Stressed bunny

Forum

OUR FORUM IS UP BUT WE ARE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF UPDATING AND FIXING THINGS. SOME THINGS WILL LOOK WEIRD AND/OR NOT BE CORRECT. YOUR PATIENCE IS APPRECIATED. We are not fully ready to answer questions in a timely manner as we are not officially open, but we will do our best.

You may have received a 2-factor authentication (2FA) email from us on 4/21/2020. That was from us, but was premature as the login was not working at that time.

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately! Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

What are we about? Please read about our Forum Culture and check out the Rules.

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately! Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 10sd replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 8 months ago by DanaNM.

Viewing 10 reply threads

Author

Messages
- 02/27/2018 at 11:08 PM
  Deleted User
  Participant
  22064 posts
  I was trying to get my bunny to get back in his cage, and he always does. But I guess tonight he just didn’t want to. I tried numerous treats. I tried pellets. His favorite veggies. He would poke his head through the cage door, but didn’t go in. I tried convincing him with food for two hours straight. Then finally I had enough so I made him follow me into the bathroom and I closed the door and sat with him their for thirty minutes. I also had a packet of treats in my hand that I did not give to him to make his mouth water a bit. Finallly, after my brother yelled that thirty minutes was up, I let both of us and went back to try again with the cage. Then I tried to push him (very gently of course) into his carrier, so that I could close it, and put him back in the cage that way. He still didn’t go in. And I tried the treats again and nope. So in the end I just kind of pushed him in and he honked very very loudly. And then he tried to jump out of the top of the cage so I quickly closed the top door thing. It’s just that he’s not litter trained yet because I haven’t neutered him yet, so he pees and poops all over the place, and I didn’t want him to be out the whole night peeing and pooping to his hearts desire. He’s probably stressed out right now, so what are some ways I can calm him down? I’m sorry that this will probably make a lot of you angry, but what else was I supposed to do? I also tried a bunch of other nicer ways but none of my ideas worked.
  
  I know I could have picked him up and put him in, but he bit and scratched me the last time I tried to do that, and that would have stressed him out even more so I didn’t do it. He seems okay right now. Stretched out on the cage floor.
- 02/28/2018 at 1:20 AM
  Mikey
  Participant
  3186 posts
  Is it possible to attach a pen to his cage so he has more room? This way you wont have to take him out or force him back in, he can come and go in a safe area as he pleases.
- 02/28/2018 at 8:43 PM
  Deleted User
  Participant
  22064 posts
  Ah yes i just bought one today. I’m going to use that now for a couple months until things turn up again I think.
- 03/02/2018 at 5:31 PM
  Deleted User
  Participant
  22064 posts
  The only thing I’m worried about is if it’s alright for him to be in a pen for two whole months. I made sure to get a really big pen but he’s so used to running around a huge area every day that I don’t know if he can stand being in his pen for that long. With other rabbits I would get them spayed or neutered first before bringing them home but this little guy was young when I got him so I had to wait for a couple months. He’s already biting and rattling the bars and getting antsy. I’m thinking that I will let him out to the house for an hour every day to let him have that feel of being a little more free. Any suggestions? I could also move his pen to new rooms every week or something but not too often so that i don’t cause him stress
- 03/02/2018 at 5:31 PM
  Deleted User
  Participant
  22064 posts
  The only thing I’m worried about is if it’s alright for him to be in a pen for two whole months. I made sure to get a really big pen but he’s so used to running around a huge area every day that I don’t know if he can stand being in his pen for that long. With other rabbits I would get them spayed or neutered first before bringing them home but this little guy was young when I got him so I had to wait for a couple months. He’s already biting and rattling the bars and getting antsy. I’m thinking that I will let him out to the house for an hour every day to let him have that feel of being a little more free. Any suggestions? I could also move his pen to new rooms every week or something but not too often so that i don’t cause him stress
- 03/02/2018 at 7:04 PM
  DanaNM
  Moderator
  9054 posts
  I think Mikey was suggesting having the pen always be attached to the cage, but then still allowing free run time, just to make the cage a bigger and nicer for him so it’s not so hard to get him to go in.
  
  How long have you had him? It seems a bit odd that all of the sudden he didn’t want to go in.
  
  It might help to wait to feed his pellets or veggies until it’s time for him to go in. Then he gets a nice reward for going in, and will learn a good association.
  
  . . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.
- 03/02/2018 at 8:02 PM
  Deleted User
  Participant
  22064 posts
  I have had him for five months now and he’s always been an obedient,easygoing little guy. Ha ha that’s exactly what I started to do the day after the incident happened. I would give him his tasty foods at the very end of the day.
  Ah that makes sense. I could attach it to the cage. Unfortunately the dog pen I ordered is so huge that i can’t put it next to his cage or else there would be no space in the kitchen at all. Actually it’s too huge for any room.
- 03/02/2018 at 8:03 PM
  Deleted User
  Participant
  22064 posts
  I have had him for five months now and he’s always been an obedient,easygoing little guy. Ha ha that’s exactly what I started to do the day after the incident happened. I would give him his tasty foods at the very end of the day.
  Ah that makes sense. I could attach it to the cage. Unfortunately the dog pen I ordered is so huge that i can’t put it next to his cage or else there would be no space in the kitchen at all. Actually it’s too huge for any room.
- 03/02/2018 at 10:03 PM
  DanaNM
  Moderator
  9054 posts
  Hmmm, I wonder if you could just give him free run of the kitchen? Not sure what your floor plan is, but you could make a gate to confine him to the kitchen. Assuming he doesn’t try to chew on the cabinets, kitchens are usually pretty bunny safe since they don’t have carpet. If you put an extra litter box or two, he might be OK at using it until his neuter, and clean up would be easier if it’s hard flooring.
  
  I also always tend to think any sudden behavior change could be a symptom of an illness. Rabbits in pain will often act differently towards their humans. Is anything else different about his behavior? Poops, appetite, etc?
  
  . . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.
- 03/02/2018 at 11:39 PM
  Deleted User
  Participant
  22064 posts
  Yes, I think I will try to do that and block off the kitchen so that he still has a big area. Today there was a lot less accidents, so I’m glad the pen is working. I leave it open so that he does his buisness and goes back to whatever he’s doing. But if it was in his cage, he wouldn’t go back for fear of being locked in. I could also try extra boxes too, yes.
  I don’t think he’s ill. He eats all of his hay and food and everything, and his poops are perfect and abundant. He did have a two day period of tiny poops (still abundant) but it went away after a couple of hours on hay and water.
  Oh I forgot to mention something that probably is the reason for his behavior. The day before the incident I had him in his cage for most of the day just because I wasn’t there for most of the day so I didn’t want him to destroy the house while I was gone, or get hurt or anything. He got three hours of freedom that day. I think that caused him to not want to go back in his cage because he was just super tired of being stuck in his cage.
- 03/02/2018 at 11:52 PM
  DanaNM
  Moderator
  9054 posts
  Oh I forgot to mention something that probably is the reason for his behavior. The day before the incident I had him in his cage for most of the day just because I wasn’t there for most of the day so I didn’t want him to destroy the house while I was gone, or get hurt or anything. He got three hours of freedom that day. I think that caused him to not want to go back in his cage because he was just super tired of being stuck in his cage.
  
  ooooooh, yeah that definitely could have done it!
  
  Glad the pen seems to be helping
  
  . . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.
Author

Messages

Viewing 10 reply threads

You must be logged in to reply to this topic.