Is my bun in pain or stressed out?

[Pinkbun]

Hi all
I’ve a adopted Netherlands dwarf bunny called Bonnie (she’ll be 4 in February). She suffers from many issues. I’ve got another post detailing all of them from August I think. I’ll outline the main ones here just Incase my post isn’t there. Bonnie has severe dental issues and requires her teeth seen by a vet every 4-6 weeks. She has a twisted spine/scoliosis which hinders her movement, we think it was due to being dropped by her previous owners. She also has a hind limp caused be a e.cuniculi infection. Due to her reduced mobility she cannot clean her behind and requires cleaning several times a day. She also frequently gets infections or some form of illness. Her brother Clyde has never been ill the whole time I’ve had them.
she never seems to be very active when she’s out for a run. As she also goes and hides. She won’t even come out of the hide to see me, she’s very anti-social. She used to pee all over the floor when she was freighted.she isn’t litter box trained as she has mobility problems. She also used to pee when she was picked up. Thankfully she doesn’t pee when I pick her up now. I tried giving her a shallow litter box but she dosent use it. She just go straight to the hide the minute she’s put out and stays there the entire time the rabbits are out. Clyde is much more active and friendly he runs about a normal bunny.
I’ve tried Bonnie on pain relief meds (meloxicam, I think) but it didn’t really help or make or more active. We thought it was pain from her teeth and previous injuries but it didn’t really make a difference, if any. This is what makes me maybe think has stress or high anxiety? As she’s very anti social. What I will add is that I do know that she trusts me and she loves treats. I’ve been trying to temp her out of the hide (which is a cardboard box) with her fav treats but she won’t come out. I’m staring to thing she’s afraid of the room or environment? As she’s like this when she’s out in the outside run too she just confines herself to the hide. I’ve even tried a different room but she does the same.ive tried using toys as well but she just shows no interest. Clyde however loves it. I’ve tried many things to temp her but she won’t come out. She may sometimes follow Clyde and then quickly retreat back to the hide which is so wierd.
Should I ask the vet for some anxiety/ stress relief is there is any ? Or anyone have any experience/opinion ? I always feel bad seeing her hiding in the corner. It reminds me of how I was at school always the odd one out…

Sry to be so long I just can’t figure this out! Bonnies always had behaviour problems and I’m trying to solve them (the vet never understands completely)
Thanks in advance

[Wick & Fable]

Considering her history, I am not surprised that she is not a very interactive and active rabbit. I think she needs time to get comfortable with the environment and really learn that it’s safe, and both mentally and physically, it is designed to nurture her. I skimmed through your old posts, so I believe you’ve had them both for close to 4 years now? It’s unfortunate that she has not learned a bit more security, but she probably realizes her own disabilities, and this may really emphasize the “prey” instinct in her to hide, since she is the most vulnerable target to large predators.

If she’s not showing other signs aside from hiding, which it sounds like she’s always done, I lean more towards her being stressed rather than pained. I assume that she has been thoroughly checked for pain from the scoliosis, cleared of EC-related issues, parasite-free, etc.. If you haven’t already, it may be good to get some bloodwork to make sure her organs are working properly, as well as an X-ray to ensure her skeletal structure is not harming her. I also recommend this because a frequent barrage of illnesses and infections is a sign of a taxed/weakened immune system, which can come from underlying infections and illnesses. If you’ve read any of my posts about Wick, he is only 2yo but has accumulated a long history of illnesses… of course we both love our nethies very much, regardless ! I recently got his bloodwork done and there was a slight increase in inflammation, which paired perfectly with a positive syphilis infection. He recently completed treatment, and it may just be me, but Wick seems so much more energetic and happy. He hasn’t had any ailments in the past month… which is sort of a record, so I’m hoping it’s a result of his system finally being at 100% since it was constantly fighting the syphilis infection since birth.

I wonder if you can increase her “hidey spots” more? So keep the solid walls, but perhaps do a combo of cardboard boxes and tunnels, scatter pellets within them, and get her to move around and explore in a space she feels more cozy. Going from a hidey-spot to open space is really jarring, so perhaps expanding the hidey-spaces will get her more acclimated to general exploration, making open exploration less intimidating.

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.

[Pinkbun]

Hi wick!
Netherlands are the best Bonnie has plenty of hiding areas around the room, I always leave a willow hide thing, a tunnel and anything else I can find (like the cardboard box). The difference though with the cardboard box is its dark inside… Does she like this? And she never seems to chew anything no matter what I give her. It’s a good idea to check her blood work I’ll ask about this when I next get her teeth done in first week of January (I know long to wait!). I also might get an X-ray of her body as it’s very strange how when the vets flip her over to check her if they put pressure on a certain area near her belly, her bladder empties immediately. It’s so wierd. I always called it her magic spot but The vets never suggested anything about it. It was always my parents didn’t want to get the rabbit investigated as it would be ‘too expensive’. You know what this will be my Christmas present I want Bonnie investigated!!!
I treat her regularly for parasites using a spot-on (Xeno 450) and I worm them over summer (as there out in the grass then)
She’s a very quiet bunny, she didn’t actually trust me till I had her for a 1.5 yrs. this was when she got e.cuniculi and she got severly I’ll from it and I gave her the treatment every day. She got a head limp and developed a spay leg during this. But what happened after this was that she learned to trust me I could fininally pick her up without her wetting herself.. Before this time she would run away from me and hide (even in her cage) she just wanted nothing to do with me- no interest in bonding. Her brother Clyde is the opposite he bonded to me very quick (he’s a Denis the the menace!) and strangely he’s never been ill the entire time I’ve had them.

I’d just like to see little Bonnie happy. For Christmas I’m getting her investigated.
Xox

[Author]

Messages