New bunny is suddenly scared

[Bunboozle]

I got a new bun a few days ago, (he’s 9 weeks) and the first 2 days he didn’t seem too scared, and would come out of his little area and hop around my room, come up to me and smell me, binky around my room and do his little flops, and when id get up he would follow me around.

But then yesterday when he was roaming around I accidentally dropped my phone on my desk and it made a loud noise and he ran back into his area and hid for a few hours. Eventually he came back out and roamed around a bit and would come up to me but when I’d move a bit he’d dart back to his little pen area.

For the last hour or so I was awake last night he didn’t get scared and would follow me around again and binky around room and do zoomies, but then this morning when I got up out of bed he was in his litter box and me moving made him jump and dart to the back of his cage and hide 🙁 and then I accidentally scared him again when I came back to my room.. I sat by his cage for a little and he came over and stood up with his paws against the grids and was putting his little nose through the grids. I took down one of the grids to grab his water bowl easier and left it down so he could hop out if he wanted and when I came back into the room with his water I scared him again :(((( He ran and hid behind part of my bed.

He stayed there for a little bit and then finally started coming out and started running back to his pen and I looked up slightly from my phone when he was running and that made him turn around and run back to the bed. He stayed there for an hour or so. The last 10 minutes or so of him being there I was sitting near where he was and he still flopped to lay down when I was next to him but he was breathing really heavily and seemed scared.

I feel so bad every time I scare him and I don’t know what to do not to scare him because I feel like I barely move now and he gets scared 🙁 He didn’t get scared of me coming in my room and would even hop over to me when he saw me 2 days ago and now he’s terrified when I come in. What should I do to make sure I stop scaring him 🙁

[Moonshadow]

Does he like alfalfa hay? When my bunny was 8 weeks to 6 months I fed him a mix of Timothy and alfalfa hay. Now that’s he’s 10 months I give him limitless Timothy hay although I give him a small handful of alfalfa once or twice a week as treat.

If your bunny likes alfalfa, I’d carry a few strands and give it to him.  That way he’ll associate you with a treat rather than being scared. He should get more used to you the more you have time to interact with him.

[DanaNM]

Aww, I’m sorry! But I don’t think you are doing anything wrong. Baby bunnies don’t have great instincts, and when they start to get some adult bunny brains they can seem a bit more fearful.

Bunnies also can be overwhelmed by having too much space at first, because they feel they don’t have a safe space to retreat to. You might try keeping him in his pen for more time for a few weeks (but you can still of course let him out to run around several hours a day). I’ve found this helps buns establish their safe zone and feel less fearful.

I’ve also noticed when things are too quiet, any noise can trigger a bun to spook. Sometimes adding some white noise or calm music playing seems to really help.

Most importantly I think time will help things. It can take a few weeks at least for buns to settle in, so I think he will get better with a bit more time!

. . . 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.  

[Alexmack2016]

LOL @ baby bunnies not having great instincts, I’m so happy mine survived that phase of bravery, it was terrible but yes @ the quietness!!! I always have a fan on as white noise, when it’s too quiet, my bunny jumps at every sound.

When something scares her, she’s usually jumpy for a while, so I talk to her before I get up or when I’m walking into the room so she doesn’t freak out from sudden movements. She goes back to normal after awhile. I hope yours is doing okay now.

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