Activity level?

Rabbits Online Forum

Help Support Rabbits Online Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

LuckyAmi

Ami
Joined
Aug 15, 2015
Messages
59
Reaction score
14
Location
Kansas
Hello! I have a question and I'm hoping I could get some input on...

Lucky here is my first bunny. Previous to that, I've never been around bunnies, known anyone who had a bunny, or even seen a bunny for sale in a pet store. So, my knowledge on buns all come from multiple bunny books I have bought over the past 7 months since adopting the Luck duck.

The last bun book I just finished yesterday is called Understanding Rabbit Habits. Everything was going along fine until I got to the end and it started talking about abnormal behavior. It talked briefly about illness, and then it moved on to boredom. I don't remember exactly how it was worded, but it said that in some cases of boredom, the rabbit will act apathetic and or lethargic, spending most of it's time just laying about in one spot.

And a red flag went up.... For 7 months, I have though that Lucky is just a laid back bunny.... but now, what if he is only laid back because he is bored? I don't know how bunnies normally act, so I'm not sure exactly how to tell between Lucky being zen vs. Lucky being bored?

Lucky has a cage, but I let him free roam when I am home. He will occasionally climb up on something, knock a trash can over, or play with a toy. He binks, but not that often... some days there are no binks, some days he binks in the morning and binks at night. I watch him closely, but he pretty much can do whatever he wants to in whatever room I am in. He wakes me up in the morning around 6ish (which is when I normally get up and give him pellets anyways). He is active (explores the room but there are no crazy running or binking or anything) until about 9 to 10, then he goes to sleep under the art desk. He pretty much stays there until about 3 or 4, when he has another active stretch of time until about 7, when he will settle down on the couch or in bed with ginger and I. At 8 to 9 he leaves the couch or bed and goes to his "bed" -which is the middle of the floor in my bedroom usually- and tucks himself in for the night. I don't know what all he does when I sleep, but occasionally I hear him or feel him hop up on the bed. When I get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, he can normally by found stretched out or bunny loafing on the floor near by.

Does that sound normal? :/ He spends a LOT of his time relaxing. He does not just lay in one spot though, he moves around from different locations in the room. Sometimes the bed or chair, sometimes his open cage, different spots on the floor....

After reading the book, and being concerned about him being bored, I made him a dig box. It is a big plastic container, with high enough walls that he has to jump over. I filled it with crumpled phonebook pages, with hay and pellets swished around for him to find. I also took 2 small water bottles and turned them in to a treat dispenser when it rolls a certain way and the pellets drop out. He seems to like both, getting in the dig box and playing with the treat dispenser day and night (usually after i've gone to bed and I hear him belly flopping off a shelf in to the dig box and then "foraging" for his food. I've even set out a phonebook or two for him to play with.

He is in good health, and around 7 months old. Even with the dig box, phonebook and treat dispenser, Lucky still lounges around a lot and takes his days and nights pretty easy peasy.

Does he sound like a bored bun to you guys? What else should I do to give him mental stimuli? Taking him outside is not an option because I have a lot of hawks that like my yard. I'm not sure what else to try...

IMG_2148.jpg
 
Sounds perfectly normal to me!!

Rabbits do spend a lot of time lounging and get up in spurts for some exploring/playing. It sounds like you're doing everything just fine.

The dig box and bottles sound like fun. If he bores of them, try removing them for awhile before re-introducing them. That can help keep things interesting.

You can also try adding in the occasional large cardboard box with doorways cut out or a couple boxes connected together. Just something new to explore.

From your description it sounds like he has a very usual activity level for a bunny.
 
Oh good! :3 I was trying not to worry about him but I just didn't know how active buns normally are.

