Why Thump All Night??

[Bunny Pumi]

Hello everyone,

I am very confused as to why my rabbit is thumping all night so I had to come here for help! My rabbit is 7 months old, adopted a few months ago from a rescue group and is free roam. We live in an apartment so he gets the whole living room/kitchen to himself. He also has unlimited hay and water with controlled pellets and veggies. I notice every night that he likes to sleep on my couch or on the rug in front of the couch in my living room.

He has been thumping all night and this has never happened before so it is quite odd. I can hear him thumping every 30 seconds or minute since my bedroom is right next to the living room, which is why woke up to write this! I am also on the 6th floor so there are birds that fly by but why thump tonight?? I hope someone has an idea as to why a rabbit would thump every few minutes when he's never done this before, even when we first adopted him. I hope it is not a behavioral issue to fix. Please help, I do not want to lose any more sleep!

 

[JBun]

If this is a new thing and he didn't used to do this, I would suspect there is something in his environment causing the upset. I could be an unusual sound he is hearing from outside like construction or a critter. Or it could be something inside like an item on the floor that didn't used to be there and he doesn't know what it is, a piece of furniture was recently moved, an appliance turning on at night, a strange smell, shutting a door denying him access to somewhere he wants into, a little critter coming out at night, or even a spider crawling around could set a rabbit off. To solve this it's going to be a matter of examining everything in his environment that could possibly be the trigger. If it's something coming out at night like a spider or mouse, then it will be a matter of catching and removing the offending critter.

If you can't find anything that could be triggering him, you could try providing some hidey holes and tunnels for him to seek shelter and comfort in, bring him into your room with you so he feels safe, or if he has a cage base, you could try partially covering it with a sheet so it feels safer and more enclosed. Then if he sets off thumping, bring him into the covered cage and see if that stops him getting upset.

 

[Hermelin]

I had a girl that would start thumping during the night because it got too quiet and dark. She would stop when she was in my room and had a night light on.

So try to find the reason for thumping and try to fix it. One of my bunnies will start thump like crazy when he sees a tub/ foot bath bowl with water. He have nothing negative with tubs but will still go off like a drum when he sees them. It’s a habit he picked up as an adult and didn’t have as a kit.

 

[Bunny Pumi]

If this is a new thing and he didn't used to do this, I would suspect there is something in his environment causing the upset. I could be an unusual sound he is hearing from outside like construction or a critter. Or it could be something inside like an item on the floor that didn't used to be there and he doesn't know what it is, a piece of furniture was recently moved, an appliance turning on at night, a strange smell, shutting a door denying him access to somewhere he wants into, a little critter coming out at night, or even a spider crawling around could set a rabbit off. To solve this it's going to be a matter of examining everything in his environment that could possibly be the trigger. If it's something coming out at night like a spider or mouse, then it will be a matter of catching and removing the offending critter.

If you can't find anything that could be triggering him, you could try providing some hidey holes and tunnels for him to seek shelter and comfort in, bring him into your room with you so he feels safe, or if he has a cage base, you could try partially covering it with a sheet so it feels safer and more enclosed. Then if he sets off thumping, bring him into the covered cage and see if that stops him getting upset.

Hello JBun and thank you for your insight on this. Since I live on the 6th floor of our apartment, there are no bugs or mouse that gets through here. He has a hidey home under the couch that he sleeps in and a small corner table where he usually hangs out during the day. We haven't moved or change anything in that space. It is very unusual for him to do this as he hasn't done this in the 3 months that we have him. I will keep my ears open tonight to see if he will thump again.

I actually heard him thump a few times this morning at 6am too. So weird!

 

[Bunny Pumi]

I had a girl that would start thumping during the night because it got too quiet and dark. She would stop when she was in my room and had a night light on.

So try to find the reason for thumping and try to fix it. One of my bunnies will start thump like crazy when he sees a tub/ foot bath bowl with water. He have nothing negative with tubs but will still go off like a drum when he sees them. It’s a habit he picked up as an adult and didn’t have as a kit.

Thank you Hermelin! Bunnies are such weird cute creatures haha

Pumi's usual spot is the living room to sleep and hang out in. This is the first time where he kept thumping at night every few minutes. I've had him for a few months now. We did not change or move anything so its odd. He thumped at me when I picked up his water bowl across from him while the water was running. Guess he didn't like the sound of sink water running. Hopefully he does not have this thumping thing at night become a habit.

 

[NYAngela]

Hello JBun and thank you for your insight on this. Since I live on the 6th floor of our apartment, there are no bugs or mouse that gets through here. He has a hidey home under the couch that he sleeps in and a small corner table where he usually hangs out during the day. We haven't moved or change anything in that space. It is very unusual for him to do this as he hasn't done this in the 3 months that we have him. I will keep my ears open tonight to see if he will thump again.

I actually heard him thump a few times this morning at 6am too. So weird!

Could be a mouse in the wall? A neighbor’s pet or sound coming from a neighbor’s apartment? Animal outside?