New bunny

Hi! And Thankyou for the add! We just picked up Leonard, a 1 yr old lion head yesterday. When we picked him up he was housed in a horse barn in a cage with a wire floor. I guess they bred show bunnies. He lets us hold him but I'm not sure if he is comfortable or if it is fear. He seems a little freaked out by his new inside "digs". I want to make him comfortable, and allow him outside cage exploring time but I don't want to do too much too quickly. Any suggestions?

Let him get some alone time for a bit try not to bug him too much for a couple of days. Let him settle in and every now and then check on him so he can get used to you. Rabbit can be quite jumpy so take it slow.

Thanks! I was thinking I should give him space, but I didn't want to feel like I was ignoring him either. He is in a quiet room for now, he is a little jumpy, but I think he will come around. I'm sure I will need litter box training tips soon

It is a good idea to leave him alone for a couple days so he can adjust. Just be sure to go about your normal routine. Is the "quiet room" where he will normally be housed? You want his cage to be wherever you intend to keep it. That way he can begin to get used to all of the new sights, sounds, and smells.

In other words, don't be extra quiet around him. It is good for him to begin hearing, seeing and smelling the usual household activity. He will adjust while in the "security" of his cage. And he'll adjust quicker if he is exposed to normal goings on in the home. Once he's settled, then you can focus on the rest.

If you don't already, I'd encourage you to at least have a litter box set up in his cage already. Now is the time he is adjusting and now is the time to have the box. Otherwise, he will be having to continually adjust to new changes.

You don't need to worry about actually "training" him now. But the box should be there and available for him. He may just surprise you and start using it anyway. Just top the litter with a generous amount of hay and he is likely to hop right in. The box should be large enough for him to stretch out in. You can find some set-up tips here.

Thanks for the tips! He is currently in the room that will be "his". It is away from some of the other pets, but he is in a pen, and we have a baby gate on the door so we can open the door and he can hear/smell what is going on without intrusion. I have a litter box in his pen but now I'm thinking it may be too small.
One more question, should I introduce him to treats and other vegetables now or should I keep him strictly on the pelleted food for about a week or two? I'm anxious to spoil him but I want everything to be most comfortable for him.

Thanks!

For now he can remain on both the pellets that he's used to and hay. He should have hay - unlimited, refreshed daily.

Skip any treats for now. That is just added sugar which is especially not good when he's stressed from moving to a new home.

Greens are another story. Do you know if he has ever had greens before? Unless you are sure he regularly received greens from the prior owners, then don't offer any yet. Rabbits are very sensitive to diet changes so it is best to not offer anything new (other than hay) until he is settled in.

Assuming he did not have greens regularly, then hold off for now. Those need to be introduced very slowly and gradually, just tiny amounts at first. But that should wait a while.

In the meantime, do you know what brand/type of pellets he has been used to (is eating now)?

I have timothy hay in his enclosure now. I have tons of it because my tortoise eats/burrows in it too. The previous owners gave me a brown paper bag of pellets that he was on. I don't know the brand. Is there a specific brand I should use? I thought I would mix the old with the new, like when you change dog or cat food. I would venture to say he didn't have any greens before. The cages looked like they had just pellets, no toys or anything. So I will go slow on the food extras and treats until he has had time to adjust. Thankyou so much for all the advice

You're welcome!
Mixing the old with the new pellets is the right idea. That prior link has some brand recommendations for pellets. Basically you want plain, timothy-based pellets, no colorful add-ins, no more than 12-14% protein and plenty of fiber 18% or more).
Oxbow is a popular brand- petsmart carries it. Sherwood Forest Natural Rabbit food is another- only available online.

I would hold off introducing any veggies to him for a while. He needs to settle in and be past the stress of the move and you need to know him well and his potty routine since often poos are the first sign of an issue. Then slowly and in small amount give him veggies. No more than one new veggie a week that way if he shows any signs of having trouble with a particular veggie such as gas you will know which veggie and can avoid it in the future.

You can slowly add new pellets to his old pellets to switch him over to the new pellets. Mix a small amount of the old with the new and slowly increase the amount of new while decreasing the amount of old until he is getting only new.

