Bunny's Mood?

bunnyluv96 · Apr 20, 2010

Is there any way to tell if my bun is happy/sad? I go to college and have routine things that take me away from the house, and sometimes I worry he is lonely? But I have no way of telling if he is or not. I don't think he sleeps through the night, not sure about bun's sleeping habits how much , etc. but he is always up when I get up and I wonder if he's been up for hours alone with no company. Makes me sad to think he might be lonely. Any clues I can look for to tell me if he's ok or lonely? Thanks!

elrohwen · Apr 20, 2010

Is he active and busy? Exploring things and entertaining himself? Then he's probably fine! I would worry about loneliness if he's sullen and depressed most of the day.

As far as sleeping habits, my buns, at least sleep from about 10am through 5pm. They settle down again some time in the middle of the night around 2am or 3am, but then are up and running around again at 5am. They're crepuscular which means they like to be awake around dawn and dusk with rest times in the middle of the day and the middle of the night (which actually makes them perfect for people who are in school or work all day, because your bun is most likely sleeping the whole time you're gone)

kirbyultra · Apr 20, 2010

Bored bunnies tend to act up, actually. Particularly the younger juvenile buns. IF they are seriously bored they might start to chew on things they're not supposed to, make noise to try to wake you p for attention, kick their poo all over the place...

I know how you feel - I used to work crazy hours at the office, and so did my husband. We left Kirby in the house for 14 hours alone at least and he always kinda just quietly roamed out, took a nap, ate, sat... very regular bunny stuff throughout the day (crepuscular, as Laura mentioned). I had a webcam on him and I looked at him all the time at the office, so I see what he occupied his time with. While I felt he was bored, the truth is he probably was just fine. In fact, over time, I got to know my bunny better and have learned that this particular bunny enjoys quiet, does not like racket or music, or being disturbed too much. He is very happy on his own and so he doesn't complain.

It could just be our human psychological standard for seeking companionship. Bunnies ARE social animals, but single buns very often do just fine with hours of alone time.

kirbyultra · Apr 20, 2010

Oh, if you think he might like it, you can turn on the radio for him when you're not home. Like a talk radio station (they like to hear humans talking) or a smooth jazz, or classical station. They like calm, even noises so that they don't get suddenly scared with loud music beats. I made the mistake of turning on the big pop station here and Kirby had a fit. He went nuts and was cross with me until I turned it off.

elrohwen · Apr 20, 2010

Helen, would that be Z100 that Kirby disliked so much?

And I agree with what you said about destructiveness. Very destructive bunnies would probably do very well with a friend, though they could just teach their friend some new bad behaviors as well.