Posted: 5/17/2010 9:33:55 AM EDT
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Picked up an approximately 2-3 month old, neutered male, white floppy eared rabbit from the pound. The rabbit was born in the pound. Bought a large dog cage (approx. 4 feet long, 2 feet wide, 2 feet tall), a cat box, a toy, dishes, and also brought home the carpet he had in his cage when he was in the pound so he'd have something familiar. The nice thing is he came virtually house trained. He didn't want to pee or poo outside of his catbox. Bad news is he wanted nothing to do with people. We've had him for a little over a week and he's not getting better in regards to people. He's actually getting worse. We let him out of his cage whenever we're home and try to interact with him. He does not want to be pet and does not like being held. Pretty much all he wants to do is try to get behind places we have blocked and chew on things. He peed all over the couch today, which is odd for him and he's usually good about that. I'm just worried that he's not going to come around in regards to people. Any hints on how I can get him to get used to people? I know rabbits don't always like to be held, so that's not too big of a deal to me. I'd just like to be able to touch him...90% of the time he just runs. The 10% where he will let me touch him I massage and pet him, which he seems to like. |
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The kid brought a rabbit home from college. She has her names for it. I call it Food to her face. (see my icon)
Rabbits are piss-poor pets. They are a prey species so self-confidence is lacking. Physical durability is lacking. Any desire or capability to act like a companion animal is lacking. (at least damn cats will find mice and occasionally allow you to pet them). So far the only thing I've found her rabbit to be good for is throwing a shit/litter mix out of its cage and making her room smell. (even worse) I don't care if you traded an ACOG for it. IMHO, suck it up and get rid of it ASAP. May I suggest: 
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Quoted:
The kid brought a rabbit home from college. She has her names for it. I call it Food to her face. (see my icon) Rabbits are piss-poor pets. They are a prey species so self-confidence is lacking. Physical durability is lacking. Any desire or capability to act like a companion animal is lacking. (at least damn cats will find mice and occasionally allow you to pet them). So far the only thing I've found her rabbit to be good for is throwing a shit/little mix out of its cage and making her room smell. (even worse) I don't care if you traded an ACOG for it. IMHO, suck it up and get rid of it ASAP. May I suggest: http://crankylabs.com/ljimage/bunnyfoodfood/LL9L9257.jpg and http://crankylabs.com/ljimage/bunnyfoodfood/LL9L9290.jpg <right click, save as> |
| i had a house broken lop ear once. they remember everything and have their routines. foil on wires will help break the wire chewing if that ever happens. they also make a spray for the corners of the carpet. you can also look around the internet for a home made mixture(vinegar and lemon,i think). just keep giving it positive attention and it will come around. mine would love to be around one day and hate it the next. one clue about peeing on the couch, mine would only do that if her cage was full. only when she wanted her cage cleaned, she would pee or drop a couple outside the door of her cage. my mom ended up taking her to school for her kindergarten class and she absolutely loved kids. |
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Wife and I have had house rabbits for 13 years. every one is completely different and personalities widely vary.
They take a little time to adjust to new territories and need to explore their new habitat. YOu may be trying too hard to befriend it. Simply hang out in the room and let it get used to you. If it starts going places you don't want it to be simply pick it up and cage it for a couple hours, it'll get he point pretty quick. Same goes for "accidents", by that I mean urine. A bunny nugget every once in a while isn't unusual especially if they're running around and cutting di-do's across the room. Bunny turds don't smell unles sthey're soaked in urine and left to "ferment" for a day or two. There are some really good books on raising house rabbits, check them out at Petco or whatever your big pet store chain is. BTW - Their diet should be primarily hay, like timothy. The pellets are made from alfalfa and are designed to fatten them for slaughter. 1/4 cup pellets and all the timothy hay they can eat/day. It will also prevent gut stasis, which is basically a fatal hairball. |
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amish bill
i disagree with you completely. i had a pet rabbit that i found in the yard as a baby. he became litter box trained on his own (i just stuck the box in the fenced in area)after a couple of months he hat the run of my apartment. he was incredibly affectionate and jumped into my arms every chance he got. in the morning when the alarm went off he would jump up on my chest and lick my face until i awoke. when i came home from work he would run around in circles around my feet until i played with him. all he required was pellets, hay and water. i think he was a great pet just like a loyal dog. joe |
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We just adopted another rabbit on Sunday.
Wife's lost three in the last year and had been holding off getting any new ones. She's been talking about getting one for the past 2 weeks, so I called the shelter: Sure enough, someone had turned in an "Unwanted Easter Bunny" that the owner said bites. Wife called BS, wife was right: After all the apps were filled out they bring the rabbit into the room. Thing runs around the room for a couple minutes then jumps into her lap and starts licking her hand. I looked at the shelter volunter and said "where's the forms?" It now has its own cage, a neighbor, a feline caretaker (cat thinks its' her new little brother/sister) and a 20X10 fenced bunny run in the garden where both rabbits play in, complete with herbs, lettuces and rabbit friendly toys while the wife works in the yard. |