I can't anymore

[Tinto]

This is just a monologue... It might be the last post here. Well, I've done everything I could. A couple of weeks ago (almost one month) I had my bunny boy neutered. At first he seemed to me a bit more calm than before, but I am not really sure if he's happy with me anyway (except of moment when I give him treats). I am seriously thinking of re-homing him, which will be very sad for me but I cannot continue like this. As a person who works until evening, I cannot afford getting woken up at 4:40 every day by the sound of scratching the window frame, digging or boxing or how you call it. Tinto seems perfectly fine, eats and poops, I spend with him more than one hour in the morning and again in the evening, but most of the time he's not particularly excited about me. In the evening he's more sleepy and lets me groom him. Sometimes he's really so cute, that it's impossible to hate him. The problem is that my bedroom is the only room where I can keep him... since it is the only room I have apart from the bathroom. I've even thought about sleeping in the bathroom I knew I couldn't have unreal expectations, I just thought it would be nice to have a companion, I thought it could help me in my loneliness as an expat, but I ended up being more nervous and frustrated than before. That's it. I hope I'll find a person who will care for Tinto with at least as much affection as I did. And one last thing, I am ready to commit and to care for him until the last moment that we spend together. Bla bla bla...

 

[Blue eyes]

I'm sorry things aren't working out the way you had hoped. Just so you know, it can take 6-8 weeks after surgery for hormones to fully dissipate.

 

[Imbrium]

Check out this thread: https://www.rabbitsonline.net/index.php?threads/94330/

Bunnies driving people crazy in the middle of the night has been a recurring theme lately. I think this is the third thread I've seen him about a week, heh. You might try some of the ideas in the thread I linked. My biggest suggestion, both then and now, is some sort of white noise or sleep sounds so that every single noise your rabbit makes doesn't seem overwhelmingly loud. My husband and I once lived in a motel for 6 months with way too many animals, three of them rabbits and many of them small, loud birds. Without our train in the rain sounds, I don't think we would have made it through that.

Edit: typo

 

[Hermelin]

I hope you manage to find a good new home for him. Sometimes the rabbit won’t work living in the environment which you provide. Even though you do everything you can for them.

Myself own a doe and if I lived in a student apartment which I did last year, I would have to sell her.

Because she hated being indoors during the night time, even though she had a whole house moving around in.

She’s a lot happier in the outdoor cage and I no longer have to clean up all the destruction and mess she created.

So some bunnies won’t work, at least you tried your best [emoji5]

 

[Imbrium]

Yeah, I should've said before that while there are still a few things you can try to see if you can make the situation work, don't beat yourself up if it still doesn't. We all love our rabbits to bits, but no one should be forced to choose between their rabbit(s) and getting enough sleep to stay sane. Alice has pushed us to the brink of insanity a few times, heh (*listens to Alice digging away at tile as she types*). If you do end up having to rehome him, I wish you the best of luck! He's pretty darn cute, so I'm sure there's someone else out there just waiting to fall in love with him .

 

[Tinto]

Thank you Imbrium, Hermelin, Blue Eyes, thank you everybody. I don't know what to say. Maybe I will repeat what I've already said, but I tried literally every hack that I found on the Internet. I am trying to make my bun satisfied, distracted, tired before sleep etc. He has a lot of things to play with and to chew on. He has plenty of food. I am just so confused about whether he is simply mischievous or whether he feels uncomfortable. Free roaming is not an option, but he is not closed in his cage even for the night. So I am not sure whether he is bored and asks for attention (which I would give him abundantly) or if he is annoyed by my presence inside the play pen. And I am sick of wasting my affection, energy, time and money for something that is not appreciated. I don't want to sound cruel but it hurts.

 

[JBun]

What about putting him in your bathroom at night and shut the door to keep things quiet for you? I think you are completely misunderstanding your rabbits behavior. Rabbits don't show affection the same way as dogs or even cats. Rabbits are very independent animals and usually require very little attention from us humans. The joy of having a rabbit is to be able to just sit and watch them be themselves. If you are wanting an animal that constantly wants your attention and affection, then you are probably right, a rabbit is not the right pet for you.

If you are thinking you still want to try and make this work with your rabbit, maybe try taking a video and posting it here so we can see what your rabbits behavior is like and if he does indeed seem happy in his home with you or if there actually is any sort of problem.

