When rabbits get scared

[Silly Sungura]

This morning Hodari became terrified for no perceptable reason. She shares the master bedroom and bathroom with us, and she was playing quietly in the bathroom while I was in the bedroom cleaning her litter box. Suddenly she came running into the bedroom, thumping like crazy and hid in one of her favorite places: between the wall and hamper. She was wild-eyed and still thumping when I knelt down to look at her, so I just talked to her in a soothing voice. She acted very scared even of me. When she finally came out from behind the hamper she tip-toed back into the bathroom and thumped a couple of more times before she got there. The only thing that helped calm her was my husband coming into the room. She peeked around the corner at him and then came out to sniff his feet and allowed him to pet her. He put her on the bed and she settled right down like nothing had happened!

 

I’m puzzled. I’ve never seen her that scared before. Could she have heard/sensed a predator outside? I know we had a fox out there one night and she thumped then, too, for no obvious reason. My husband also suggested that maybe she heard a ground hog squeezing its way under our trailer. (We have a ground hog problem.) What do you guys think? I checked the bathroom, thinking something in there might have spooked her, but nothing was out of place. And I didn’t hear anything prior to her fearful dash from there… What should I do when she gets scared like that? I felt pretty helpless. And I think I was almost as scared as she was, thinking she might somehow injure herself in panic.

[jerseygirl]

They have super hearing. It could have been those reasons or even a house hold noise she hadn’t heard before. Or even a shape. Sometimes if we appear different to them they can freak.

Jersey has done this a couple times the last few days also. One night after I fed the pellets. I was really surprised because normally nothing would distract her from pellets! She not normally the thumper either. But she sensed or heard something and went into that super-alert & thumping mode. Mind you, she kept chewing.
But I know it’s frustrating when you can’t soothe them. You just have to wait it out until they calm down.

[LoveChaCha]

Hodari must have heard something scary. Rabbits can hear things that we cannot.

The first time this happened with Chacha, it freaked me out. Her body flattened down and she stomped. She ran quickly into her cardboard house and stomped and stayed in there!

[Silly Sungura]

It definitely made me freak out! I worry that she might get her leg caught in one of the vents or something when she’s upset like that. Poor bunnies; I guess that’s just a glimpse we’re getting of what it’s like to be a prey species. Hopefully it won’t happen again for a long time. 

[Dee]

My bunnies get scared over things I can’t see/hear- Nelli in particular. She’s somewhat of a nervous wreck anyway, so it doesn’t take much to set her off. She starts thumping, then BunBun gets freaked out too. I’ve watched his expression change when he gets scared- his eyes just get huge. He is more likely to go investigate a sound once he gathers his courage up, whereas Nelli just hides and stays upset for quite a while. Sometimes we have mice in the house, and that makes the bunnies jumpy. But when we have flying squirrels banging around in the ceiling, squeaking and dropping acorns that sound like rocks, they seem completely unfazed. Go figure.

[Silly Sungura]

Awww. You’ve got a nervous Nelli. Poor bunny. Hodari is more like your BunBun; she investigates when she recovers her courage. She tippy-toed it back to the bathroom the other morning, and thumped a couple more times on her way there. It was kind of cute in retrospect, but at the time I felt so sorry for her and puzzled as to what she had heard/sensed. She rarely thumps. Usually she perks up with a startled look and then relaxes again.

[jerseygirl]

Maybe she heard something in the pipes. Do you have a hot water system that turns itself on and off?  Her going back in like that then thumping might be a clue to it being something in the bathroom itself.

[Silly Sungura]

Yes, our hot water system works like that and the tank is in close proximity to the bathroom. She has gotten used to all the noises it makes that are audible to me, but maybe there are some it makes that I can’t detect. She sure was terrified, whatever it was. I’ve only seen her really frightened two other times – once over my husband’s new boots – and the other time was over a fox, I think. I wish I knew better what was going on in that little mind of hers!

[Jessica]

I used the search engine to find this post. I have a 1.5 yr old rescue. She’s been here a week today. Everything was fine and then suddenly she bolted. She began to thump when I would look at her. I gave her space and eventually she came out but was moving very stiff and rigid. I did move some furniture around and I’m wondering if she could be mad at me?? Feels crazy to say but she’s been nothing but sweet. She did accept blueberries from me (I thought of them as a peace offering) Any advice how I can make it up to her??

[jerseygirl]

Posted By Jessica on 9/08/2017 9:21 PM

I used the search engine to find this post. I have a 1.5 yr old rescue. She’s been here a week today. Everything was fine and then suddenly she bolted. She began to thump when I would look at her. I gave her space and eventually she came out but was moving very stiff and rigid. I did move some furniture around and I’m wondering if she could be mad at me?? Feels crazy to say but she’s been nothing but sweet. She did accept blueberries from me (I thought of them as a peace offering) Any advice how I can make it up to her??

I suppose the moved furniture changed her “mental map” and she might have gotten more easily startled by something. Or something passed by a window or glass doors that startled her? 

A lot of bunnies do have robotic like movements when they are uncertain and come back out after a fright.

How is she now? All is forgiven?

Just a note: I leave this thread unlocked so you have a chance to reply. After, it will be locked as it is an old thread. We do ask that members avoid replying to threads that are older then a few months. 

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