And yes, the boxes sound like a great idea! I'll have to dig around the house and see if I can find something to fit him. My brief few min search just now turned up boxes that there is no way he's going to fit his big bun butt in. XD I had bought him a tunnel a while back but it was ridiculously too small for him. o.o It claimed to be a bunny tunnel, and it looked like Joe average bunny on the package, but when I put it out for him... pfft... it was pretty laughable... he could get in it up to about his shoulders and that was it. I don't know if it was for tiny bunnies, a completely different animal or if my bun is just way too big... A friend who has cats suggested cat tunnels. I might have to look in to that.
 
Sounds normal to me too. Bunnies are generally not very active during the day, especially during winter - mine disappear in one of their houses between mid-morning until the end of the afternoon and just... snuggle and snooze, as far as I can tell ^^. Also, some rabbits aren't very active while they are growing - my Tybalt was sleeping all the freaking time during the first 6 months I've had him (I only saw him change his sleeping place once in a while, eyes half closed and stumbling like a zombie). He is still very lazy, but not as much as he was before. Of course, the rabbit's character is a factor - some of them just don't like sport much. If you're looking for things for your rabbit, I highly recommend getting a sisal doormat (or a piece of sisal that's used to cover the floor like a carpet, you can find some in a hardware store for nothing and it's completely safe for the rabbit to eat) and a big cardboard box in which you will cut openings in each"wall". Apple tree or hazelnut tree branches are also good. If you are really worried about your rabbit getting bored, the best thing is to get him a bunny friend after neutering him - nothing can top that, and that's what I ended up doing as I felt like my bunny just wasn't made to be a single rabbit.
 
At 8 to 9 he leaves the couch or bed and goes to his "bed" -which is the middle of the floor in my bedroom usually- and tucks himself in for the night. I don't know what all he does when I sleep, but occasionally I hear him or feel him hop up on the bed. When I get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, he can normally by found stretched out or bunny loafing on the floor near by.


After reading the book, and being concerned about him being bored, I made him a dig box. It is a big plastic container, with high enough walls that he has to jump over. I filled it with crumpled phonebook pages, with hay and pellets swished around for him to find. I also took 2 small water bottles and turned them in to a treat dispenser when it rolls a certain way and the pellets drop out. He seems to like both, getting in the dig box and playing with the treat dispenser day and night (usually after i've gone to bed and I hear him belly flopping off a shelf in to the dig box and then "foraging" for his food.
Does he sound like a bored bun to you guys? What else should I do to give him mental stimuli? Taking him outside is not an option because I have a lot of hawks that like my yard. I'm not sure what else to try...

I think Lucky is really lucky to have met you. Yes, rabbits can spend a lot of time just sleeping. And of course time eating. There's not that much time during their 24 hour day that they like to be active...but they do need to exercise. Our two rabbits, now 5 months old, like to spend time running around the house, usually in the morning, or late afternoon. Also, when we leave them at home alone...they then start exploring on dining room tables (the fruit bowl!), coffee table,...when the cat's away, the mice will play!

Really like you your idea about the big plastic box filled with rumpled newspaper and hidden treats...I'll try that. We do have a lot of cardboard boxes for them to play with and shred.

About sharing a bedroom with a bunny. I think it's a great idea. If something out of the ordinary is happening in your house...the bunny will start thumping. They will want to alert you! They have excellent hearing and smell. Your rabbit's socialization with you will be that they will treat you like another rabbit..albeit a big rabbit. So you will get a rabbit to rabbit warning. Bunny slept in our bedroom for over 10 years. I would get up in the middle of the night for a bladder run, and laying back in bed, I could hear a munch, munch as Bunny was eating. It was very relaxing. I think bunnies prefer to eat knowing that someone is awake with them.
...................................................
How to tell a bunny is sleeping. They often sleep with their eye's half open. If they are asleep, I think their nose will not be twitching.
 
I think Lucky is really lucky to have met you. Yes, rabbits can spend a lot of time just sleeping. And of course time eating. There's not that much time during their 24 hour day that they like to be active...but they do need to exercise. Our two rabbits, now 5 months old, like to spend time running around the house, usually in the morning, or late afternoon. Also, when we leave them at home alone...they then start exploring on dining room tables (the fruit bowl!), coffee table,...when the cat's away, the mice will play!

