New bunny VERY cuddly?

[bunnylove10]

I just got my bunny today, it is a mix of netherland dwarf/jersey wooly. He mainly looks like a wooly, and was born this past June. I spent all night holding him, with my arms wrapped around him and he would either snuggle up under my chin or lay like a baby in my arms. He literally cuddled with me for hours. I would walk around, and he wouldn’t EVER try to get away from me or move or anything. He just laid there. 

SO my main question: Is this normal? I was considering myself lucky to find such an affectionate rabbit, but it seems that a lot of threads I read are about people’s rabbits not liking to be picked up and cuddled. Mine loves it already it seems like! I would think if he didn’t, he would try to leave and move, but he doesn’t! When I tell people how cuddly he is, they just say, “hmm that’s odd.” Also, something I noticed when he was laying like a baby is his breathing was louder than normal with a soft noise to it. I don’t know really know how to explain it.. it is coming from his nose. It is NOT teeth grinding. Is this just because he is on his back or is something wrong? Stress?

Just want to make sure that my new bun is a healthy bun! I really feel lucky to have found such an affectionate one, but does anyone else have a very cuddly bunny? 

[Bam]

He could be perplexed by all the new impressions. He may not at all want to be held like that in a few days. He could be regressing into a state of babyhood. I think he’ll snap out of it. It’s a chock to change homes, and some individuals are more sensitive than others.

It’s probably good for him to be close to you if he wants to be. Another living being who is warm and kind and cuddly helps. But don’t put him on his back, it renders a rabbit helpless and he doesn’t need to feel any more helpless than he already does. That position could perhaps also interfere with his breathing if he’s held that way for a prolonged time.

Please let us know how he progresses. Make sure he eats and drinks and poops. His stomach musn’t get empty.

[bpash89]

I agree with bam, it’s likely due to the stress of being in a new environment. He might very well be a cuddly little bunny, but even if he is, probably not to that degree. How old is he? Most baby bunnies are tolerant of being handled but once they mature they kinda snap out of it and will start to resist.
But it’s best not to flip them over. That is very stressful for them.

[Kbana]

I agree with the others. My bun would let me hold him and cuddle him to no end for the first few days I had him. He didn’t even try to resist when I went to pick him up. I thought “How lucky!” He snapped out of it when he became more comfortable and now is like “no way bub!” Hopefully yours remains cuddly, but if your bun changes his mind don’t be surprised. As the other posters said, age can play a role as well.

[bunnylove10]

Oh no! I hope he doesn’t snap out of it I love it this way! Apparently the breeders held him a lot every day, including many kids. He was the one of the clutch that was known to just “sit and cuddle” with you while watching tv. So, I hope that isn’t just because he is a baby! 

I will definitely keep you guys updated on his progress…today I noticed he ate most of his pellets. It didn’t look like he really touched his hay.  That’s weird? I thought buns loved hay? I noticed some naw marks on his chew toys, and his toilet paper roll was tossed around. So, I think when I’m not looking he is slowly starting to check things out.  He definitely is going to the bathroom just fine! I am trying to get him litter box trained. I put his food above his litter box so he has to sit in it while he eats (I heard they like to go while they eat). 

At approx. what age do they reach maturity? Anything I can do to help this change go more smoothly and less stressful for him? I added a cardboard box laid on its side for him that he likes to go in so that he feels more secure. 

[Rufus]

My bun is ten months old and still very cuddly. He’ll sit for twenty minutes or so in my arms purring with his eyes closed. So it is possible although I know that he’s a rarity! he likes to be carried around from time to time but won’t even entertain the idea of going on his back. Sometimes putting rabbits on their back sort of paralyses them with fear so I’d be careful with that. That could explain the noise.
Most buns reach maturity between 4 and 6 months.
It’ll take a few days for him to settle in. If he still doesn’t like his hay in a few days you could try a different type. Is the type you have the same as the breeder was giving him? What did they say about him eating hay?

[tanlover14]

You may be lucky – I have two cuddly rabbits. My other three detest being held.

[bunnygirl]

Apollo started like that. I imagine it’s because everything is so new, and I’m supposing you hold him like he feels safe. So he huddles in, and just enjoys being warm and safe – while viewing everything that’s new! Similar to if you began a new school, you get introduced to some new people, and just stick with them until you get used to it all! Fingers crossed he stays cuddly though, cuddly buns rock! )

[bunnygirl]

Oooooh and the breathing?! Apollo does that too…I’ve always wondered what it is. It’s like a heavy breathing, snuffly noise! Hmm…I’ll see what i can come up with on the tinter-web

[bunnylove10]

Oh good to know someone else’s bun does that stuffy breathing noise too!! Gosh I hope he stays this way, but it makes sense that it is a sense of security and may wear off…lets just hope not! I have been holding him right side up and he keeps trying to lay back down on his back, it’s like he prefers to lay that way in my arms. Then…for the first time ever….he pooped on me. And it kept coming!  ick! haha. Can they control when they poo at all? Welcome to being a bun Mommy huh?  Then..because I don’t know if he can drink out of a water bottle yet, I offered a water dish as well. I put his water dish in his cage, and he grabbed it with his teeth and threw it and spilled the water everywhere! I couldn’t believe it! Is that how they play or was he frustrated? I am starting to wonder if my bun has some attitude!  He still hasn’t touched his timothy hay…just his pellets. Why isn’t he eating his hay? It’s worrying me a bit.

