Your rabbit is under socialized which is why he's so afraid of you and of being out of his cage. His hocks are sore because he's been forced to stay in his cage and live on a wire floor. You should be letting him out of his cage for as long as possible every single day. He needs the exercise, he needs to get used to you being a positive part of his daily life, he needs to learn to trust you. And he can't if you just let him out every 3 days. In fact, he should be out of the cage more than he's in--the cage should be used as his safe haven (where he can choose to go when he wants quiet time--sort of like you going into your room when you don't want to be disturbed) and possibly as the place you put him at night to sleep so he doesn't get into any trouble. If you increase your interaction with him daily, don't force yourself upon him but sit on the floor when he's running around and let him approach you, let him get used to your smell and your noise and your just being there. Don't make quick moves. Talk to him quietly. When he starts wanting to explore you, you can slowly and very gently start petting him, increasing the contact more every day so he gets used to it. Bring treats so he associates you with good things. You can even lie on the floor which seems to make lots of rabbits very happy because they are suddenly bigger than you are (my dwarf rabbits liked jump and run on me when I would lie on the floor, they seemed to get a kick out of it). You should have been doing all this from day one so you could handle him sufficiently to care for him. When you must have him caged, put a towel and newspaper on the wire floor to cushion his feet, and keep everything totally clean so flies don't start coming around. Is he at least trying to clean himself and his legs? If not, you may have to stress him by sticking his front end in a pillow case and securing the case around his middle so he can't see anything and can't bite you so you can clean his hocks (get someone else to hold his pillowcased front while you wash his back legs). But that'll make him more suspicious of you and it'll take longer to win his trust.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
My rabbit has sore hocks and doesn't like to be held?
My rabbit, who is neutered and about 2 years old, will never let me hold him. I can barely pet him without him getting scared. I let him out about every 3 days, but I went on a trip recently and he didn't get out. How do I bandage him up safely without hurting him? He really hates to be held! And I can't take him to the vet, my parents think it's ';unnecessary';My rabbit has sore hocks and doesn't like to be held?
Your rabbit is under socialized which is why he's so afraid of you and of being out of his cage. His hocks are sore because he's been forced to stay in his cage and live on a wire floor. You should be letting him out of his cage for as long as possible every single day. He needs the exercise, he needs to get used to you being a positive part of his daily life, he needs to learn to trust you. And he can't if you just let him out every 3 days. In fact, he should be out of the cage more than he's in--the cage should be used as his safe haven (where he can choose to go when he wants quiet time--sort of like you going into your room when you don't want to be disturbed) and possibly as the place you put him at night to sleep so he doesn't get into any trouble. If you increase your interaction with him daily, don't force yourself upon him but sit on the floor when he's running around and let him approach you, let him get used to your smell and your noise and your just being there. Don't make quick moves. Talk to him quietly. When he starts wanting to explore you, you can slowly and very gently start petting him, increasing the contact more every day so he gets used to it. Bring treats so he associates you with good things. You can even lie on the floor which seems to make lots of rabbits very happy because they are suddenly bigger than you are (my dwarf rabbits liked jump and run on me when I would lie on the floor, they seemed to get a kick out of it). You should have been doing all this from day one so you could handle him sufficiently to care for him. When you must have him caged, put a towel and newspaper on the wire floor to cushion his feet, and keep everything totally clean so flies don't start coming around. Is he at least trying to clean himself and his legs? If not, you may have to stress him by sticking his front end in a pillow case and securing the case around his middle so he can't see anything and can't bite you so you can clean his hocks (get someone else to hold his pillowcased front while you wash his back legs). But that'll make him more suspicious of you and it'll take longer to win his trust.stila
Your rabbit is under socialized which is why he's so afraid of you and of being out of his cage. His hocks are sore because he's been forced to stay in his cage and live on a wire floor. You should be letting him out of his cage for as long as possible every single day. He needs the exercise, he needs to get used to you being a positive part of his daily life, he needs to learn to trust you. And he can't if you just let him out every 3 days. In fact, he should be out of the cage more than he's in--the cage should be used as his safe haven (where he can choose to go when he wants quiet time--sort of like you going into your room when you don't want to be disturbed) and possibly as the place you put him at night to sleep so he doesn't get into any trouble. If you increase your interaction with him daily, don't force yourself upon him but sit on the floor when he's running around and let him approach you, let him get used to your smell and your noise and your just being there. Don't make quick moves. Talk to him quietly. When he starts wanting to explore you, you can slowly and very gently start petting him, increasing the contact more every day so he gets used to it. Bring treats so he associates you with good things. You can even lie on the floor which seems to make lots of rabbits very happy because they are suddenly bigger than you are (my dwarf rabbits liked jump and run on me when I would lie on the floor, they seemed to get a kick out of it). You should have been doing all this from day one so you could handle him sufficiently to care for him. When you must have him caged, put a towel and newspaper on the wire floor to cushion his feet, and keep everything totally clean so flies don't start coming around. Is he at least trying to clean himself and his legs? If not, you may have to stress him by sticking his front end in a pillow case and securing the case around his middle so he can't see anything and can't bite you so you can clean his hocks (get someone else to hold his pillowcased front while you wash his back legs). But that'll make him more suspicious of you and it'll take longer to win his trust.
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