Am I doing this right

[Bunnyguy101]

Hi everyone I’ve been reading a few posts in the forum and tried to find the answers but I’m still quite confused.
I have a new bunny called Theo he is 3.5 months and I have had him for 2 weeks today.
I have a cage for him since he is a small bun the cage is a metre by half a metre once he is bigger I will upgrade to a bigger one, I let him roam freely for an hour in the morning then from seven in the evening until I go bed, I’m out the house for 11-12 hours.

The first weekend I got him he was very curious and was finding his feet around the flat and he lay down twice with his feet out (not done that since the first weekend) and now he only sits down either looking at me or facing away from me. When I let him out he comes up to me and I pet him for a few seconds before he then sits down facing away from me. Also while I am on the floor he comes up to me often but never for a long period of time then will leave and sit down again.

I haven’t heard him teeth purr for awhile either. I don’t know if my bunny is mithed at me or this is his personality.

His litter training is going well ish he doesn’t wee and poo outside his cage really unless it’s the couch that will hopefully stop when he is neutered. And he is eating and pooing as normal.

When I put him in his cage either for work or at night he does bite the bars some of the time

Am I doing something wrong?

[Bam]

It sounds like you are doing everything right. 2 weeks is Avery short time for a bunny when it comes to learning to trust someone. That he lies down with his butt towards you just means he’s not trusting you completely yet. Horses do the same thing -they turn their backs against potential dangers because that way they can run in the opposite direction from what scares them.

Bunnies seldom lie down with their faces turned directly at you. That’s also because they are flight animals. Their eyes are positioned so they don’t see at all well what’s right in front of their faces, their best view is straight from the side. They have a very wide field of vision, but right in front of their head they barely see anything -something to keep in mind when you want to pet your bun. They like being pet on the head, but you can stable them if you approach from straight ahead, and a feisty bunny might even attack your hand, mistaking it for an attacker.

I think you just need to keep doing what you’re doing, and in his own time, he’ll realize that you are his friend.

[Bunnyguy101]

Hey Bam thank you for your reply, he is my first rabbit I’m majority a dog person however I live in a flat and feel bad leaving a dog on his own for that amount of time, and I’m trying to adjust between the two.
I like watching Theo but hope he does come to me for a stroke and attention, he runs to me for food but realises I don’t have any and runs away. Just guess I need to be patient

[Bunnyguy101]

Hi bam thank you for your reply.
I’ve had dogs all my life however with living on my own I don’t want to leave a dog for 12 hours in my flat alone everyday, so I opted for a rabbit and finding the transition still difficult as their completely 2 different types of animals mainly being predator and prey. I am still waiting for him to be affectionate which I’m guessing will happen when he trusts me, at the moment he does run up to me and licks me but the runs away when he realises I don’t have food. I just want him to be happy and come to me for strokes, as I’m typing this he is lying on my back haha.

[Bunnyguy101]

Sorry for the double post didn’t think one went through

[Bam]

You do need lots more patience with a rabbit than with a dog. I have a dog and a rabbit. Dogs have been our companions for about 40 000 years, whereas rabbits have only been domesticated for a couple of hundred years. Plus rabbits are prey animals, always on the lookout for predators.

It’s extremely rewarding though, to gain the trust of such a little soul. And as you are saying, rabbits are good choice for people who work all day, because rabbits like to lounge all day, they are crepuscular, meaning their active time is at dusk and dawn.

[Bunnyguy101]

Thank you bam

I wanted to check if I was looking after my little man properly, I just can’t wait until he trusts me so I can have a little bud relaxing with me on the couch haha (without him peeing on it)

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