My rabbit was a show rabbit before. He’s not used to being pet, picked up, or being outside his cage to run around.

[CinnaBun618]

Hi! I’ve been having this problem for a while now with my rabbit. He’s 4 or 5 years old and I’m pretty sure he was 4 when I got him. He was a show rabbit before and he was in a pretty small cage in a garage when I went to get him. I originally had him up in my room but it gets really hot up there in the summer and I have carpeting. Once I have hardwood flooring Ill take him back up. Anyway, since I brought him downstairs, he hasn’t been getting out of his cage and he’s always extremely jumpy. He’s been down here since May of last year so I thought he’d be used to it by now. But he’s not and I’m worried about him. I cant pick him up so he can get out of his cage and he wont come out on his own. Even when I do manage to pick him up and put him on the floor, he’ll go and hide in a corner until he gets to go back in his cage. When he was upstairs I couldn’t get him to go back in his cage! Now he wont even come out! He’s extremely jumpy all of the time and most of the time, when I pet him he jumps and hides in the corner of his cage. He also seems like he’s not drinking enough water. He has a bowl but he sheds so much that his water gets fur all through it and sometimes even hay. There’s almost always some fur in his water bowl and I think that’s why he won’t drink it. Just a little bit ago I put a water bottle in with him but he hasn’t even checked it out. When I got a bit of the water on my finger to show him, he jumped at my hand to scratch me. Luckily I just had the vet trim his nails down so it didn’t really hurt. I just feel like my rabbit is going to have to sit in his cage the rest of his life and I feel horrible. He was my first rabbit so I didn’t really know that it’s best to get a younger rabbit. Also, would it be okay to bond him with younger rabbits? I have two that are around 9 months old now and I have a younger one that is about 10 weeks. Those three are already bonded but Im a bit nervous to bond a younger rabbit and an older rabbit. That’s about it though. Thanks!

[DorothyTheMiniSatinBun]

I’m kinda new with bunnies and bunny care, but here are my two cents..
First, how big is the cage? Maybe the cage contributes to why he feels territorial. Have you considered an exercise pen or a bigger enclosure for him? Maybe he will get used to running around then, and you can slowly give him more freedom and more space to play in. You have to give a rabbit time to trust you. Maybe once you get the larger enclosure, sit in his room for a while (read or do something that takes some time), but don’t encroach his space in the enclosure. Just wait for him to become curious and eventually come out to you. Or you can lure him out with a treat or fresh greens to speed up the process. I would resist the urge to physically carry him out or handle him because this will probably just make him even more nervous around you.

As far as the water goes, my Dorothy is very comfortable here and drinks water regularly, but she’s just naturally a messy bun and will sometimes step in her water bowl or her loose fur will end up in there. There’s hay in there often. The water bowl is often dirty and we change it out often, but she drinks it dirty or not. So I’m sure the fact that there is fur in there won’t deter most bunnies from drinking. He may be stressed. And from what I have heard, it is best to not bond older rabbits with younger rabbits in the event that one outlives the other it complicates things.

[sarahthegemini]

I disagree, I think it’s perfectly fine to bond an older bun with a younger one, the only issue is if the younger one is yet to be spayed/neutered. Once that’s done and the hormones have settled, I see no reason to not try and bond

Is it necessary to pick up your bun to get him out of his cage? Or can he theoretically get out himself? Maybe he needs a little help – my bunnies desperately wanted to come out of their cage when we first got them but it took a few days to realise that they needed a little ramp to help them.

[sarahthegemini]

For water, you could try putting a teensy drop of apple or cranberry juice in his bowl. And make sure you change it often, there’s no use trying to encourage him to drink water with a load of fur/hair in it.

[Vienna Blue in France]

I get my buns out of and into the cage by not touching them! By sprinkling pellets (from their daily allowance)

By doing so you can add a word like “bed” or “home” and he’ll start to associate those words with yummy things and go in or come out of his own accord.
If he doesn’t like being picked up then for the minute try and avoid it as it will be a bad experience each time. He’ll have to trust you first…

Mine stand in their water bowl all the time when drinking. If I didn’t know better I’d swear they have no feeling in their paws…. LOL

Don’t forget bunnies CANNOT see directly in front of their eyes, so if your hand approaches him (with water on finger or a treat), he will naturally jump or nip if he doesn’t recognise the smell. So come in slowly from the side of his face….. you’ll see a difference immediately.

[dogmom]

What does the “landscape” look like? Are there places to hide, cubbies, etc in the new place? I moved my bunny’s cage down to our family room which is bigger than the bedroom & upstairs hallway we used to let her out in, but she didn’t like it much. Then I realized that she could run under the bed in my room, hide in the under bed drawers, run through a “tunnel” that was made with the bedspread and end of bed cedar chest. She just didn’t have the cover she needed to feel comfortable. I added some boxes and lean to’s in the family room and she got much more comfortable and would come out more. No she doesn’t need them and hops up on the couch, runs around like a fiend and general has fun. I also second an ex-pen idea.

[CinnaBun618]

Alright so I brought him back into my room so hopefully he’ll feel better. There are places for him to hide as well. Theres a tube I set out and he can go under my bed, my sisters bed, and my desk. I put a ramp on his cage as well so he can get out easier. He started to come out but he went back in his cage. Its open right now and Im just going to leave it open for him since my room is bunny proofed. Oh and he is drinking from his bottle! I just hope he’s drinking enough. I guess all I can do is wait!

[Author]

Messages