 

[VioletRose]

I totally agree with JBun. Sometimes we humans want, need, too much. Rabbits are not naturally cut out to provide the kind of affection that cats and dogs can. My bun is super independent and often quite a snob. It took me some time to understand that the reward for my care, love and attention was his happiness, his happy flops, binkies, and him choosing to be with me most of the time, just doing the 'deep rabbiting' thing of contentendly being together. This is what bunnies do with each other most of the time, just hang out, quietly. I do hope you find him the right carer who also understands this about rabbits.

 

[RoseCottageBuns]

Know this may sound crazy, but perhaps if you found him a companion, he would be more interested in her than in disturbing your sleep? he would be happier too , during the day, and more content at night. The other option I have found is buy some really good earplugs ! feed him and make sure he secure in the evening , pop your earplugs in and get a decent night's sleep! Lack of sleep can make even the most resilient of us unhappy, and once you are sleeping more, and he is happy with a new mate, then things may start to feel better. Sorry, this advice is a bit late in the day as it seems you may well have made up your mind, but I was in the same situation for a long while and felt like giving up, then found some ear plugs for me, and a mate for my bun and all is well in the world.I hope it will be for you

 

[Jenny Durling]

It sound like you are looking for a dog and not a rabbit? Rabbits CAN be interactive and affectionate but they are generally not like dogs and cats in that regard. I agree that he would be alot happier with a bonded companion but if you are not happy with a single bunny, having two is not going to help you. I'm fortunate enough that my buns are not in the same room with me at night. There's not much you can do to make a rabbit be quiet during his up and about time and it's not really fair to expect that. Ear plugs are a great solution as is moving him into the bathroom when you need need quiet. I hope you can work it out so that you are both happy.

 

[Charlotteandbetty]

So sorry you’re feeling like this- bunnies can be bloody nightmares. A couple of months ago I was in the same situation. I’d had my girl neutered and she was still an aggressive, attacking nightmare, to the point where I started contacting rescue centers. In fact, for about a month or so after her neutering, she actually got even worse.

However, I had a change of heart. I actually decided instead to try getting another bunny and seeing whether this would make her happier. I thought, at the least, I could do her the justice of bonding her to a friend and rehoming them together if need be.

I have had Clive, a rescue lop, for 2 weeks now. He is like another species. He is friendly and affectionate, not at all aggressive, hasn’t chewed the carpet or wires and just far more calm. More like a tiny, less needy dog, which is what I dreamed a bunny would be like (just being honest!)

They’re not yet bonded, but it’s going well so far. He is adorable and I’m obsessed with him. Original bunny is still a stripping, angry brat- but I’m getting my neediness catered for by Clive.

Just thought I’d share...

Hope things work out for you. Unpopular opinion on this site... but a bunny is not worth making your life harder for. If you need to, spend the time to find him a great new home and move on. Good luck x

 

[Tinto]

Thanks everybody. It does mean a lot to me indeed. Maybe I gave you a wrong impression. I have been aware of the fact that rabbits aren’t like dogs. I actually don’t expect from my bunny to sit on my lap. I just need to feel at least some reward... Tinto can do whatever he wants, I do respect his autonomy and individuality, but sometimes there is not much to look at and to enjoy, when he prefers scratching the window frame etc., especially when it’s at 5 a.m. (I will try to post a video here...) The only thing I want to know whether he isn’t sick or uncomfortable, if he is just hanging out in his way.

 

[Hermelin]

He just want to go out, my bunnies often do that on closed doors and trying to get into places they are not allowed in. He’s not sick or uncomfortable.

Setting up a blanket or something soft where he’s scratching can isolate the sound a lot.

I’ve done that for my bunnies or I just block that area from them to get there.

This won’t always help directly, they will often spend sometime trying to break in. But, after a time they will stop trying.

Bunnies aren’t the easiest pet, when it come to caring and trying to understand them.

But I can tell you, you have been a good rabbit owner to Tinto.

 

[JBun]

If that's a window/door to the outside, he likely can feel a draft and is basically trying to get out there by trying to dig a burrow through the window/door. I know, not possible, so you need to think of ways to divert or distract him from the behavior. One thing that might help channel that energy is putting a dig box right there in that corner. I use cardboard boxes with at least two holes(entry and exit) cut in high enough up on the box to help keep the digging material contained, but low enough for my rabbits to hop in. Then I line it with thick layers of newspaper on the bottom, and I also crumple up some sheets of the newspaper on top of that to help get their newspaper ripping started. This can provide hours of distraction.

