Rabbit makes a new noise at night?

[TheMadMarchHare]

Hello All,

I have a one-year-old Lionhead/Dwarf mix, who I've had for about 6 months. Since we found out he is a male, he has started all kinds of new noises and behaviors...all seem normal for a male rabbit.

A friend and I made a play date for our rabbits last week, since they both live alone, and it went great!

The last three nights though, my rabbit has been waking me up with a new sound. It's a low sound, almost like a dog whimper. At first I thought he was breathing differently, but it's not his breathing.

Any idea what this might be?
I'm not sure if the playdate with my friend's rabbit had to do with it, but it was a recent even outside of his every day life.

Any advice would help!
Thanks.

- Kayla

 

[TheMadMarchHare]

I should also mention that I have turned on the light, and he is just laying there. He looked awake to me. There is no other action that goes along with this noise...no teeth grinding, etc.

 

[Imbrium]

I'm really not sure what it could be... is it possible he's moving/pushing something in his environment that makes a noise (assuming the noise isn't still happening after you come into the room)?

I wouldn't think the play date would have anything to do with the sound... however, it's very unsafe to let two rabbits play together unless they're both spayed/neutered AND they're either fully bonded or going through the bonding process (bonding is not an option if they're not going to live together 24/7/365), as they could easily get into a fight and rabbit fights can be vicious or even deadly.

Even under very close supervision, it's really not recommended - bunnies just don't do the "casual friends" thing; they can bond to another bunny (similar to a married couple) but aren't ones to pal around with an acquaintance. If two rabbits aren't actually bonded, then "getting along perfectly" can turn into "at each others' throats" in the blink of an eye.

 

[Michelledickerhoff]

Before I got my male rabbit neutered when he started his hormonal stage he would chase my female cats around making a honking noise kinda, it had to do with him wanting to mate, idk if it's the same thing or not.