perk ups?

[xnovalentine]

Lately I have been super busy with school and work and havn’t been home as much as I usually am. I’ve still been spending time with Lullabelle, I come home in the middle of the day between classes and work and spend some time with her, and then after I come home from work we have mandatory snuggle time. However, Lullabelle seems to be down, and I don’t know what I could do to perk her up. Since she’s torn up a few things in the living room, Nick won’t let her run around the house anymore, but she’s got an entire bedroom she’s got all to herself. It’s small though,so it’s like a supersized cage. I do let her run around for a bit once in awhile when Nicks not home, and I run around with her to make sure there is no evidence that she was out.

She seems extra grouchy lately, and I havn’t seen her binky in awhile. I did clip her nails yesterday, I think they were bothering her since I hadn’t done it in awhile and see seems to feel better today. I feel like shes depressed or unhappy, I don’t know what I should do. I’ve been contemplating getting her a friend but I’ll have to work on that with Nick and since things are really unstable for me right now, another bunny might not be the best idea. However, It is something I am working on. But right now this just isin’t going to happen and I want to find other ways to perk her up. Does anyone have any ideas? It seems shes tired of all her toys, even her favorite cat teaser. I’ve given her a few balls but they’ve disappeared so I cant move them around for her. She doesn’t really even get excited when I pull out the raisins. She still eats them though

 

Anyone have any ideas? Thanks!

[kimberleyanddarren]

Maybe you could try something like those toys which you put food inside and that way she will have something to do, getting her a friend sounds like a good idea however if you dont have time for one, two will be much harder to look after however they will have each others company just dont forget about the hours you will have to put in to bond them, how about buying a big roll of chicken wire as it is usually not very expensive and putting that around the living room so she has a pen type thing in the middle? this way she has new sights and smells and cannot distroy anything, also go and sit in her room when you have things to do like reading as she would probably enjoy the company even if you arent paying much attention. I have bought hopscotch a wooden thing in the shape of a strawberry with a hole in the middle and you stick a bit of carrot or something in there are hopscotch loves it and spends ages trying to get the treat out it only cost £1 aswell (approx. $2) Another thing you could do is give her things like the phone book to rip up and she might not be so likely to chew up anything else, and to be honest tell Nick the only way that the bunny can prove that she wont bite stuff anymore is by having her out again, making sure she has plenty of toys etc. and keeping an eye on her when i get up in the morning i get my bunny out and put her in the kitchen whilst i cook breakfast and prepare my lunch for college that way the bunny gets a bit of attention and a run in the morning and then i put her back in when i go to college he only gets like 20mins out but it is better than nothing also because he is in the kitchen there is nothing low down that he can detroy so this may be good for you, just remember to stay positive and happy, if you arent happy chances are neither will your bunny be.. maybe she can feel your vibes? Hope this helps and keep us posted but mainly think about the negatives of getting a new bunny not just the positives you would have to spend ages bonding, then you have the litter training, then you have the issue of having to watch both when they are loose to stop them recking stuff, having a bunny friend for lullabelle would be good for her but it is better that she has no friend and gets more attention than has a friend and gets none. keep us posted!

[JK]

Glad to see you are back!  I was wondering where you were! What ever happened with the buns at the pet store?  I guess you didn’t rescue one of them.  Sorry Lulla isn’t herself.  I don’t know what to say but keep a close eye on her.  Maybe she’s down because she doesn’t have the freedom she once had and you are gone more? Hope she’s back to her devilish old self soon!

[xnovalentine]

hey guys thanks for the input.

I’ve been around but not as much because i’ve been busy with school and work, and a lot has been going on with my personal life. No, I didnt get one of the buns at the pet store, i was hoping some one else would buy them and I couldnt bring myself to go back in there. Actually I’m going to have to get some litter today so i’ll be in there, naturally if one of them were in those cages i WILL get it.

I imagine that Lulla is a bit down because shes confined to one area. I do spent time with her everyday, and I’d be up for bonding and training a new bun, that wouldnt be a big deal, I’m home in the evenings. But like I said, there’s Nick to deal with, and the fact that we’ve been breaking up and I don’t have anywhere to go is the reason why I don’t want to get another one right now. I don’t want to have to move 2 buns around. I will get another when I’m sure I’m staying where I’m at, and if thats with Nick I’m going to try to get him to agree to it first but I will just bring one home lol.

I’ve gotten her toys that I hide treats in, but she doesn’t see interested in them. I don’t think she knows there are treats in it, and I try to show her but she’s stubborn and doesn’t care lol. She seemed a little happier this morning, she jumped around when I went in to give her breakfast. When I go out for food and litter i’m going to try to pick her up a few new things to mess with, she’s already got everything but I’m sure theres something else I can find lol

again, thanks

[JK]

Sorry you are having Nick troubles.  Hope it works out the way you want it to. Do let us know if those buns are still there.  I’m sure there are more there for the dreaded Easter even though they say that’s it.  Take care.

