Go to sleep Lucy!

[BunnyLiz]

Ive been shoving my head under my pillows for the past two weeks.  Lucy is definitely affecting my sleeping.  I swear this rabbit is nocturnal!  She is all chilled and calm during the day, dozing and flopping 99% of the time.  But at night she goes wild.  I have no words to explain, other then wild lol.  This is no ordinary rabbit.   She is active in the late evening hours, but just a normal hyper young bun at her 3-4 month crazy time.  All is well while the lights are on, like i said, active but a normal sort of active for her age.  But when the lights go off its an entirely differnet story.  She is of course in her cage when I turn the lights out and call it a night.  She isnt doing this out of being bored, she is perfectly fine any other time in her cage.  But as soon as I turn off the nights she is wild and crazy, within less then 3 minutes im pulling my pillow down over my ears lol.  After about 30-40 (usually) minutes she calms down for a few minutes, long enough for me to fall asleep.  But I always wake up 3-5 times a night, without fail, because she is so dang loud!  Her cage has rugs, which is on top of carpet yet I still wake up from her zooming at lightning speed and crazy binkying. She throws toys, bowls, anything she can.  Digs the rugs, blankets, litter.  Chews the litterbox, NIC bars, anything that creates noise.  Zooms to the point that you literally cant see her lol.  All of which makes way to much noise to sleep. I know buns are active at night some, but this is completely different.  So I have a theory, maybe since she was from a pet store her sleeping times are all messed up.  When the store was open (lights on) she rested and was calm, because of all the customers/employees hands and kids holding her ect.  Maybe it scared her.  But when the store closed (lights off) she wasnt afraid because there were no hands grabbing at her, kids tapping on the glass ect.  So thats when she would run around and play and be comfortable.  That when she let all her energy out.  So she maybe carried that sleeping/playing routine with her when she came here.  What do you guys think?  Possible?  What about other people who have buns from pet stores, have you noticed this too?  Or is she just a special case.  But Ive thought alot about it and this is the only thing ive come up with to explain it.  Any ideas to help?  I dont want to go back to ear plugs again if I dont have to lol.

[jerseygirl]

They aren’t really known to be nocturnal but rather most active at dawn and dusk. At night, is the room lit a little or completely dark? Maybe try making it darker. Other things to try is wear her out a bit more during the day. You could play some soft music at night to perhaps (don’t know if that’d work, but worth a try if you need your sleep!

[MimzMum]

I actually keep a small nightlight on in my room to let the bunnies get their bearings and it tends to keep them quieter. (Sadly when daylight lengthens by June, it won’t make any difference.) >.<

I also keep my radio headphones on all night with a favorite station playing. Maybe a well stocked iPod would be helpful? At least until Lucy settles? (Which I’m sure she will eventually…how long has she been with you now?)

[bunnytowne]

My goodness.   I wonder if a heavy towel over her cage would work.  Or the night lite.   Can you move her to the bathroom or something so she can be noisy in there or the living room?

Yeah I guess try to keep her busy in the daytime too. 

[BunnyLiz]

My room is pretty dark at night. Its light enough that they can see in their cage, and I can walk around without bumping into things but its pretty dark. And no tv/music etc. I used to sleep with tons of light and the tv on, but I stopped that and adjusted because I thought it was better for the buns, and for me as well. I did notice that Hammer was quieter when I changed this, though he was never loud or active enough to keep me awake. I cant move her during the night, there isnt anywhere to put a pen or anywhere I trust her lol (she is very much a teenager). Having so many other animals really limits my options as to where they can go. Ill try and wear her out tonight, though I can only stand her being out for so long lol. 1) She is crazy annoying in the fact that “No” means “Good girl” and 2) I always feel guilty when she is out because Hammer is not, and he needs to be out as much as he can right now. So her playtime is usually in short sessions because she gets in trouble a lot. Ill just keep my ipod on my night stand too. Thats better then ear plugs again I guess, the ear buds will fall out once im asleep and it wont feel weird and sore in the morning like with ear plugs.

[princessangrypeppers]

I got Bamber from a pet store and he’s the same way. I love sleep so I try to sleep early most of the time, but since I got Bamber, I haven’t been able to. He starts getting active around 11:00, then gets really active closer to 1 am. I keep him in the hallway at night, and so I need to just close my bedroom door while he’s in the hallway before I go to sleep, but I feel so bad shutting him in the hallway when he just wants to play with me! D:

So now I sleep from 2:00 to 3:00 am every day. Thanks, Bamber :[

[jerseygirl]

I would try making just her cage darker. Putting something over it should help muffle the sounds too.

[MimzMum]

Now that the light comes into my room full on at about 8 AM, Mimzy has taken to throwing his litter box again to get me up. *groan* Does anyone know if you can find little bunny straightjackets anywhere?? 0_o

[Hedi]

I cant let any of our buns sleep with us. I tried a few times with Hoopie and he thinks he can do the bunny 500 all nite long!

[RabbitPam]

I’m leaning toward the “tire her out in the day” viewpoint. Can you leave a TV on all day with a bright light to keep her up? Even if it is a bit like the petshop, she still might not be able to nap deeply or for long. If it works, she may bounce around earlier in the evening (before you go to bed) then rest when all is quiet and dark.

And a little night light that she sees might help too. I got a blue bulb in one that is not too bright for me, but soothing.

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