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Quiet New Bunny - Lonely?

marchi1990

marchi1990

Mama Doe
Hello,

I bought a lovely 13 week old bunny about 10 days ago. When I bought him he was living with lots of other rabbits and seemed very lively.

When we brought him home he was obviously very nervous. However, he is still so incredibly quiet. When he is out in his house he barely moves. He has a lovely big house with a slope taking him down to the run. He has not once ventured out of his house. If I put him in the run, he just stands there and doesn't go back up the slope back into his house.

When we bring him inside, he runs around, hops and is very excited like he enjoys the company.

Do you think he could possibly be lonely outside? Any suggestions would be appreciated.
 
could you keep him inside by any chance, at least for winter? It is really cold out at the moment and if he's a pet shop rabbit, he wont have much of a winter coat. Rabbits aren't solitary animals either, so once he is older, ideally he could do with being neutered and getting a female bunny for company! So in answer to your question, personally I'd say he probably is lonely outside.

Would love to see some pics! Welcome to RU also :wave:
 
Do you think he finds it cold outside. Was he outdoors when you got him? If not, his coat won't be thick enough for the cold weather. Also taking rabbits indoors then back outside at this time of the year is not good for them, unlike cats and dogs. If he was with a lot of other rabbits he will take time to get used to being on his own. It would be a good idea to have him neutered when he is old enough then get him a friend, maybe one already neutered from a Rescue.
 
Hello,

Thank you for such fast replies.

Yes he was bought from a pet-shop so was obviously used to living inside. I do have a home he could live in inside but currently he is pooping everywhere and so that makes it very difficult because I want him to be able to run around.

When would you advise would be a good time for him to be neutered and then add a female? I really don't want him to be lonely.

As for bringing him inside, we bring him in periodically throughout the day so he can socialise with us - is this not a good idea?

Thank you :D
 
Oh and here he is. His name is Bunny!

bunny_zps79ae953a.jpg
 
marchi1990 said:
Hello,

Thank you for such fast replies.

Yes he was bought from a pet-shop so was obviously used to living inside. I do have a home he could live in inside but currently he is pooping everywhere and so that makes it very difficult because I want him to be able to run around.

When would you advise would be a good time for him to be neutered and then add a female? I really don't want him to be lonely.

As for bringing him inside, we bring him in periodically throughout the day so he can socialise with us - is this not a good idea?

Thank you :D
Click to expand...

In that case he could really do with being inside. Regarding the pooing issue, that's natural for an un-neutered buck! When he is neutered it'll become a lot easier to litter train him. does he have a litter tray in his indoor cage? They can be neutered when they get their plums, to be blunt! The bonding process can start 6 weeks after ooerations.

Bringing him in isn't the best idea, because the temperature changes so much and it can affect his health and potentially cause snuffles, i believe!
 
He is actually adorable!! :love:

Re: the pooping, is he going a lot in one place? If so, that would be the ideal place for a litter tray! Rabbits are generally pretty tidy and usually find one spot to do their business. You can encourage him by herding him towards the litter tray when he poops or pees, and rewarding him when he goes in his litter tray. Also try not to give him too much space to begin with, rabbits won't go very far in search of a litter tray in my experience!!

He can probably be neutered from around 3 1/2 months old, or as soon as his testicles descend. The recovery time for this is not as long as for a female spay so you could introduce him to a spayed female quite soon after his op (I'd give him a couple of weeks!)

My doe, Sophie, is probably the shyest bun ever, apart from when you move any of her stuff and then she charges at us! We've had her for a few weeks now and her personality is really beginning to shine through during playtime! The more your bun gets to know you the more confident he will be!
 
He is adorable!:love:

If he is from a pet shop I would definitely keep him inside as he won't have a winter coat and will really suffer out in the cold, especially in the weather we're having!
 
Aww he's beautiful :love: he's probably lonely and cold outside like the other posters have said I would bring him indoors till the summer time so he's not alone and cold :wave:
 
Oh he is absolutely gorgeous! The pet shop should have mentioned the fact that he is too young to go straight outside at this time of the year. Rabbits are quite easy to litter train if you give them a tray with hay in it but more so when neutered. He should be ready for neutering at about 4 - 5 months, depending on your Vet. Are you sure it is a boy as boys are usually more active outside than girls. If you keep him in your indoor cage until he gets used to weeing and pooping in it then you may find he will go back in when he wants to wee etc. There are examples of indoor housing setups in the Housing Section. His main diet should consist of hay and pellets until he is around 6 months old and then he should e eating mainly hay with just a few pellets. You can also start to introduce small bits of veg such as spring greens or cabbage, washed first. Carrot should be kept for special occasions as it is high in sugar.
 
