Ive had him one night and he is very confident in the way that when I walk past his cage he will come over to me, if I’m sitting in his pen he will also come over for a sniff but sometimes he will thump. He also thumps at loud noises but will he get used to the noises? If I try and stroke him (I know it’s very soon) he will run and thump and when I watch him running round his cage he sprints around and flips up and twists (I think he’s doing a binky) why does he sprint around like this? The place he was in before was quite small so is it him just excited about space and will it stop? If he is already quite confident with smelling me (although, he might sometimes thump) will it not take long to earn his trust and be able to pet him?
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New rabbit owner, help
- Thread starter Rosie132
- Start date
Pets mum
Wise Old Thumper
Hi and welcome to RU :wave: congratulations on the arrival of your new bunny friend. It will all be new to him, so give him time to settle and gain confidence. I would just sit quietly with him, and let him come to you in his own time. Running round and twisting sounds very much like a bunny binky, he's happy ! Good luck, any questions, just ask away, lots of folks here happy to help 
It sounds like he's settling in well already.
Rabbits, being prey animals, are quite easily startled and the thumping is a warning sound. Some rabbits like to thump more than others - some of mine have grown used to normal household/garden noises quite quickly and the thumping stopped whereas other bunnies carried on for much longer.
The zooming around could be him enjoying the extra space now - again, bunnies seem to vary in how much they do it. One of my bunnies had to be kept on crate rest for a couple of months once and, when I eventually gave him more space, he went absolutely crazy, binkying and zooming everywhere. But after that it only happened every so often.
He will get used to you quite quickly I think. The best thing is to spend lots of time just being around him. Sit with a book, let him approach you (rabbits much prefer to be on all four feet, rather than being picked up).
This is a good site for bunny behaviour and body language. http://language.rabbitspeak.com
And some good general advice re. bonding with your bunny and also how to handle safely.
http://www.rabbitrehome.org.uk/care/gettingtoknow.asp
http://www.rabbitrehome.org.uk/care/handling.asp
Rabbits, being prey animals, are quite easily startled and the thumping is a warning sound. Some rabbits like to thump more than others - some of mine have grown used to normal household/garden noises quite quickly and the thumping stopped whereas other bunnies carried on for much longer.
The zooming around could be him enjoying the extra space now - again, bunnies seem to vary in how much they do it. One of my bunnies had to be kept on crate rest for a couple of months once and, when I eventually gave him more space, he went absolutely crazy, binkying and zooming everywhere. But after that it only happened every so often.
He will get used to you quite quickly I think. The best thing is to spend lots of time just being around him. Sit with a book, let him approach you (rabbits much prefer to be on all four feet, rather than being picked up).
This is a good site for bunny behaviour and body language. http://language.rabbitspeak.com
And some good general advice re. bonding with your bunny and also how to handle safely.
http://www.rabbitrehome.org.uk/care/gettingtoknow.asp
http://www.rabbitrehome.org.uk/care/handling.asp
Thank you and yes I sit in his pen and he comes over and sniffs me. I got a bit too confident once or twice and tried to stroke him but he ran and thumped XD. Will he get used to the noises? And with his confidence of coming over to me already, how long do you reckon it will take before I can begin to pet him?
It sounds like he's settling in well already.
Rabbits, being prey animals, are quite easily startled and the thumping is a warning sound. Some rabbits like to thump more than others - some of mine have grown used to normal household/garden noises quite quickly and the thumping stopped whereas other bunnies carried on for much longer.
The zooming around could be him enjoying the extra space now - again, bunnies seem to vary in how much they do it. One of my bunnies had to be kept on crate rest for a couple of months once and, when I eventually gave him more space, he went absolutely crazy, binkying and zooming everywhere. But after that it only happened every so often.
He will get used to you quite quickly I think. The best thing is to spend lots of time just being around him. Sit with a book, let him approach you (rabbits much prefer to be on all four feet, rather than being picked up).
This is a good site for bunny behaviour and body language. http://language.rabbitspeak.com
And some good general advice re. bonding with your bunny and also how to handle safely.
http://www.rabbitrehome.org.uk/care/gettingtoknow.asp
http://www.rabbitrehome.org.uk/care/handling.asp
Thanks and he stays in a pen in my room. I will eventually let him free rome once he’s litter trained and used to me a bit more so him being in my room is good because I’m there a lot just sitting a little bit away from him and have to keep on walking past him to get in and out anyway. When I walk in he just sits there but doesn’t run into his hide and him only being here a night seems really good. He’s still scared of me obviously if I go to touch him but he’ll come over and sniff me and he’s even climbed on me a few times so I feel like he may be easier to tame, is this right?
