Flight response constantly on overdrive

[kanin]

I’ve talked a bit about this over in the thread dedicated to him, but I’m so stumped over this. Fresno is CONSTANTLY freaking out over the tiniest of things, and sometimes even nothing at all. Literally nothing. The entire house can be quiet with nothing going on and he’ll frantically start running around and banging himself into things as if he’s just seen a ghost (or a cat). I thought it would improve once he was out of the bathroom, especially since he’s now with another bunny and he can see how calm she is, but it hasn’t. It’s funny though because during his sleepy time he’ll pass out and go into the deepest sleep, so obviously he’s not uncomfortable here. There’s just seemingly no rhyme or reason to his behavior… could he have PTSD from his last living situation or something? You would think after months of being in a safe place he would learn that he can relax and doesn’t have to worry. I guess this is more me venting than anything because I’m at such a loss and I’m worried he’s going to hurt himself one of these days, but I’m also curious as to whether anyone has experienced anything like this with a bunny before.

Including a pic of a peaceful Fresno for the aww’s.

[DanaNM]

Hmmmm… How often does this happen?

Rabbits are very smell oriented… I wonder if he’s smelling something? Or hearing something in the distance?

. . . 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.  

[kanin]

I’d say at least once a day, and I genuinely don’t believe there’s any smell or noise that sets him off in most cases. I can be here scrolling on my phone and he’ll suddenly do it without any changes to the surrounding environment, though sometimes I’ll make a sound or movement that triggers him but at least in that case I know what caused it. Still though… me shifting position shouldn’t give him a heart attack. It’s very bizarre.

[Wick & Fable]

Is it potentially just zoomies? My Fable, who came from a not-so-great original environment was so fearful when we brought her home. I actually discussed with the other BB moderators about potential respiratory assessments because her breathing rate was always so high and she always seemed super super wired and nervous. It’s been a little over a year now that we’ve had her, and I’d say it took about a year for her fear to go away.

All that being said, I mention zoomies because Fable zoomies a ton, and those zoomies are very much crashing into stuff all the time. A part of me thinks because she was deprived of space, sometimes she doesn’t know how to control her body when she has it. It happens every day in the morning. Also, Fable does routinely thump each day for a period of time to something I cannot perceive. She still thumps at it, but it isn’t accompanied by as strong of a “fear” response; now it’s just an annoyance for her it seems.

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.

[kanin]

Definitely not zoomies, because once he’s done freaking out he stands still with fearful eyes and his ears and tail perked up like he’s on the lookout and if I’m not careful, like if I move suddenly, it’ll sometimes set him off again. He can be in his litter box eating hay one second and the next he’s sprinting out of it and crashing into the water bowls and into the cage walls. Based on what you said about Fable it sounds like it really could be a result of their previous environments. Was she living outside by any chance? Maybe they used to see or hear a lot of predators and the fear stays ingrained in them for a while, which is really sad. It’s good to hear that she eventually relaxed though. I really hope Fresno can too.

The thumping thing is kind of funny to me – just the other night my bunnies were thumping at something for like an hour while I was trying to sleep and I was trying so hard to find out why lol but I have no idea so I just had to lay there while they thumped and thumped. I’m starting to think they’re afraid of the dark.

[Wick & Fable]

Fable consistently thumps between 2-4AM for at least one elongated episode! Prior to coming to me, I believe her foster might have kept dogs and cats too and only had 1hr of free roam. Before that, I think I was told she came from hoarder. She has a small scratch on her nose where fur doesn’t grow in, so some sort of face injury happened and she is definitely fearful and anxious in general.

Re: what you mention about litter boxes, Fable does that occasionally. It gets poop and hay everywhere because she bolts out and everything knocks out. I hope that with time, he will settle more into your environment like Fable did in mine.

It might just be me thinking it helps her, but I do “safety boops” with her, in that when she gets into her freaked out state (which is getting to a spot underneath a chair or corner and hunching herself into the tightest ball), I say “safety boop” in the same tone and touch her nose with my finger. I do it once whatever I realize spooked her isn’t going to bother her again, like the smoke detector shut off or the sizzling from the frying pan is done (she is terrified of cooking sounds). Overtime, I think she realized the signal means she’s safe. I also wave at her a lot when I’m relaxing and I feel the environment is pretty threat-free for her. I think she also picked up that signal, because when she gets spooked in her cage, I’ll wave at her and she’ll go back to relaxing.

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.

[DanaNM]

“Safety boops”?!! How adorable and amazing. What a great idea. 🙂 <3

He did come from such a horrible situation, but I do hope he continues to calm with time. Maybe some chamomile or lavender would help?

. . . 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.  

[kanin]

Shooot that would drive me nuts haha! Is there any kind of light in the room at night? I’ve started keeping one on for mine and they definitely thump less. And yeah, poop and litter fly out when Fresno does it too. A nice clean floor after vacuuming never lasts long around here.

The safety boops really do sound so cute, Fable is precious and I haven’t said yet that I love her name. I can’t walk up to Fresno when he’s having an episode because he’ll just keep running, but I’ll definitely be trying that waving method and see if it helps at all. Thanks for the ideas! 🙂

Omg I never thought of giving him calming herbs, I’ll order some right now! Do you know what a good amount is to give?

[LBJ10]

You wouldn’t think rabbits would need a night light, but mine always liked having the light on. 🙄

[kanin]

Update: I’ve been giving Fresno lavender and chamomile in his pellets for almost 2 weeks and unfortunately they haven’t helped to relax him. I guess all I can do is hope that he’ll settle down more with time. And LOL LBJ, good to know it’s not just mine that seem scared of the dark! 😂

[pinkiemarie]

Mine have a nightlight too! Have you tried the verbal/physical reassurance thing yet with the safety boops? All of my rabbits know their names so you could actually teach him his name and use it as reassurance. I taught mine by repeating their name while I petted them, always in the same kind of high pitched tone of voice. I did it individually so each bunny only knows their own name ie Clover ignores me if I say Wally’s name but his ears perk way up. I do think that teaching him a word or action that makes him feel safe might be a really good idea!

[kanin]

I have actually! There are times where he gets nervous and I’ll say “Fresno maaaaan” in a higher pitched voice too and it calms him back down. But when he has his like… absolute freak-out fits, they’re so sudden that I have no time to calm him before it happens, and I can’t calm him once he’s in the mindset either. It’s quite the anomaly lol.

[Wick & Fable]

Sometimes in those more frightened state, I found the nose-boop effective because it can sometimes snap the rabbit out of their frightened state. It doesn’t work every time, but you can try it. If there’s a favorite toy or something he likes, it might be helpful to bring that to him during those times too to help snap him out of it.

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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