KeltonB
Well-Known Member
One of my buns got really spooked last night and I just want to make sure Im doing all I can for her to get settled back down.
Background: As Sunday was a beautiful weather day here, I opened all the windows in the house. There is a set of bay windows where I have Charlottes pen and the windows are behind her. Being Mr. Fix It, I noticed the windows were sticking when I opened them for the first time this year, so I lubricated the tracks with silicone spray. Mistake.
Last night, I opened the windows when I got home from work. I pulled the window tops down rather than lifting the bottoms. About an hour later I heard a loud slam (which I later found out was the window behind the pen that slammed shut unexpectedly they are spring assisted) and then Charlotte went crazy, running all over her pen, bouncing off the sides, crashing over/through things. She was obviously very frightened and I was really afraid she would hurt herself. She ended up in her cardboard safebox and was thumping like mad. I could also hear her breathing was very wheezy. I got her out and held her for a while on the couch. After 15 minutes or so, she wanted to get down (her breathing was still very rapid) so I let her go and she tore out, bouncing off the coffee table and settling behind the CD rack, where she sat for another 30 minutes.
I gave her a dried pineapple treat which she took readily. After another 30 minutes, she came out and tentatively moved around the living room and kitchen for a bit while I got the nightly salads ready. It seemed her breathing was more or less normal at this point. I put her salad bowl in her pen and she followed me in and started eating. While I was in the back feeding the boys, I heard some crashing from her pen and came out to discover her salad bowl turned over and her water bowl spilled, and she was again in her safe box, thumping, and breathing rapidly. Rather than try and move/hold her, I just put her salad back in the bowl, topped off her water and turned the lights out.
This morning, I saw she had eaten all her salad overnight, but she was sitting in her timothy bungalow and wouldnt come out. I topped off her hay, pellets and water and put a small piece of banana right in front of her, which she ate. Her breathing seemed normal, and it didnt look like there had been any disturbance in the pen overnight, nor had I heard anything.
So, long story short, Im pretty sure the window slamming scared her, and her appetite seems okay as does her breathing now. Ive been moving very slowly around her pen and I learned my lesson with the window. I hope she is out and about this afternoon when I get home from work. Any tips or advice on how to reassure her in case she is still acting skittish?
Thanks for bearing with the long post I just worry about my buns!
Background: As Sunday was a beautiful weather day here, I opened all the windows in the house. There is a set of bay windows where I have Charlottes pen and the windows are behind her. Being Mr. Fix It, I noticed the windows were sticking when I opened them for the first time this year, so I lubricated the tracks with silicone spray. Mistake.
Last night, I opened the windows when I got home from work. I pulled the window tops down rather than lifting the bottoms. About an hour later I heard a loud slam (which I later found out was the window behind the pen that slammed shut unexpectedly they are spring assisted) and then Charlotte went crazy, running all over her pen, bouncing off the sides, crashing over/through things. She was obviously very frightened and I was really afraid she would hurt herself. She ended up in her cardboard safebox and was thumping like mad. I could also hear her breathing was very wheezy. I got her out and held her for a while on the couch. After 15 minutes or so, she wanted to get down (her breathing was still very rapid) so I let her go and she tore out, bouncing off the coffee table and settling behind the CD rack, where she sat for another 30 minutes.
I gave her a dried pineapple treat which she took readily. After another 30 minutes, she came out and tentatively moved around the living room and kitchen for a bit while I got the nightly salads ready. It seemed her breathing was more or less normal at this point. I put her salad bowl in her pen and she followed me in and started eating. While I was in the back feeding the boys, I heard some crashing from her pen and came out to discover her salad bowl turned over and her water bowl spilled, and she was again in her safe box, thumping, and breathing rapidly. Rather than try and move/hold her, I just put her salad back in the bowl, topped off her water and turned the lights out.
This morning, I saw she had eaten all her salad overnight, but she was sitting in her timothy bungalow and wouldnt come out. I topped off her hay, pellets and water and put a small piece of banana right in front of her, which she ate. Her breathing seemed normal, and it didnt look like there had been any disturbance in the pen overnight, nor had I heard anything.
So, long story short, Im pretty sure the window slamming scared her, and her appetite seems okay as does her breathing now. Ive been moving very slowly around her pen and I learned my lesson with the window. I hope she is out and about this afternoon when I get home from work. Any tips or advice on how to reassure her in case she is still acting skittish?
Thanks for bearing with the long post I just worry about my buns!
