Bunny sways slightly when sitting still

[Rio and Buns]

A lot of the times when Nora sits still she kind of sways from side to side. It’s pretty subtle but also obvious enough for me to notice the minute I brought her home. It almost looks like she’s spacing out, or is really focused on something while doing it. Do you reckon this is a kind of “scanning”? I’ve seen a couple of (terrible quality) videos of buns scanning and it’s usually their heads that move from left to right, but Nora’s head stays still and her whole body moves. Has anyone seen this in a bun before? She otherwise acts normal, good appetite, and is a very happy and bratty girl.

[Serenity]

You might want to check for an ear infection. Unbalance is a sign of infection sometimes but if she only does it sitting still it might not be. I know my bunnies bob their heads a lot or shift from side to side but no swaying. Does she seem nervous when she does it or is she calm? Do you know if she has any trouble seeing?

[LBJ10]

Leopold will rock slightly when he is alert and twitching his nose. It isn’t side to side, but front to back. He has done this ever since we brought him home 8 years ago. It’s just normal for him. We just joke and say he’s rocking.

[Rio and Buns]

She doesn’t seem unbalanced at all when she moves, but I have checked her ears and she’s been to the vet for a health checkup and they didn’t see any sign of infection. She’s usually calm but alert when she does it. “Rocking” is another good word to describe it, I wonder if her and Leopold do it for the same reason, but differently? I haven’t noticed her having any trouble seeing.. is there a way I could/should test her vision?

[Sirius&Luna]

Atlas does this sometimes as well. It used to freak me out but he has regular vet checks and is fine. I’m pretty sure Atlas is at least partially deaf, so i guess it could be hearing/balance related. Or I just thought maybe he was snoozing off in an upright position, and rocked a bit.

[Kiwi]

My Netherlands Dwarf does this all the time! Rabbits often sleep with their eyes open, so the “rocking” most likely has to do with the sleep. I think it’s pretty normal, my bun has been doing it for 6 years.

[LBJ10]

Leopold is definitely alert when he does the rocking thing because he will stare at me and adjust his line of sit if I move. He is deaf though and I have never seen Wooly do this. Wooly does sleep with his eyes open though. The little freak will be laying on his side too with his eyes wide open and his face twitching because he is in a deep sleep. o_O

[Rio and Buns]

Very interesting! I guess this is more common than I thought, but it sounds like all of our buns do it during different times/for different reasons. If anyone else reading this has a bun that rocks/sways feel free to share, I’d like to hear about it.

[Nutmeg]

OMG I was actually going to post about something similar with my buns today, but have been busy at work.

My 3 month old male, since we got him a month ago , will rock/sway back and forth (front to back) ONLY when he’s in a loaf position and every time he is nodding off to sleep. It’s like he breaths a bit heavier and causes his body to rock a bit forward and back in sycn with his breathing.

I was freaking me out a bit as my young female doesnt do it and my last bunny didn’t either. But it sounds like maybe its normal for him?

So last night, he basically get into a comfy loaf position, and will then kind of move his mouth around like he’s chewing (I freaked the first time thinking he was grinding his teeth – but they BOTH do this as they are getting comfy) and then you see his eyes start to go out of focus as he’s drifting off and then the mouth stops moving and then his deep breathing starts which moves his body back and forth with it.

The if I move to get a closer look he wakes up – gives me a “What”?? look and hopes over and starts munching on his hay lol.

[Rio and Buns]

That’s super cute Nutmeg. I love bun loaves and hearing about them being relaxed enough to go into a deep sleep. Desmond never seemed to do it much, he would always start to but would quickly sit back up like “what!? No, I wasn’t falling asleep.” Quincy doesn’t either, she’s way too suspicious of everything to let her guard down for long. My newest girl Nora, however, actually closes her eyes and I just caught her doing that twitchy thing that LBJ10 was talking about! It’s a nice feeling when your bun trusts their surroundings enough to sleep so soundly.

[Nutmeg]

Thanks Rio and Buns – After the loss of our last bunny I find I’m super paranoid about everything they do lol.
Moving mouth while getting comfy = “Omg, are they in pain? is it their teeth”
Rocking a bit in loaf position = “OMG is he sick? does he have trouble breathing? is it his BRAIN?!”
So I’m glad to hear that other peoples bunnies do it too lol

[BlueMuffins]

I was wondering about the same thing! I have a 2 month old lionhead that has done this ever since I’ve separated him from his mother, I was worried that it was something serious, but he doesn’t have an ear infection from what I can tell, and his vision doesn’t seem to be impaired in any way. He does it when he’s sitting anywhere, in my lap, in his cage, and I’m kinda worried. But some of his siblings did it too, so I think it’s just something he does.

[DanaNM]

Hi BlueMuffins! Welcome to the forum 🙂

We ask that members do not reply to old posts (this thread is a couple years old now) to avoid confusion. If you’d like some advice on your bunny, please start a new thread.

I’m going to close this thread now.

. . . 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.  

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