New bunny not settling in or something else???

I picked up my new house bun last Thursday. When i went to meet him he was very docile but very cuddly and the fosterer said that he loved to be sat with people and was very much a 'people' bun.

The first evening he ran around the room like mad and whilst he was nervous around me he seemed quite happy in his new environment. On Friday he spent most of his time in his cage or sat on the rug in front of it but didn't run away when we walked past him and was happy to have us sit next to him. On Saturday/Sunday he again spent most of his time in his cage or the area around it but he was happy with us stroking him and he gave us a good sniff when we were sat with him and he seemed to having no issues apart from being a bit apprehensive about exploring the rest of the room. I thought it might be because we had laminate flooring and it was cold and slippy so I put more rugs and blankets down around the room. On Monday and Tuesday he sat in his cage (by choice) until mid afternoon and seemed a bit reluctant to come out, he was still happy with us stroking him though and didn't seem particularly 'off'. He'd been eating hay, herbs and pellets and drinking over this time.

Today I've noticed he's not eaten any hay. He's sat in his litter tray in the cage and he's eaten an eggcup of pellets and plenty of coriander and parsley. He's passed urine and there are some poos in the cage, they're a little on the dark side but he has been having readigrass which I know can make rabbit poo dark. I'm sat on the floor by the cage and he's let me stroke him and he let me touch his belly with no flinching - his stomach doesn't seem distended.

Should I be worried that there is some medical issue or is it just still early days and he's still settling in? I've put fresh timothy and alfafa hay, some herb forage and some readigrass in his cage in the hope that one of them will tempt him. And I know this is going to sound awful and I'd never not take a animal to the vets that is in need, if the general consensus is get him to the vets then I'll go straight away, but I took insurance out yesterday and it won't cover anything for 14 days so if this is just normal settling in behaviour then I don't want to panic and rush to the vets.

I am a new rabbit owner so can't offer much in the way of help. I just know that when I first got Dexter he was a very different Rabbit to what he is now. He was very quiet and *ahem* well behaved! He didn't chew anything, he was a dream to litter train and generally was a joy, I even commented to my husband how lucky we were to have a rabbit as well behaved as he was. The only downside was he didn't really liked to be fussed. Now however, he is a cheeky little chappy who eats everything in sight (shoes are his favourite :shock treats our flat as his personal race track (which is a joy to watch) and LOVES being fussed and cuddled, as for well behaved...ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!:shock:

I thinks rabbits need time to adjust to their surroundings, I think I would too if I was uprooted from my home and suddenly surrounded by giants who I didn't know!

Hopefully someone with far more knowledge than me will be along to give you some better and more sound advice though!

I hope he comes out of his shell and improves soon

Justjo is quite right, it can take time for them to settle in and that may well be all it is. However I'd also be concerned that is could potentially be the start of a bought of stasis. I'd recommend cleaning out the poop so you can check whether he's still producing it - don't disinfect though as the 'smell' will be helping him feel settled.

Have you changed his diet at all from what he was on before you got him? How way his hay eating before?

If he's not pooping or stops eating - I'd be offering him something eg a pellet at regular intervals to check - then off to the vets. If your vets is still open now you could take him in anyway on the grounds a app now, even if it's nothing, is cheaper than an emergency one. If he still okay tomorrow but you're worried he's not right then again you could take him for a checkup.

Thanks guys

He's on science selectives pellets and timothy hay and readigrass which is the same as previous. I've stuck to herbs and veg and have only given him a small square of apple twice to coerce him into bum checks.
He's just hopped out of his cage, passed a few soft poos followed by about 20 regular poos on the rug and run a few laps round my feet. I'm hoping that it was gas perhaps?

I've removed all poo from the cage and made him a box of hay with some pellets and fenugreek crunchies hidden amongst it so hopefully he'll start munching away. I'll keep a close eye on him tonight and if he's still a bit off in the morning I'll get him to the vet.

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daffodil.lemurs said:

Thanks guys

He's on science selectives pellets and timothy hay and readigrass which is the same as previous. I've stuck to herbs and veg and have only given him a small square of apple twice to coerce him into bum checks.
He's just hopped out of his cage, passed a few soft poos followed by about 20 regular poos on the rug and run a few laps round my feet. I'm hoping that it was gas perhaps?

I've removed all poo from the cage and made him a box of hay with some pellets and fenugreek crunchies hidden amongst it so hopefully he'll start munching away. I'll keep a close eye on him tonight and if he's still a bit off in the morning I'll get him to the vet.

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The soft poos sound like more than just settling in. Are they soft fecal poos or are they caecotrophs?

If he is eating still and he doesn't have any history of gut problems, I would just withdraw any sugary foods/ treats for now and contact his foster carer and ask about his usual veggies, amounts and types. It may just be that you've fed him something his tummy doesn't cope with. But it does need keeping an eye on and if he stops eating/has diorrhea/stops pooing or shows other signs of pain/gut problems, I'd take him to the vet.

Was he eating readigrass before he came to you and is he eating that at the moment? If yes, I'd up the amount so he's still getting good amounts of fibre to keep his gut moving.

Is he on the same brands of hay as before? If not, getting some of his usual stuff may help, as he might just not like your hay much, bunnies can be very fussy with different brands.

When I got Butter-Bean from BARC Angie said he was a good hay eater. For a few weeks here although he ate hay it was very little and I certainly wouldn't have described him as a good hay eater. Turns out it really was that he took a while to settle in as now he eats hay just like Bumble does and loves it. He is very different to when he first came and it did worry me at first but now he's really settled in it took him a good few weeks. I just wanted to say it could be settling in still and he could improve.

They were soft fecal poos rather than caecotrophs. I did give him half a sprout yesterday, I'm wondering whether that might have upset his stomach. He usually has fresh herbs, kale, rocket and the odd tomato so I think I'll stick to that for now and hold off introducing any more veg. He's had readigrass since he was first taken in by the rspca so I'm going to persevere with that and try and get some different brands of timothy hay tomorrow.
My last bun used to go off her hay when we went on holiday and would send my friend into a panic but she'd be back to her old self as soon as we were back. I know a new home can be quite stressful so I'm hoping he'll perk up once he's more comfortable around us.
He's currently stretched out on the rug looking pretty comfortable and confused as to what all the worry is about

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