Timothy is becoming a VERY spoiled bun!

[cirrustwi]

Since Elliot passed, Tim has been excessively spoiled. He gets away with murder and is becoming a bit of a brat. And I know that it's my fault!
He tugs at my pants, I pet his head.
He won't go into his cage, I give him treats until he does.
Today, he somehow, and I have no idea how, got on top of my Bearded Dragons enclosure and ate their salad, all in the time it took me to refill the Dragons' water.
He chases my dogs and cats. And yes, they are all afraid of Tim.

He's doing great with other things. He absolutely never misses the litter box, even with poops. He considered not being psychotic when I made an attempt on his nails. He's eating all his salad and most of his hay, but he's only eating about 1/2 the pellets he ate when he was with Elliot. I'm only giving him 1/2 of what they both got together and he's only eating 1/2 of that. But, there are no signs of stasis, so I'm not concerned, I know that will happen with time.

I'm going to bring in another rabbit. I think I have an E. Lop lined up, but I haven't been able to get in touch with the breeder... I know someone who has French Lop babies, and I might take 2 of them and I know someone who will have Flemish this summer and I know I'm taking 2 of them...I just don't know. I'm mostly torn about the French. I'll have to decide and then Tim will have to decide if he wants to make friends. I'm completely prepared for him to decide no or for it to take forever for him to decide period.

I've never lost 1 of a bonded pair to anything other then old age and then they were both old and it was expected (and I honestly believe that when they are bonded, they kind of understand), but Elliot was so young and it was such a shock for us both... But what can I do for my sad, acting out boy, while I'm still so sad myself?
:bigtears:
Jen

 

[hartleybun]

:hug2:it could be that timothy is picking up on your grief. perhaps the sudden death of elliot is making you spoil timothy more than you normally would. we all do this when a beloved pet has passed.

you may want to consider some form of pen to keep him away from the rest of your crew. salad theft is serious! and you would be surprised just how high a determined bunny can jump!

my dogs also obey the bunnies the more i observe, the more i see that's it 5 year old doe, roxy, who dominates. and she looks so quiet...

 

[Nela]

When my Wiggles died, Bam-Bam gradually stopped eating, stopped drinking, stopped playing. It was the saddest thing. The best I could do for him was spoil him and give him all my love. I kept a close eye on him, syringe fed him, took him outside... I remember how many hours I would just sit there andlet him play in the grass. It seemed to be the only time he'd perk up. I let him roam the appartment during the day and he'd move about but there were no binkies, no jumps, no running about. It took a loooong time. He did get a little better though and I believe he would have kept getting better and better. It was funny though because he decided to befriend my other boy Ashton and they became inseparable. Bam-Bam had no luck though and Ashton passed away as well and so he became sad again. I started the process all over again and finally he ended up with a nice family who allowed him to be free range all the time and the last news I had from him, he was very happy and playful again. (I couldn't let him be free range because my ex was in a wheelchair)

In the end, I think you just need to keep spoiling your bunneh. Give him time to mourn and adjust himself and I am sure he will come around. I wouldn't allow him to get away with too much really, I mean, not things you wouldn't want him doing again. Treat him normally with just a lil extra spoiling(more roaming time, more outside play, more cuddles)and he'll come around I am sure.