No the pet shop didn't mention that he shouldn't be living outside at all. All of my rabbits (3 more!) live outside and just come in for playtime.

As for his pooping, he isn't just doing it in one area which is why I am worried about him coming inside. He is kind of running around the living room and dropping it anywhere. In his hutch outside I think he is gradually getting used to the tray. I keep moving it into his tray so he knows that's where he should go. Hopefully my persistence will pay off!

As for neutering I think that is a good idea - I will ask my vets at what age they begin doing them. Hopefully also this will make his litter training easier.

Can anybody advise me, if I were to being him inside to live, how would I go about the litter tray situation? How do I start and how do I begin to train him?

Thanks a lot :)
 
Some of it will be territorial marking which will subside after he's been neutered. Have you got an indoor cage for him? If so, put a litter box in his cage and see where he pees. If he pees in a different corner, move the litter box to that position. Gradually he will begin to always go in that litter tray (pooping too!). Don't be too concerned if he poops all over the place to begin with, he's marking the cage as his own!
 
marchi1990 said:
No the pet shop didn't mention that he shouldn't be living outside at all. All of my rabbits (3 more!) live outside and just come in for playtime.

As for his pooping, he isn't just doing it in one area which is why I am worried about him coming inside. He is kind of running around the living room and dropping it anywhere. In his hutch outside I think he is gradually getting used to the tray. I keep moving it into his tray so he knows that's where he should go. Hopefully my persistence will pay off!

As for neutering I think that is a good idea - I will ask my vets at what age they begin doing them. Hopefully also this will make his litter training easier.

Can anybody advise me, if I were to being him inside to live, how would I go about the litter tray situation? How do I start and how do I begin to train him?

Thanks a lot :)
Click to expand...

Pooing isn't much of an issue, you can just sweep up any spare poos that he drops. Ideally a cage with a pen attached is ideal for indoors bunnies and it also contains the poos and hay. To start litter training, put a substrate (megazorb, carefresh etc) and place his hay at one end of it. Bunnies love to eat and poo and this will encourage him to use the litter tray for pooing as well as peeing. Generally a bunny will automatically use the tray for peeing, if he pees elsewhere try soaking some of it up with a tissue and placing the tissue in the tray. Another good way is to watch him..you can usually tell when they are about to pee (lift the tail up and put on a concentrating face :lol:) then if you suspect he is about to pee, quickly pick him up and place him in the tray then give him a treat if he does a pee in it!
 
He should be inside at present - he is too young to cope in these temperatures and also will be very very lonely for the first time ever in his life he is alone. He must be very scared as well.

If you get a large dog crate you can have all his things inside that and he will learn that that is his place and poo (mostly) in there!

The first few times he is allowed out he will poo in lots of places just to mark the territory - but that should stop even before he is neutered. the pet shops around here have signs up at present saying 'must live inside until warmer weather'
 
This exactly
:wave:
It sounds like a very irresponsible petshop! :(
parsnipbun said:
He should be inside at present - he is too young to cope in these temperatures and also will be very very lonely for the first time ever in his life he is alone. He must be very scared as well.

If you get a large dog crate you can have all his things inside that and he will learn that that is his place and poo (mostly) in there!

The first few times he is allowed out he will poo in lots of places just to mark the territory - but that should stop even before he is neutered. the pet shops around here have signs up at present saying 'must live inside until warmer weather'
Click to expand...
 
Thank you so much to everybody.

He stayed in last night and does seem much happier. He is kept in his little house and then I let him run around the living room periodically throughout the day. He even met my other male rabbit last night (through the cage!). They seemed very happy.

I will definitely consider having him neutered when he is older. I am also considering purchasing this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/290841297476?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

What do you think of that?

:D
 
marchi1990 said:
Thank you so much to everybody.

He stayed in last night and does seem much happier. He is kept in his little house and then I let him run around the living room periodically throughout the day. He even met my other male rabbit last night (through the cage!). They seemed very happy.

I will definitely consider having him neutered when he is older. I am also considering purchasing this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/290841297476?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

What do you think of that?

:D
Click to expand...

A rabbit can easily get out of that. It would only take a hop.

You could just get a large indoor rabbit cage, or a large dog crate and attach pens to them. But it's good he's indoors now, the way the weather is, he would never survive.
 
He really is quite tiny so I'm not sure he would get out. I have been looking into getting him a larger indoor home however they are all pretty small?
 
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