I think my rabbit is depressed

[LindseyBrown93]

My rabbit has been hiding out under my desk and being extremely stationary when he is out of his cage. A lot of times when his cage is open, he still stays in there. He has always been a very active rabbit and I'm afraid he may be suffering from depression. Do yall have any suggestions of how I can get him to be his happy self again? I'd rather not get another rabbit, if there are alternate solutions. PLEASE HELP!
Thank you!

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

Has anything traumatic happend to him lately? Is he eating normally? Pooping?

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Each of ours are very different. Some when out are very active while others are more of a fur covered lump. As they've gotten older, some of them have really slowed down.

 

[MiniLopHop]

Also what time of day? Rabbits are much more active at dawn and dusk. During the day mine just find a nice place to nap and snooze the day away. The lops aren't terribly active unless there's food involved any time of the day. My angora likes to get into trouble, but he's also just a year old.

You could always clicker train to help keep your bunny's mind active and give them a stuffed animal so they have a friend. Making them "work" for their food is also good. You can put hay or herbs in toilet paper tubes or paper towel rolls, they sell ball shaped baskets at pet stores that you can stuff hay or greens into, I have a treat dispenser made for cats but I put a few oxbow treats into it and the bunns have to nose bonk to get the treats out, hiding the food around the enclosure in various places, etc. Having toys that rotate or new boxes to explore also helps get them excited.

Good luck