Never Had a Bunny Before…

[Lightchick]

Hello!

I’m new to this website, and new to rabbits!  I grew up with dogs and rats and birds and fish and horses, and figured I could figure out bunnies pretty easily–ha!  Joke’s on me! 

I got my bunny, Lizzy, from a rabbit rescue.  They said she’s about a year old, and that she was fixed 2-3 months ago.  This is my 3rd week with her, and she’s adorable, and obnoxious, and still a bit of a mystery to me. 

I’ve read all the websites I could find, and they’re VERY helpful (including this one!), but in some aspects, Lizzy doesn’t act like the bunnies everybody describes.  I’m absolutely not complaining, but Lizzy is almost TOO well-behaved in some regards.  I have every kind of toy imaginable–woven balls w/bells inside, pieces of wood, wooden balls with woven tufts, mats, wood blocks dangling from the ceiling, a tube–and she has no interest in any of them!  She doesn’t chew the furniture, she doesn’t tear up the newspaper on the bottom of her cage…  She eats her hay, so I know she’s healthy enough in that regard, but I worry she won’t wear her teeth down properly, or that she’s utterly bored….

She has a large hutch that has a ramp down to an x-pen on the floor, so she essentially has a 2-story condo, so she has the option of roaming around if she wants.  But she generally just hangs out.  Sleeps.  Eats her hay.  Grooms a bit.  Eats some lettuce.  She doesn’t do anything that looks like PLAYING unless I carry her out of her pen and let her run around the coffee table and bounce off the sofas.  The only time she tosses her toys is when I stick one right under her nose, which obviously offends her, and causes her to fling the offending toy away in disgust.  Otherwise, she ignores them entirely.

I initially had a territorial problem with her (pouncing, growling, and even biting) when I tried to interact with her in her pen, but I’ve made her space smaller, and that seems to have magically fixed that problem.  Again, don’t understand it, really, but not complaining…

So, is it okay that my bunny doesn’t like toys?  Are her teeth going to be okay if she doesn’t gnaw on anything but hay?

Also, she hates vegetables.  Green-leaf (or Romaine) lettuce only, for her.  She sneers at bell pepper, broccoli, brussel sprouts.  Picks around parsley or cilantro.  Today she finally ate some torn up basil hidden in her lettuce, and it was shocking!  She only got pellets at the shelter, so she’s not any more used to one particular veggie than any other…  She doesn’t like anything enough to consider it a “treat”–even raisins or apples she ignores!

Any thoughts would be appreciated!  Hope I haven’t rambled on for too long!  Thanks so much for such a great community! 

 

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[Sarita]

Welcome! Oh, she’s gorgeous. I’m so glad you adopted her from a rabbit rescue!

She should be fine with just the hay to help her “grind” her teeth down. It’s good that she eats hay all around. As far as veggies, just be persistent, since she didn’t get them at the rescue, she probably doesn’t have a taste for them yet. How much pellets are you giving her? Perhaps she is filling up on pellets and you should start measuring them out too.

I doubt she’s bored, many rabbits are just laid back. The majority of my rabbits don’t play with toys – they are older though.

[Lightchick]

Thanks for the welcome!  She thinks she’s quite lovely, too! 

She has endless hay, and I’m giving her about 1/4 cup of pellets a day.  (I think she’s around 4lbs of bunny…)  She goes for the lettuce before the pellets, and most of the time she doesn’t even finish the pellets…only if I have inflicted bell pepper upon her, then she ignores the pepper, finishes the pellets, and is quite annoyed with me! 

I’m self-employed, for the most part, which means my schedule is really random, and I intentionally got Lizzy during a period in which I don’t have work for several weeks…  I just would like to know that when I go back to work, and she has to stay in her pen, that she’s not bored to death (since she hates her toys–my own fault for buying the toys before the bunny!  I bought everything that looked cute to ME, not knowing what SHE would like!)… 

[LittlePuffyTail]

Beautiful Bunny! Congrats on your bun ownership.

It’s normal for some bunnies to not be very into toys. My lop Bindi is about a year old too and the only time he will touch a toy is if it’s in his way. I let him out for exercise and he mostly just sits and hangs out. They have such unique personalities (which surprises many new bun owners) and some are more laid back than others.

With regards to veggies, a fave of my rabbits is celery (mostly the leafy top part). They also really enjoy carrot tops which I grow for them in the summer.

[JK]

Hi and welcome! Edson is a lot like your bunny in that he never plays with toys.  I did the same as you…bought all these things before I got him and he could care less!  What he does love is his cottontail cottage and the Maze Haven but they are not really toys.  I feel better because he will dart back and forth to these things.  Another thing he likes is crumpled up packing paper! Likes to scoot underneath. I also worried about his teeth not wearing down because he does not gnaw on anything, doesn’t chew or dig. BUT he eats tons of hay. We could have it worse though!  We could have chewers and destructive rabbits so we are lucky. Try mint and dill and organic baby greens.  Edson loves those.  In fact he does love food! Not the same as yours. Good luck with your cute little bun!

