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Help new bunny ower!

i got my 3 month lionhaired bunny Bella yesturday. shes in a pretty reoomy cage. i am trying to help her adjust to her cage and see it as her home. will not letting her out much for the 1st few days make her aggressive? she keeps jumping on the wires of her cage. on the way home she waqs very sweet and lazy and now shes jumping everywhere. what does that mean? ahhhh :shock: i want her to be friendly and sweet i am looking for a friend to be loved. how can i help her be calm and sweet? I did so much research before getting her but now i feel clueless. please give me tips to a new baby bunny please!
 
Hi, and welcome to the forum :wave: Rabbits need a lot of space, they are very lively and will want to run and jump everywhere, and should not be shut in a cage for any length of time. If she is going to be a house rabbit you could either rabbit proof a room for her to be able to free range in, or buy puppy panels to make a large pen of at least 8ftx6ft

I'm afraid most rabbits are anything but calm, and most hate being picked up! Spaying her once she is 6months or so will reduce hormonal behaviour, help with litter training and prevent her getting cancer of the reproductive organs.
 
In my experience, bunnies are much more relaxed when they have more space, they hate been in small spaces, and I know you are doing your best but any cage is just far too small. Whats she like when you open her cage and let her out around the house? at the end of the day she is young and wants to be able to move around and have fun.

my house bunnies are completly free range and are relaxed and because they are with us 24/7 in the house, you are able to build close bonds with them..... but this has to be on your bunnies terms, and not yours! you need to give her time to re-adjust to her new home, sitting on the floor with her out and about is a good way to help build up trust.

But like zoobec says, I think the key is she needs more space, you can do this buy purchasing puppy panels to extend her area and just from that you'll see a difference!

also I would suggest getting her neutered at 6 months, and maybe even finding her a friend as sometimes it can be lonely for some bunnies.
 
Perhaps you could post a picture of her set-up?
As has already been said, rabbits need lots of space and should never be confined to a hutch/cage. Part of the problem is that pet shops sell cages/hutches as being suitable for rabbits which, sadly, they are not.
There are some very good ideas in the Housing section.
 
Aww I think she just wants to be let out of her cage. I'd put all things that comfort her, such as items with her smell on, a toy, and some delicious food in her cage and leave the door open, she will come out to play but when she's hungry, she'll go in her cage to eat and after food they nap usually so allow her free range for time then place her in her cage to sleep and eat and she'll soon go in her cage of her own accord when she gets used to it. But I wouldn't let her be locked in for the most part as that will make her unhappy. Buns tend to sleep in the daytime and eat/play/come to life more at dusk and dawn, so at sleepy times put her in the cage so she can feel safe while she sleeps then defo let her out in the mornings for some good play time and also at tea-time for a good few hours, then pop her back in. She'll soon get used to her new environment and the cage being her safe haven, and will eventually enjoy the cosiness of her cage, yet you do have to allow lots of free range time too as otherwise she'll be sad being locked up. My rabbits cage is my full bedroom. He tends to sleep on the floor but he does jump up onto our bed now and some mornings he's on the bed when I wake up or he wakes me up with his whiskers sniffing my face. He just wants to be close to his family (us) since his girly best friend just died several weeks ago. So now he needs his family by his side more than ever. Thankfully I'm home a lot but come this September, I'm gonna get him a new (rescue) bunny friend, since I'll be out a lot more and bunnies literally need some kind of company. They choose love over food anytime, even if they're starving, this applies to literally all buns which to me suggests ow deeply important it is for their well being that they have the presence of some type of company and for long periods or for life otherwise they get lonely and depressed being alone, with no company. So as we won't be around as much soon, he defo needs a pal to maintain his mental well being. So not only do they need a lot of space, they would definitely benefit in terms of mental (and physical, since they groom one another) well being having another friend around if you know you can't provide a lot of time yourself giving strokes and hugs and kisses and snugs and tons and tons of loves, then maybe a pal would be a good idea too if you can afford it. Bt if not, you're enough good company! If you do get a pal then I'd do that after spaying/neutering as this gives them a better chance of bonding lovingly w/o the sexual hormones raging lol
 
i got my 3 month lionhaired bunny Bella yesturday. shes in a pretty reoomy cage. i am trying to help her adjust to her cage and see it as her home. will not letting her out much for the 1st few days make her aggressive? she keeps jumping on the wires of her cage. on the way home she waqs very sweet and lazy and now shes jumping everywhere. what does that mean? ahhhh :shock: i want her to be friendly and sweet i am looking for a friend to be loved. how can i help her be calm and sweet? I did so much research before getting her but now i feel clueless. please give me tips to a new baby bunny please!


Welcome :wave:

She is simply being a rabbit :)

You can't make another being into a different sort just by wanting it to happen. You have to accept her as she is and work with her beautiful personality. She may be friendly, or she may not - welcome to the wonderful world of rabbits :)


You might find this helpful:

http://www.therabbithouse.com/behaviour/
 
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