You've got a bun doing normal rabbity things, and you just need to learn the tricks we've all learned, on how to manage and divert their natural rabbit behaviors when you have them inside with you and they can't do the normal rabbit things they would do if they were outdoors.

Also keep in mind that it's spring and rabbits can get 'spring fever' where they have an up surge of normal rabbit behaviors like digging, chewing, and nesting, as these are all things they would be doing when in the wild at springtime. It's almost like a clock to them, come spring they just have this natural instinct to do all of this, some rabbits more than others. So you may want to hang in there til spring passes, to see if he calms down. One of my does becomes a big grump come spring, and occasionally fixates on building a nest, and her poor bunny companion just has to put up with it. I just give her lots of hay so she can continue with her nest building, and her grumpy attitude I just know it's her springtime behavior and that she'll settle back down into the happy bunny she usually is.

 

[zuppa]

Thanks everybody. It does mean a lot to me indeed. Maybe I gave you a wrong impression. I have been aware of the fact that rabbits aren’t like dogs. I actually don’t expect from my bunny to sit on my lap. I just need to feel at least some reward... Tinto can do whatever he wants, I do respect his autonomy and individuality, but sometimes there is not much to look at and to enjoy, when he prefers scratching the window frame etc., especially when it’s at 5 a.m. (I will try to post a video here...) The only thing I want to know whether he isn’t sick or uncomfortable, if he is just hanging out in his way.

Hi, thanks for posting that video. Your rabbit is very nice and he acts as if he was a rabbit, maybe he just likes digging two of my rabbits love it too, I even made a scratch-box for each of them, they love their boxes now! I don't have a video of my own rabbits but here look how it was solved here

Bunny digging rock box


Your problem as I see it that you put yourself in a difficult situation you need your sleep and be ready for your work and all, and Tinto doesn't understand that, because he has no job he's a rabbit he lives on his own routine which you are probably disturbing with your schedule. I think you are doing great trying to understand how to fix it and asking here, on the subject if you want to give up you can give up that's completely no problem with me, you don't have to ruin your career it is also important. Everybody has right to give up. The fact that you are still here indicates that you kinda want to keep him too, I can understand that he's very cool.

I think that you now have him for about 4 months and you maybe had no experience with rabbits before and you had to learn many things and maybe you have more things in your daily to do list maybe you want to stop for a while and revise where are you now, identify your problems and think if you are ready to put some time and focus into solving them or you have other priorities in life and you just want to find somebody who will give Tinto more attention (I don't mean all their time, just creating suitable routine and maybe places/toys/exercises that will help them both to have their own happy lives without disturbing each other).

Maybe he just doesn't understand your rules, maybe you want to rethink them now and make a clear start. I don't know as it was said here if you can close him in the bathroom and give him something to dig maybe he will like it?

Only you can decide what and how if you want to try and make little steps and post photos and videos and we will comment and you just don't take him as a problem he's just a rabbit and you have to accept that.

If you want to rehome him just take some pictures and place an ad on social media locally I am pretty sure you'll get many calls just make sure someone has patience and maybe some experience with rabbits, tell them about your problems, show them this video, it is not bad to be honest, but I understand you can't sleep you need some peace and quiet and stay focused on your job.

Good luck and keep us posted in any case!

 

[My Bunny Drake]

You do realize rabbits can live outside, right? My rabbit lives happily outside. I know they make a ton of noise. Get him a hutch, maybe a carpet mat, and leave him outside. He may be happier, because bunnies deserve attention!

 

[My Bunny Drake]

I use this
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077PV3R7V/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and keep a play pen around his cage in case I forget to lock his door. He has chewed it up quite a bit.

 

[Blue eyes]

I use this
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077PV3R7V/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and keep a play pen around his cage in case I forget to lock his door. He has chewed it up quite a bit.

That hutch is too small for a rabbit. It gives him no room to move and hop naturally. Please read the info on cage sizing at the following link:
https://www.rabbitsonline.net/threads/2019-cages-add-your-photo.93422/

 

[My Bunny Drake]

I’ve made sure he can hop. He is a small bunny.

 

[zuppa]

You do realize rabbits can live outside, right? My rabbit lives happily outside. I know they make a ton of noise. Get him a hutch, maybe a carpet mat, and leave him outside. He may be happier, because bunnies deserve attention!

Some people live in apartments and don't have outside but still want to keep a pet