Question about napping positions

[ashy]

Okay, so I have a 6 month old holland lop that was given to me a few days ago. The poor baby was an unwanted christmas present, and I offered to take him so the previous owner wouldn’t have to make “other arrangements”.

Last time I had a rabbit was when I was 5. I’m now 24, so it’s been a while xP
I’m fully upto date on diet and dental care requirements, so that’s not an issue. I don’t really HAVE any issues, just a quick question:

Sometimes, he will lay down and tuck his front legs under his chest, and take a quick nap. Is there any particular reason for this? I know that flopping apparently means the rabbit is happy/content/relaxed/comfortable in his environment, and he does that quite a lot, but I was just wondering if there was any meaning attached to the tucking of the front legs.

This isn’t my photo, or even my rabbit, but here’s an example of what I mean incase I was unclear (i’m not very good at explaining stuff )

 

Thanks for reading ^_^

[MirBear]

i think its probably just because the bunny finds it more confertble that way or its a habit.. hershey lies like that sometimes.. just like a cat tucks in their legs when they sleep

[ashy]

Okay, thanks!

I read on some website that it means they’re cold. But I thought it’d be better to ask other rabbit people what they think.

Thanks again

[MirBear]

and if she/he ‘s cold you could always get him/her a little sweater…

[ashy]

Haha!
Yeah it didn’t really make sense, because i’m in Australia, and it’s Summer here right now. And at this very point in time, it’s far from cold o_o

[Elrohwen]

I have a holland and he does exactly the same thing. We call it a bunny loaf because he looks like a little loaf of bread of a meatloaf. Very cute.

I’ve also seen my bun and some other lops lay in this position, but then slide their front feet out in front of them, kind of like a sphynx. Sometimes they stretch the front legs out veerrry far too, enough that it looks like it can’t be comfortable. It seems to be a lop thing, so see if your bun ever sleeps in this pose

Where does he live? Inside with you? If he’s inside, I highly doubt he’s cold at all. Bunnies have warm coats and can be very comfortable even down to 50 degrees. So as long as you’re comfortable in your house (even if you’re chilly) I’m sure your bun is warm and toasty

eta: Just saw you’re in Australia. I’m sure he’s nice and warm then! Haha. I’m jealous – it’s cold here and our house is freezing! I’m all snuggled under a blanket, but my bun seems as warm as can be.

Also, not sure if you already read up on this yet, buns can’t tolerate heat very well (they tolerate cold much better) and can get very uncomfortable if the temp is above 80. Just wanted to throw that out there

[MirBear]

i still think you bun is just the cutest thing though elrohwen even if he does sleep weird

[Elrohwen]

Haha, thanks MirBear! The vet tech who clips his nails says he’s the cutest bunny at the whole practice. Even when he growls at her 😉

I do think I need an avatar that doesn’t involve a santa hat though. 😛

[ashy]

Benny was in the “Sphynx” position yesterday! I tried to get a photo, but he moved before I got the camera ready
Haha. Right now he’s sprawled out on the floor next to me. So cute.

He lives inside with us. It was such short notice that he doesn’t even have a rabbit hutch/cage until payday. But i’ve got this big speaker box (minus the speaker) that i’ve been meaning to throw out, but he has claimed that as his own, so i’ve set him up on a section of the living room.

Yeahh i’ve heard that rabbits + heat aren’t a very good mix. He’s lucky his new home has a reverse-cycle air-con! Haha.

Another quick question.. is his circling.
He runs laps around my feet (or my chair, if i’m sitting at the computer, like right now). I’ve read in lots of places that this is a courting behavior. What age to bunnies reach sexual maturity? And is it normal for the circling to occur so often? He’s done it, like, 5 times in the past hour or two!
He’s going to the vet for a checkup on payday also. And depending on how much money I need to fork out for the dreaded electricity bill is this month, I want to get him neutered. How old should a bunny be before he is neutered?

Sorry for all the questions, haha.

[MirBear]

i love the santa hat!! i cant wait untill easter.. its the bunnies celabration!!! hershey has the name and the colour or chocolate so now all i nees is to teach her NOT to eat the stringy things in the basket and i can start with the photography

[corpathina]

my lionhead lop does that all the time. he was sitting that way earlier today in the middle of the big pile of hay he drug onto his condo floor and spread everywhere. lol.. i think it’s just another way to lay – like a cat would do.

[MirBear]

depending on how big your bunny is the reach maturity in different ages. small bunnies 5-6 months , medieum bunnies 6-7months, large bunnies 7-9 months.. correct me if im wrong

[angelicvampyre]

CCrude wrong a big long post and the internet ate it!

Ok 4 – 6 months to get done but some vets do run off weight for breed. circling means he is in love! Lucky you it is very cute.