Also-do you guys give your buns baths ever? If so, how do you go about it safely? What about nail clippings?

[Jessie1990]

Our rabbit, Moogle, is about 10 months old and hasn’t even been neutered yet. He is definitely male so I don’t feel such an urgency to get it done like we did with Ashe. Ashe was also SUPER aggressive. Anyway, I think all rabbits have VERY different personalities, just like people. Ashe hates being touched, so we are very happy to have Moogle. We spend an equal amount of time with both rabbits and Moogle is definitely the cuddle bunny. He loves to be massaged, nose rubbed, and sometimes he will sit in our laps for ages. He’s not allowed on furniture anymore because he had two accidents, but if he hadn’t he would still be watching tv with us and playing in the bed.

After I get brave enough to have him neutered (his half-sister died after being spayed), we will give him some chances to prove he can be on furniture again.

PS he looks A LOT like Rufus

[bunnylove10]

Okay- how do you get them to not poop on you every time you hold them? Mine is pooping literally every single time I hold him and he doesn’t stop! How do I get him to not do that?

[LongEaredLions]

Yep, bunnies play by flinging things around. It is better for him to have a bowl than a bottle, you just need a really heavy ceramic dish.

How old is he again? What type of pellets do you feed? He could be filling up on pellets, and that is why he is not eating hay. Offer hay in the litter box, try different types of hay, brands, etc.

Baths are very bad for bunnies. They are very good groomers and don’t really need to be bathed. If he is dirty, sprinkle some cornstarch on his fur and brush it out.

If you can clip his nails by setting him on the floor and pulling out his paws one by one to clip, that is the best way.

[manic_muncher]

Mine wouldn’t touch his hay when I first got him (this past August). I fluffed it around and re-stuffed the hay rack, still nothing. I put hay in his litterbox and he dove right in. That also encouraged him to poop in there, since they like to eat and poo at the same time. I didn’t really have the pooping on me problem, but that might have been because he didn’t want to be held at all. But with that being said, they do like to mark their territory with poo, so for a long time I was sweeping up his pen, turn around for a minute, look back and it would look like a poo explosion happened.

It’s been 3 weeks since his neutering and his explosions can now be categorized as rare, he limits them 90% of the time within 6 inches of where the box is sitting. Instead of little single poo pellets scattered all around, there will be a bunched together group. I am HOPING he will start going mainly in the box, he’s getting closer and I’ve even found a few spots inside the box where he actually went. BUT! He has full access to our living room, kitchen, hallway and bathroom. We have another room we let him go in on occasion, but he likes to get into stuff in there that I don’t want him messing with. He NEVER poops outside his xpen (which is his permanent cage setup that is attached to a large dog crate). He was 100% pee trained, but this past week he’s been trying my patience by going right beside his box, instead of inside. I think I’m gonna have to give his rug a good cleaning to make sure there are no smells encouraging him to go there.

So yes, they can control themselves. There is also the chance that he really doesn’t like being held and you are scaring the crap out of him.

[Bam]

They can control their poop. But some bunnies like to poop-mark valuable areas. You may be a valuable area =)

They can be picky with hay, but they need it, so if you have to, cut back on the pellets. My first bunny ate like barely a pound of hay during his first year with me. That caused stomach-problems. I overfed him rabbit muesli out of stupidity and ignorance, a combination that may be deadly. It took me ages to find a hay he’d accept, but finally I found an organic orchard hay that he eats like a good boy. I’ve tried a number of hays. Luckily I’ve a second bunny now who’ll eat anything, so the hay Bam refused hasn’t gone to waste.

[bunnylove10]

Oh great! haha, lets hope it’s because I am valuable . He doesn’t act scared! Am I supposed to put him back when he poops on me like that? Or how do I get him to realize that is not okay and that he needs to just go in his litter box? I do have hay in a holder right above his litter box so he has to go in his litter box in order to reach his hay…is that good enough or should I put it in the actual litter box? I was so excited! For the first time, he “purred” or teeth chattered when I was holding him and petting him today. He also kept licking my face…maybe he is starting to like me 

[manic_muncher]

It sounds like he really likes you. I did leave my hay rack up above the litterbox, but started getting worried because he just wasn’t interested in eating from it. He’d climb up and investigate, but never took any out. So I added hay to his litterbox, still leaving the hay rack in place and he really started munching away. I haven’t bothered trying the hay rack anymore, since he really seems to like sitting in it while eating. I actually have a litterpan for his hay and one for his business. He doesn’t poop in the hay-only one at all now.

