Abused or just overwhelmed?

Hi. About 6 hours ago, I bought a lop rabbit from a woman on the local buy/trade/sell FB page. He is -supposedly- four months old, but he's bigger than my other, year old, rabbit, who is the size of any wild rabbit. Anyways, according to the woman, he never got attention, other than being fed and watered. However, I'm starting to suspect he was abused. My other bunny, Benny, is in my walk-in closet that I've converted into a bunny room. I switch Benny and Thumper from cage to closet every few hours, and Thumper will be in the cage for this first night out in the living room.
when I put him in the closet, I showed him where the food and water were and he immediately went and hid in a wooden house-shelter thingy I built. He didn't really leave that corner much. When I pick him up, he doesn't even squirm, or protest, just trembles and tries to hide his face by burying his face in my armpit. He let me cut his nails, which were about a half inch long[clearly never been cut] and didn't give me any trouble with that. He's been with me six hours and hasn't eaten or drank anything yet. I put him in his cage with food, water, a few toys and a blanket and he is sitting on the hard wire and hasn't moved for a good half hour, still trembling.
Was he abused and if so, how do I help him? He's the sweetest little thing and he doesn't bite and he sticks his nose in my ear when I lay down with him on my chest, and it breaks my heart to think that woman was abusing this poor baby boy.
Or is he merely overwhelmed?

It sounds like he is just frightened and it isn't likely to be from abuse. Some rabbits are just more timid and nervous, especially if they weren't socialized with people very well when young. Doesn't mean they were ever hurt by anyone to cause them to act this way. It's just a personality and socialization thing.

Best thing you can do is try to keep his set up as close to what he was used to at his other home. If he is used to a cage, then I would keep him in there and not be switching him around for several days, maybe even weeks. He needs consistency and time to settle in and feel safe in his new home, and it sounds like the switching areas is a little too much for him at this point. I hidey box can help them feel more secure, as can partially covering the cage with a sheet or blanket. Keeping him in a quite room may also help.

If he hasn't seen your other rabbit, letting them see each other through the cage bars, may help him feel happier and safer having another rabbit around. But that is only if they seem comfortable and interested in each other . If there is any signs of aggression and it seems to make the new bunny scared, then it would probably be better to keep them from seeing each other. Several years ago when I brought in a new rabbit, he wasn't used to being around people and was quite nervous and wasn't eating well. I put him in a cage next to one of my girl rabbits and they seemed to really like each other and instantly he was much more comfortable and happier. Just being in the cage next to her helped him feel safe and less nervous and he started eating better. So having a bunny friend nearby can make a big difference in helping a nervous bun settle in more easily.

You are really going to need to keep a close eye on his eating, drinking, and general health for the next few days. Being overly stressed in a new home can cause all sorts of health problems to occur in rabbits, especially if not eating and drinking well. If he isn't eating by tomorrow, then it becomes more urgent and you may even need to start syringe feeding at some point. Rabbits shouldn't go more than 24 hours without eating, and even more than 12 hours without food and water isn't a good thing.

I agree that you need to stop switching things up for him. The best thing you can do for any new rabbit brought into a home is get it into it's set up cage and just leave it be for a day or two (apart from feeding and checking all is well obviously). He was probably already very scared, and only more so having been put into a strange bunny's territory. Give him his own space, a place to hide etc. Encourage him to eat if possible but otherwise just leave him be. Although I do agree with JBun regarding the issue of not eating for so long, bunnies that are stressed can go into GI stasis, so keep a close eye

Update: Thumper is eating and drinking like a piggy. He's also made friends with my kitten. I found the kitten sleeping next to the cage and Thumper laying as close to him as he could get inside the cage. About half an hour ago, I had force-fed him about 10 mL of his pellets blended with water and that seems to have kickstarted his eating and drinking. He also keeps dumping his water dish over, little stinker. I think he was just...unsure of his surroundings. I think he just needed a few hours, a friend, and a bit of food forced into him to prove that its yummy and he should eat.

Also, how do I keep him from tipping his dish over? It doesn't have a lip and its relatively heavy , but he's strong. My other rabbit is bottle trained but everything I've read about bottle trained, involves smearing some kind of fruit[strawberries or bananas] on the drinking spout, but Thumper doesn't know what to do with fruit. He just looks at me like I'm insane whenever I offer him fruit and vegetables. Any ideas?

Get a crock that attaches to crate doors for dogs. They have lots in dog sections of pet stores that you can attach right to the wires of the cage.
Bowls are better anyway and promote more drinking which is healthier for the rabbit.

Um, now I've got another issue.
I brought Benny, my other rabbit, out to look at Thumper through the cage. He's mad at me. He sniffed Thumper, ran over, bit my leg and drew blood. I mean, he is a biter, but he's never drawn blood except once when he bit my knuckle. I think he thinks he's been replaced. I took him back in his closet and talked to him, told him he's not replaceable, told him I love him and gave him kisses and petted him, but he's refusing to eat the carrots I gave him. This boy HAS NEVER refused carrots. He's mad at me. How do I prove I haven't replaced him and that, yes, I still love him.
I also do not care if you say rabbits can't feel emotion, this rabbit is mad.

Maybe leave the old bowl in there as a toy tho. Sounds like he enjoys playing with it.

StormyB said:

Also, how do I keep him from tipping his dish over? It doesn't have a lip and its relatively heavy , but he's strong. My other rabbit is bottle trained but everything I've read about bottle trained, involves smearing some kind of fruit[strawberries or bananas] on the drinking spout, but Thumper doesn't know what to do with fruit. He just looks at me like I'm insane whenever I offer him fruit and vegetables. Any ideas?

Click to expand...

I use this type of water bowl pictured below. The bracket attaches to the cage and the bowl twists out of it to wash and fill. You can get them at Walmart and Petsmart that I know of and probably other places too.

StormyB said:

Um, now I've got another issue.
I brought Benny, my other rabbit, out to look at Thumper through the cage. He's mad at me. He sniffed Thumper, ran over, bit my leg and drew blood. I mean, he is a biter, but he's never drawn blood except once when he bit my knuckle. I think he thinks he's been replaced. I took him back in his closet and talked to him, told him he's not replaceable, told him I love him and gave him kisses and petted him, but he's refusing to eat the carrots I gave him. This boy HAS NEVER refused carrots. He's mad at me. How do I prove I haven't replaced him and that, yes, I still love him.
I also do not care if you say rabbits can't feel emotion, this rabbit is mad.

Click to expand...

What about this?

All of our rescues use a bottle, but I did use a mounting bowl for our 2 biggest girls or they would spill all of their food. It's just like the one in the picture.