New Bunny Mom

[rachillchill]

Hello, I just adopted a bun for the first time. (He was rescued from an abandoned home with like 10 other bunnies) I love him and I want him to be happy! I’ve only had him for about 3 days, and from what I’ve read on other posts on here, I need to give him more time to adjust. He gets scared when I try to pick him up, and I want to make him feel comfortable but I’m also afraid to leave him cooped up in his cage for too long! Plus, I need to take him to see a vet at some point soon, and I’m worried that that will be a whole new trauma that will erase whatever trust he may have gained for me. And in the past three days, it seems like he has gotten more afraid of me than he was at first I’ve been very gentle and soothing, so I guess he’s just mad at me for trying to pick him up, which I only did because I wanted him to roam outside of his cage for a bit… I really want my bunny to be a happy little guy (or girl??? I don’t know honestly), and being new to this, I could use some advice.Thank you for reading!! <3

[Sundae&Rosie]

For the picking up part; unfortunately bunnies are naturally made that way. It comes from their instincts in the wild. Being picked up is a bad thing to them becuase they are prey animals.
So lots of bunnies prefer to stay on the ground and just hop in your lap when they want attention. Being picked up scares them. Now, that is not to say that you cannot pick your bunny up. Some bunnies tolerate it very well while others do not. And sometimes you can get them used to it. in some situations you have to like a vet trip for instance. So just give it some time and once you’ve bonded with him you can kind of see which way he’s gonna lean on that.
It does take them a while to adjust to big changes. Change stresses them out. Once you’ve gotten him in a set up that you’re happy with, I would give him some space for several days. It gives him time to adjust to his new space. You can pet him briefly when you bring his food in each day if he seems relaxed enough. If he shys away from your hand just let him be for now. It takes time to build trust. Do you have him in a cage with a door that’s close to the ground? If so, once you’ve given him that time to adjust, you could try putting the cage on the floor when you want him to get out and explore/exercise, and just open the door. That way he can hop out on his own whenever he feels comfortable. Start with small spaces maybe like the one room where you have his cage at. Or a pin around his if he’s not in a small room. Then let open the door for him around the same time every day for a little while. Sit down somewhere in the room or in the pin and just wait. I know, hard to do sometimes. But trust will be built much faster if you always let them come to you. Never chase them down to get them. You lose their trust this way. He will eventually work up the courage to want to explore and he will come to you to smell you and check you out. You can also try to give treats each time he approaches you. If he wont take it from your hand at first, then place it on the floor or somewhere close to you. You can work him up to eating from your hand. If he does already that’s great! Talk to him in a sweet voice that helps too. Bunnies are very social by nature and they love the attention once they learn they can trust you and they bond very strongly. How old is your bun? Do you know if he/she is fixed already?

[Sundae&Rosie]

It’s true most buns dont enjoy car rides or traveling but he’ll be okay. Make sure his carrier is not too large. Space is something you dont want him to have when riding in the car. Because you dont want him to get jostled around and injure himself. I use a cat carrier for mine. It’s just wide enough for a small one. I place the litter box inside with some hay in it. Cuz you gotta have hay lol..and I set it down in the floor and wait for them to go in on their own. After a while you might be able to coax him in with a treat or just simply place him inside yourself.

[sarahthegemini]

I agree that he needs more time to settle and it’s likely you picking him uo which has caused a set back. I encourage you to consider changing his set up so that he can come out of his enclosure on his own to roam rather than needing to be picked up.

[Bam]

It is very common for a new pet to lie very low the first few days within a new household. With adopted dogs, you call this the honeymoon period, actually. The pet simply isn’t sure enough of its new surrounding to show much of any emotion. So him seeming more afraid of you after 3 days is perfectly natural – he’s now started to settle in.

You have gotten good advice from others already. When my bun was new with me, I set him up so he could hop out when and if he felt like it. He didn’t budge from his cage for 3 days or so. He’s an adult rabbit with a good set of social skills. Other rabbits may need more time. It depends to a large extent on how their lives have been before they came to their new home. My bunny Bam needed a year to start exploring the apt, he was free roam but stayed under the coffee table. I think he’d been sitting in a cage before I found him. To an animal that’s been kept in a cage, the concept of freedom can be very strange and also scary. (Bam did come along very nicely after that first year though).

We’ll be looking forward to hearing more about how you two get on!

[rachillchill]

Thank you guys so much for the wisdom!! I will give him some space and try putting his cage on the ground so he can leave it at his own fancy. My only other question is, could he be sad that he was separated from his brothers/sisters that he was caged with before? I don’t want him to be depressed, but I don’t know if adopting another one of the bunnies would be good, as we aren’t sure which are male or female and I don’t really have a lot of space for a larger cage.

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By rachillchill on 2/12/2019 11:36 AM
Thank you guys so much for the wisdom!! I will give him some space and try putting his cage on the ground so he can leave it at his own fancy. My only other question is, could he be sad that he was separated from his brothers/sisters that he was caged with before? I don’t want him to be depressed, but I don’t know if adopting another one of the bunnies would be good, as we aren’t sure which are male or female and I don’t really have a lot of space for a larger cage.

I mean, he might be a little sad but most likely he’s afraid of everything being so new/different. He’ll be happier once he feels a little more comfortable.

If you were to get a 2nd bun, you’d need to keep them separate until they’ve both been spayed and neutered and then go through the bonding process. If you don’t have enough space for larger cage then I’m not sure you’d have the space to keep them both apart til they’re bonded.

[Sundae&Rosie]

Bunnies can do really well with others of their kind. But it is not a must in order to have a happy bun. I’ve owned several throughout my life and most were solitary. In fact some of them prefer being the only one who gets to hog all the attention. Lol it’s totally up to you. I dont know what your bunny’s life was like before being rescued. The other are right. That plays a role in what adjusting will be like for your bun.

If you were to get a second, and you got one of the others that the bunny was rescued with, its possible that they would already be bonded. Then you wouldnt have to worry about the long bonding process.
However you dont want two together that aren’t fixed. Just a heads up! Even if you ended up with two male or two female, the hormones can cause issues even in bonded pairs. So if you are thinking of doing that, just keep it in mind. If you plan on giving them time every day to have a bigger space so that they can exercise and run, then having a larger cage per say is not such a big concern. Good luck to you though! Hope it all works out. Feel free to ask if you have any other questions

[rachillchill]

Thank you guys so much I’m so glad I found this little bunny community!!

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