Moving bun to a new room – very unsettled

[Theodorusrex]

Hi guys,

This is my first post on this forum so please bear with me. My fiancé and I adopted a new bunny at 8 months old (black and white holland lop, neutered a few days after we got him) off a lady who wanted rid after her 5 year old lost interest. When we brought him home he settled in very well and we kept his cage and a small pen in the front room to help him settle so he wouldn’t spend much time alone. We let him out to have free reign of the front room at least 5-6 hours per day.

Yesterday after a bit of discussion we moved him to the kitchen – he would have more freedom and space in there. He has a large hutch with a shelf for him to hide under and sleep on which has a large pen (7ft by 3 ft) attached to it (the door to his hutch is always open and his pen door is open when either me or my fiancé is home which is at least 6-7 hours per day). He has loads of toys, a warm rug, much mattresses, cardboard boxes etc etc in his pen so there is plenty for him to do. 

Since yesterday though he’s barely come out of his hutch even though the door is always open and he has been very nervous around both me and my fiancé – this is unusual we’ve only had him 3 weeks but he’s always been very playful and affectionate. He’s just not been himself but has been eating/pooping normally etc.

We are new to bunny ownership so I just wondered if anyone had any suggestions of how to help him settle in/have any ideas why he is acting like this. He has been allowed back in his old room to roam etc so we’re out of ideas and really concerned about him! Sorry for this long post just wondering if anyone had any advice. 

Thanks in advance  

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I’d give him time-the fact that he’s eating and pooping, and that the move just happened- leads me to be quite sure that this is simply behavioural and not medical

Of course keep an eye in case, but I’d give him a week to adjust at least. Think about how long you need to adjust to a move, or to a new job or a new friend. It’s tough and looks like he is sensitive, but I’m sure given time he’ll adjust and love his new home.

[Theodorusrex]

Thank you for your reply.
That’s the thing though – you said about him being sensitive. When we brought him home 3 weeks ago he settled in quickly and within a few hours he was running around a binkying all over the place. But since we moved him to the kitchen he has been very subdued spending a lot of time huddled/loafed in a corner of his hutch even when he has free reign of the entire downstairs. It seems odd.
We will give him time though hopefully he will come round because we don’t really have the room for him to run etc in the front room where he originally was – it was really only a temporary thing.

[emmabunny]

Just a thought- Does his previous room have a rug or carpeting, and does the kitchen have a rug that is big enough to run around on? My bunny Emma will not binky on smooth surfaces (only on rug/carpet). She is wary of hardwood floors/tile because they are slippery for her. When there is a larger space of rug her binkies/zoomies increase in size and frequency.

[Theodorusrex]

The front room where he was previously is hardwood flooring – very slippery but he would binky happily on it (and skid all over the place – very cute and hilarious). The kitchen is slate tiling with relatively good grip and his entire pen has a big fluffy rug in it, plus there is another large rug on the other side of the kitchen. I find it strange because even last weekend we took him home to my parents for the first time and I was worried about how he would adjust but he loved it and was happy within a couple of hours. Whereas now we’ve moved him to another room adjacent to his old room and he still has access to his old room and he seems really unhappy and on edge. I don’t like seeing him like it.

Thanks for all you advice guys though. Hopefully he will come round.

[Azerane]

Did he have access to the kitchen before when he was out running around? Bandit never liked the kitchen, he had free access to it, but would rarely use it to get to the next room, he would circle around the other rooms and hall to get to the next room. Rabbits have much more sensitive noses and I know that often Bandit didn’t like the smell of food cooking, or the sounds of cooking. He would often run and hide in his box in his cage when were cooking. I felt bad, but it was just something that scared him and he never got used to it.

It’s possible he’ll be alright with a bit more time, but the smells and sounds of the kitchen in close proximity may just scare him. I would perhaps give it a week or two and if he’s still very unsettled perhaps it would be best to move him back. For now you could try draping a towel or blanket over part of his cage to offer extra security as it may not be the kitchen itself, it may be the situation of the cage in the room (too open or similar) as opposed to if it was backed into a corner before.

[Theodorusrex]

No Azerane, the kitchen is totally new to him. He is very scared when we’re cooking especially when we’re cooking meat, although I see from other posts on this forum that this seems to be relatively common. We have started putting him back in his hutch when we are cooking anything to make him feel a bit more secure and that seems to be helping. We often drape his blanked over half his cage when he starts huddling in the corner and he soon comes round and is itching to get out in his pen to play.
The difference in him this week is unbelievable I think he is just being slower to settle in the kitchen due to all the new smells/sounds and more people traffic etc.

Thanks everyone for your advice – much appreciated

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