bun is so scared!

[aerosmithgrl]

Riki is so scared. like all the time. he breaths so heavy and spazzes out all the time. (thumps all the time to, brat) he is an unneutered 3mo male. is there any way i can make his life easier? (i just got him yesterday but he has been like that for a while the petstore people said)

[Stickerbunny]

Stickers was totally freaked out by humans when I first got her (she was a pet store bought bun for a child with I believe autism, so no wonder, kept in a tiny tiny cage), but the key to calming her was to just sit in the room with her and ignore her. When she came to explore, I didn’t move and let her sniff / walk on me all she wanted. When I walked in the room for anything, I would say in a calm, nice voice good morning or something of the like and after she was comfortable enough with me, I would offer a treat when I came in (break up 1 baby carrot into a bunch of pieces and give one piece whenever I walked into the room). Eventually she started running up to greet me expecting her treat and as she let me pet her, I started swapping treat for pets.

Now she is comfortable enough with humans, but she’s still skittish – it’s just her nature. If I surprise her in any way she bolts like a predator is after her. Once she realizes it’s me, she’ll thump in displeasure of her slave being mean enough to scare her. lol Which is a big turn from when I first got her, she laid down belly flat on the ground and peed on herself out of fear when I got too close.

Obviously you can’t use treats til the bun is old enough if he’s under 12 weeks though*

He’s a cutie and good luck with him!  

[LoveChaCha]

Sounds like a typical young rabbit.

[aerosmithgrl]

i got my first at three years old so i have never had a young bunny before

[bunnyfriend]

Best thing to do would to is what Stickerbunny said, just sit in the room with him and ignore him. Don’t make sudden movements or loud noises. Try to make human interactions as positive as possible. Something could have happened at the petstore to freak him out about humans. Just go slow with him  I adopted Wilbur at 8-10 weeks, young rabbits are really spazzy. She wasn’t afraid but she would run around all crazy never staying in one place.

[aerosmithgrl]

we figured out that it isnt so much that he is afraid he just has SO much energy. we took him to a carpeted room and let him bink around up there. he did. then he passed out in his potty box when he wsa put back (already litter box trained! in one day!)

[bunnyfriend]

Hahaha sounds exactly like how Wilbur was! She’d run around all crazy and then flop on her back randomly. She still isn’t all that calm. She took to litter box training right away also.

[KytKattin]

Set up a good, solid routine. If he can expect his pellets every day at the same time every day, it will give him some level of control. He will eventually get demanding if he knows when they are supposed to be in his bowl and you are late! Plus, you just got him yesterday. It is a huge change for an animal that has probably only been exposed to petstore living. It is a loud environment with lights on 24/7. Kids come in yelling and screaming, people bring dogs in that they can hardly control, he is trapped in probably a smaller cage without good hiding spots, and the employees probably didn’t try to really socialize him either.

[Elrohwen]

Since you’ve only had him for a day, just let him be and come out of his shell. It’s not surprising he was like that at the pet store – that’s a very scary place and even the most laid back buns might have some bad experiences that make them nervous in that environment (my boy is laid back, but put him in a pet store and he’d be a thumping machine for a while). Let him come to you and figure out his new home and he’ll settle down. He may always have a more nervous personality, but I’m sure he’ll calm down significantly.

[aerosmithgrl]

he woke me up this morning with how much energy he has, i set him up in the kitchen and sepperated him from my Nova Bun, i didnt think he would find the stairs until i hear this soft thumping above me. i ran upstairs to find a binkying bunny doing zoomies on the carpet!. he didnt get into anything he just zoomed and binkied until he flopped and i carried him back to the kitchen and put a big box in front of the stairs. then he got over my baracade to the living room and ran around under the side tables. i will never catch up to this smart bun’s energy! he gets neautered later this week so i can watch him durring my christmas vacation.

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