I’m not sure how others might approach trying to train him not to go on you… but I think if I was holding him and he started to poop, I’d tell him ‘no’ gently while placing him in his litterbox… throw all the poo in the box with him and if he sits still through all that, give him pets and make all the little kissy cuddly sounds we all make to them when we’re talking to them.

Also, maybe try not picking him up until you know he’s recently done his business. I try to give my bun a lot of notice that I’m going to be bugging him soon. I talk to him a lot and make my usual chattering to him to help wake him up more. Then I wait til I actually see him go to his box to pee before I even open his xpen door. So he’s kinda gotten the idea now, “if I go pee, she’ll open the door”.

[bunnylove10]

Okay thank you for your help!! Last night he started pooping while snuggling next to me. So, I picked him up like you said, and walked him back to his cage and put him in his litter box with the poo. Then he stopped pooping lol. I don’t get it why does he only poop when he is out?! It is getting so frustrating.

He is OBSESSED with cuddling up on my shoulder while sitting on the top of the couch. He starts purring if I cuddle my face up to his. He licks my face constantly for such a long time it makes me laugh! He is starting to not like to be held as much now…he is more about being pet and cuddled next to…..bummer

[LittlePuffyTail]

Awwww, he sound so sweet. Both my buns like cuddling but not on my lap or in my arms. They love me hugging and petting them while they are on the ground. That seems to be the norm for most bunnies. Being held is a naturally scary thing for buns.

[bunnylove10]

Okay what the heck is going on. You know how I was telling you how sweet he was being licking me all the time and cuddling? Now it’s like he turned into devil bunny.

Last night when I had him out, he started pooping on the couch so I told him “No” like another poster said to do. He looked at me and started thumping at me. So I left him alone for a minute and turned to doing my homework. I could hear him thumping from behind me. (he likes to sit at the top of the couch) So, I turned around to put him back in his cage in his litter box and he peed on the couch AND on me. I know that is like the biggest diss from a bun so it made me really sad.

Then, today, I had him out for the first time, (trying to make up cause I felt really bad about how upset he got last night) and he didn’t poop at all. BUT he started licking me all cute and cuddling on my right shoulder as I pet him. Then, he moved to my left shoulder and bit my ear! He did that several times where he would be nice and then bite. I always did a little jump (cause it scared me and caught me off guard) and said no, and it would scare him and make him jump also. Then, he peed on the couch again….A LOT of pee. 

What is going on? Is it just hormones? Should I leave him alone for a few days? I’m finding myself scared to take him out now because he can turn and bite out of nowhere after being sweet and licking me. I don’t know what is making him be this way. 

Help? 

[MoveDiagonally]

Peeing on couches is really normal for rabbits and most of the time the only way to prevent it is to block them off from it. Also, if there is ANY lingering smell of urine they will continue to pee in the same spot/area over and over. If he was on the top of the couch he might have just peed and it spread down on you unintentionally? Even if it was intentional it’s likely a marking behavior not an insult. If he’s getting hormonal that does usually amplify the marking urge.

Hopefully someone with more experience with nipping bunnies will weigh in on that issue.  Your bunny sounds sweet even if he seems to be getting a little bit of an attitude lately.

[bunnylove10]

Okay good to know. Thanks! Is there any way to tell that they are going to pee or to prevent them from peeing when they are out?

Anyone have advice about the nipping issue?

[MoveDiagonally]

If it’s hormonal marking then neutering will help but like I said peeing on couches is a really common issue. Most of the time the only way to prevent it is to keep them off the couch. How are his litter habits otherwise? Peeing is a natural function so you can’t train them not to pee but with litter box training you teach where to pee. To re-enforce good litter habits you can soak up some pee with a paper towel and place it in a litter box. Same with stray poops. If he favors certain spots in a room placing a litter box in that spot is a good idea. Litter box training probably won’t stop hormonal marking though. :/

When they are going to pee they lift their tails pretty noticeably.

[bunnylove10]

He is pretty good at going potty in his litterbox and not anywhere else in his cage…there are some stray poops around the cage but that’s about it. I actually find him hanging out in his litter box a lot. But, the second I take him out to hold him, he poops all over the place and all over me. My mom is getting super upset that he is pooping everywhere so I need to figure this out. 

What I have been doing, is what a poster suggested. I pick him up the second he poops, say “NO”, and put him back in his litter box with his poo. Then, I pet him and talk to him sweetly. About 5 min later, I take him back out. BUUUUT……he poops again!!!!!! 

Thanks again everyone for all your helpful responses…I couldn’t do this without you!!!! 

[Author]

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