Nervous Doe won't exercise

Hi,

I'm looking after a friend's rabbit while they are on holiday. She normally lives in a large two storey 5 foot hutch and is put out in a run daily and sometimes allowed to run indoors. However because of the size of the hutch she has come here with a four foot hutch indoors as I am concerned about foxes outside.

Sadly she lost her friend a couple of weeks ago - she was alwasy a bit of a nervous rabbit but the move on her own seems to have made her more nervous still. She's not completely traumatised, is eating fine and will come and say hi and take a piece of cabbage from me.

The problem is that if I get her out and put her in her run or (as the weather is terrible) out in the house she just sits still and will not move. Her eyesight is not good - she is a red eyed white rabbit and does that thing where they drift slightly from side to side (I've seen white gerbils do it and it means that they see moving objects better).

I'm worried that she'll spend the whole week with no exercise but I can't really think what to do to encourage her as she's just too nervous. I can give her a box to hide in but she's unlikely to want to come out. She's quite interested in my guinea pigs but putting them in the run next door doesn't help - I obviously can't put her in with them.


They are intending to get her a new friend when they return from holiday.

Paula

Definately give her a box. Rabbit's are prey animals and their defense mechanism are a quick race back to the burrow or freezing in the hope they won't be spotted. As she has no burrow (box) to race back to she's remaining frozzen.

If you give her a box she may spend a while hiding in it but she'll feel much less stressed and should eventually venture out as she feels safer.

Tam

And maybe you could cover the run, or even half of it with a sheet or net curtain so she feels a bit safer?

Maybe you are putting her in the run when she wants to sleep. My rabbits sleep most of the day and if I open the back door to let them out in the morning, and its too late, they just won't go out as they are tired. I think you are brilliant to worry about her, but she has had quite an upheaval with losing her partner and then moving to an indoor hutch with you for a short period. I would say if she is eating, drinking and pooing fine, then not to worry to much if she is not racing about. Without her partner she probably feels insecure.

Hi,

Thanks for your replys. I'm going to try her in the run with a box and a cover over it later.

Unfortunately I have a fox around at the moment - I went out just now and he was sitting in the garden again - I think he may be sick. There's little I can do about him but no-one can go in their runs unless I'm actually sitting out there with them.

Her hutch is by me at the moment and she's stretched out in the open part so she's settling in fine.

Paula

The good news is that she's got over her initial shyness and will now happily run around in her run. She's got a box to run into if she wants it.

We had her out in the hall today and she was hopping around happily. Of course I left her out a little too long as I was happy she was moving around and she found a nice dark corner and christened my carpet :? ah well serves me right - too used to my other friend's house bunnies :lol:

Getting quite attached to her - think I might refuse to give her back

Paula