I might have scared my rabbit :(

[random faerie]

I just got a rabbit last night. Yes. Just last night. ; 3 ;
Today, in the morning, I let him out of his cage so he can stretch out and explore. I mainly left him be... But when I needed to go out for work, I needed to get him back to his cage too...

He was under my bed and I when came out to reach him, he ran away. And since I really, really needed to go out soon, I kept on doing this and he kept running away.

Now, I'm afraid he might associated me with a bad experience as it felt like I was trying to chase him/scare him. TT_TT

Can you guys tell me what to do next? I really want to be bonded with this cute guy. He is going 5 months old, by the way.

 

[audrinasmommy88]

You need to sit down in he middle of the room and completely ignore him. He will come to you when he is ready. Rabbits are curious and when he sees you just sitting there, his curiosity will make him come to you. Maybe read a book outloud while you are sitting. Also, give him a treat when he does come to you. This will make him want to come back

 

[Nancy McClelland]

:yeahthat: Also, you have to get them used to a certain amount of handling--try bribery once he gets used to your presence. We have one litter box that is inside of the two halves of an apple box so it is completely covered with a small litter pan full of shredded newspaper. Mine know to go in the box when it's time to be put up--the command "box" is given and they usually comply or will let me herd them. A couple like to be picked and held too, so they are easy--just takes time and patience.

 

[Imbrium]

it's best not to give them a whole lot of space/to keep them confined to their cage for the first couple days (mostly for potty habit reasons - you want him to see the cage as "his" vs the rest of the house as "shared"), especially any time you might need to round them up in a hurry.

I've had to chase mine around before because I needed to get them in the carrier and Nala thinks chase scenes are fun. she'll run and thump, but I always end up nabbing her eventually and she forgives me for it after a little petting - I doubt having to chase him one time will hurt your ability to bond with him if you can avoid having to continue doing it while he's still so new to you

as Larry said, you do need to get him accustomed to being handled and bribes go a long way with this. they can have a tiny amount of fruit per day (no more than 1 tsp per 2 lbs body weight) and you can stretch that pretty far if you cut the fruit into nibble-sized pieces.

a couple times a day when he comes up to you, pick him up into your lap and give him a nibble of fruit. once he's used to that, start brushing him for short periods of time while you're holding him. if he's good with the grooming, flip him over onto his back then return him to being upright and give him a nibble of fruit. next step is to hold him on his back a little longer and maybe play with his feet a little, then flip him back over for a treat (this way you'll be able to clip his nails easily when he needs it). depending on how easy-going he is, you'll want to stretch all that out over 1-3 weeks. my rabbits aren't big fans of getting picked up/flipped over/poked, prodded and groomed but they'll let me do it because a) I've never let them get away with thwarting me, b) I make it worth their while and c) I've been doing that stuff to them since they were babies, so they're accustomed to it.