Toys and Boredom

[Liquidtravel]

My 8-month-old flemish giant does not seem to be interested in anything. I have tried so many different toys in so many different ways that I literally have a few drawers full of things he will not play with. He is interested in 4 things; sleeping, eating, chewing on a rubber mat when I am not looking, or trying to pull the sheet that covers part of his habitat through the cage bars. He almost never comes out of his habitat and I feel bad because he doesn't seem to be interested in toys or exploring the larger world. His cage is always open but he rarely comes out. I actually moved his litterbox outside his habitat which he uses but then he hops back into his cage where he lays down and grooms himself for the next few hours. I will do drive-bys many times a day to sit with him and pet him but he almost never comes out and hangs out away from his habitat. When I break down the habitat to clean the area, he still sits where he would if the habitat were there but in a tight ball like he is scared.

I have only had him since late March and he was neutered in May which completely changes his personality. Before that, he came out all the time and would sit under my desk chair while I worked and nibble on my pants leg so that I would pet him. He never does that anymore.

any thoughts are welcome to get him out and about again.

 

[Abi :)]

Have you bonded with him? Maybe he is a bit nervous as he hasn't had much interaction with you because he has been hiding away, try had feeding him bits of veggies and his pellets, this should help him be more comfortable around him. You could also try feeding him outside and giving him his water bowl outside the enclosure so he comes out more often. Is it possible that he doesn't like the flooring outside his enclosure? You could also try getting a willow basket and filling it with treat hays like botanical or oat hay or even his normal hay with some herbs, dried fruit, or bits of pellets in, you can place this outside his area and hopefully he should come out. As for toys have you tried more natural ones, like seagrass matgs, timothy mats or willow toys? I'll leave a video below on how to bond with your bun, as you and your bun may need to 'bond' again.





101 Rabbits has some great natural toys if you are interested- Toys

hope this helps <3

 

[Liquidtravel]

Thank you. I do have his litterbox outside. He will come out and jump in it, do his business, and then hop back in. I put his veggies outside his door and he does come out and eat it but then goes back in. As far as feeding him pellets out of my hand, I don't think so. Before he was neutered he could get pretty aggressive and he bit me pretty good a few times. When I feed him bananas, I do hold it in my hand but he tries to pull it away as quickly as possible. Same when I feed him carrots.

For toys, I have tried a bunch of different natural toys, like mats, cones, balls, etc. I have tried putting dried fruit inside them. I might try putting a banana inside one though. Whenever I peel a banana, he goes crazy. He can smell it a mile away. That might be something. I could put a small piece of banana inside one of his toys.

thanks for the videos, I will check them out.

 

[Abi :)]

Thank you. I do have his litterbox outside. He will come out and jump in it, do his business, and then hop back in. I put his veggies outside his door and he does come out and eat it but then goes back in. As far as feeding him pellets out of my hand, I don't think so. Before he was neutered he could get pretty aggressive and he bit me pretty good a few times. When I feed him bananas, I do hold it in my hand but he tries to pull it away as quickly as possible. Same when I feed him carrots.

For toys, I have tried a bunch of different natural toys, like mats, cones, balls, etc. I have tried putting dried fruit inside them. I might try putting a banana inside one though. Whenever I peel a banana, he goes crazy. He can smell it a mile away. That might be something. I could put a small piece of banana inside one of his toys.

thanks for the videos, I will check them out.

There is this video I came across recently, it might help



Also do you have his history with his previous owner? My bun Bambi's old owner who kept her outside a tiny hutch outdoors with minimum human interaction so she doesn't really let me stroke her unless she wants to be, is it possible her previous owner didn't really socialise with her?

 

[Cloverhouse]

Have you had his incision checked since his surgery? He may be in pain, maybe something didn't heal quite right and it's no longer fun to him to move around. I'd also check his nails, especially the front thumb nail which can grow back into the paw if not kept cut and sometimes gets missed.

My rabbits have zero interest in toys. In fact I've NEVER had a rabbit who cared for "toys". They like to chew on things, mostly boxes or wood. Something many of my rabbits have enjoyed is me cutting a chunk of turf from the yard, they like to chew the grass and weeds and dig at the dirt part. One of my current house bunnies loves to climb, the higher the better. Basically I try to provide them with things to destroy or "do housekeeping" with. A busy bunny is a happy bunny.