serious concerns about my new rabbit

[dashtherabbit]

I got a rabbit from an animal shelter last saturday, the woman said she was told the babies mother was a dwarf lop (looking at the rabbit it looks nothing like a lop) but the thing is she wouldnt or couldnt say what the dad was, my concern is that by looking at the baby I have, I think it may have been a domestic rabbit that has been made pregnant by a wild one, the baby looks just like a wild one.

Also the way it is behaving, it is ok about being picked up but wont sit for long, and when in its cage it tries to escape with quite alarming force that its quite distressing to watch, for me and my two boys, she pulls at the bottom, moving the whole cage, I have had to pull the coroplast out of the way as she is distorying it through the bar and she also climbs up the sides and tries to escape by pushing the lid (it is as secure as is possible)

any help and advice on what I should do would be much appreciated, do you think I should get in touch with the rspca?

[dashtherabbit]

I forgot to mention, the baby is only 6 weeks of age

[Sara'spets]

Hi:

I really don't know anything about bunnies, but you sound rather discouraged. First, Thumper is just adorable and what an appropriate name.

Have you looked up any rabbit websites that might be able to explain what type of behavior to expect from a 6 week old bunny? I know rabbits can be rather hyper. Also, yours is probably very scared right now being in new surroundings.

Good luck!

[Slap Maxwell]

Have you tried hand feeding him? He just may be unsocialized.

[VoodooJoint]

Originally Posted by dashtherabbit

I got a rabbit from an animal shelter last saturday, the woman said she was told the babies mother was a dwarf lop (looking at the rabbit it looks nothing like a lop) but the thing is she wouldnt or couldnt say what the dad was, my concern is that by looking at the baby I have, I think it may have been a domestic rabbit that has been made pregnant by a wild one, the baby looks just like a wild one.

I'm sure it wasn't a wild rabbit. The father is most likely a brown or brown agouti colored rabbit. Some rabbits of these colorations look just like wild rabbits

Originally Posted by dashtherabbit

Also the way it is behaving, it is ok about being picked up but wont sit for long, and when in its cage it tries to escape with quite alarming force that its quite distressing to watch, for me and my two boys, she pulls at the bottom, moving the whole cage, I have had to pull the coroplast out of the way as she is distorying it through the bar and she also climbs up the sides and tries to escape by pushing the lid (it is as secure as is possible)

Most rabbits don't like being picked up and will tolerate it for only short times. Their hints to put them down and leave them alone can vary from wiggling to nudging to biting....it's normal

He's trying to escape from his cage because he would rather be out having free run. I bet you sometimes let him out when he acts that naughty? right? By doing that you are reinforcing his behavior and he will keep doing it because he gets results!

He is young with lots of energy. You are as new to him as he is to you and both of you are trying to figure out how to interact with each other. It will take some time to work it all out.

Everything sounds normal. Bunnies can make you crazy...welcome to crazy bunny land.

[lilliesmomma]

I agree with the last post. It will take time to get used to one another.

My mini rex was not socialized when we got him at 7 weeks. One of the things I did to socialize him to us was hold him like a baby in my arms FIRMLY - belly up - so he knows who's boss, talk to him softly and sweetly to calm him and rub his cheeks and the top of his head (they love this!). After a few minutes he would begin to relax and sometimes fall asleep. I just kept doing this on a daily basis and eventually he started to greet me by putting his head down on the floor (a sign of submission) waiting for a skritch! Persistance is the key. The reason I would hold him in my arms 'belly up' is that I have more control. If he is sitting in my lap he's going to use his feet to jump away and ouch! those nails hurt! They have very quick. strong legs!

In regards to him trying to escape:
My minirex will grab the bars where the door to his c&c cage is and shake furiously to get out. When he first started doing this he actually managed to shake open the door several times. I now reinforce the door of my c&c cage with several "binder clips" which you can find at any office supply store. They work great! My mini rex has a huge cage and is only in his cage when I am not home or am sleeping so he gets lots of free time. He just would rather be running around the house "binking". Now that he is neutered this has settled down a bit though.

Here is a link for binder clips so you know what I am talking about. I put two clips along the top and two clips on the side of the door. http://store.splitsecondofficesupply.com/acc72050.html

Hope this helps!

[AngelsCavies]

My Thumper looks just like yours but my Thumpers ears were lopped.

This is Thumper now
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y55...fyThumper2.jpg

This is Thumper when she was 2 months old.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y55...Apparently.jpg

she used to chew up the coroplast and she would be like yours can't sit still, wants out all the time and don't like to be held too long.

[Zeander]

About the bunny's color... we had a bunny named Killer that was colored exactly like a wild one, too. But he wasn't wild at all.