How do I know if my rabbit is depressed

[Fluffybunz]

I recently got a new Rabbit, Bunilla Ice to bond with my boy bun, they've been bonded for a little more than a week when unfortunately my boy bun had passed away. Bunilla is still quite new to me so I'm worried I won't be able to notice her sadness. The only difference I've noticed so far is I haven't seen her binky as much. She has started to pull up the rug in new areas but I've seen her do this before my boy buns passing. She also seems to enjoy chewing leather as I lost a pair of shoes to her. Would this chewing be normal behavior, she has plenty of sticks and hay toys to chew on but I know they sometimes just like chewing on everything.

 

[Flakes]

I don’t know anything about Rabbits. But I do know that I stayed inside all last winter and got really depressed myself. My Doctor prescribed some Vitamin D and that really helped.

Vitamin D can only be made by Sunlight and from milk. If your rabbit is an indoor rabbit maybe give him some pellets that have Vitamins in them. Not saying this will help. Hell I’m probably completely wrong.

 

[Hermelin]

I think this article was okay reading about bunny feeling down.

https://www.rabbitcaretips.com/how-to-tell-if-your-rabbit-is-depressed/

Sometimes as an owner, when I don’t have the time I feel worried for my bunnies. Because I have a hard time coming up with ideas to keep them happy and healthy.

 

[Imbrium]

Since they weren't bonded very long at all, chances are she won't really get depressed over the loss... and even if she does, most rabbits bounce back from a loss pretty quickly (even after being bonded for years). Based on her behavior, I'd say it's more likely that she's bored than depressed - she wants to "play" and rabbits play by destroying things, throwing things, putting objects in their water bowls, pushing stuff around with their nose, doing things that make a lot of noise, etc.

A trip to a dollar store can prove quite fruitful to give her more options for something to do that doesn't involve ruining shoes. I've found that a $1 toy is usually more exciting to them than something from the pet store that costs $10+. You can get untreated wicker wreaths or baskets, hard plastic baby keys or stacking cups, wiffle balls/softballs, some cat toys (like balls with jingle bells in them) and more. Some of ours like a game where I hand them a plastic spoon and they wave it around and throw it for me to fetch, lol. Providing a few cardboard boxes with a couple starter holes (for use as doors) helps, too - stuff to climb on, hide in and "renovate". Just remove any tape and/or staples and avoid colored inks.

 

[Imbrium]

I missed the edit deadline... but I forgot to mention a couple other very popular dollar store toys! Plastic slinkies and hard plastic baby links.