Thumping in the night

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pinksalamander

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Archie keeps thumping really loudly in the middle of the night. Everytime he does it he will continuously do it for about 5 minutes until someone goes and pays attention to him. Its usually at around 4 or 5 in the morning, so its horrible to go and tend to him. The other night he did it for ages I went down and gave him a bit of cabbage and he shut up. Last night he was being really really awful all night, thumping, throwing things around. I put a torch down there as soon as he woke me and there was nothing there, so I don't get why he would be upset about something.

This morning my neighbours complained saying that John, who has a bedroom in a similar place as me on our house said he didn't get much sleep last night, and Stuart, who has a room at the other end of the house said he got woken up too.

I feel really bad, it doesn't bother me that much, but its clearly bothering everyone else and I don't want to be a nuisance.

Its clearly not a boredom issue, well I don't think so, because he has loads of toys.

We've decided he shall now have to go into the small hutch (it makes less noise when it gets thumped on because it has more solid floors) at night and we are going to place thick blankets on each floor to try and reduce the noise.

I tried mentioning to my Mum we could just have them (or at elast him) as indoor bunnies but still no :(

Any advice? I'm really at a loss, its not just my own problem now, its my neighbours and I feel awful!

Fran :) :hearts :brownbunny
 
I remember Bennett used to do that when we first had him. We were in the top unit of an apt. ourselves. He didn't have his own room yet, just a cage in the den. Something in the night would just seem to spook him. We finally came up with the idea to put a big towel on top of the cage around the front -- thinking like a bunny that if he couldn't see scary woozles, the woozles couldn't see him either. It worked, finally some peace and quiet at night!! Give it a try, especially if he's outside. It might help ::fingers crossed::
 
We already put a blanket down over the hutch at night.... thanks for the help me the woozles are clearly still bugging him!

Last night I saw a cat, our cat I think (in my half asleep state) which is weird because the cats walk past all day.

Just spoke to my Mum, basically told her I'd looked it up online and the only way to stop it was for him to be brought inside. I said it would likely make him not thump, or if he did at least it would be easy for us to go down and reassure him, and it wouldn't bug the neighbours.

She basically said:

Mum: Where would we put him? The only place is under the shelf in the utility room but its too damp with the tumble dryer
Me: What about getting rid of the dining table (we don't eat at the table, its basically junk mail dumping ground and cats play thing) and put a cage there.
Mum: We could put a little rabbit cage down and build a pen around it (see she's co-operating!)
Me: Yeah or build a NIC cage
Mum: What floor (its carpeted)
Me: Lino or coroplast.
Mum: We will have to test it out tonight and see (she told the neighbours that bear with us for two more nights and if he still wakes us all up we will sort something out for definate).

So now I kinda WANT him to thump, so I can make him an indoor bunny! She said she didn't like the smell but I said that they don't smell as long as they are cleaned out everyday and I said i'd be far more likely to clean them out everyday if they were inside (I clean out every other, every 3 days sometimes if its rainy).

So, lets all hope he thumps so I can bring him in! Of course I would like him to just stop thumping anyway but we will see.

Fran :) :hearts :brownbunny
 
I say try and not stop him! Get them/him inside! :D If you're stuck for space, I made a three story cage in my (pretty small) bedroom and that works well, and causes the least bother for the rest of my family. :) Maybe he thumps because he knows if he does, you will come out and give him attention, Maddie thumps if I haven't been up to see her in a while. :p
 
She brought up the issue herself later, which is good. She basically said its an absolute last resort, but then, after putting blankets down in the hutch to muffle the sound (it won't exactly stop it) there isn't another thing we can do!

I have to say I don't think its him being scared. He seems to do it at dawn break, so I think it is when he has woken up and is saying 'I'm bored, come feed me/play with me/stroke me'

We will have to see how it goes.

Fran :) :hearts :brownbunny
 
Putting a cage in my room is literally (sadly) not an option, because I don't have a single gap, and even after that, I couldn't stand sleeping with an animal in my room because I have seriously good hearing and I can't get to sleep if there is a single noise. If the neighbour has his TV on in the house that isn't even attached to ours I will hear it and can't get to sleep.

Fran :) :hearts :brownbunny
 
Ahh yeah rabbit in your room won't suit xD, I have to put up with thumping, shaking bars, chewing hay (which is surprisingly loud! :shock:)... haha but I can sleep not too bad with noise. Anyway :goodluck


 
I cry too if I can't sleep. You know when you are really tired and you just want to sleep? I get like that ALL the time. It annoys me so much, when I had a hamster I used to have to put the cage in another room because it drove me insane!

Fran :) :hearts :brownbunny
 
Haha - you should try sleeping in our bedroom. Four bunnies, three guinea pigs and three gerbils. :p

Fingers crossed they get to live indoors. If it is dawn that's waking him up, perhaps being indoors in the dark of the house, with curtains closed etc, he will sleep later? And I also find that stomping on NIC shelves doesn't make much noise, depending on the covering on the shelf. ;)
 
Lol, I hope he keeps thumping then I guess! :p Archie sounds like a clever bunny to me- 'If I thump, maybe I can go live in the nice warm house!'

