Unusual behavior in my Bunny

[Jhand]

Hi All, Thank you for allowing me to post my questions. I've had Bugsy, my mini Rex neutered rabbit for 2 1/2 years. He stays in his crate at night and allowed to roam free in the house during the day. We found him with his eyes completely crusted over living in a colony of rabbits and took him in. He had entropion and we found a vet willing to do surgery. His eyes are cloudy now but infection free. And we're unsure how much vision he actually has.
We also have a one year old yellow Labrador and a 2 year old cat. They eat together and spar once in awhile, but there has been no aggression other than a boop or two from the cat.
We let Bugsy out in the morning at breakfast and with a few snacks during the day he shows back up at supper time. He has always came to his crate at suppertime voluntarily until this last week. Now he's off at a mad scramble without eating and sometimes my husband has to pick him up and bring him back at night. He's found a little hollow in one of the bedrooms and hides in there. He'll come out when I go talk to him but goes right back immediately.
His diet consists of Timothy Hay, Coastal hay, Timothy pellets, fresh vegetables (bok choy, baby carrots, packaged organics super greens blend) and dried fruits (mango, bananas, pineapples). Not all at once lol.
I can see a lot of potential problems he might have while writing this.
He's always been content. His crate, an old large dog size, is filled with hay and logs.
I've done everything within my power to hopefully make him healthy, but mentally I don't know what's happening.
Can a rabbit develop behavioral problems? He's always been friendly with people and our other pets. Now he acts deathly afraid.
Any ideas from the forum?
The video is when I coaxed him out of his hole.
View attachment 1000005137.mp4

 

[Blue eyes]

We also have a one year old yellow Labrador and a 2 year old cat. They eat together and spar once in awhile, but there has been no aggression other than a boop or two from the cat.

Could you elaborate on this point? Cats and dogs will "spar" for play -- wrestle and play fight, basically. Rabbits do not "play" in this way. For them (being prey) such actions are serious and frightening. That's why I ask if you could elaborate. Exactly how are the dog and cat interacting with the rabbit? How often does this occur? Also, have there been any other changes in the household? New or re-arranged furniture? Different routines? etc

 

[Jhand]

Oh my gosh, Bugsy came into the breakfast room just now and went into his crate. Apparently he had to pee. He's such a good boy lol
You asked some questions that I have to answer yes to, rearranged furniture and different routines. Also we're expecting close family to visit for a few days so there's been some cleaning. They'll be sleeping in his day room but he has an alternate empty room he likes also.
With his limited vision I suppose it can be a problem either way. He may not notice a lot of things taking place but what he does notice is made all the scarier.
My husband and I are in our 60's and we've taken lessons learned over our lifetime to get it right, you know.
Our house is very quiet and the dog has understood from a small puppy the rabbit is off limits. Our cat has always been curious but other than an occasional paw to the behind, a boop, has made no attempt to play with Bugsy. Bugsy will occasionally grunt at them to tell them keep your distance. To the best of my knowledge they do not wrestle or play with each other. We didn't want a cat right now but as a tiny kitten this one kept climbing into our cousins engine compartment trying to stay warm over Thanksgiving and we took him in. We've set out from the start to never play rough with the cat. He's grown into a calm young adult. Also neutered. Bugsy was here first and needed a home as bad or worse than they did. If they couldn't behave we'd have to find new homes for them.
You've made a lot of good points and I believe it was our own actions in the house to make Bugsy scared in his own house.
Thank you for your quick response. I promise to always be aware of any behaviors from our dog and cat that might have an effect on our bunny.

 

[Jhand]

View attachment 1000003467.mp4
Here's some interaction between our cat, Newt and Bugsy. Newt happens to love grass and bok choy. They eat together often
Our kitchen is the main gathering place. Bugsy is grooming in the same space as the cat and dog.
We're just old people who like our peace and quiet.
I assure you all there is no food aggression among them.

 

[JBun]

Most rabbits typically don't like changes to their environment and routine very much. Even more so for a rabbit with limited vision. Rabbits map out their environment in their mind, so they know exactly where to run when they feel there's danger. When things are rearranged, this can be unsettling to them at first, and sometimes for quite a while, until they get everything mapped out in their head again.

If you've been using cleaning products that you don't normally use, strange smells from the cleaning, can also affect a rabbits behavior, as their sensitive nose is right there near the surface, and rabbits rely on their sense of smell to navigate through their world and identify things. Strongly scented things and strong cleaning chemicals can be especially hard for them

So I'd suspect it's a combination of the cleaning smells, changes to your rabbits environment, and his limited vision, that have put him on edge and are affecting his behavior.

 

[Jhand]

Most rabbits typically don't like changes to their environment and routine very much. Even more so for a rabbit with limited vision. Rabbits map out their environment in their mind, so they know exactly where to run when they feel there's danger. When things are rearranged, this can be unsettling to them at first, and sometimes for quite a while, until they get everything mapped out in their head again.

If you've been using cleaning products that you don't normally use, strange smells from the cleaning, can also affect a rabbits behavior, as their sensitive nose is right there near the surface, and rabbits rely on their sense of smell to navigate through their world and identify things. Strongly scented things and strong cleaning chemicals can be especially hard for them

So I'd suspect it's a combination of the cleaning smells, changes to your rabbits environment, and his limited vision, that have put him on edge and are affecting his behavior.

Thank you for your reply to my post. You're totally right. And I just realized we've been using white trash bags. In addition to all the changes lately, we've been getting rid of 49 years worth of stuff. What's not going to the thrift store is going in the trash, in white trash bags. Poor Bugs! This evening he showed me how deathly afraid he is of them. He was fixated on a bag outside his crate and was barely breathing. Most small animals are afraid, my cat being one when they're being opened, and I didn't think an occasional bag was traumatic for Bugsy but in the amount we've been using them lately no wonder he's been so scared.
I've covered up all the ones that have contents. Poor thing ran the gauntlet to get to his crate earlier.
He's so good. He loves petting but he won't let us pick him up so it's down to the floor for us. We're getting too old lol.