Our First Bunny

[BunnyMunchkin]

Hello everyone! My name is Jess and this is me and my husbands first time owning a bunny. We just picked him up yesterday. He is a 9 week old broken tort Holland lop. We haven’t decided on a name for him yet, I am horrible at deciding on names. Right now he is in a cage that is identical to the Ferplast rabbit cage. Once he gets settled in and used to us I will attach the exercise pen to the cage front so he can have way more room. Right now he is pretty scared of us, he hides all day and only comes out periodically to eat and then runs back to hide. Is there anything I can do to make him feel more comfortable or is it best to just leave him alone until he starts coming out on his own?

[Q8bunny]

Give your little one space, but most importantly, time. If you can let him out for a bit of exercise in a small room it would be ideal, but if not, just hang out by his cage, quietly reading or something, and let him gradually check you out. Talk to him every chance you get as you’re doing stuff around him. Feed him yummy things by hand (even pellets work as treats). Once you’ve got his xpen set up, hang out in it with him.

[Love4Bunny]

Hi Jess! Congrats on your new furbaby bunny What a cutie. You will find lots of great up-to-date info on here about bunny care. Every bunny has a different personality, and I second what Q8 says about how to acclimatise your bunny to you and his new environment. The best advice really is patience and time. Bunnies only come out to play at certain times of the day, so don’t feel bad if he is hiding away during the middle of the day – that is normal, and as long as he has a hidey house to retreat to for safety (this is normal also), it will be easier for him to approach you when he feels ready.
As for names, I reckon wait. See what sticks – it may be a personality trait, a food, a verb, etc, that stands out, and it doesn’t have to be “Fluffy” or anything like that, although that is a perfect bunny name. I thought naming had to be a perfect process, but I have several names for my rabbits. In the end, I would’ve been just as happy with a weird nickname.

[BunnyMunchkin]

Thanks for the advice everyone! I have been sitting right beside him on my phone and my laptop and every so often he will hope over to the side of the cage I am on and sniff me but I don’t try to pet him because I don’t want to scare him. Maybe tomorrow I can set up his xpen and sit inside and wait for him to come out. I also bought tunnels and cardboard mazes and houses to put in the xpen so he has something to play with. He is just too cute for words and I am already so in love with him!

[Bam]

Tunnels and cardboard mazes/houses are really great for bunnies, they make them feel safe, and tunnels are of course species appropriate like nothing else =) My buns often take a detour through a tunnel when they are running up to me in the hope of getting a treat.

You’ve gotten good advice already, and it seems your bunny is curious of you even if he’s still shy. That’s good! If you go slow like this, curiosity will get the better of him, and then you can start forming a great friendship.

[Azerane]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new addition Great advice so far so I won’t add any more.

[Benthebunny]

He looks like a taffy or aspen. What a cutie!

[BunnyMunchkin]

Thanks everyone! So I was able to get him in the xpen today and he seems so much happier in there! Would it be ok to return the cage and just buy another xpen to expand on the one I already have? Would he be able to safely live in the xpen instead of a cage?

[Bam]

Yes, many bunnies live in x-pens instead of cages, but make sure he can’t jump out, f ex by attaching a “roof” made of a fleece blanket or sth. Rabbit cages are rarely very good/comfy for bunnies.

[BunnyMunchkin]

The xpen I have is 29″ high would he be able to jump out of that??? I must admit I don’t know how high bunnies can hop.

[LuvFurBabies80]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new baby!!! Absolutely adorable!!

[Bam]

Rabbits can jump higher than most people imagine. I’ve read that 5 feet is a safe height, but it depends a bit on the size and age of the bunny. Young bunnies are more prone to jumping. I have a bunny-gate in my apt, it’s about 4 feet and nobody has jumped it yet, so I consider it safe.
If you have a cardboard house in the pen the bun can jump from the roof, some buns are just little houdinis.

[Animanga_addict]

Welcome to the forum!!(*^▽^*)

[BunnyMunchkin]

We had some major breakthroughs! Yesterday I got him to take treats from my hand and eventually eat from my hand and today he let me pet him and pick him up and is no longer hiding. I did end up returning his cage and bought another xpen but due to the length of the panels I couldn’t make it as big as I wanted to so I am returning one of the xpens and purchasing some of those storage grids that you use to make C&C cages out of that way I can make it even bigger!

