Bunny acting different after stay with friend–won’t eat hay or drink water

[Beancat]

So this is my first post–I’ve consulted this forum through google a bunch and have always found it extremely helpful and I scoured the internet trying to find a topic close enough to the issue I’m having, but so far I haven’t found one.  Also, the forum search is down right now so I apologize if this question has already been asked before but I’m really worried something may be wrong.

My fiance and I raised my 8-month-old Dutch rabbit, Toast, from birth.  He was raised in the back studio room of my house where I work on art projects and schoolwork and he’s a very active and happy rabbit. I’m kinda meticulous about his diet though–he is very picky about fruit (he’ll only eat strawberries and the occasional banana) and I make sure he gets a lot of kale (his favorite) and hay.  Recently, we left for a month to complete a study abroad program.  We were gone all of January and we left our Toasty in the more-than-capable hands of my friend–she has two bunnies, a male and female.  Toast grew up with 5 other litter-mates and he gets along fine with other bunnies.  From her reports, he got along very well except for one instance where he fought the older male.  No one was hurt but when I came to pick him up, he seemed very different. He’s definitely gained some weight and gotten bigger, but he’s not as affectionate.  He used to lick my hand and come up to me through the cage when I’d come in the room to feed him and let him out, and he used to jump onto the chair next to me while I was working and sit right in my lap.  Could he be really upset at me? Or is it just him being a teenager?

I feel exceptionally guilty for leaving him with my friend for so long and I’m worried he doesn’t like me now because of it  

What really troubles me the most though is that he won’t eat hay or drink from his bottle anymore.  I gave my friend the exact list of things he’ll eat and she helped get him to eat more veggies he used to ignore, like zucchini and radishes, but he won’t touch his Timothy hay (which is strange because I’m pretty sure that’s what she was feeding all of them).  When he was little he’d drink water out of a crock, but then he got used to the bottle.  Now he won’t drink out of the bottle unless I hold it up to him in his cage and, if I give him water in a crock, he’ll barely drink any.  If someone could help me out, I’d really appreciate it–I’m just really scared that I may have really messed up by leaving him for that long with someone else 

[FlemishDad]

Is he eating anything? If he is still eating greens and pellets, then if he gained weight he was probably spoiled and doesn’t want hay because he is expecting tastier food. For that he will start up again when he gets hungry.

If he is not eating anything at all you should see a vet.

[Bunny House]

First off, you cant just put bunnies together and think they will play cute like dogs will. Bunnies can fight to the death and you can only put bunnies together if they have been properly bonded over months. He is probably mortified from the fight that happened and needs to be at home and relax for a couple of days, and he was in someone else’s territory so it was probably bad. Your friend should have kept him completely separate in a separate room from other bunnies because they don’t play like dogs. He needs to eat and drink and if he doesn’t it is an emergency and needs to be seen by a rabbit savvy vet ASAP as it is an emergency and is in statsis.

[Asriel and Bombur]

Is he still eating leafy greens? If he is, then odds are its a dental issue the vet needs to check for. Bunnies use different teeth for hay consumption than for eating greens or pellets. If he’s still eating greens, you’re going to want to soak them in water so he’s still getting an adequate amount of water. But still definitely get him to the vet.

I’d also stop with zucchini and radishes. Those veggies aren’t the best to feed, and in some buns can cause GI upset.They should be fed in moderation like once to twice a week and really no more than a few tablespoons at once. Bunny veggies are mainly leafy greens.

Also concerning the “growing up with littermates and being friendly with bunnies” that’s not entirely accurate. Growing up with littermates doesn’t mean he’ll get along with other bunnies, and bunnies in general don’t recognize family units. So even if they hadn’t been adopted out, they would’ve needed to be separated to avoid fights. If he’s not neutered, that’s why they fought. As BH said, you can’t just put bunnies together. They have a complex bonding process that’s very involved, and all buns need to be fixed. unfixed bunnies only want to fight and mate, and fixed bunnies can feed off of the hormones of fixed bunnies. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if being with other bunnies did indeed change him a bit now that he’s hormonal and unfixed. 

It’s probably a mixture of issues between you being gone (yes bunnies can be brats in that way), being kept together with a pair when he’s not fixed could’ve brought on hormonal behaviors he previously wasn’t exhibiting, and potentially a dental issue and GI upset.

[Kiki]

And I think he could be a bit miffed too. Although I think it is likely what the others before me have suggested, my bun definitely gets pissed at/ignores me if I am gone for what she deems too long.

[Beancat]

After a few days back at home, he seems to have returned to normal. I think he just had to readjust to being back at home.  As FlemishDad said, he got really spoiled with treats while he was gone.  I’m still going to take him to the vet and get him checked out and fixed next week, but he’s gone back to eating and drinking normally.

[Beancat]

He’s doing fine with just the leafy greens.  He started eating his hay and using his water bottle again, which kinda makes me think that he was just stressed from the whole ordeal.  I’m extremely relieved he’s eating and drinking again.  Behaviorally, he’s seemed to have calmed down and has gone back to binkying and jumping up to my chair.

He never liked radishes and zucchini before, so I was surprised when she told me she introduced them to him.  I’ve really only stuck to leaf lettuce, kale, broccoli and cilantro (sometimes carrots and strawberries for treats). I didn’t realize they could cause GI upset  Thank you for telling me though!

I understand bunny bonding (I grew up with a pair of Dutch rabbits) and I see what you’re saying about the recognization of family units.  Yeah, I definitely made a mistake in putting off getting him fixed until after we got back (we live in a small town and we have one vet in the region that operates an hour away.  I brought him in at 3 months and the vet told us to wait until he was older and then bring him back to get fixed; I didn’t think anything of it either because, at the time, he wasn’t exhibiting any aggressive behavior or spraying).  I honestly wasn’t expecting her to keep him in the same space as the other rabbits, but she told me it wouldn’t be a problem and she seemed like she knew best as she’s had way more rabbits for a longer period of time than I have. 

Thanks for your reply and advice, I really appreciate it!

[tobyluv]

It’s good that your bunny is doing better. Even after he is neutered, he should not be placed with other rabbits if you are away from home again and need someone to watch him. Rabbits should only be together after they have gone through the bonding process – a process that can take weeks or even months. They can’t just have casual or temporary times together with other rabbits. They must be bonded, only with the rabbit(s) that they will be living with for the rest of their lives. Your friend may have had rabbits for longer than you, but she is mistaken to say that it’s okay to put unbonded rabbits together, or to put rabbits together temporarily.

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