Talk to your bun a lot at first to help him get used to you. Sit in the room with him. You can read a book or post on here. Sometimes just be quiet and sometimes talk to him. Even sing if you feel like it. Keep a few pellets with you and if he approaches you give him a pellet or two

Thanks so much! When I go in and talk to him his ears are facing forward and his little nose wiggles (he is so cute!) but he is still too nervous to come out and explore. Yesterday he did stand up on his hind legs inside his cage and scoped out the room. I don't think he is eating his pellets, they are the old brand. Is that normal for him not to eat after moving? I can't tell if he is eating his hay or just moving it around. Thanks for all the advice, I can't wait to share pictures of him enjoying his new home

Next, pictures!!

I will definitely post some pics tonight! One more question, what would be the best bedding for him? I have a litter box in there but he is definitely not litter box trained, I just need something nice for her, but relatively easy to clean maybe? Any suggestions would be helpful

AnimalMom said:

I will definitely post some pics tonight! One more question, what would be the best bedding for him? I have a litter box in there but he is definitely not litter box trained, I just need something nice for her, but relatively easy to clean maybe? Any suggestions would be helpful

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Bedding or litter? If you are in the process of litter training, then you only want litter topped with hay in a litter box. The rest of the cage should have no bedding whatsoever. Otherwise, bunny just gets confused as to where to potty.

With a litter box that has litter and hay, and with nothing soft elsewhere in the cage, bunny will naturally hop in the box to go potty.

After training is complete, then it is fine to add to her cage -- either a pet bed, or fleece or a bath mat. Depends on what your bunny will or won't chew (they are all different).

Oh... if you are seeing poos scattered about, don't mistake that for not being potty trained. That is perfectly normal for a rabbit to mark his territory when placed in a new area. It is the urine that you'll want to focus on. If bunny is getting the urine in the litter box, that is progress. Once urine is 100% in the box, the rest of the poos (for the most part) should also end up in the litter box. (I've also just last night re-done the litter training page on my website in case that will be of help to you.)

ok so nothing else soft in the cage? How about newspaper or paper towels? I noticed urine in the litter box last night, but then i saw urine on the floor this morning. She was in a wire cage with no litter box when I got her, so I know she wasn't litter trained. She is enjoying her hay now though. I will check out that litter training article. Thanks again!

We use kiln dried pine in the litter pan with a hay rack right by it. Some get a square of carpet to lay on while the chewers get a board. When they are out, they get a choice of pine or shredded newspaper in a pan--the paper works for litter and they also love to play in it. One of ours is very old, so I cut down the front of a couple pans and boxes so she can get in and out easier--she turned 18 in July.

Ok I will try carpet or wood I guess. We are getting a bigger space set up for him this weekend. He is in a smaller cage now, and he slides around a little with nothing down. He kind of "attacks" his litter pan, chewing and trying to move it. He seems interested in us, but very shy and skiddish. I'm not sure how much he was handled. They said they raised show bunnies but they were getting out of it, they also said he wouldn't be great for a show bunny, not that I was planning on it. So I'm not sure what he was used for. But, I am hopeful he will come around to the house pet rabbit life. Thanks again!

I used carpet in my NIC cages, but I would not advise it during the litter training stage. Bunny may decide to pee on that instead. Also, some rabbits will chew and ingest carpet (especially before being fixed). It depends on the individual bunny. Once he's gotten the litter training down, and if he isn't a carpet chewer, then carpet is fine.

Don't worry about his history with handling. It is really irrelevant. Unlike with dogs, rabbits do not need to start young to learn new things. In fact, they learn more readily once they are past hormones and/or have been fixed.

It will just take time, proximity and patience for him to warm up to you. Some take waay longer than others. And the extent to which they will warm up will vary per rabbit as well. Some will always remain stand-off ish, others won't.

As Larry (Nancy McClelland) mentioned, they only had 2 lap-sitters out of 47!

Okay, so no carpet to start with, got it, thanks! I just want him to be comfortable, and feel secure. I will be making an appointment soon to get him neutered, and a vet check as he has never been. I'm ok if he is never "cuddly". We have quite a few animals and all of them are different. He eats and drinks while we are in the room with him, and he seems interested but skittish. He is fascinating to watch though. We are setting up his bigger housing today and I hope he likes it. Thanks for all the help and advice! I'm sure I will have more questions