Nightmares??

[Tweeky]

ABUSED IS DESCRIBED IN THIS POST PLEASE READ WITH CAUTION!!!!

(Edited by Wick – select details have been modified/removed)

Hi I need help with my bunny, we adopted her about a year ago (she was approx 3.5-5 months old) , she has overcome a lot, not eating at all vaccinations, being spayed allergies and more. Tweeky is currently a 1 year old chocolate coloured rabbit (according to my vet this is rare). Tweeky regularly suffers from nightmares. She will cry and occasionally scream while asleep. When she screams she sprints off and crashes into anything and everything in front of her she does not wake up until impact. She has crashed into the bedroom door, haybox and wooden Bridge to name a few(these are the hardest things she crashed into so far). On Tweeky’s first vet health check I was told a full health check was impossible due to her behaviour it was clear she has come from an abusive home and they were worried if they proceeded she would have a heart attack. So it would need to be spread out over a few appointments. They could not be specific regarding what had happened just said that it was traumatic. She is now eating (not really drinking), she has had vaccinations, been spayed, and health checks done. I made some calls and was given some information as to the abuse she suffered (I cannot varify it 100%) but what I was told was horrific……. I was told Tweeky was taken from her mother when she was around 3-6weeks old. She was regularly scuffed by her neck and possibly her ears too, kept in a tiny box where she was exposed to very loud noises intentionally and repeatedly, and the box was intentionally mishandled in very aggressive ways while she was in it.  I apologise if this is very upsetting to anyone, but I need help to either stop the nightmares or stop her hurting herself while having nightmares (the sprinting and crashing), this mainly happends at night while we are asleep. I am scared to sleep & I am scared she will cause herself serious injury if I cannot stop this please help me help her.

[Wick & Fable]

I edited your post, specifically the description portion, with the aim to maintain the integrity of what sort of traumas she has suffered, but spare the forum for what is frankly disgusting behavior towards any living thing. The real thing I want to focus on is that this rabbit has been taken out of that environment and you are caring, willing, and asking for help in order to improve her future.

A few things come to mind. I would love to know the current “set-up”. Since you are isolating a specific time when this occurs, it may be worthwhile to invest in equipment to make a set-up for that time specifically, which you then can remove when no longer applicable. I draw a connection to people (like myself) who pull out and set-up an Xpen for my rabbits at night since I can’t supervise them. It might be beneficial to buy a roll of memory foam and line the inside walls of the pen with it. Memory foam (at least the roll I have) easily “clings” to fabric, so you can buy something to cover it so the foam isn’t so easily accessible and then just roll it up when you put the pen away. In terms of ways to connect it to the Xpen, I think you could glue (on the side in contact to the pen; not exposed to the rabbit) strips of cardboard that have twisty ties or something on the cardboard to you can secure the foam to the pen bars.

Something I think might be good to speak to your vet about is potentially using a drug that we know has a relaxing effect on rabbits to take the edge off just a little. My thoughts behind this is like a metaphor with physical therapy for a leg injury — it hurts, but going through the motions is important to rebuild muscles and associations and learn to use the leg again. Pain medication is something that can take the edge off and therefore facilitate the healing process, since the pain experience may be too disruptive/challenging to overcome. The metaphor goes further that the dosage, frequency, and eventual elimination of the drug should be considered with regular consult with the doctor.

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.

[BinkyBunny]

I am sorry your bunny is going through this .  How awful.  Wick has given some great immediate tips for the nightmares.

Just some ideas that come to mind as well to add to the advice.   Wondering if a bunny toy as a surrogate would be comforting.  You could get your scent on it by having it with you while you sleep for a couple of nights and then put it in her pen.  You would just have to supervise closely to make sure she doesn’t chew or eat the fabric of course.

This is an example of a life like puppet (brand folkmanis).  Having a bunny buddy may not prevent nightmares, but anything that could offer a feeling of safety and comfort that could help overwrite the negative memories might offer some relief that could carry over into sleep.  Of course, this is just guessing and some anthropomorphizing, but it might be worth a try.  Could help with vet trips as well.

