baby bunny sleeps alot… normal? or not?

[stella'smom]

hi. i owned bunnies as a child, but this is my first as an adult. i have a 7week holland mini-lop. she sleeps all of the time, and i’m geting worried. if i put her down, she will roam around the kitchen a little, then huddle in the corner, and sit still. is this normal? shes in my lap right now and will sit there very cozy for over an hour at a time. just very content.

 

any info on baby bunny behavior would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

[Monkeybun]

Does she have a place to call her own, a cage or some such? Baby buns will get scared alot, huddling in a corner may not be sleeping, but trying to hide. Making it so she can get to a safe place that is all hers will help.

But yes, bunnies do sleep alot. They are most awake at dawn and dusk, and sleep the rest of the time. They can adapt to their humans’ schedules though

[jerseygirl]

Welcome : )

How long have you had her at home now?

I agree ^ She may be trying to act small and invisible. Most bunnies like to have a hiding place being prey animals.

Typically young bunnies are more active and settle down and sleep more when adult. It does depend some on the individual rabbit. You should be seeing lots of grooming, eating and toileting. Does she seem playful when she is awake? Certain times of day they can become more active – typically dawn and dusk.

Have you had her checked by a vet since you’ve had her? I also want to ask what her diet is like? Personally, I believe diet can impact them both ways with activity levels. Some rabbits might react to certain ingredients and become almost frantically busy. Other rabbits may react to some feeds and become zombie like, maybe their bodies over laden with carbs.

[stella'smom]

thank you for the replies!

i’ve had her for 3 days. she has a cage that she is in during the night, and if we go anywhere. other then that, she’s in my kitchen (until i get her the xpen i ordered tonight!). i have several “hidey-holes” for her (a cardboard box, a tunnel, and a paper bag). she will go in them sometimes, but usually she just hangs out on the towel in front of the sink. she will hop around, check stuff out, groom, eat, nibble hay, and then just chill out and sit. if i come into the room, and it’s been awhile since i held her, she will hop onto my foot so i will pick her up. she LOVES when i hold her, just melts right into me and falls asleep. when i come down in the morning, she’s right at the cage door, trying to get to me. it’s SO cute! tonight i wasn’t paying attention to her while holding her, and she came up to my chin and started licking my chin over and over trying to get me to pet her. she kept doing that whenever i stopped petting her! i can’t believe how much she loves me already!!!

i guess i was just worried, because she doesn’t run around and play. then again, she’s only maybe 7 weeks old.

[stella'smom]

oh, and she’s eating alfalfa, and the rabbit food from the pet store. it has timothy and alfalfa in it, until i can get the oxbow 15/23 in the mail that i ordered.

[RabbitPam]

She sounds lovely. She’s a little young to be weaned – often 9 weeks old is showing a bit more independence, so she’s bonding with you well instead.

It’s always wise to get a baseline exam with a vet and have yourself established, so when something changes down the road your vet already knows her and what is “normal” for her. It’s a win win. I’d make an appointment, then you won’t need to worry.

[stella'smom]

good idea… thanks!

[Otti]

Just some advice with the pen since she’s so little: if you bought a pen that is meant for small animals (rabbits, ferrets etc. – these pens tend to be lighter and usually white in color) she’ll be fine in it even though she’s small, since the bars for these pens are closer together and she won’t be able to get her head or rest of her body through them.

If you bought one of the larger, heavier pens that are usually meant for dogs and that work well for adult bunnies (gold, black or silver colored usually and with bars further apart) she will most likely be able to at least get her head through the bars, if not the front half of her body. This has the potential of being dangerous, as she could hurt herself wedging herself through, or even get stuck.

My rabbit was only a few months old when I wanted to upgrade him to the pen, and I bought one of those standard gold dog pens from petco which I had to return when I realized that my bunny could stick half his body out of it. I ended up going with a bunny/ferret pen instead, which worked for him when he was small, but now is so light than he can move it around easily, which is annoying. I’ll probably switch back to a dog pen soon.

If you did buy a dog pen, you can just hold on to it until she’s a bit bigger, and only let her live in it once you’re sure it’s safe.

[stella'smom]

oh, i didn’t know that! thanks! (it is the dog one).

[Author]

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