Is my bunny suffering from a traumatic experience?!?

[Jess1210]

So I got my bunny lulu whe she was about 8 weeks old and her mom bit her arm at a very young age due to over cleaning.. the day i brought her home she has always been terrified of everyone which I understand because of a new surroundings. The first week i brought her home ive tried to let her get used of the space around her and then i began to just sit around her to get her be comfortable around me and create a bond….we are on month 10 together and she is still terrified of me. She wont let me go near her or pet her for more than 3 second… I dont know what to do because I just want her to feel safe and just love her

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

I’m sorry for both you and Lulu that you’re going through this. I hope that people here will have some advice for you. My experience with rabbits is still limited, but I know that rabbits are very skittish and easily frightened. Are there things in your house that might stress Lulu? Things like children, other pets, loud noises or vibrations? Rabbits are highly sensitive to sound and vibrations are a way of communicating danger between rabbits.

[tobyluv]

Sitting near her while you read or focus on other things is a good idea, but I see that you have tried that. Usually, rabbits get curious and try to see what their humans are up to, if they feel like they are being ignored, but it doesn’t sound like your rabbit is like that at all. Does she have a favorite fruit or veggie? Have you tried giving her a favorite treat as you pet her? Just one pat or stroke to her body, and see if there are places that she may dislike being touched more than other places, and certainly avoid touching her there. Some rabbits can be very much untouchables, and it may take several months or more for them to feel comfortable around people and to want to be touched.

I assume that she is healthy otherwise and eats and poops well and is active? She does get plenty of out of cage time for play and exercise?

Here are some articles about rabbit personality. Maybe one will be helpful. I hope that she will lose her fears and feel more at ease with your presence and touch before long.

http://rabbit.org/category/behavior/rabbit-personality/

[sarahthegemini]

Hmm, that’s strange that she’s still so scared of you after 10 months. Are you loud at all? My little Peanut isn’t comfortable around my bf because he is a noisy oaf but he’s happy around me and I’m pretty quiet. I see you’ve tried just sitting near her but have you tried placing treats close to you so she has to get a little nearer to have them? What happens if you have food in your hand? Would she take it from you? If so, you could try feeding her pellets out of your hand – I do that with my two every morning. It’s one of my favourite parts of the day If you do this, try not to pet her at first until she is really comfortable eating from your hand. Then you could try petting her a little and stopping before she finishes the food.

Speaking of petting, are you petting her/trying to pet her in specific areas? For example, tummy or face? My buns aren’t a huge fan of having their tummies touched although they’ll tolerate it if I’m petting their back and side and my hand grazes their belly. How are you approaching her to pet her? My Buttercup will let me do anything but Peanut doesn’t like having hands in front of his face, and he doesn’t like having two hands on his body at once, I think it makes him feel trapped.

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