Adult vs Bunny Behavior

[The Law Bun]

Hello all,

 

So i hope this is my last question for a while, but like many rabbits I too am very curious haha. So i understand that many cuddly baby bunnies grow up to be rather aloof adult bunnies or do not like cuddles, etc. However, has anyone had a bunny that goes from being a really shy, timid, aloof baby rabbit to a rather snuggly/outgoing adult? I have Lily now for nearly 2 months, she is approaching her 4 months mark (she was spayed early at 2.5 months by the speciality avian and exotic vet I got her from), but she still just is… well boring. I am all find with a bunny who is super lazy do not get me wrong, I love my dog who just lays around all day. But Lilith just sits in her NIC condo and never really comes out to her front yard I have for her which is rather large. Aside from the concern she may not get enough exercise, she just never does come out. She eats, sleeps, eats, sleeps haha. Which is much like myself but still I expected her to try any of the endless toys/castles/cardboard I have constructed for her.

 So per usual THE question: Has anyone had a really shy and timid bunny who once in adulthood became rather snuggly and a bit more outgoing. I assume Lilith may need more time to adjust, but it has been 2 months, and its pretty damn disheartening when SO many others post about their bunnies just taking to the household within a few weeks. I never push her, I am stopping the grooming sessions for now, I coax her out with lettuce which she eats and runs back in. Its like, I have all the patience in the world but its more like living with a static brick that I have to take care of every day haha. Oh well, we sign up for it, and I will still give her a life of royalty, but I will be damned if I ever get a baby bunny again . Wish I had seen the personality beforehand.

[emm_renn]

My rabbit has been the same from three months to now almost a year. She is a little standoffish and likes to run around. She isn’t very cuddly but she does like nose/ear pets. Man it stinks your rabbit isn’t more playful. Is lillith your profile picture? I’m surprised you were able to fix her at such a young age. I would keep giving her healthy treats so she associates you with good food. Maybe she will be conditioned to come out and be social. You could also look into bonding. I hear getting a friend will sometimes boost their mate’s confidence and their traits will rub off.

[gingerg]

My rabbits aren’t standoffish or shy, exactly (they come out of their cage as soon as I open the door, usually), but for the first months they had no interest in me–they’d never come and see what I was up to unless I laid out in front of their cage, and even then, only my girl would poke at me. Then I started hand feeding their pellets to them, as well as occasional treats. Now they tend to follow me around a lot, looking for food. It’s a cheap ploy, but it worked.

[JackRabbit]

Kieko has been a “people” bunny from the day we got her as a baby. It took the M&Ms forever to open up. They are nosey and climb all over us in the bunny room, but anywhere else, I am the only one who can pet them or get near them and we’ve had them for a year and a half! I did the same as gingerg with treats (pellets, lettuce bites, oat hay tops, and even hand fed hay) and that definitely helped. I also lay down in the common play area with them every evening.

It takes time with most bunnies, and two months really isn’t all that much time with some bunnies. The more time you spend right there with the bunny the better, and you don’t have to be paying direct attention to the bunny. Try hand feeding “treats” with her in her condo (her safe zone) to start and just hang out in her room. I’m betting she’s exploring her front yard when you’re not around.

I’ve never tried this, but it might be worth a shot — if she’s not a chewer, maybe try putting something that smells like you in her condo (a t-shirt?), but be prepared for her to pee on it! Hopefully someone else will chime in with an opinion on this.

[blubudgie]

Don’t give up yet! It took months for my rabbit to warm up to me and come out of her cage. It definitely helps to hand feed your bunny some pellets or treats/fruits (aka banana) you know they can’t resist. Mine loves pellets, so I hand feed some to her every morning, before putting them in her bowl to eat by herself. I would try to hand feed her veggies too. She doesn’t really eat out of my hand, but she takes it from me and then eats it.

I also spend HOURS each day sitting next to her cage. I know you might not have the time to do it (I got my bunny during summer break), but spending time with them definitely helps. At first my rabbit would only come out of her litterbox to eat food (I put the pellets close to the front of the cage). I would sit nearby, and she wouldn’t be able to avoid seeing/being near me if she wanted to eat…lol.

She gradually came out of her litterbox to lay down and play too. I would sit right next to the cage on my laptop/doing hw too. Eventually I started opening the door of the cage and putting toys in front of her and she would toss them away.

Then I started trying to pet her. The key is to move your hand SLOW. Rabbits also cannot see right in front of their face, so come in from the side to make sure you don’t surprise her when you pet her. It also helps to give her treats, I find my rabbit doesn’t mind being pet as long as shes eating at the same time…haha.

And then I think it took nearly 1-2 months after all that for her to actually leave her cage. I would leave the door open every day and sit next to it, or just be in the room. I was afraid she’d never come outside. I tried bribing with fruits, and she would reach as far as she could to get to the food while keeping her back feet in the cage. Eventually she would hop out to get the treat and then hop right back in. Anyway one day she suddenly came outside for longer than a second, and I guess she realized it was fun and now I struggle to get her back in the cage.

Basically it took be a lot of time and patience to get her to be somewhat friendly. Now my rabbit will hop out and sniff everything/everyone’ (she likes the smell of feet, ew) and binky and run around and jump over people who are laying down. She tolerates being pet, but she’s definitely not snuggly. I’m hoping she will be as she gets older.

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