Over-attached bun

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 12sd replies, 10 voices, and was last updated 5 years, 10 months ago by Carolyn.

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- 01/17/2019 at 7:46 AM
  Carolyn
  Participant
  28 posts
  Me again. I was wondering how everyone dealt with over-attached buns. Like buns that want to be up in your business all hours of the night, and jumping on your face in the morning.
  
  I live in Japan, so my bed isn’t high up, it’s on the floor. I don’t have a desk, so all of my work I do on the floor.
  
  I’m training my bun to be free-roam, but only 100% once he’s spayed.
  
  Anyway, my problem is is that he is always ALWAYS following me. Begging for pets, wanting to be in my business (jumping on my laptop, crawling all over my laptop, jumping on my face if I’m laying down, being at my feet ANYWHERE I go, like if I’m cleaning).
  
  So I get up to play with him so that maybe he’ll get tired of me and kinda leave me be for a bit, he’ll play for literally 10 seconds (no exaggeration, just run around) binky once or twice, then jumps into his litterbox and starts eating hay. Everytime. I figure “Ok, when he’s done getting his fill, we can play”, when I start to play with him, back to eating hay. But when I’m doing my own thing, he’s got to be ON my laptop. And not laying on it like a cat, but just walking all over it. I leave him space for my lap, but he prefers to walk across where I type. If I stand up to go to the bathroom and he’s in his litter box, he’ll jump up and follow me. I just can’t do anything without him where I am.
  
  I bought him various toys, but interest = none.
  
  Don’t get my wrong, I LOVE that he’s so friendly and loves being around me, I love cuddling (although he always wants to “cuddle” in weird positions which aren’t so comfy for me), but sometimes I just want to do something WITHOUT him being at my feet the ENTIRE time. Like ANYTHING I do. It’s adorable, but sometimes it’s just like “ok, ok, need a break”.
  
  Sorry, I think I just needed to vent a little. Please don’t misunderstand, I love my bunny and I know that him being alone, I’m the only friend he has, but I was just seeing if anyone had advice or similar situations so I know I’m not alone or I didn’t screw something up…
  
  Does anyone else have an overly-attached bunny? Will he calm down after he gets neutered maybe?
  
  Anyways, thanks for listening… Sorry half of it is a rant… lol.
- 01/17/2019 at 7:50 AM
  Sirius&Luna
  Participant
  2320 posts
  Bunnies are social animals that live in groups, so it’s not unnatural for them to seek out socialisation.
  
  If you don’t feel that you can give him all the attention that he need (and it’s difficult to do so – I got my bunnies friends because even if I spent all my free time with them, there’s still 10 hours a day of work/travel and 8 of sleeping, meaning in the very best case scenario they’re still alone for more than 2/3s of every day), then best thing to calm down his attachment to you would be to get him a bunny friend. Depending where you live, there’s probably shelters that can help you with picking out the best bun for him and with bonding.
- 01/17/2019 at 7:59 AM
  Dface
  Participant
  1084 posts
  I second what S&L says, bunnies need company.
  Social creatures shouldnt be kept alone without a good reason. No human can keep up with another rabbit in terms of enrichment.
- 01/17/2019 at 8:10 AM
  Carolyn
  Participant
  28 posts
  Thanks for your reply!
  
  Unfortunately in Tokyo (Japan) they don’t have rabbits in any shelters (Pretty much just dogs and cats, who knows what happens with buns…but I checked to see if I could donate some toys that my bun doesn’t care about and I couldn’t find any within a travel-range for me), and getting another bunny friend would cost me around another $300-$400, with breeders being even more expensive. AND there isn’t enough room because my apartment is comparable to probably the size of a child’s bedroom, so there’s no more room for double his home.
  
  He’s a cutie and he’s very lovable, and I’m lucky he’s got such a great personality, I think it’s just a bit of stress that’ll pass. Maybe just lack of sleep from being woken up at 5:30 in the morning with feet in my eyes. It’s not a huge deal, just curious on how other people handle(d) it, or just to hear some experiences.
  
  Thanks again
- 01/17/2019 at 8:40 AM
  Asriel and Bombur
  Participant
  1104 posts
  I get aboout 4-5 hours of sleep because of my boys. They’re not bonded, so they have separate play times. Bombur from 7pm-12am and Asriel from12am-5am, which means I need to stay awake until midnight so Asriel can come out for his time. I get up at 5am for work, so as you can see I rarely get sleep. Asriel will often nudge me at night for pets, and when he’s first out he’ll nuzzle in for 30 minutes or so. So realistically I get 4 hours of sleep. I’m a full time grad student, and I work full time. So I understand the pain
- 01/17/2019 at 8:44 AM
  JoBunny123
  Participant
  30 posts
  sounds like my bunny! Most of the time I love it but it can be annoying when he presses something on my laptop and the keyboard stops working. Still haven’t worked out how he does that.
  Don’t really have a solution but I’ve got to know his routine now and I know which times of the day he’ll definitely ignore me and I’m free to change his litter box and clean up all the hay. Sometimes if he’s particularly energetic and I’ve got work to do I put him on the bed so he can binky around until he’s tired, and he’s having so much fun he forgets all about me. Another thing that keeps him occupied is this. https://www.arkenzoo.se/rosewood-morotshus-stor?52079
  pretty sure you can find something similar on amazon or in other pet shops. Once he’s eaten the carrots off the top he’s slightly less interested in it but he still likes jumping on it and hiding inside / very loudly eating the hay off it. My bunny also likes when the TV is on. His favourite film is Mean Girls, couldn’t tear him away from it
- 01/17/2019 at 9:06 AM
  Luna
  Participant
  2219 posts
  I agree with the others that buns are social animals and another bunny friend would probably help (as would getting neutered too), but you can keep him happy even if you don’t get him a friend as long as you are committed to enriching him . This means spending as much time as he needs/wants from you, which may require you to adjust your schedule to fit his needs. It may sound like an arduous task, but it’s quite workable. Buns love routine, so once you identify what his routine is, you can work with it.
  
