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Small pets

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Original poster

Rabbit Regret

12 replies

CamoFlamingo · 29/03/2023 07:09

I had rabbits as a child and as a young adult and although they were hard work, I loved them. When my last one died I decided to have a break as I knew I wanted to have a baby. DD is now nearly 5 and we decided it was a good time to adopt a rabbit. We adopted a four year old lionhead lop as his owner was struggling to cope with him. Everything was fine for about a week but then all hell broke loose, I guess once he became more comfortable.

He chases me around constantly trying to hump me and shitting on the carpet. He does that mating thing where they circle you and grunt and sprays shit everywhere. Will not take no for an answer when I try to get him off my foot. I can't even stand being in my own living room anymore. He has now taken to running up and down the cage at 3am wanting to be let out so I am now starting a shift at work on four hours' sleep. I'm at my wits end. I've made such a huge mistake.

He is not neutered although his old owner swore this was never a problem. I've booked him in for the snip but will this solve the night time tantrumming? I can not deal with sleep deprivation. He is free range pretty much all the time during the day so he's obviously gotten a taster of freedom and doesn't like being shut in at night. I'm going to try putting a blanket over his cage at bed time so hopefully he will get the hint that blanket=not play time. I want to give him a good life but fuck I regret taking him on.

OP posts:

StopStartStop · 29/03/2023 07:14

Nights will always be a thing, in my experience.
As will shit -spraying - it's what they do.
Rabbits are crepuscular so he'll never take to a human style wake and sleep pattern.
Get him a friend (carefully, see a rabbit expert) and move them outside.

Or rehome him now, as he doesn't fit with your family.

Bigtom · 29/03/2023 07:14

How big is the cage he is shut in at night? They need quite a large area and are usually active at night, so he may be frustrated being shut in at night. The snip should help with the other issues. Having a friend would also help.

MrsRickAstley · 29/03/2023 07:15

IMO as a lifelong rabbit owner too, they are meant to be in the garden and should be neutered. You are doing the right thing.

Rabbits I'm sure as you know are prone to spraying, especially males. I don't know if this will alter post op. Hopefully it will help with the humping!!

StylishM · 29/03/2023 07:16

Rabbits are not meant to live indoors, they're literally designed to live their whole lives outside and their behaviours play to that. You need to get it into the garden, have him neutered and get more than 1, they're social creatures and he's humping you because he can't display natural behaviours without a friend. If you don't have a garden you may wish to consider finding someone who does...

TheJanitor · 29/03/2023 07:25

I firmly believe rabbits are not indoor pets. He can't display any of his natural behaviours in the house without being destructive. See if there are any rabbit rescues near you.

Original poster

CamoFlamingo · 29/03/2023 07:27

Thanks for the replies everyone. I've always had house rabbits and it's worked out well in the past. His cage is 6ft so not small and he has lots of toys/things to chew. I know they don't like to be shut in but it is only at night time. We don't have a garden, just a yard. I know I've made a mistake. I'm not the sort of person who buys animals and then just gets bored of them btw. I wnated to give a rescue animal a good home :(

OP posts:

JustFrustrated · 29/03/2023 07:31

Rescue centres are overrun with rabbits.

Get him neutered. It's cruel not too. That'll calm him down.

How big is your yard? He can still go outside if it's big enough.

He 100% needs a friend. A neutered female. The poor thing is achingly lonely.

StylishM · 29/03/2023 11:45

He's locked away at night when he's going to be most active in a 6ft cage, alone... no wonder he's grumpy! Get him a friend please OP

Original poster

CamoFlamingo · 29/03/2023 11:55

I've spoken to my friend who volunteers at a rescue and she is able to get him a foster place where he will be neutered and placed with a neutered female. Rehoming an animal is not a decision I take lightly but I think this will be best for everyone because I'm going to have a mental breakdown at this rate. Clearly I underestimated the amount of work taking on a rabbit would be at this stage of my life. At least he will be going to a proper rescue where potential homes will be thoroughly vetted as his last owner advertised him for free online which is obviously problematic for a lot of reasons.

OP posts:

Original poster

CamoFlamingo · 29/03/2023 11:58

StylishM · 29/03/2023 11:45

He's locked away at night when he's going to be most active in a 6ft cage, alone... no wonder he's grumpy! Get him a friend please OP

It's twice the size of the one he was in in his previous home. I acknowledge I made a mistake taking him on but I have now secured him a place at a rescue my friend volunteers at where he will get what he needs. I'm just going to look at myself as the middle man here as his needs weren't being met at his previous home and for whatever reason his owner did not want to go through a proper rescue.

OP posts:

Rivendellcarrot · 29/03/2023 11:58

Hi,
Rabbits make excellent indoor pets. We have 2 rescues who are free roam in the living room and they are brilliant. I think there are a few issues:

Rabbits need companions. They are social creatures. I would contact a local rescue to help with the bonding process
They should be neutered. My rabbit from when I was younger used to chase me round until he had the snip.
6ft is not big enough at all. They are most active at dawn and dusk and it sounds like he has nowhere to run and is all on his own.

Check out RWAF for help with owning a rabbit. They have great ideas for both indoor and outdoor enclosures. And be careful about just switching between indoor and outdoor without him acclimatizing.

bunnygeek · 29/03/2023 12:48

You're lucky if you're able to find that rescue spot, the rescue I volunteer for has over 200 on their intake waiting list :(

The neutering and bonding will definitely help end the smelly pee spray, humping and help with litter training. Unneutered boys are feisty, messy and smelly. It won't necessarily calm them in the evening though.

My old pair were wonderful indoors, because they were rickety and ancient by the time they came indoors, when I lost them at 12 and 13 years, my current pair were, briefly, indoors. But as I have a small house, and they had the entire spare bedroom (no cages), we were regularly woken up at 3-4am by them literally bouncing off the walls, digging the skirting board and door, and just generally having a great bunny time. It's the bunny witching hour which is very difficult to turn off until they're seniors!

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