Help! my rabbit won’t stop thumping.

[Willow123]

I decided to head on over here because I remembered this website from when I first got my bun. My rabbit willow is a 3 year old dwarf lop rabbit and shes been acting strange today. She’s been stomping her foot very frequently for almost an hour and i’m not sure whats wrong. She’s stomped before but never this much. I researched and it said the behavior is used to communicate danger with other rabbits in the wild, and online it recommended to calm her down by petting, comforting, and offering treats ect. I tryed all that and even playing bunny music for her softly on youtube. I’m not sure what spooked her. It could have been my dog who came into the room while she was eating her breakfeast but my dog comes in about every day and she’s never been with bothered. I tryed getting her out of her cage and she retreated to her  spot under my dresser, where she has been stomping since. She is spayed, idk if thats helpful. Idk what to do to make her stop, could she be in pain? please help.

[Willow123]

update: I got her back out from under the dresser and put her back in her cage as gently as possible, but the thumping is still going.

[Bam]

Is she taking a treat from you?

If not, she could have gas pain. Do you have simethicone baby gas drops at home?

 

[Willow123]

yes, she ate the treat, she is eating, drinking, and using the litter box like normal.

Sadly, no I do not have any of those at home.

[DanaNM]

I wonder if she can hear something that you can’t? Certain high-frequency sounds can be very upsetting to rabbits that we can’t hear. Any new electronics or changes around your household or neighbors?

. . . 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.  

[Willow123]

Yes actually, the computer in the hallway was running and I later noticed there was some construction across the street making thumping noises, she could have been responding to that.

[Bam]

I’m so glad she took a treat! How is she doing now?

Rabbits hear frequencies that the human ear is capable of picking up. They also have a very much more sophisticated sense of smell than we have. So if a sound or a scent scares a rabbit, it can very well be something we humans can’t hear or smell.

My bunny Bam once had a fit of thumping fright when there was a TV-show about lynxes. The tv was just on, nobody was watching (except Bam). When he started thumping we of course ran to see what was going on. He was very, very upset. It took quite a while to calm him, luckily treats worked well with him.

 

[LittlePuffyTail]

I’ve never had a bun thump for that long, but I know it can be stressful when they are stomping repeatedly and you can’t figure it out. I think my bunnies see ghosts or something. Sometimes they just thump for weird reasons. Tommy will stomp anytime someone coughs or have hiccups. He goes stomping crazy when I have hiccups. I have to go on a different floor and be as quiet as I can.

[Willow123]

Yeah it was super stressful especially not knowing what the issue was. That’s super funny that your bunny responds to your hiccups! He sounds like quite the sassy little rabbit!

[Willow123]

update: she stopped and she’s doing much better.

I believe it might have been caused by some construction across the street or the computer in the hall way like some people mentioned, the sounds from that might have been bothering her. Thank you to everyone who helped out, I appreciate it!

[Willow123]

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