  First, buns are crepuscular (most active at dawn and dusk) so the 5:30 a.m. wake up call will probably persist. Luna does the same thing to me as well. Second, try to get your cleaning done while he is “distracted” (ie. eating). This will help you get cleaning done without him getting in the way, and will also free up time for you to play with him later because you will be done cleaning and he will be done eating . Third, definitely get a table/desk that you can do your work on so he can’t reach your laptop. Think of the environment from a bun’s point of view – near the ground. The floor is his domain and he won’t understand why a laptop in his domain (on the floor) is off limits.
- 01/17/2019 at 11:15 AM
  sarahthegemini
  Participant
  5584 posts
  Posted By Asriel and Bombur on 1/17/2019 8:40 AM
  I get aboout 4-5 hours of sleep because of my boys. They’re not bonded, so they have separate play times. Bombur from 7pm-12am and Asriel from12am-5am, which means I need to stay awake until midnight so Asriel can come out for his time. I get up at 5am for work, so as you can see I rarely get sleep. Asriel will often nudge me at night for pets, and when he’s first out he’ll nuzzle in for 30 minutes or so. So realistically I get 4 hours of sleep. I’m a full time grad student, and I work full time. So I understand the pain
  
  How the hell do you function on such little sleep? ?
- 01/17/2019 at 11:30 AM
  Asriel and Bombur
  Participant
  1104 posts
  hahahahaha there’s usually a lot of tears. Weekends are my best friend and I can sleep from midnight through till 8-9am and it is simply glorious. When I’m home all day on Sunday I’m know to have a 3-4 hour nap xD
- 01/17/2019 at 3:15 PM
  DarthVadar
  Participant
  198 posts
  He’ll probably calm down a little after he gets neutered. I know this sounds weird, but unneutered boys sometimes act this way because they want to breed. Has he been humping things? One of mine humps my leg whenever I sit down. Another breeding behavior, which it sounds like he is doing, is circling. A buck will circle a doe before breeding. But part of it is definitely him wanting attention.
- 01/17/2019 at 3:35 PM
  JLH
  Participant
  94 posts
  My bun is a single bunny in my house, (no other pets) she loves her alone time. maybe mine doesn’t need so much attention because I am retired and I am home almost all the time with her. I haven’t heard of a bunny requiring so much attention, even when my bun is on her alone time she still wants to be in the same room with me, but she will sit or lay with her back towards me to let me know to leave her alone until she say’s it’s ok to bother her.
- 01/17/2019 at 4:18 PM
  pinknfwuffy
  Participant
  660 posts
  I do agree that if he isn’t fixed yet he may be overly clingy because he is hormonal and looking for companionship. Even if he isn’t showing overtly sexual behavior, following you around and chasing are definitely flirty bunny behaviors.
  
  I have a single male rabbit who was neutered at six months old. He is almost four now and we have a very close relationship but he is still very independent. This may also depend on your rabbit’s personality. I would suggest coping with it as best you can until he can be fixed and then trying to set a routine for your time together. I work during the day and come home for lunch so Olaf is semi-free since I don’t want him getting hurt when I’m gone. He has a very large condo to sleep in during the day and I let him out for three hours every morning and for as long as he wants after I get home from work.
  
  A clear routine will help your bunny know when to expect to play and snuggle and when they will be on their own. Yes, companion bunnies are great for some rabbits but single bachelors can thrive with human friendship as long as you dedicate time to bonding with them and providing plenty of enrichment.
- 01/18/2019 at 12:01 AM
  Carolyn
  Participant
  28 posts
  Thanks for all the replies! I had fun reading them.
  
  I was waiting for the right time to get him neutered (He’s still a little over 3 months old, but I think his testicles are in so it may be time). He hasn’t been humping and only really circles me when it’s dinner time, but he does follow me or puts his paws on my legs if I’m standing up (either begging for more food or for me to come down and pet). I was thinking once I saw the humping it would be time for a neuter, but if some rabbits don’t get into a humping stage then maybe it’s just best to ask at the next vet visit if he’s ready. He’s unusually good with peeing AND pooping in his litter boxes (rando-poops inside his cage, but suprisingly not when he’s let out.. probably won’t last too long, but..) but I still get scared to leave the cage open overnight/when I’m not home…
  
  I wish that he would play when I try to play with him. Instead he goes back into his cage and starts eating hay when I give him the attention, then when I go back and sit down, he comes back out and bothers me for attention. Then I put the laptop down and try to play with him, and he does the same thing. It’s like “Do you want my attention or do you not want my attention?!” Haha. He’s still a cutie tho, and he’s only a mischievous little butt when I’m in the room. When I’m in the kitchen (which is like a hallway connecting my room to my door) he just waits at a spot where he can view what I’m doing, or rests in his cage, and he’s obedient and obeys the rules and doesn’t climb to places he’s not supposed to. (I have shelves where I blocked off with a gate, and he climbs the gate as high as he can to try and get over) I think that sometimes he just like pushing the rules when I’m in the room. -_-;;;;
  
  Thank you all for your replies though. It helped just to vent about what was bothering me and reading other’s responses. I’m not at all unhappy with my bun, and I’m glad he likes me, even if it’s a bit excessive.. Lol.
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