 

Also —- are you 100% she she is asleep when this happens? Does this happen mostly at night?  The reason I ask is I wonder if she is easily startled by noises… and so when the house is quiet, like a night, then a noise inside or from outside may cause her to startle and freak out.  You could play soft nature sounds (nothing predatory but like soft rain or gently music that may hide in sudden noises that would be more apparent in complete quiet.   Something to try to see if that may settle her down at night — even if it during sleep.   If it’s completely dark, you could also offer a very soft orange night light (but not in line of sight to be annoying) that would allow her to view her surroundings since their vision is very good in low light.

She is so lucky to have you for her human. 🙂

 

[LBJ10]

I agree with BB. A nightlight and some background noise may help. Many bunnies actually like having a nightlight. I think it makes them feel safer.

[Tweeky]

Hi, Tweeky has a himalayan salt lamp at night and I have used TV, Radio and Roxi (music system) that has yoga music on it to help on firework nights and have tried it as I thought that sounds during the night might ħave been the cause too. But doesn’t work. When I first got Tweeky (as in the very first day) Tweeky decided that she was going to keep a pair of my pyjama trousers with her at all times and no one except me, mum and 1 particularly vet are allowed to touch them. So we respect her wishes she plays with them everyday we hang them over a chair so they dangle and she plays with the legs darting in & out u der them and sleeps with them at night. She has a little toys squirrel that she has taken a shine to but nothing else. I thought of getting her a companion but Tweeky is scared of other bunnies. She is not scared of dogs, cats or guinea pigs (Tweeky adopted a disabled guinea pig as her own).  Answers – BB yes she is unconscious I have heard her starting to cry I went to her and called, stroked her and even offered her a favourite treat and she didn’t respond to anything I got her trousers and laid them over her plucked her up sat her on my lap stroking her. The whole time she was dreaming little twitches in her ears and eyes. When she woke up she gave me a very confused expression then lots of kisses. So defo asleep. To all she is a free roam bunny I felt confining her would be too much of a reminder of her past so we bunny proofed and let her go wher she is comfortable. She sleeps in my bedroom with me at night and then has the rest of the house during the day. She is not very distructive either maybe a odd nibble on some wallpaper or dining table every once in a while apart from that no distraction. Thank you. PS what is anthropomorphizing??

[Bam]

Antropomorphizing is when you assume that an animal behaves, reacts and feels like a human. In many respects rabbits are similar to us, since they have roughly the same sets of neurons and signal substances as we have. They can feel pain just like us, because they have the physical ability to feel pain. They can feel fear because they have the required brainparts for feeling fear. There are however differences in the ways rabbits and humans percieve the world, and we cant be sure that they understand things the same way we do. We have to be aware of that when we try to interpret their behaviors. We cant ask them what they feel, so we often have to try things and see if they make things better.

Your bun is very lucky to have you. Thank you for being a wonderful bun human.

[DanaNM]

It sounds like you have already tried a lot of things, but I would suggest maybe incorporating an area that is just hers (such as large dog crate, NIC cube condo, or pen with hides in it), that you could confine her to at night.

Even with her history, most bunnies appreciate having a “burrow” of sorts, as they would in the wild. This would be her “safe zone”, that was only hers. You could have her squirrel friend etc. there, and cushion the walls with some towels.

This would be where she would have her litter box, food and water, some toys, a hide, etc. You could only pen her at night, that way if she does have a terror she would be in a safer space.

There is also a product called “rescue remedy” that I know has been used with rabbits occasionally. I can’t vouch for it myself but it supposedly has a calming effect.

. . . 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.  

[Bam]

I agree with Dana, a place that is just her own could help. It could have a cardboard hidey house with a roof and at least two door holes, because that resembles a natural rabbit burrow. Cardboard is a good material because its not hard like wood or hard plastic, but if it was a cardboard box she was living in when she was abused, cardboard could stir up bad memories. There are plushy little igloos that look like a strawberry or a shark’s head etc  something like that could be an alternative.

