Odd behaviour change: suddenly laying flat often

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

Breintje is our Netherland dwarf bun. He will be 4 in a couple of days, and he has been with me for nearly 2 years now. He’s been snipped a year ago. Lately we noticed a change in his behaviour: normally he was too active to lay flat. He was always a bit skittish and startled easily, which a lot of people describe as common for this breed. Whenever he tried to roll over, there was always a sound or a movement that startled him, and he jumped up again quickly. He only lay flat when he had tummy troubles.

Lately we’ve seen a change in his behaviour: nowadays he lays on his side or outstretched so often, we’ve started to wonder why 

He’s eating, pooping and running around normally. At first we thought he had tummy troubles, but he seems totally healthy. This morning he ate his pellets and rolled over afterwards. He just lay there for several minutes with his eyes half closed, completely motionless. I checked if he was breathing, because this was new… But he seemed to be doing fine, and I could even pet him. When I petted him, he closed his eyes and made a smacking motion with his mouth. This is really odd behaviour for him, because normally he’d jump up at any sound. Even the sound of me getting up from the couch, so walking up to him and petting him was really strange. He felt rather floppy, but was active and hopping around afterwards.

What caused this sudden change? Are there underlying health issues? Has he suddenly found inner peace? Is this normal for bunnies who are leaving their wild younger years behind?

 

Here are some pictures:

 

 

[Bam]

Is it very warm? They get less active when it’s warm.
I’d say it was normal if he was like 1-2 years old, because many bunnies or rather, most bunnies, do find “inner peace” as they become adults. He could be a late bloomer perhaps seeing that it is a only year since his neuter (most house buns get neutered earlier, and neutering does have a calming effect).
You will of course have to keep an eye on appetite, poop, interest in interaction with humans, interest in life around him etc. Just “resting” in a comfy sprawled-out position is not an observandum in itself. Lethargy, inappetence, actively pressing the tum against the floor are things you see in a bunny that’s not feeling well, but you know what that looks like.

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

Thanks for the reply We had a heat wave last week but I took preventative measures. It was never warmer than 24 °C in the house, and it’s still at that level. If that’s too hot I’ll have to look at some solutions other than AC or large fans. I’m very sensitive to air flows and drafts, my rheumatism acts up then.

Other than laying flat he seems to have no symptoms of any illness. He’s his usual self: running around, ripping up cardboard, playing with his treat ball, etc.. He also interacts with humans a lot, both with me and visitors. He’s always on the lookout for treats or pettings.

[flemishwhite]

Posted By Ellie from The Netherlands on 7/28/2016 4:47 AM

Breintje is our Netherland dwarf bun. He will be 4 in a couple of days, and he has been with me for nearly 2 years now. He’s been snipped a year ago. Lately we noticed a change in his behaviour: normally he was too active to lay flat. He was always a bit skittish and startled easily, which a lot of people describe as common for this breed.

Lately we’ve seen a change in his behaviour: nowadays he lays on his side or outstretched so often, we’ve started to wonder why 

He’s eating, pooping and running around normally. At first we thought he had tummy troubles, but he seems totally healthy. This morning he ate his pellets and rolled over afterwards. He just lay there for several minutes with his eyes half closed, completely motionless. I checked if he was breathing, because this was new… But he seemed to be doing fine, and I could even pet him. When I petted him, he closed his eyes and made a smacking motion with his mouth. This is really odd behaviour for him, because normally he’d jump up at any sound. Even the sound of me getting up from the couch, so walking up to him and petting him was really strange. He felt rather floppy, but was active and hopping around afterwards.

 

Everything may be OK!   My two Flemish girls (10 months old) often sleep on their side.   Sometimes moving to sleeping on their sides is dramatic.  If  they are setting up, they may sort of jump slightly in the air and dramatically flop over laying on their side like they had just been shot dead!   I’ve had experience with sleeping dreaming bunnies. If your bunny closed his eyes and was smacking his lips, he was most certainly dreaming.  My previous rabbit Bunny, would drift into dreaming when I would pet her while she laid on the floor beside me.  Laying on her side, sometimes her front feet would be shaking, her eyelids would be fluttering, and she would be smacking her lips.   Once, while she was dreaming like this, I stopped petting her because I thought I might wake her up. About 10 seconds after stopping petting her, she jumped up, growled, and slapped me with her front feet!  I WAS A BAD BUNNY!  My job as a bunny was to keep petting her telling her bunny brain that I was a bunny keeping an eye out for predators! When I stopped petting her, her bunny brain told her that I was asleep and no longer watching out for predators!  That’s why she was angry and woke up and slapped me and growled at me because she thought that I may have fallen asleep!

I really enjoy living with house rabbits!  Our Flemish rabbits are PBB’s!  Pretty Big Bunnies! They are now 10 months old and live running free in our house. (We don’t let them in the bedrooms.) We have pen for them in the living room and they do spend a lot of time in their pen, even though the door is always open 24/7.  When not in their pen, they like to sleep under the curtains and at other hidey places in the house.  We have had a free running rabbit(s) in our house for over 12 years now! 

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