Trying to be a Better Owner

[Lily]

Hello!

So my parents got me a bunny for my birthday 4 years ago, they got her mostly because I had wanted a dog my entire life but because we rent a house we never could. I was way to young to have a rabbit and I also wanted a pet I could treat like a dog or a pet I could hold and play with. I soon found out that that wasn’t really something I could do with her and I soon found out that she hates being held and wasn’t very interested in me. I went 3 years without taking very good care of her. I mostly ignored her the only time I noticed her was to feed her, clean the cage and get her water. She’s always been free roaming around my room but has never gone much further than under my bed(where her cage is). I started trying to bond with her again one year ago, noticing how horrible and neglective I had been to her but she always ran further under the bed if I came near and would stay there until I left, the only time she’d come near me is if I was giving her a treat. It’s been a year, nothing has changed and I just want a good life for my rabbit even if that means giving her away, I love her so much but I’ve treated her badly and I don’t want her to live in fear or never get to make a bond or socialize with someone. I’d love to be able to make up for time loss and become closer with her to the point where she’s happy and will come out from under the bed. Is it too late? Does she need to start fresh with someone new to make a connection? I don’t know if you need this information but just in case I’ll say that she’s a about 5 years old and a dwarf rabbit and she was bought from a local pet store that didn’t really care about her well being and was a very skittish rabbit from the start. Please give me some advice on how I can improve her life.

[Azerane]

Welcome to the forum I think it’s wonderful that you’re trying to be a better owner for your rabbit. Rabbits are certainly unique and as you have found aren’t cuddly animals. However developing a bond with your rabbit will result in a wonderful relationship and it’s never too late to start

Under the bed is her safe zone and she can obviously get away from you there. Rabbits when scared will not come out if they still feel threatened. The only way to have her come out is to completely ignore her. Lay down on the floor of your room with some treats and read a book or use a laptop or something if you have one. Rabbits, despite being prey animals are very curious and like to come and check out what is going on. When she approaches you, you will need to completely ignore her, she needs to know that you’re not going to try and touch her or pick her up any time that she comes near. Since her behaviour of hiding is so ingrained it may take a long time for her to come out, I’m not sure if she ever comes out when you’re in the room but if not it may even take a week of just sitting quietly on the floor for half an hour, facing away and ignoring her for her to come out but with time and patience it will happen.

Another option is to move her cage. Is it possible to move her cage out from under the bed to a different location? If you can move her cage out and when she is in it eating hay, shut the door to the cage, you can then block off her access to under the bed. This is a slightly more stressful method as under the bed is obviously her safe zone, but it will force her to come out and move around out of that area. Even simply moving the cage out from under the bed, but still giving her access under there could help, because it would mean she has to come out more often to eat her hay and food etc. which will help her get used to you more.

Since she has been fearful for quite some time it will take a lot of patience, but I think if you set aside time once or twice a day, every day you will start to make progress. She needs to approach you though, and you need to ignore her when she does so that she feels safe. If treats get her to come to you, use those, lie down on your back and encourage her to climb up onto your stomach to reach the treat etc. You will get there

[ThorBunny]

Hello! It is really great that you trying to bond further with your rabbit

I am very sympathetic, I had a rabbit as a child (ages 6 to 12) who I loved, but I worry that we mistreated him and that he did not have the best life. He lived alone, had free roam of one room in the house. However we didn’t play with him much and I’m sure he was lonely… I didn’t know any better, but it doesn’t make me feel good about it now, I wish everyone could know about proper rabbit care!

Do you have any idea why she is afraid of you? Is it just natural caution or have you tried to pick her up a few times? My first advice would be to never try to pick her up, that will allow her to trust you so much more. Azerane has some great advice, the best way to bond with a rabbit is to sit quietly in their area and ignore them. If she comes over to investigate you, don’t pet her, but you could have a small favorite treat on hand to offer her! Every time she comes over to you, she gets a treat (but not tooooo much sugar, if you do this a lot maybe use healthy treats like parsley or another vegetable); this will make her associate you with good things

I’m sure it will take some time. The more time you can spend near her, the more she will learn that you are not a threat. Maybe do your homework on your bedroom floor and spend more time just being around her. Eventually she will give in and be more trusting. Even if she doesn’t seem to be paying attention, communal floor time is very beneficial. My rabbit is fairly friendly now, but I make sure to spend time on the floor hanging out with her every day, even if she doesn’t come over for pets.

Good luck, keep us updated!

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