Bunny keeping me up at night

[Amwalker]

Hello Everyone!

My male bun is 6 months old and in full-on spray phase. He was free roam until the spraying got to be too destructive so now he is kept in a pen. We were hoping we could get him neutered soon so he could free roam again, but his testes have yet to descend, so now he’s had to be in an enclosure for weeks. He’s been pretty great about suddenly being more confined. I hangout in his pen with him ~2 hours a day and work from home. Lately he has been making so much raucous at night I can’t sleep. I know he probably needs more exercise but I’m in a studio cabin in Alaska. So, he can’t go outside and we don’t want pee anywhere. We’ve been switching out his toys (he has sooooo many) but he seems to just be in a bit of a manic phase. Any advice on how to give him more daily exercise or stimulation during the day would be much appreciated. Thoughts and prayers for testes to drop! 😂

[Wick & Fable]

If you can provide a picture of the set-up, that can be helpful! Rabbits engaging in their environment can indeed be loud, so there are small tweaks you can do to hopefully cut down on rattling and maybe redirect the energy to engagement items that are less overall noisy.

Re: spraying, if you invest in some bed sheets, you can clip them along the pen and they can easily be washed as they get sprayed (or just keep them there so he doesn’t feel as tempted to re-spray since the smell is there):

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Amwalker]

I hope I am replying correctly, this forum interface is really clunky on my phone.

Thanks so much for the sheets idea. I went ahead and lined the inside of his cage with sheets at night and he’s been sleeping like a champ and not shaking the enclosure. I’ve also started letting him out for supervised bink times where I cover our rugs and couch with blankets. There’s a lot of setup and cleanup but at least he’s getting more exercise and better sleep.

As for the answer to his testes, I took him to the vet last month and she said they had not dropped. This month he should be turning 6 months but we aren’t 100% sure when he was born, mostly likely last August. We do know that he was a runt and was half the size of his litter mates when we got him. So far I haven’t spotted them while he’s rolled over laying on his back. I plan to take him to the vet again in March if they aren’t visible by the end of this month.

[Wick & Fable]

Glad the sheet works! And yes, rabbit-appropriate floor is imperative for a rabbit to actually be able to exercise comfortably. Rabbits do not have pads on their feet like dogs and cats, so they are just wearing fuzzy socks 24/7. Inappropriate flooring can not only lead to joint issues down the line, but generally hampers a rabbit’s ability to exercise freely.

Re: your specific situation, coincidentally, my Wick was the runt of his litter and his testes did not descend until he was approx. 8mo, which is pretty late. It’s a pretty reliable estimate since he was going to the vet weekly for other medical treatments, so I noticed essentially the day the testes dropped, haha.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Bam]

Is it you or the vet who have determined that his testes haven’t yet dropped? I’m asking because a rabbit can “pull in” his testes so you don’t see them. A vet can find them though. At 6 months, a male should have dropped his testes unless perhaps if he’s a very large breed (large breeds mature later).

[Amwalker]

I accidentally answered your question with my reply to another comment in more detail, but yes, a vet determined they had not dropped.

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