I'd love to have a bedroom bunny. I don't mind sleeping with a little bit of background noise, and I actually have to have some daylight in my room, so I always sleep with the blinds slatted, so I have light in the room as soon as it gets light.... Steve has just had to get used to it now!

Erm... good luck keeping the neighbours awake! :biggrin2:
 
mouse_chalk wrote:
I'd love to have a bedroom bunny. I don't mind sleeping with a little bit of background noise, and I actually have to have some daylight in my room, so I always sleep with the blinds slatted, so I have light in the room as soon as it gets light.... Steve has just had to get used to it now!
I sleep with the curtains fully open. First thing I do in the morning, close the blinds!

Last night, went down at 4.30am, LOTTIE was thumping like a crazy person. Then, at 5.30am, they were thumping, went down but don't know who it was (think it was Archie) so gave them both some brocolli and they didn't thump anymore.

I'm still working on it! I may suggest to my Mum could we put the run in the kitchen for the night just to 'show' her how much better it would be with them indoors.

Fran :) :hearts :brownbunny
 
I think Emily meant try to put blankets completely over the cage as well, so the rabbit cant see out, so not just on the floor to muffle the thumps.

Since the bun is outside, this is a bit more difficult, but I would normally suggest a nightlight, since that might help ease the bunnies fears. I'm not sure how you could go about that outside though, sorry.

good luck!
 
drunkenbunnyhugger wrote:
I think Emily meant try to put blankets completely over the cage as well, so the rabbit cant see out, so not just on the floor to muffle the thumps.

Since the bun is outside, this is a bit more difficult, but I would normally suggest a nightlight, since that might help ease the bunnies fears. I'm not sure how you could go about that outside though, sorry.
They already have blanket down over the front, as well as blankets on the floors to muffle the sound. I don't think its fear at all, I think its attention. I mean, they get alot of attention anyway but they still demand it at half past four in the morning!

Stilly trying with my Mum, she says one other thing is that the space we would put them in is next to the radiator, which means we wouldn't be able to turn it on, and she says she will 'get cold' in the winter. She has a little heater next to her desk anyway, I said I would buy her another little heater if she needs it!

I'm still working on it. She needs to make a decision quickly, because I can't keep disrupting everyone sleep all the time. I need to wait for my box of NIC grids to arrive (soon hopefully!) so I can at least make a little square cage for the kitchen, just to SHOW her how much better it will be.

Fran :) :hearts :brownbunny
 
It sounds like your mum is definately coming round to the idea if she's suggesting places they could live! :D Good luck in convincing her!

I hadn't thought about radiators either- our cage is currently in front of a little radiator, and obviously we're not using it since it's summer now, but I hadn't thought about winter! In our old house, Barney and Snowy's cage was partly against a radiator, but they loved it- they would cuddle up underneath it, and if they were out of their cage, they went and cuddled up under the other one.. :dunno Thinking about it, Mouse and Chalk always slept at the end of their cage that was closest to the radiator too! Strange bunnies!

I say, get designing NIC cages- your mum sounds like she's ready to cave any day now! :biggrin2:
 
mouse_chalk wrote:
I hadn't thought about radiators either- our cage is currently in front of a little radiator, and obviously we're not using it since it's summer now, but I hadn't thought about winter! In our old house, Barney and Snowy's cage was partly against a radiator, but they loved it- they would cuddle up underneath it, and if they were out of their cage, they went and cuddled up under the other one.. :dunno Thinking about it, Mouse and Chalk always slept at the end of their cage that was closest to the radiator too! Strange bunnies!
Hmm, the radiator would run all down the side of the pen, I would think on about setting 1 it would be OK? It automaticaly turns off at 1am until 7am, I don't think it would be too much of a problem?

I'm really thinking about not having a NIC cage as such, but a NIC pen, with everything in it for him/them. I'd place it on a large piece of plywood that would sit flush with the wall and be covered with lino, and then screw small 'skirtings' onto the two exposed edges (it would be against 2 walls) so I could 'bend' the lino up the skirtnig to hold everything in. Then I could just give him a little warm hidey box with a blankey and all his toys and bits and litter tray out on the floor. When I'm home he will go in the run or in my room like usual anyway, but when my Mum is home, if she doesn't want him running about, then she could just leave him in there. He would still feel like part of the family I guess because she works there very late everynight.

I spoke to her again and she kinda made out I was 'pushing' the subject too much, I showed her this page which says it all really! She also said what would happen when I go away to University. I said she would have to live with them for a year because I'd probably be in halls, but as soon as I live in my own house where I can have pets my personal menagerie will be moving in with me! She also said she didn't want a single poo or anything lying around the house 'because of the smell' so I said I would buy a dustbuster :D

I'm going to prompt it again tonight when she gets home (or if she comes on MSN) because she needs to make her decision soon (I don't want to have to get up at half four again!) It will take a few days to sort everything out for it so the sooner she says 'yes' or 'no' the sooner we can get everything going.

Fran :) :hearts :brownbunny
 

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