Need help with a skiddish rabbit

[B]

I have a large rabbit named Harvey (veryfitting). When I got him from the pet store, the guy didn't know wherehe had come from, but assured me that he was 'an ok rabbit'

I know little of rabbits, I just instantly fell in love with him whenwe entered the store. All it said on his cage was "Rabbit 10$". Itwasn't before I got him home before I realized he's a VERY skiddishrabbit.

If I go to pet him, he'll either run off as fast as he can, or he'llput his head flat against the ground and flatten his ears out.

I've been working with him (the best I can) to calm him down. I've gothim to where He'll 'trance out' if I'm petting his head, and if I'mlaying on my belly on the floor, he'll hop onto me and pull on myclothes and walk around on me for a bit.

My problem is that somehowhe got (for lack of a better word) poostuck to him. By his tail by his right leg and a little bit under him.He wasn't sick or anything, I just think he may have sat in his litterbox without thinking. He wont clean it himself, and I can't touch himto get it off him, it's pretty squished into his fur by now.

I dont want to get him wet b/c he's quite large and I dont want to makehim sick or distress him more than he is and break the trust he alreadyhas.

Does anyone have any tips to get him to calm down enough for me to getthis off of him? It's like, if you touch anywhere beyond his neck, hefreaks out and runs. Occasionally, he'll let me scratch his back, butas soon as I go to the sides or under his neck, he freaks.

Thanks,
-B

 

[dajeti2]

I'm not 100% sure what to say. I can understandabout not wanting to scare him more. But the poop has got to come off.I'd be worried about bacteria and skin infections. If you're notcomfortable doing it have someone else scoop her up properly andrestrain her. You can trim off the poopy hair with a blunt tip pair ofscissors.

As to being skitish, I must admit I'm torn two ways. We were told tolet our skitish female come to us. After a week and she liked it betterby herself we changed plans. We would hold her, give her treats, madeit pleasant but also let her know touching her was going to happen likeit or not. We were always patient, loving and gentle. By the end shewas grooming my son and chin marking me.

I'm sure there thers that may be able to help you more. Good Luck.

Tina

 

[Bramble Briar86]

it'sprobably a trust thing. she might have been scared pretty badly beforeyou got her. i'd make sure never to yell or move quickly around hercage. dajeti2's advice is very helpful.

Ellie

 

[Bo B Bunny]

B, when you say he lays flat and flattens hishead..... is he asking to be groomed? (petted?)... They will do thatwhen they are "presenting themselves" for you to pet, groom, etc.

Now, regarding the butt. Can you hold him on the floor longenough to put a warm, wet papertowel over the poo and gently remove it?

Also, what kind of diet is he getting. Most of the time their poos shouldn't get stuck like that.

 

[bojay]

An owner of a rabbitry told me to give therabbits willow branches to chew on. It mellows themout. My rabbits love willow branches but they are always calmso I'm not sure this advice will work. It's worth a tryanyway and couldn't hurt.

Has anyone else heard that willow branches will reduce stress in rabbits?

 

[Bo B Bunny]

I don't know what the logic is regarding thewillow branches, but I would think that any chewing wouldreduce their stress.

Bo had a willow ball and a willow basket he destroyed within a day Ithink. He seemed the same as he usually is but he always hassomething to destroy. LOL!

He's not what I would call stressed at all... he's just a booger at times.

 

[bojay]

willow bark is what is used to make aspirin, that could possibly be the logic behind it.

My rabbits also like oak leaves in the early fall...only the early fall, no other time.

 

[Bo B Bunny]

hmm that's very interesting. I'll have to look into that more.....

 

[B]

Bo B Bunny wrote:

B, when you say he lays flat and flattens his head..... is heasking to be groomed? (petted?)... They will do that when they are"presenting themselves" for you to pet, groom, etc.

I'm not sure. He's ok and if we get our hands near us he puts his headas far down near the carpet as he can get it, then sometimes he'll movehis front feet to each side so he can get his head closer to theground. But we usually pet on him and love on him anyway.

Now, regarding the butt. Can you hold him on the floor long enough toput a warm, wet papertowel over the poo and gently remove it?

