How long can you hold a bunny?

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This topic has 16sd replies, 9 voices, and was last updated 16 years, 1 month ago by bunnytowne.

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- 03/12/2009 at 6:32 PM
  MiniLop
  Participant
  13 posts
  Hi, I was wondering how long you can hold a bunny before it needs to be returned to its cage for a food & water break?
- 03/12/2009 at 7:27 PM
  BunnyMuffin
  Participant
  350 posts
  Most bunnies don’t really LIKE to be held – but some tolerate it better than other. One of my bunnies will let you hold her for quite a while, but the other only tolerates short stints before he gets antsy and starts trying to climb up on your shoulder to make an escape. So I don’t think that the need for food and water controls how long the bunny gets held as much as the bunny itself!
  
  Is there a specific reason you would need to hold a bunny for an extended period?
- 03/12/2009 at 7:34 PM
  kralspace
  Participant
  2663 posts
  Mine will only tolerate a few minutes, Lola a few seconds or until she can find some bare skin to nip.
- 03/12/2009 at 7:37 PM
  MiniLop
  Participant
  13 posts
  Posted By BunnyMuffin on 03/12/2009 7:27 PM
  Most bunnies don’t really LIKE to be held – but some tolerate it better than other. One of my bunnies will let you hold her for quite a while, but the other only tolerates short stints before he gets antsy and starts trying to climb up on your shoulder to make an escape. So I don’t think that the need for food and water controls how long the bunny gets held as much as the bunny itself!
  
  Is there a specific reason you would need to hold a bunny for an extended period?
  
  Yes, he is 6 weeks old and pretty cuddly and I want to keep him that way. Does anyone know how long he can be held before needing to return for food and water? I held him for about an hour earlier and he didn’t get antsy or nippy.
- 03/12/2009 at 7:52 PM
  BunnyMuffin
  Participant
  350 posts
  Wow! An hour is a looong time! I mean, mine definitely sleep for longer than that, that’s just a lot of bunny love. But I really have no idea how long they can go without nourishment. Another thing to consider though is that once the hormones kick in, he might not be up for the cuddling anymore, no matter how much cuddling you do now. Maybe just enjoy it while it lasts – just in case! 🙂
- 03/13/2009 at 7:32 AM
  Beka27
  Participant
  16016 posts
  Oh wow! Definitely enjoy it while it lasts. Holding him early in life is no guarantee he’ll like it after puberty kicks in around 3-4 months.
  
  Follow his cues, if he seems antsy, let him down. Be aware tho that if he pees on you and you put him down right away, he may associate peeing on you, with getting put down. Without meaning to, you can actually TRAIN him to pee on you, which is not what you want.
  
  An hour is probably the longest I’d hold him at a time.
- 03/13/2009 at 10:00 AM
  MiniLop
  Participant
  13 posts
  He hasn’t peed on me yet, but he has peed on my bed, right after I put fresh sheets on it. He is constantly pooing though. My girl has never once pood on me or anywhere outside her cage, but this boy does it non-stop.
- 03/13/2009 at 5:55 PM
  Deleted User
  Participant
  22064 posts
  try sitting on the floor and holding him. That way if he needs a break, he is free to go!
  
  Do you have pics of this cutie?
- 03/13/2009 at 6:34 PM
  MiniLop
  Participant
  13 posts
  Yes but I don’t know how to post them here, it doesn’t seem to work like other forums.
- 03/13/2009 at 6:40 PM
  MiniLop
  Participant
  13 posts
  Yeah I just tried it again and its not working
- 03/15/2009 at 9:36 AM
  MiniLop
  Participant
  13 posts
  Posted By Beka27 on 03/13/2009 7:32 AM
  Oh wow! Definitely enjoy it while it lasts. Holding him early in life is no guarantee he’ll like it after puberty kicks in around 3-4 months.
  
  Neutering him will help with that won’t it?
- 03/15/2009 at 10:51 AM
  Beka27
  Participant
  16016 posts
  Neutering will help with littertraining and behaviorally issues, but most bunnies, even after neutering don’t like to be held. They much prefer to be on the ground and interacted with that way.
- 03/17/2009 at 4:47 AM
  Bunnykins2016
  Participant
  26 posts
  My bunny can be held and stroked for about an hour. I need to pick her up in a towel though so she can’t jump out of my arms and hurt herself. I started holding her since I got her when she was a baby. And did it every nights for months so she got used to it sometimes she is not in the mood and will try to escape after 10mins or so but normally i can have her in my lap for pats for at least 30 min to 1 hr… I just keep the towel wrapped around her with her head and front feet sticking out .
- 03/17/2009 at 8:46 AM
  Kokaneeandkahlua
  Participant
  12067 posts
  Welcome! Generally If my buns are out for longer then a half hour I make sure water and a couple veggies are out for them to snack on-that seems to work.
  
  Here’s a little thing that I did up that walks you through how to post pictures-it’s easy but your right-it is different then most forums.
  
  https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/forumid/5/postid/81694/view/topic/Default.aspx
- 03/17/2009 at 9:23 AM
  MiniLop
  Participant
  13 posts
  Posted By Kokaneeandkahlua on 03/17/2009 8:46 AM
  Welcome! Generally If my buns are out for longer then a half hour I make sure water and a couple veggies are out for them to snack on-that seems to work.
  
  Here’s a little thing that I did up that walks you through how to post pictures-it’s easy but your right-it is different then most forums.
  
  https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/forumid/5/postid/81694/view/topic/Default.aspx
  
  Hmmm… I read your guide but I’m not seeing any mountain with sunshine icon.
  
  It won’t work with the attatchment thing either.
- 03/24/2009 at 11:39 PM
  Vater Araignee
  Participant
  33 posts
  My original duo, Yin & Yang would tolerate me picking them up (If I couldn’t pick ’em up without a struggle then I wouldn’t have been able to perform with them) but I couldn’t hold them more that 5 or ten minutes at a time and they had a couple of water dishes and hay outside of their enclosures.
  My current partner in training has a pen with a small door for her so every thing she needs she can get to.
  She will spend hours on my lap if I let her and a few days ago I fell asleep with her on my lap and woke up about 7 hours later with her still there, no pee but a mountain of fertilizer. As soon as I took her to her pen I was cleaning up a flood. It is no wonder why I become a jabbering idiot when I pick her up.
- 03/25/2009 at 10:28 AM
  bunnytowne
  Participant
  7537 posts
  What seems to work best is handling them from birth. My friend does this and her buns are so calm about being picked up and held. Even after they are 6 months old.
  
  Ruby will sit with me for about an hour. Sometimes she gets restless b4 that. Usually cause she is hungry or needs to go to the bunny toilet box.
  
  I held Cotton since I had him at 8 weeks. He hates being held. I can pick him up I tell him I am going to pick you up repeating pick you up and he is calm about it. I do that b4 I pick him up for his brushing. Once picked up he gets a treat. When done brushing him he gets another treat.
  
  When I want to pet him I say pettings and he knows what is going to happen. So he will sit still for pets. If he wants them. Him being on top of his house. There are times he enjoys pettings on the porch when I sit with him after his brushings. Gives his loud tooth purrs.
  
  Since I started doing this he has stopped running from me. I can pet him for nearly an hour sometimes and he will doze off. He sits atop his house and I go to him to pet him. I sit on the floor. But picked up just to be petted forget it. He will keep bobbing his head to let me know he wants down. So I let him down.
  
  Just depends on the rabbit.
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