How long do I give him?

While Galaxy is bonding fairly well to Orion, I don't think he's bonding too well to us. The longer I have him, the harder he is to handle, to get out of his pen, to catch to put back in his pen. And every time I come near him he does his growling bunny bit, and when he does let me pick him up to pet him, he scratches. I know it's only been a few days, but at what point do I start to say "this is the way he is, and not just adjusting"? I would feel super guilty about taking him back, but I really don't want a bunny who is completely unfriendly to my daughter and myself. Do I just ignore it, and figure he's bonding to Orion and that's the important part?The more I'm around Galaxy, the more I get this sinking feeling about him. Help.

I'd say give him a few weeks to settle in. I'm not sure of his age, but do you have a clue as to how old he is?One thing I do have to say though, his behaviour sounds a lot more like that of a doe than a buck, but I'm guessing he's been neutered so that rules that out.

How big is the cage he's in? Many rabbits get cage agressive if they are in too small of areas. That is one problem that'seasy to fix, just attach some extra roaming space and see if it helps.

Are you reaching in his cage to pet him and pick him up? A lot of rabbits do not like that, if you are going to reach in his cage, my suggestion is to only do it to feed him. give him lots of treats by hand, but don't reach in his cage for any other reason.

He hasn't been there that long, his behaviour may settle down with some time and patience.

Good info :yeahthat:

Hi, I've thought about how to develop a bond with a new bun and here's what I came up with...

When I got Carmel she bonded to Buddy like super glue and not really to me. So I thought that a good idea would be when getting a new bun, to not do any intros until I've established a bond with him/her. Because what Carmel taught me is that if you bring a new bunny home and offer the choice of another bunny or a human, they tend to choose the bunny:bunnieskiss

So I tried this with Charlie and it seems to have worked thus far...treating each bun like a single to get a really good human/bun bond.

But (and this is a big but), the times that I have tried to do intros have gone terribly because Carmel is a brute, so they have no bond whatsoever as of now.

So I don't know how bonded your buns are already, but if it's not really established yet, maybe you could limit their time together and amp up "you and Galaxy" time??

Hope this helps a little........but in any case, I will be keeping my fingers crossed for you!!

Galaxy is a little over 3 yrs old, and is neutered. He was quiet and reserved and never really came up to me while we were at the humane society, but he was good with Orion. While we were there, he did let me handle him, and showed no aggression towards me or my daughter. The other one we were deciding between did like to nip at us when we weren't paying attention to her, so I thought for the sake of having a little one around, the non-nipping rabbit might be better.

He is housed in my German Shepherd's old crate, so it's the next biggest crate you can get, besides a great dane crate. I usually only reach into the cage when I get his food bowls out to feed him and to give him new water and to change his litter box. Most of the growling occurs when I walk by the cage, talk to him, but some does occur when I reach into the cage. When he was at the humane society, he was housed in a cage smaller than what he's in now, and the volunteers were always reaching into his cage. When I leave the cage door open so he can have free range time, he rarely comes out. He will come to the door, but not out. Even when Orion hops by his cage he won't come out. I almost feel sorry for him.

His personality almost seems opposite of Orion's personality. When I have him out, he kind of bullies Orion, but Orion never minds, and it's not super aggressive, it's more of the mounting type, or pushing him over a little. And the mounting is as bad as it's gotten.

I just feel hopeless with him. When I walk into the room, Orion will sit up and rest his paws on the top of the cage to say hi, and runs circles around his cage, and sits patiently so I can pick him up. Galaxy just curls up in a ball, or hides. I can almost say I understand why he was an owner surrendar.

Okay, I'm guessing the big difference between him at your place and him at the shelter was the level of stress. He was probably more scared and unsure, and that's why he was never a problem there. Now that he is settling in to your place, he is more sure of himself. I still say give him time.

While dog crates are fine, they tend to be tall, but other wise not that big. It's a lot of wasted space unless there is a shelf in the cage. I still say it's possible the cage is too small. Have you tried just stopping and sitting outside his cage when he growls? You could always do that and reward him with a treat when he stops.

You never can tell what type of treatment he received in his former home. He may haveintentional or unintentional bad treatment out of his cage. His cage may seem like a realy safe haven for him.

Personally I've found bunnies slow to adjust to change. They really need to feel secure. It may just take a month or 2 to settle in and feel safe.

seniorcats wrote:

Personally I've found bunnies slow to adjust to change. They really need to feel secure. It may just take a month or 2 to settle in and feel safe.

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That is good to know. I know with cats and dogs, it can take 2 weeks or more to adjust, my foster rats have taken as little as a week (usually the trip to the vet brings them out of their shell).

I'm guessing that since he was an owner surrendar due to the child losing interest, that Galaxy is just used to being in his cage, and not really having a chance to run around. I have noticed that since coming here, he is starting to behave a little more like Orion. Like tonight he actually stood up on his hind legs when Orion did to say hi, but then he quickly hopped and hid in his box. And he did try his greens tonight.

It sounds like he is making progress. He is sure to learn from his bunny friend. Alexander, one of the 1st rabbits we had, had been bought by these people as an Easter 'display'. These people kept him in a decorated aquarium on their dining room table.There was barely room for him to turn. They dumped him and the aquarium at the shelter after 3 weeks.

He tended to stay in his cage for a log time even though the door was open and he had free run all the time. Having a bunny companion and a rescued feral kitten companion really brought him out of his shell. He adored Jerri Harriet, the kitten.

I expect your bunny just needs some time and he will be fine.