A hidey place doesnt have to be very big, in fact rabbits tend to appreciate rather narrow, tunnel-like structures. It could be placed in an enclosure like Dana describes, which you could pad the walls of, with for example memory foam as Wick suggests.

Anything tunnel-like seems to offer rabbits comfort. My buns have always made detours through their tunnels when crossing a room. (I have several fabric cat tunnels).

Above is a picture of a hidey house my bun has. Its made for cats so it has a catdboard scratchboard for a floor, but I’ve covered it with a piece of vet bed that goes up a bit on the sides. (It’s old, hence the gaffa tape, which works because my rabbit isnt a chewer. Its too loved to be discarded just because its a little worn.)

Stuff like tunnels and hidey houses would not address the nightmare issue directly, obviously. It’d just be for making her feel so safe during her awake time that the nightmares hopefully eventually stop.

 

 

 

[Tweeky]

Hi,,

I do have  a cozy pet exercise pen (approx the size of a single bed) but I don’t like to use it. As she pulls on the doors when I lock her in at night I have made a few hidies but she never uses them. I do NOT allow anyone in her /my bedroom as I know bunnies like personal space /territory. So I make my room hers she does what she wants, when she wants, without any Interference from anyone else. I hoped this would help her ease off any nightmares but events during the day seem to play on at night which could be a trigger for them but other times she has a great uneventful day and she will still have nightmares.

This brings me to another point she hardly drinks and she doesn’t play with toys all she does is chew cardboard. I have heard of pet remedy but only seems to be available near firework night or new years.

My vet has told me she appears to be a privacy bunny and advised a behaviourist (not just for nightmares but for biting, urinating on me and my bed as obsessive licking of things me, floors, door, carpets and rugs, bedding, and table/chairs ect) but the vet is away for a week and will assess and find a suitable behaviourist, but during that week Tweeky could have as many as 12 or nightmares some including the sprinting crashes. I need to be able to protect her from herself now not in a week or 2. That’s why I’m desperate. I have attached some pictures of her exercise pen with different layouts. To give you an idea of how. I have modified it to cater for her activities and safety

And she can relax by hasn’t done this since before new years.As you can Tweeky is not scared of other animals except other bunnieTweeky with my pyjama trousers, Tweeky became very attached to these day 1 we got her so she kept them. No one is allowed to touch them except me, mum and 1 specific vet.

I appreciate the help

[Bam]

Her set up sounds perfect. I was pretty sure she had a very good environment, since you seem very knowlegeable.

I do think the advice Wick gave you about medication for anxiety could be worth exploring together with your vet. It could perhaps be used for a shorter period to help her get proper rest and for her system to calm down. With nightmares like those, she is bound to be in a state of more or less constant stress, which could explain her obsessive chewing and licking.

I know one member here had some success with a thundershirt for her very fearful rabbit. Thundershirts are sold for dogs, but the smallest size could potentially fit a rabbit.

[Wick & Fable]

Picture posting can be a bit finnicky — make sure to insert the photo(s) into the post after uploading it into your Media Gallery.

Re: the pen/cage/door pulling, that is definitely very common of rabbits. Something that has worked really well for me and my rabbits, one of whom is very anxious, is clipping a bedsheet to the outside so there is the appearance of a wall:

Two queen-sized sheets folded in half perfectly fit the height and length of my xpen, and it’s just permanently clipped on, so I fold it up with it on as well. I’m curious what set-ups you’ve tried and the layouts.

Re: the toys/cardboard, it took me a long time to figure out what type of “toys” my rabbits liked. I know there is a big sense of “wasting money” with toy experimentation, but it can be worth it once you find what a rabbit likes. There’s also a lot of different forms of cardboard, which can be engaging! Honeycomb, corrugated, thin sheets, thick packing blocks, tubes that roll, boxes to push… you can experiment within the cardboard realm to make things more itneresting.

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.

[Author]

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