No binkies? Lemmy is a lazy buns…

[Miss Bunnykins]

Hello all,

I am really happy I found this forum and I need some advice on a few bunny behaviours if yall would be so kind as to listen to my story.

I fell in love with bunnies when I got my first one when I was 16, a Holland Lop named Jenny who was truly the “model” rabbit. She never chewed anything, would greet me at the door when I got home, and actually enjoyed nail trims haha. She was amazing.

So, 10 years later, I decided to get another bun. My boyfriend held her on the way home (about a 2 hour drive) and I suspect that is why she has bonded more to him than to me. He also only does the good things to her (treats, pets, etc.) while evil mommy is left with the nail trims (HATES HATES HATES being picked up and tries to escape even when I burrito her and cover her eyes). My first question is: Would it be less stressful to take her to the groomer and let them trim her nails? When I do it she gives me feet flicks and cold shoulders for TWO DAYS. She won’t even accept a treat. Breaks my heart and really puts a damper on my bond with her which isn’t as solid as his. My work hours just increased dramatically and I actually came home last night at 8 after being gone all day and she ran up to me to say hi and get head rubs. It was the first time she has gotten up from her flop position and ran up to me when I walked through the door, melted my heart!

My second concern is that she is lazy and doen’t run around much and I would like to know if this is normal. She very rarely does binkies, but flops alot. When she flops, she usually turns onto her back before she realizes what she’s doing and is like “woah” and rolls back over and falls asleep lol. She used to be a bit more energetic (and only a bit more). There was a “witching hour” every night where she would just go spastic and do laps around the living room but she doesn’t do that anymore. She also rarely jumps anymore (she did not do it much in the first place, but now it has stopped completely) and seems as if she do not enjoy jumping. We have enticed her to jump on the couch with banana and other treats, but she rarely does it. Also, she had a vet check up about 6 months ago and everything checked out great. She is 2 years old (spayed) and weighs 8 lbs. and I give her 1/4 cup of plain pellets in the morning and the evening and she gets timothy and veggies (cucumber peel, carrot, cilantro, collards, romaine) and maybe a piece of apple once a week if I’m eating one. She is a piglet and gets VERY excited for her pellets.

I plan on getting her an English Lop boyfriend (will be neutered of course well before introduction, I’ve read every article out there on the bonding process) and I’m hoping he will encourage her to play more and be happier. Does anyone have an opinion on this?

Well, thanks everyone, I know this is super long

[Nibbles_NZ]

Welcome! I don’t see that you are doing anything wrong at all. I don’t think your bunny has a problem. My Bun is only 8 months old and he doesn’t run around all the time or jump and play. Every bunny is different. I wouldn’t worry about her not playing all the time. She may be more active when you are asleep and you just don’t notice. lol My bunny likes to explore things around him. He is more curious and lazy than spastic and playful. He doesn’t do binkies much and he will only jump onto something if he is interested in something out of his reach. It’s okay. He is lovable and healthy and seems pretty happy. Bonding your bunny may seem like a good idea but if you are worried that your bun isn’t bonding with you now and your hours at work have increased do you really have the time and energy it’s going to take. It may not seem like just one more bunny will be that much more to handle but it really is. lol Not to mention if you bond your bunny with another bunny right now you will be much less likely to have that bond with her that you want. If I were you I would wait a while on the bunny boyfriend and make your bunny some toys to explore. Maybe get a tube and a box full of hay for her to dig around in. I have also heard wonderful things about the maze haven. If you want your bun to have a pal while you are work you could get a stuffed bunny. I’ve heard that bunnies like to carry them around and groom them. Good luck and hang in there.

[Isabelle]

Hi Miss Binkykins, I’m new to rabbits myself, but I can tell you a couple of ideas that I use with my bun. I’ve had her for about five months, and she is more loyal to me than anyone else in the house, although she isn’t a major snuggler. I’m sort of the good and bad mommy, I give her most of her treats, food, water, clean out her cage and litterbox and such within her view, give her toys, and I’m also the one who takes her to the vet for her nail trims, although I do hold her during the process, and grabs her when she’s digging up the carpet. One thing that I found that helps to get her interested in me/start bonding is to just lay on the floor with her. By now she hops over usually immediately to sniff me, and I usually get a face bath. Sometimes she’ll hop up on my back, but walks around me and sniffs and tugs on my clothes. If she doesn’t come over right away, I just lay there and do bunny things like wiggling my nose the same way she does, which generally garners her interest whether or not she hops over.

My little bun does binkies either by a specific response, such as playing tag or the “I’m gonna get your tail” game we play when I say those words and try to grab her tail (gently of course), and she leaps into the air and takes off, then whips around to look at me saying ‘haha, you didn’t get my tail!”, or just on her own. Her major binky/running around times vary, some nights she doesn’t do it at all, just whenever she feels she wants to.

I know her “oh yes YES DON’T STOP!” rubbing place, which is right between her eyes. I’ll just sit and rub/scratch that area and around it for five to ten minutes periodically, and she is never satisfied and wants more If your bun has a spot like that I think it might help for you to take frequent intervals of rubbing/scratching/petting.

I vary the toys that are out for her to get her curious and interest with the hopping around and jumping. I’ll cover a chair with a blanket to make a ‘hidey hole’ which isn’t out every day, cardboard pieces, a clean cardboard box with a hole cut it placed upside down, jingle balls, a cat teaser with feathers, a toy that looks like a carrot that is scratchy and has little jingle things in it, things like that. She likes to go up on the couch when nothing is on it, and race back and forth across it. Is your funiture leather or a slippery material? That could be why your bun doesn’t want to jump up, if it is.

I have heard that some larger breeds of rabbit are less energetic than small rabbits, I don’t know if that is true. Mine is a 4 pounder Dutch. As Nibbles mentioned, it could just be her personality as well. Some of us are as people are high energy and athletic and others are more sedentary and laid back. It might be more stressful for you to take her a stranger to clip her nails unless you’re with her, too. Maybe your boyfriend could hold her while you trim? Or vice versa, you hold while he trims, that way he gets into the ‘bad stuff’ realm as well. Hopefully something I’ve said can help you out. I don’t feel I’m fully bonded with my bun yet, and I’ve heard/read that can take many months to really fully bond, so just working on it and celebrate the small accomplishments

[Miss Bunnykins]

Thanks for the replies! Isabelle, you’re right, laying on the floor does work really well. I call her name and pat the ground and she almost always comes running for head rubs. She can’t get enough of pets either and we take turns, me petting her, her grooming my hand and if I stop she nudges my hand back on top of her head She absolutely looooves her pets. I’ll have to buy her some tunnels and check out that maze, it sounds interesting. She currently has two cardboard box “houses” with windows, doors cut out and she gets mad if you move them lol. She has a carrot toss toy, which she has no interest in whatsoever and a wooden block toy thing which she nibbles occasionally but not much. She’s just happy to lay on the cool tiles I have put down for her surrounding her “outside” litter box. I just wanted to make sure she was normal per say because my last rabbit was very active.

I think I will wait a little bit to get a new bun, English Lops are very hard to find in my area, so it wouldn’t be until after the new year. I definitely have the time to commit to another rabbit as well, I was only working 15 hrs a week before and I got moved up to 30 hrs last week (woo hoo) so I still have plenty of time and attention to give. I love seeing everyone’s bunny pictures on here!

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