Does this sound like an Anxiety in rabbit?

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mistyjr

mistyjr

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I have an 2 1/2 year old Chocolate Mini Rex Buck. I got him from wooly_queen (Briana).
When you walked in the shed to feed everybody. He will start to cry and make noises. So then I opened the door to pet him and pick him up he will run and go into a ball. Then he will start to make this crying sounds. When I pick him up he will flinched and try to get away.
My husband tells me that he haves Anxiety!

I really want to know why he does this and what we should do???

Thanks,
 
But I know he's no female! None of my rabbits do this. Briana said he did the same thing with her and haves no i deal why!
 
Here's Lance that makes the noises!
053-1.jpg
 
I've never heard of "Anxiety" in a bun. Any change in their enviroment can cause different reactions.

Cutie! Could you get a vid of it with the noise? It could be a couple different things from happiness to scared. Hard to say.;)
 
Give him a cardboard box 'hidey box' if he doesn't already have one, or at least make sure his cage is covered so he feels more secure, and don't pick him up.

Hope that helps!


sas
 
I have a bunny who has anxiety related behaviour problems. She doesn't show it this way though because of what causes her anxiety, but anxiety does definitely exist. Candyfloss is terrified of other rabbits and has what ca only be describ3ed as a panic attack, whenever I've been trying to bond (after a very slow, long bond, she is now on her FOURTH partner- she divorces regularly in panic to new smells on them, too).

I agree with Pipp. Try to win him round in his own time, in the meantime, try and make him feel secure. Have you read the 'bonding with your bunny article in the library'?
 
Oh, Lance is such a pretty boy. His eyes do look like they are bugging out in the picture. Some bunnies do have anxiety issues, for whatever reason. Does he do better on his own maybe? Are there noises that could be causing him stress? Some rabbits are very fearful and will curl up in a loaf whenever any other bun or any living thing nearby makes a move. It's hard for us humans to figure out what is bothering/stressing the bun without perhaps a lot of trial and error (and patience!).

Sorry, I don't know Lance's background. Did you adopt/rehome him? Do you know anything about his past that may shed some light on his nervousness?
 
Misty, is it possible to put a dark cover around the cage and just leave the front open? I'm wondering if he's overhwhelmed by all of the other sights and smells.

Have you brought him out for playtime? I would try bringing him out and working on bonding with him.

He does sound anxious or scared. It could just be his personality, but hopefully there's some solution to allow him to relax a little.

I know some have had success with rescue remedy. It's all natural and works to calm and relax.
 
I know but Briana said he did the same thing with her when she had him. I dont know where she got him from though..
 
Oh, I'm not saying that you're not treating him well (or that Briana didn't either) - he just might be super sensitive to the things going on around him. Even if it's ingrained into his personality to be nervous, there may be ways to help him relax a bit.

I would definitely look into rescue remedy too - it couldn't hurt.
 
Rabbits are extremely smart and can display many of the psychological behaviors that we see in humans. In fact, animals as small and seemingly stupid (compared to humans) as mice are used to study things like anxiety and depression. Usually, our rabbits are well-adjusted and don't have psychological issues, but a good portion of post psychological diseases/disorders is genetic and he may have some kind of genetic predisposition to anxiety. I would have him seen by a vet. Unfortunately, you can't give a bunny "talk therapy," which is quite successful in many cases to treat anxiety in humans, but you can give anti-anxiety drugs and more environmental/behavioral therapy--doing the "Bonding with your bunny" exercises can help, and to be honest I'd look into getting him some drugs like vallium or lorazepam. It's not uncommon to use these drugs on rabbits that are severely stressed out due to pain/surgery/medical trauma (hit by a car, mauled by a dog, etc), and it might make him able to tolerate your presence long enough that you can work with him on a one-to-one level so that he learns not to be afraid of you.

Just an idea.
 
When I first got him he wasn't so bad, but he was always a bit anxious and tense, but I used him for breeding and everything...

Hey, I told you about his nose right? He got bit by another rabbit. It was a long time ago, so I can't remeber if it got worse after that, but maybe that could have sparked it? Don't know why I didn't think of that before.
 
Yes, You told me about he's nose!! I am just asking what we sound do to make him much calmer and want us to trust him
 
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