Nervous Bunnies

[Rin]

Hello guys!

So last Friday I adopted two rescues and brought them home and left them to settle and explore their new pen. They are both very quiet and nervous, easily spooked so I have been trying to keep things slow paced.

I’m a little stuck though. I’m hoping to progress them to free roam bunnies, starting with the room their pen is currently in. However if I leave the door open they don’t hop out (even if I just leave them to it and aren’t around), I took away one of the walls and again they didn’t leave….

 

I put it down to not liking the floor so I ordered a load of mats, but last night I had to move some of their hides and stuff just to swap out the training pads and they started walking in the uncovered floor so I guess maybe that isn’t an issue anyway? I’m just concerned because they both do a lot of lounging around not really doing a lot day and night and I don’t want them to feel bored…but I don’t want them to feel stressed either.

Has anyone any tips? Any tips for destressing too because I’m at a loss there too…they have lots of toys, hides, they came with some belongings do they had their own scent to help the move be less stressful. One of them trusts me enough to run up to me for treats but the other isn’t so sure.

[DanaNM]

They just need more time to settle in, so I wouldn’t worry about moving anything around for now, as that will make them feel more unsettled. If they are lounging and eating, that’s all good. They are probably very happy and relieved to have such a nice home with so many new toys and hides, and are just taking it all in and making sure it’s safe (no predators 🙂 ). Leave them alone for the most part in their main pen, and just feed them and clean their box, etc for now. If you feel comfortable, in a week or so, if they seem like they are exploring their pen more, then you can open the gate during a time when it’s quiet and see if they will come out. They might not come out if you are sitting right there waiting for them, so if you can, open it up and then leave them alone. Then once they start getting more brave, you can open the gate while you are around.

Definitely keep up the hand feeding, and you can spend time in the same room as them, but try to “ignore” them so they don’t feel like they are being watched.

My recent foster-fail, Bonnie, showed zero interest in coming out of her pen for a few weeks, so I just let her be. Then she started acting curious, but wouldn’t come out while we were awake, so I left her pen open overnight. Around 4 am I heard her zooming around. 🙂 Then after a few days of that, she would come out right when I opened the gate (rather than wait for me to go to sleep), and then started relaxing in the room with us. A few weeks later she started accepting pets, and now is just the most perfect house rabbit.

. . . 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.  

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