I'm not sure, I'd have to try it. Usually if you touch him around hisfeet or belly, he kicks and runs off and hides for awhile. but Maybe ifwe get to petting him he wouldnt notice.

Also, what kind of diet is he getting. Most of the time their poos shouldn't get stuck like that.

We feed him Small World rabbit food. Its these little green pellets.and it doesnt look like he had diahrea (sp?) or anything. It looks likehe sat down in his litter box and got it stuck in his fur.

 

[AmeliaOK]

I got my rabbit from a pet store, and she wasvery shy for a couple of weeks, she doesn't like to be held, but sheloves to be pet, and likes people around her. She also had a poop stuckon her foot, lol. I grabbed her, gently, and plucked it off, grantedthis took like a couple of times, I suggest letting your bunny chew ona carrot to keep it occupied!

 

[EEEM]

Both my buns flatten out, ears back, front feetapart when they're happily being petted, so I doubt that behavior isanything to worry about. They readily approach people and flatten outand stay put when petted, so I'm sure it's a positive behavior for mybuns. They definitely don't stick around in situations they dislike, soI wouldn't worry about that. They behave this way when grooming eachother as well.

 

[cirrustwi]

When Basil wants some petting, she flattensherself to the ground, actually so does Daisy. I think theyjust want to be petted, because they will come right up to me and doit.

Hmmm...cleaning the butt. Well, first, is the bunny overweight (solid, as my vet would say )? Sometimes whenbunnies are "solid" they have trouble cleaning themselves.You could try trancing the bunny by holding onto the scruff of the neckand laying the bunny on its back (I'm sure you can find a betterexplanation of how to do this somewhere) and then use a baby wipe toclean him. When I got Elvis, he had poop on his hind legs andthat was what I found to be the easiest way to clean him.

Jen

 

[B]

cirrustwi wrote:

When Basil wants some petting, she flattens herself to theground, actually so does Daisy. I think they just want to be petted,because they will come right up to me and do it.

I actually read someone's site on here (Forgot the user though) andread about the body language of rabbits. So I sat and watched him andlearned when to back off. He's actually a little calmer and coming upto me and sniffing me. I lay down in the floor on my stomach last nightand let him sniff me and he hopped up on my back and walked around.Became a game, actually. He'd run off, tear around the room, stop rightbefore me and hop up onto my back.

Hmmm...cleaning the butt. Well, first, is the bunny over weight (solid, as my vet would say )?

Actually, I dont think he's overweight, he's actually quite small, his fur just makes him look really fluffy.

It's just where it's at I think. It's to the right of his tail, juuuustout of reach. I can get my fingers inbetween it and his fur, so I wasthinking of getting some scissors and cutting it out when he calmeddown during a petting. That'd be a lot easier as the part it's stuckto...its pretty much stuck to.

 

[JimD]

Hello B!!

Ideally it would be the best if you could "trance" him. Try to hold himon his back in the crook of your arm while stroking his nose andforehead. With his head a little lower than his rump. If it works heshould go into "trance". This does not always work with all bunnies,though. And they can sometimes come out of it rather abruptly.

If all else fails you can try wrapping the bun up in a towel...referredto as a "bunnie burrito". This can be used to clip nails, too.

Put the towel over him, when he's relaxed, and pick him up wrapping thetowel around him to contain all feet. Covering his eyes and speakingsoftly will help to keep him calm. Having an extra set of hands wouldreally help at this point to remove or cut the poopies out of his fur.You may also consider trimming the fur to prevent this from happeningagain.


And don't forget the treats. Many a bun has been won over with treats (and a little time and patience)


:~) Jim

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Yep! he's presenting himself. That's a good thing

Bo does that all the time to get his "lovins"

Is Harvey then the black and white bunny? He's not real large.

This is a great link that Buck Jones I think gave me once. It tells you what their body language means:

http://www.muridae.com/rabbits/rabbittalk.html

 

[I LuV MaH BuNs]

We have 6 rabbits, 2 of the 6 were very skiddish.We've had them for a little over a year now and they are warming up. Itjust takes some time and i learned not to force them to you but to letthem come to you and get used to you. We have two that justrefuse to be picked up, they just come out on their own and i dont pickthem up unless moving from floor to cage or cage to floor. Smiles,using a soft brush (like a baby brush) and crasins work very well