Edited: Oh Edson is Mr. Mellow too. Never seen a binkie. He will not under any circumstances come out of his room, my office.  It’s like there is an invisible fence at the doorway so he just hangs out in his room when he could venture out into the great big world if he wanted to.

[MooBunnay]

Hello Lightchick!

I have a bunny that is very similar to yours. His name is Henri, and if we give him a toy he does nothing with it except toss it out of his cage! He is also quite cage territorial, all I think that means is that they consider their cage their “home” and they are trying to protect it. It isn’t anything bad against you, they are just protecting their own little corner of the world I have noticed that some shelter rabbits are very protective of their turf, and I think it is because they didn’t really have anything at their shelter except that little space, so they learn to protect it. Also, when your hand comes at a bunny, due to the way they see, they might not really understand it is YOUR hand, and not something else flying down at them, so their prey instincts kick in and they try to defend themselves.

Anyways, keep going with the veg – if she likes romaine, try collard greens, red leaf lettuce, and green leaf lettuce to see if she just prefers the slightly more mild veg.

[bunnytowne]

oh your bun bun looks very elegant on that bottom picture regal. you have a nice mellow laid back bun. I had a bun did not touch a toy. only saw a binky once. he was very mellow didn’t play on the floor when I let him out he would be petted on the couch when he had enuf he looked at the floor and froze. so I put him on the floor and off to his cage he went and wouldn’t venture out. talk about mellow. you are fortunate. and your buns teeth should be fine. a yearly check up at the rabbit savy vet will do. all buns are diff have diff personalities. not all like toys or chew Laith never chewed. I thougth that was strange but just accepted it as him. now my other bun chews he knows chew appropriate stuff like cardboard box and phone book. his willow tunnel. he hides in his box and chews the tunnel I ordered from bb here. maybe  your bun will come out in personality once he settles in too

[Beka27]

welcome here! sounds like your bunny acts… just like a bunny! LOL….

there’s no one way for rabbits to “be”. some love the toys, some don’t. some are explorers, some are not. she’s also still very new. she might come around and get to be more adventurous as time goes by.

or… (and here’s the BIG BONUS!!!) she might never misbehave since she was spayed already and maybe you just got a “good bunny”. i would continue to try different things with her. BB has willow toys on here which are great b/c they are completely edible too, so they serve as a chewing distraction, as well as something that can be pushed or thrown.

from what i’ve heard, bell peppers, brussel sprouts and broccoli are not usually favs with buns (and also not the most healthy). try more “lettucy” veggies like endive, escarole, red leaf and green leaf lettuce, and collard or dandelion greens. carrot tops are another good one… esp. if you love carrots so they won’t go to waste! mine love watercress too. leave some water on them when you serve them, that might entice her more too. don’t give up trying new things. i have printed out the list of veggeis in the diet section on thsi site and i take it with me to the store. once i try something new i mark it off, and if they like it, i make a notation. whatever you get… continue to give it every day for a week as long as it’s not causing any tummy problems. sometimes they need to see it more than once to give it a try.

good luck!

[Sage Cat]

Hi LightChick, What a lovely girl!

I also have 2 very well behaved buns – they never chew or dig. They have access to almost the entire house but rarely leave the dining / living room.

I got them about 5 months ago from a shelter. Every week that passes their personality comes out more & more. You have a lot to look forward to!

I was also worried about my buns not playing with toys – I am still trying to figure out what they do & don’t like. They ignore phone books, and love boxes. Kay likes her slinky while Winston just likes to zoom around the room.

As for treats, they will climb all over me to get to Papaya Tablets. Kay likes grapes, Winston likes raisins – but if you get those backwards – major stink eye!

Sounds like you are off to a great start!

[Lightchick]

Thank you all so much for all of your help! 

Maybe I’ll try a box of crumpled newspaper for Lizzy… It’s good to know she’s normal in not liking her toys, though!  She DOES think it’s great fun to run in circles around the coffee table…I suppose in comparison a wooden ball looks pretty dull to her!

And I will definitely try more leafy veggies as you all suggest.  In my head, I was thinking that the leafy stuff was probably all similar to each other nutrient-wise, and I was getting the other veggies to try to get a more complete range of vitamins, but if that’s not true, then she can have all the leaves she wants!

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Welcome!! She’s very cute!!

I find that most rabbit’s have to be offered something two/three/four times before they’ll eat it. So you may not have to give up on the other veggies! But try some ‘spring mix’ with all the different lettuces in there (I think it’s romaine, arugula, spinach) they usually love that stuff.

You’re lucky to have a well behaved bunny!! I know I’m looking forward to more pictures of her!!

[MarkBun]

I have found that there are some bunnies who think that they’re human. So they’re not interested in flinging toys.

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