Some bunnies just need time to worm up to their people and new cage. I got my bunny from a shelter and I love shelters. I spend many days helping shelters and I love all shelter animals, so don’t get me wrong, I love Shelters and shelter animals, but sometimes at shelters some animals get less socialization than others. For instance, many people would rather spend time with and play with a baby bunny rather than a 3 year old bunny. My bunny was shy at first too, but after a while she warmed up to us. Just don;t ignore her at all. If you go to open her cage and she runs to a corner, give her a treat and pet her. If you ignore her, she wont ever get over it.

My latest rescue, Snickers took almost 4 months to feel confident coming out of her space for floor time. By 6 months she was as confident as everybun else. It can take time, and with rescues, you don’t know what they’ve been through to leave them scared. Two weeks isn’t a worry, as long as she is eating and drinking and has the choice to come out. Snickers started by just stepping outside, then gradually a little further and a little further til she felt safe enough to explore properly.

Posted By JellybeanJenna on 2/21/2017 9:38 PM

Some bunnies just need time to worm up to their people and new cage. I got my bunny from a shelter and I love shelters. I spend many days helping shelters and I love all shelter animals, so don’t get me wrong, I love Shelters and shelter animals, but sometimes at shelters some animals get less socialization than others. For instance, many people would rather spend time with and play with a baby bunny rather than a 3 year old bunny. My bunny was shy at first too, but after a while she warmed up to us. Just don;t ignore her at all. If you go to open her cage and she runs to a corner, give her a treat and pet her. If you ignore her, she wont ever get over it.

I disagree, I don’t think you should just reach in and pet her if she runs into a corner. She needs to feel like her cage is her sanctuary and that she has a place to go and not he disturbed. If she feels like this is her safe haven, she might be more likely to come out and explore because she knows she has a quiet place to retreat.

Ava didn’t want to leave her cage when we first got her. It could be disheartening to see the cage door wide open and she didn’t care at all. Here’s what I did for Ava.I would leave her cage door wide open and then go about my business. Make sure the surroundings are bunny proof. I would leave a treat outside the cage for her. Don’t try to reach in the cage to force her out. She’ll probably start by sticking her head out, maybe hopping out and then immediately hopping back into the cage. You can talk to her softly, but for the most part, just pretend like you don’t care what she does. Some days your bunny may seem to regress, yesterday she hopped a foot away from the cage, today she’s not even sticking her nose out. Just don’t get discouraged. I will add, once Ava realized leaving her cage was not only safe, but interesting, she went a little crazy. She’d spent her entire life in that cage, and the first few days of her feeling comfortable leaving it, she’d run around all day long. She’d lay down for a second, then go back to running. She had so much energy to burn.