dog.  It can take a long time for a rabbit to warm up to a person, or it may never happen.  Or, you may not get the response you want from one rabbit, but at another point, a second rabbit might fulfill that need for you.  I have two rabbits and Meadow is the one I go to for my bunny fix.  After 2 years, Max is still skittish around me, but I know he is content because he is well taken care of, and he has Meadow for companionship.  He might never warm up to me, but since I made the commitment to care for him forever, that is what I will do. 

The fact that he lets you pet him and he seems to enjoy it is a very good sign! After only two weeks that is great progress. It takes months for even very social bunnies to get used to new surroundings and get comfortable with their people and environment. I would give him a few more months to figure things out and then see how you feel. I think he will come out of his shell quite a bit in that time and you will see more of his personality.

Rabbits do not seek approval from their owners, like dogs & cats.  Actually studies have shown that cats see “bonding/ interaction” time as just being in the same room as their human….not exactly what humans think of w/ bonding.

My lop, Chewbacca, LOVED to just sprawl out in the living room w/ us.  We would have a cat on the couch w/ us, but she preferred to lounge, fully extended on the floor.  She really did her own thing, but loved getting pets & kisses, treats, & getting chased.  She was also a HUGE fan of her bunny maze.

I have a cat, Katie, who never liked to be held & wouldn’t sit on your lap or furniture if her person was on the furniture.  Kate is now almost 16 y.o..  About 2 yrs ago she started sitting on laps and seeking out quality time on the couch or bed.  So even though pets may not be the kind of personality we want they will open up & develop their personalities in their own ways.

It took about 6 months or so, before Karl would warm up to me, so I could finally fully enjoy him. Until then he acted as if I was going to eat him any second. He would still come over to me, but he was not interested in cuddles or being too close to me for too long.

It took a lot of work, but what I did was hand-feed him his pellets every day. In the beginning, he wouldn’t come near me, so I would have to reach my hand quite far out, but eventually I moved my hand closer and closer to myself, so he would have to get into my lap to eat. This took about 2 weeks. And I continued to do this. And I spent A LOT of time on the floor with him just lying on my stomach.

It was well worth it. Today, he comes over to me and nudges me with his little nose, he jumps into my lap when I am sitting down, and he likes to be cuddled. But admittedly, I have to keep working with him, because if I haven’t spend enough time with him, I can feel he is getting more timid again.

Bunnies are very different. Some will jump into your lap and fall asleep after just a few days and others are more timid and need lots of time and patience. But it is well worth it in the end

I’m very glad you are keeping him.
With a bunny you have rescued you are undoing some previous damage – even just the fear of being outside on his own, or the grief of losing his companion, so it takes a gentle approach to insure a sense of security in your bunny. He sounds very sweet already. What seems like play to you might be movements that a bunny feels is like those of a predator. For example, spreading your hands to pick him up for a cuddle may make your hands look like claws with talons! If you approach him with your fingers together and palms upward, it’s not a position that looks like you are going to grab him the way a hawk would. Little things like that bring them around over time.

Posting pictures here so we can oooo and ahhhhh over him also helps.