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Terrified rabbit - please help

Rose24

Rose24

Warren Scout
Hello everyone,

In the summer our rabbits Munch and Piff went to Fat Fluffs to be bonded and it was a real success. On their return we followed instructions, puppy pen for a week, then get bigger, slowly introduce toys etc. It has been amazing and they have even been out together in the living room.

However, last night my husband and I woke up to Piff (their bunny room is opposite ours) running full speed around her room, throwing herself into walls, completely out of breath. Munch was just stood in complete shock. It took us a while to catch Piff and I was seriously concerned she was going to kill herself by how manic she was. I got them both into their carrier and after a few minutes of calm got Piff out to check her over, I stroked her and calmed her down for around 15 minutes and she relaxed. I then returned her to the carrier as this is what we were advised to do should there be an incident after the bond. After an hour both girls went back into their room and all has been calm.

Cleaned them this morning and they are both back to their normal happy selves. It was like another animal had got in their last night.

Can any help please, we are back to work tomorrow and the thought of leaving them is horrible xx
 
Could something have made a noise which made her jump and freak out? My bunny Dave used to panic when the window cleaner turned up. He was just ridiculous and I'd have to put him in his carrier to calm down.
 
Rose24 said:
Hello everyone,

In the summer our rabbits Munch and Piff went to Fat Fluffs to be bonded and it was a real success. On their return we followed instructions, puppy pen for a week, then get bigger, slowly introduce toys etc. It has been amazing and they have even been out together in the living room.

However, last night my husband and I woke up to Piff (their bunny room is opposite ours) running full speed around her room, throwing herself into walls, completely out of breath. Munch was just stood in complete shock. It took us a while to catch Piff and I was seriously concerned she was going to kill herself by how manic she was. I got them both into their carrier and after a few minutes of calm got Piff out to check her over, I stroked her and calmed her down for around 15 minutes and she relaxed. I then returned her to the carrier as this is what we were advised to do should there be an incident after the bond. After an hour both girls went back into their room and all has been calm.

Cleaned them this morning and they are both back to their normal happy selves. It was like another animal had got in their last night.

Can any help please, we are back to work tomorrow and the thought of leaving them is horrible xx
Click to expand...


There have been two reasons I have experienced such manic behaviour in a rabbit.

One was following a seizure - some time after (often rabbits have them and we don't see them - I'm not saying this happened to Piff though)

And the other occasion was a rabbit being spooked.

Could something have appeared at the window?

I would suggest keeping them both very calm, and closing the curtains and putting on a radio at low level when you are out tomorrow, just for security :)
 
Phoebe often gets scared by hew own shadow and needs calming things.

Do they have lots of comfortable, dark hiding places? We found Phoebe copes a lot better with a few bolt holes for when she panics. She knows its safe as no one enters there apart from her bunny friend Daphne.
 
Thank you for your help. I really hope it was a one off as it was awful last night. All seems calm this evening so fingers crossed. I will try the radio tomorrow xx
 
Rose24 said:
Thank you for your help. I really hope it was a one off as it was awful last night. All seems calm this evening so fingers crossed. I will try the radio tomorrow xx
Click to expand...


Yes I hope it was a one off too :wave:

You are right to be concerned though, as rabbits can injure themselves so easily.

Does the room they are in have curtains?
 
Hello,
Yes the room has curtains and we have built a wooden/mesh screen which is half height so the window can be open in the day as the room gets hot but is always closed at night. There is no roof underneath the window just a sheer drop so no cat could have climbed up and looked in. My mums dog has seizures and she becomes terrified and runs in fear after them (before she had medication). I just so hope this isn't the case with Piff. It may have been a noise outside or a noise in the house xx
 
Rose24 said:
Hello,
Yes the room has curtains and we have built a wooden/mesh screen which is half height so the window can be open in the day as the room gets hot but is always closed at night. There is no roof underneath the window just a sheer drop so no cat could have climbed up and looked in. My mums dog has seizures and she becomes terrified and runs in fear after them (before she had medication). I just so hope this isn't the case with Piff. It may have been a noise outside or a noise in the house xx
Click to expand...

Sometimes a passing bird, or even a shadow from a moving curtain blown in the wind can spook a rabbit.

It's more likely to be that than a seizure. But just because it's happened once (even if it was a seizure) doesn't mean it will happen ever again :D
 
When something scares a rabbit their instinct is to run away and hide. Even a big room is a small space when it comes to running so they can end up bashing into things. It's very very important they have bolt holes like tunnels and boxes so they have somewhere enclosed to run into when they panic. They also prefer their bolt hole to have two exits :)
 
Hi. I know I'm wading in late and with the same view but I'm going with the spooked theory. Petra gets spooked when she's in the hallway alone and will run in and jump on me and need to be calmed down.

I hope your bunny's ok.
 
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