Really like you your idea about the big plastic box filled with rumpled newspaper and hidden treats...I'll try that. We do have a lot of cardboard boxes for them to play with and shred.

About sharing a bedroom with a bunny. I think it's a great idea. If something out of the ordinary is happening in your house...the bunny will start thumping. They will want to alert you! They have excellent hearing and smell. Your rabbit's socialization with you will be that they will treat you like another rabbit..albeit a big rabbit. So you will get a rabbit to rabbit warning. Bunny slept in our bedroom for over 10 years. I would get up in the middle of the night for a bladder run, and laying back in bed, I could hear a munch, munch as Bunny was eating. It was very relaxing. I think bunnies prefer to eat knowing that someone is awake with them.
...................................................
How to tell a bunny is sleeping. They often sleep with their eye's half open. If they are asleep, I think their nose will not be twitching.


Thank you! :)

I think Lucky really likes the bedroom. He has his favorite spots picked out and he has his hidey hole spots if he needs them. The rest of the house is very very not rabbit proof.... nothing super dangerous, like lots of wires....but stuff like floor to ceiling displays of collectible items (comics, toys, dolls, a whole room for 80s my little pony, statues, books, movies, artwork, autographs and more...), lots of stuff I would really prefer not to have bunny bites in. :eek: I would like to have my whole house open for Lucky, but it won't be any time soon because first I would need to figure out what to do with all the stuff that is within bunny reach (or hop).

The dig box is a big hit. Every couple of days I will add some new hay or treats and swish it around to hide it. He is always hoping in there. It's pretty cute. He ducks down to forage for food, then he periscopes up to check and make sure his location is still safe. When it's all clear he ducks back down for more foraging. Sometimes at night I will hear him hop in to the dig box and start digging around.

And yes, I've had more alerts from Lucky then my dog. He will hear something and start a warning. Ginger just goes back to bed. Some guard dog! Lucky definitely treats Ginger and I like other bunnies with other activities. Too cute!

Can we show links to our rabbit videos here? I have a short one of Lucky in his dig box that I can show you. :3
 
Yes, please do post your video. Would love to see your bunny having fun in his dig box :)
 
Thanks for the dig box video. Will definitely have to try this. My two Flemmish babies need activities to burn off energy. They are 5 1/2 months old. Thankfully they spend 99% of their time sleeping and eating. It's the remaining 1% of activity that we have to work to control. They like to run laps through the house, chasing each other, bouncing off the furniture, and climbing on top of tables and kitchen counters. They have the capability of doing a lot of damage in their 1% activity. These two are the first two baby rabbits that I've had, my first rabbit was an adult...so I've never experienced all this energy. To keep in mind, a baby Flemmish rabbit of 5 1/2 months old is much, much bigger than a normal adult rabbit..that and full of baby exhuberance they can do a some damage in the house with chewing and marking. My wife and I just really love them. They are scheduled for neutering March 12.......should stop the marking instinct. Except for marking, they are very well litter box trained...as for litter box training..this is great for Flemmish...They eat a lot!!! And a lot at food in means a lot of food out.
Detail for later.. the babies have really bonded with my wife. She spends the afternoons and evenings at home in the house and the bunnies have now closely associated themselves with her.
 
Aww! They sounds so cute though!

Maybe try some of those treat balls or treat traps or whatever they are called... where you stick edible items inside of it and the pet will play with the item trying to get the food out of it. I made my own with small holes cut out of water bottles and just put some pellets in there. Lucky loves to pick up the bottle and toss it around and then he eats the occassional pellet that happens to fall out. After playing with that for a while, he normally is pretty satisfied. Maybe try something like that, if you haven't already.
 
Such a cute guy! He's certainly having fun in there. Who would have ever thought that the little bun you found nibbling your raspberry plants would end up where he is now, a fixture in your home and pal to your pup :) He certainly landed on his paws when he found his way to you and your garden.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top