UGH! What do I do?! (Bunny thumping problems)

[sevyn]

Sorry to keep bugging you all with this, but I appreciate all the answers I get and all the advice I’ve received so far. This is also getting to be a bit of an issue since I’m sure my mom (and neighbours) won’t be as forgiving about her misbehaviour…

Is territory really the only explanation for my bun’s behaviour? I’ve mostly just noticed a lot of random, patternless thumping and I’ve tried EVERYTHING to get her to make peace with her surroundings – new area of the house, being close to me, far away from me, more free space, less free space – and she just won’t stop. It’s so spontaneous sometimes that I wake up at 3 in the morning to hear her IN THE NEXT ROOM OVER doing it. 
Everything else has improved but the thumping bit. Right now she is set up in my living room in a penned off area, where I spend a fair portion of the day and leave her on her own at night. Overall I’ve noticed she seems much happier here – less marking her territory, less aggression overall, etc… but since she’s still thumping so often, I’m out of ideas!

What gives a bunny incentive to thump, and how do you silence a loud one? Could she still possibly be uncomfortable with something small I overlooked, or is it simply because she’s not spayed? (Remember, she picks random times, often with no apparent stimulation, to start up.) Help!

[BinkyBunny]

Well thumping doesn’t mean it’s a territorial issue as much as marking and aggression, so since the later has gotten better, then the thumping is still probably due to fear or anger.

Quite baffling.  I mean she could be hearing noises outside – little critters, to cars.  Or if your home has a heater that comes on in the middle of the night, that could set her off.  Some bunnies don’t like it when their humans do the dishes.  Some bunnies don’t like the smell of meat cooking.  Others don’t like the smell of other animals and that means even scents on your clothes if you were visiting something else.   Sometimes bunnies have a hard time recognizing you if you are carrying something.   I mean this may really take some investigative work.     She may be thumping at many different things, sights, smells and sounds.  

Also, some rabbits thump to get attention and food.

Start keeping a "thump" journal and note the times she does it and what is happening during that time.  Notice scents, movements, sounds.

In the meantime, in the middle of the night, have you tried using a fan and radio to help block out any noise that she may be reacting too?

 

 OH, I forgot to add.   A friend of mine said that she realized her bunny was thumping at her "snoring". 

[sevyn]

Yikes! Well, right now I can’t do anything if I am snoring – I’m the only one here so I have no idea. I supose I could try recording myself if it really comes down to it.
Well, this really is a puzzler. Almost everything here is very consistent and she shows no real disagreement to any of it, but I’ll start watching her more carefully and let you know if I come up with any particular revelations. She usually has a fan on at night, but I’ll try setting up a radio or leaving the TV on to see if that leaves her more at ease.
Thanks for the ideas, I’ll let you know how it goes if I see any improvement.

[brad]

uh i know this might not be of any help but a while ago my bun and i went to a friends house and he had a cat. In the middle of the night out of nowhere she started to thump loudly i went into the bedroom to find the cat trying to get in her cage so your problem might have something to do with ur buns fears…

[sevyn]

bames13 – welcome to BinkyBunny!
I realize my bunny might have an issue with something in her surrounding area, but I’m having a bit of a problem trying to discern WHAT that might be – the only occupants here right now are myself, my bun and my Degu (small caged rodent) who she actually very much likes and loves to torment. Although weekends can be a bit different since neighbours in the next building over can get a little rowdy (at which point I usually just close the patio door and turn up her fan to drown them out), nights here are completely quiet and consistent and I can’t think of anything that might be setting her off yet.
For what it counts for, though, I haven’t heard her thump at all today yet, and it’s usually an all-day-no-reasoning kind of thing. Completely quiet and at ease – but I also haven’t done anything differently! How confusing.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Is your bunny near a window or located on the ground floor? Can you describe her environment or post a pic?  It just might help. 

[sevyn]

I’d love to post a picture, but I can’t right now… no camera available, unfortunately. (I’m also waiting on this to formally introduce her to you guys, lol.)
Anyways, we are in an apartment on the sixth floor. Her cage is, true enough, right next to the patio door for the time being…. but once she’s been here for a little while and I’m sure she’s not just being bossy about her move to a new spot, I will try another in the hopes that it works better.
Also, if this counts for anything, the balcony we have obscures any real view she has of outside, so I find it unlikely she can have any conception of her height.
I’m sorry, I wish I could offer you more than that as an explanation. I’ll try to get a camera to take some pictures in the near future if I haven’t figured it out soon.

[jellyrose]

Is it possible that she is spotting things out the window? My two freak out when ever they see an airoplane even if it’s only a little dot in the sky! at night though I guess the shades would be closed!? Also my the celing fan causes them to thump… maybe they think it’s a bird?
They get very active around 4-6am and often charge into our room honking and jump on the bed at this time. Maybe your bunny is trying to tell you it’s time to wake up and pay her some attention. : )

[Spacehopper]

It could be all sorts of weird & wonderful things. lol Brian doesn’t thump where we are now, but in our old place he thumped at what we thought was nothing (as we couldn’t hear anything), then several minutes later without fail a great lorry would rumble by in the small hours, and working it out brian had been hearing the lorries echoing through the hilly bit of West Wycombe about 3 miles away. Weeny Bean, however….. she thumps at the vibrations of the boyfriend’s mobile going off. I wish you luck in your investigating.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Jellyrose has some great suggestions. Don’t worry about the pictures, I just thought rather than trying to have you expain in detail every part of her surroundings a picture could take care of it. My two freak when they see a bird but over time have gotten used them as well as airplanes, helicopers, neighborhood cats, cars and anything that they were not used to (which was just about everything) they thumped or would cower & hide. I am also wondering if perhaps your bunny is in direct sunlight? I would be very careful if she is and move her out of it as bunnies can overheat quite quickly (anything over about 73 degrees farenheit). Is someone walking overhead or are you on the top floor? Is their a main door that she can hear that keeps slamming shut?

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