[Vienna Blue in France]

She IS a cutey !! LOL with all your returning and changing – it will take a while but you’ll get a good set up perfect for “Candy” and you.
She IS a cutey !! LOL with all your returning and changing – it will take a while but you’ll get a good set up perfect for “Fudge ” and you.
She IS a cutey !! LOL with all your returning and changing – it will take a while but you’ll get a good set up perfect for “Fudge ” and you.
She IS a cutey !! LOL with all your returning and changing – it will take a while but you’ll get a good set up perfect for “Adele ” and you.
She IS a cutey !! LOL with all your returning and changing – it will take a while but you’ll get a good set up perfect for “Caramel” and you.
She IS a cutey !! LOL with all your returning and changing – it will take a while but you’ll get a good set up perfect for “Taylor” and you.

Any help?

[BunnyOwner]

So cute! So Bashful!

It’s an honor when they give you trust.

[BunnyMunchkin]

Haha so far I have just been calling him bunny bunny lol. I am leaning towards Nibbler or Thumper though

[Bladesmith]

My Clover cleared 28″ last night with little effort, but she’s a big bun.

[Bladesmith]

Posted By BunnyMunchkin on 8/16/2016 4:32 PM

We had some major breakthroughs! Yesterday I got him to take treats from my hand and eventually eat from my hand and today he let me pet him and pick him up and is no longer hiding. I did end up returning his cage and bought another xpen but due to the length of the panels I couldn’t make it as big as I wanted to so I am returning one of the xpens and purchasing some of those storage grids that you use to make C&C cages out of that way I can make it even bigger!

ZOMG dat face!!  Squee! I think Nibbler (Or Nibbles.  Or Nibs, if he’s got a puckish demeanor…) would be a great name.

[BunnyMunchkin]

I am thinking nibbler or Nibbles because he loves to try and nibble on EVERYTHING!

[Bladesmith]

Wait until you start getting bunny licks.

[BunnyMunchkin]

Oh I can’t wait! He’s such a sweetie! When I was cleaning his cage earlier he ran under my hand for pets!

Can I add levels with platforms to the c&c cage? Or would he jump off of the platforms and get hurt?

[Q8bunny]

Nibbles has the sweetest squishy face! That little fluffball should be illegal, he’s so cute!

[Vienna Blue in France]

No reason why you can’t add levels, just make sure bunny can’t jump off the sides (or over the top) for the whole height. The levels can be one NIC square higher than the others… no worries

[BunnyMunchkin]

Great! He loves to jump around and run around his cage at 90mph so I am glad that I can add levels. I cant wait to build him a bunny mansion . Ill be going tomorrow to pick up the shelving and more coroplast to make a urine guard for around it. It seems like every time I go to the store I bring back more stuff for hi than I do for myself 

[flemishwhite]

My limited experience with three rabbits, and from what I’ve read, is that they all have different personalities.  A great case in point is our two Flemish sisters.  They’ve had the exact same life experiences.  One is shy and the other is gregarious as for interacting with me and my wife. We’ve had them since they were 1 1/2 months old.  There’s no reason why one is withdrawn and the other outgoing other than that they have different personalities.    Now at 11 months of age, the shy sister is just now starting to show signs of being interactive.  We call her Cheyenne (Shy-Ann!)!   Our previous rabbit lived with us for 11 1/2 years in our house.  She really became closely bonded with us and extremely interactive. The longer bunnies live with you, the greater pets and companions they become. They can be good watch dogs.  Our last bunny slept with us for 10 years.  Any time there was anything happening during the night, she would thump and wake us up.  If it was serious, she would not just thump, but she would keep on thumping.  Two times in her lifetime, it was serious. 

[Jessica]

Welcome to the forum and he just so adorable. Don’t worry he’ll come around. Mine was shy at first also and it took me a long time for her to get use to me also but she warmed up. Some buns just need some time.

[BunnyMunchkin]

Wow flemishwhite that is awesome! I hope my bunny lives to be 11! I have only had him for a week but I already cannot imagine my life without him. I think I got really lucky with him. He only took three days to warm up to me and now after a week being with me and sleeping in our room I believe he loves me. He runs up to the pens door to greet me when I walk over. He gives me kisses and he comes over to me all the time now and puts his little head under my head for pets. I just love him to pieces!!

[Jessica]

Aww that’s wonderful, my flopsy does the same thing. She went from being a shy and timid bunny to a mommy has to snuggle and pet me before bed bun.

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