[kimberleyanddarren]

yes my bun was abit like that what i did was put something strong smelling inside i used mint and basil and then i rubbed the whole thing over with a cucmber and a banana and that way he knew something was there and got the idea now i only need to put something new in there, let us no if u get a new bun and we want pics! hehe

[Gravehearted]

aww, it’s no fun when your bun has the blues. It sounds like bringing a friend home for her isn’t a great option right now, as you mentioned. I am glad to hear that you’re putting in the effort to make time for her, despite your hectic schedule. This might sound silly – but you could also try getting her a stuffed bunny friend or even leaving music on during the day for her.

Have you tried making her a boredom buster box? there are directions on the toy section of the site and it might be fun for her. you could also give her a phonebook to amuse her or some maize or seagrass mats.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Also, can you put a radio where she is? I find my bunnies seem to enjoy the ‘company’

[kimberleyanddarren]

wow does radio help? i havent heard that before i will give it a try!
i love how you pick up random tips on here i think if we all pulled together we could write a bunny bible!

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Yeh, I think they like it! I put it back in their room to socialize Rupert as I don’t know how much positive human contact he’s had, and this way he’ll hear people all day long! I just play it softly during the day with their night light on. (Dave thinks I’m crazy that they have a night light, a radio and a fan…)

I used to leave the TV on for Kokanee when I was out, as she was an only bun. I think it makes things less boring, plus you can turn it down low enough that if they want to sleep they can.

[xnovalentine]

thanks for all your suggestions!

I left the radio on today while I’m at work, so I’ll see if that helps her mood any. I bought her some new balls last night, and shes huddled them into their new homes already, mostly in her box that i cut out a hole in. That kept her entertained for 2 seconds, so that is good.

Lulla also has a night light that Nick thinks is ridiculous, and he thinks i’m crazy for leaving the room light on at night when I’m up and not in there so she can see…he seems to think just hanging out in the dark will be just fine. Whatever…

I’m looking around for an old phone book for her, I think she’d enjoy that. I made her a boredom bag thing once, but she just looked at me like I was stupid. I guess I’ll try it again since she’s been eating more hay, perhaps she will continue to sift through it after she gets all the goodies out.

If you’ve read my other post about the buns in the petstore, I’m still thinking about another rabbit but I’m really unsure. Like I said before, my living situation is really unstable at the moment and the rabbits that are stuck in the small cages are female, at least i think they are, they both have dewlaps (sp?), but they are spayed. They are also aggressive, that is why they are in those cages, so thats another problem.

Hopefully I can get lulla’s mood improved regarless if I do end up getting her a friend to destroy my stuff with.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Uh oh confessions of a bunny whipped momma. LOL : ) I have a night light on too, rabbits cannot see in the dark and my concern is over my jumping up and down all the levels of their condo safely. Bonsai gets the blues whenever the weather gets icky, he goes into an all-out funk. So I give them a paper bag filled with hay and a few treats to entertain him as well as some new willow treat to destroy.

[xnovalentine]

i snatched a phone book from work tonight and brought it home. lulla has been entertained for about an hour, so hopefully i can find another phonebook haha. i do think leaving the radio on helped, she seemed more relaxed and less gloomy. Hopefully the phone book and the radio will keep her entertained for a few days at least thanks for the suggestions guys!!!

[Gravehearted]

ya glad to hear the phone book helped i am glad you’re going to try the radio – it might take a while to figure out what kind of music she really likes. i find bunnies have different preferences. I wouldn’t mention that to Nick, since he might have you hauled off by the white coats, seeing his reaction to the night light – lol

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

LOL I must have spent hours the other night trying to find out what Rupert likes…I *know* he doesn’t like Rap, he ran away and hid…He seemed to like classical (I did try david bowie LOL)….Right now they are listening to a top forty station; I think I’m going to see if they like kids music or disney music or something…I know none of them like if we have a scary movie turned up!

[Steve Parker]

Glad Lula liked the radio. I’m going to try that.

The phone book is a great trick. My bun, Buddy, likes phone books and newspapers. Just make sure the paper is printed with soy ink.

I also leave a nightlight on for Buddy. I use one of the new LED nightlights that uses almost no power and runs cool. Hopefully it will be extra safe. Buddy likes to examine it from time to time and I don’t want him to touch a hot, regular bulb. Tell Nick buns, like little children, need nightlights. When we leave home, we also leave a compact florecent light burning so Buddy can see to get around.

[Author]

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