Where abouts are you in Australia there are a few of us on here and we could point you in the direction of a rabbit vet

[Elrohwen]

Awww, he loooves you. He thinks you’re his girlfriend! My bun did this recently despite being neutered for a long time, but in an unneutered bun it definitely means that he’s hit puberty and is probably ready to be snipped. It’s definitely a cute behavior though. Unlike humping … humping of arms is not so cute 😛

I agree with the others that males can be neutered at 4-6 months or older. Some vets like them to be a certain size to handle the anesthesia better, so they might wait longer on a very small bun to allow it to grow more. Other vets only wait until the testicles have dropped, which can happen any time between 2 and 6 months. But if he’s exhibiting courtship behavior, I would guess his have already dropped.

[Elrohwen]

Oh, and my bun loves the air conditioning too! We have a vent on the floor and he loves to lay on it during the summer, waiting for the air conditioning to start up. Then he continues to sit there while his fur blows in the breeze 😛 Silly buns.

[ashy]

Okay thanks I agree that the courting behavior is adorable haha!
He doesn’t like being picked up so I only do that if I absolutely must. For the most part I just leave him alone and let him come to me if he wants something. Which is quite often lol. He follows me all over the house and flops beside me wherever I sit haha.

I tell you what, watching him do binkies is a pretty awesome show!!

angelicvampyre, i’m in Bathurst NSW I’ve got a friend with rabbits and she’s pretty tight with her vet, so i’ll follow her lead and take him to the clinic she takes hers to.

[ashy]

Oh, is there any rules about image size? I’ve got a few pictures I can show off, but they’re 1024×768.

[Monkeybun]

Yeah, you gotta resize them so they don’t take up much room.. I just use widows paint to resize em, quick and easy

And Monkey likes to sleep in that pose alot.. so it isnt just a lop thing!

[RabbitPam]

It sounds like he is very, very happy to be with you now.
He is sleeping in meatloaf and sphinx positions (cute, and alert) and also stretching out so he is clearly comfortable with you and his new home.
He is telling you how much he loves you, too, by circling.

The vet will be able to give him a going over and let you know when they want you to make an appointment for a neuter. If his body is ready, the vet will be able to tell right away and do it as soon as the vet is ready. Congratulations on your cute little Benny!

[Elrohwen]

Posted By Monkeybun on 01/06/2010 03:08 PM
Yeah, you gotta resize them so they don’t take up much room.. I just use widows paint to resize em, quick and easy

And Monkey likes to sleep in that pose alot.. so it isnt just a lop thing!

 

Does she stretch her front legs out super far so that it almost looks like she’s stretching? I’ve seen pictures of other lops doing it, but no normal buns! You have to post pics.

I think someone on here put up one of their lop doing it … maybe it was Petzy? With one of the guys she was bonding? I can’t remember.

[MimzMum]

My Holland Lop sleeps in positions that scare the heck out of me sometimes…mostly because I can’t tell if he’s breathing! 0_0
He sleeps in loaf position, sphinx position, sphinx + leaning tower position, flop with ear covering eye, flop with eye wide open and staring…lol…you get the idea.
The other day he was dreaming when I looked at him and lots of facial twitching was going on. I woke him to be sure it wasn’t a seizure or something. This is probably one reason why (besides that he’s neutered) I don’t get circling behavior anymore

I wanted to be sure to say, thank you for taking this bunny in. How could anyone NOT want a bunny for Christmas?? I know I was looking under MY tree for one (more)! ^_^

[Sage Cat]

Congrats on your new bunny!
Sounds like he is adjusting to his new home really well!
My buns sleep in the loaf position and the sphinx all the time.

A Christmas present rejected in less than 2 weeks – what is wrong with people?

[MirBear]

i wanted another bunny for christmas!! i didnt get one though

[angelicvampyre]

MirBear i think we all wanted another bunny under our tree!

[jerseygirl]

Posted By Sage Cat on 01/07/2010 10:31 AM
A Christmas present rejected in less than 2 weeks – what is wrong with people?

I think the error was made by the person who bought the rabbit for someone else.

Just wanted to say Welcome to a fellow Aussie and Thank You for taking Benny in!

 

[ashy]

Hehe thanks everyone Yeah, a friend of mine got him as a christmas present for her daughter, but the daughter was much more pleased and happy with the Wii she got, so Kate asked me if I knew anyone who would want him, and I put my own hand up.
I’ll get some pictures up as soon as I quit being lazy and resize them

He jumped up on the couch with me this morning ^_^ First time he’s done that! And twice now since i’ve had him i’ve been stroking his head and he licked my hand when I stopped. Knowing that licking is a rabbits way of showing affection, it gave me that warm fuzzy feeling inside!

[jerseygirl]

Yes…rabbits are really not a pet for children. More of the family pet where the adult is responsible and child has time with it supervised.  I gues that’s true of any pet really.   In Australia, it’s still common to have a hutch rabbit but they don’t seem to get interaction with any of the family that way. Hopefully your friend will see the sort of maintenance and understanding they require and be able to pass info onto other parents about what rabbits require.

[MirBear]

Posted By angelicvampyre on 01/07/2010 04:09 PM
MirBear i think we all wanted another bunny under our tree!

 

my mom was supposed to get me one…. now i have to wait untill spring though..

[Juli]

it probably means he is cold or he is just stretching. I have worked with bunnies for awhile so if you have a question just ask me.

[Author]

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