# Is there anyway to calm down a rabbit?



## Voldii (Apr 6, 2012)

This is how he's been for months, Voldi is now 1 and I still have no idea how to calm him down. 'Hyper' doesnt even begin to describe him! He runs round and round his run pretty much all day. He has far too much energy, there is pretty much no hope in catching him. I spend ages trying to corner him to pick him up. Once you have him he's straight over yor shoulder running away. His food is not giving him this kind of energy, its just standard pellets, he gets veggies every couple of days but only very small amounts. Oh and add to this as soon as he sees you he'll run up and bite you (in a friendly way though). He isnt stressed, he's happy, he lives outdoors 24/7 and has plenty of grass (only on grass for a couple of hours a day though)
Any ideas? It's getting ridiculous. He's a small netherland dwarf, but he has just as much energy as a greyhound :biggrin2:


----------



## bunnychild (Apr 6, 2012)

Try throughing a towel on him and grab him. I have never had a rabbit that is that hyper.


----------



## Voldii (Apr 6, 2012)

Tried that one. It doesnt stop him. He' just run randomly around having no clue where he's going until he bashes into something and hurts himself. It's not as though he's panicking, its just pure hyperness  but thanks for the suggestion.


----------



## bunnychild (Apr 6, 2012)

how big is his cage?


----------



## Voldii (Apr 6, 2012)

He has a hutch which is as long as I could find, its over 4ft long, but his run me and my dad built ourselves to fit the hutch so he can use it all the time. It's around 5ft long abd 3ft wide. Bigger than any shop brought run we could find, thats why we made it, so it could be as big as possible...


----------



## LakeCondo (Apr 6, 2012)

He might think it's a game when you try to corner him. Does he come up to you when you sit down? If you can use treats to get him into a little box or basket, some owners have found that picking up the box or basket [lined with something soft] is the way to go.

You can stop the friendly biting by making a noise like you're hurt immediately after, until it stops happening. He doesn't realize that because you don't have fur, you feel it more than if you had fur like a sensible creature.


----------



## Voldii (Apr 6, 2012)

He'll come up to me yes, but he runs away when I try to touch him. I'll try the suggestion thanks. He thinks feeding him treats is a game too, he tries to play tug o war and with me holding the treats, he wont eat them any other way. One very easily entertained bunny


----------



## LakeCondo (Apr 6, 2012)

If you sit & ignore him, he eventually will try to get your attention, at least most rabbits will. Read a book or magazine while you're waiting. And you could hold the treat so for him to start eating it he'll have to jump into the box/basket. Then someone else can pick it up, or you can let go of the treat & pick it up. You probably should do it a number of times without any picking up.


----------



## bunnychild (Apr 6, 2012)

well with that big of a cage he shouldn' feel confined. LakeCondo's suggestions sound good.


----------



## Korr_and_Sophie (Apr 6, 2012)

Is he neutered? Intact males tend to be kind of hyper. Some are more hyper than others even within the same breed. Netherland Dwarfs are known to be active and can also be a bit more skittish. Getting him neutered can help calm him down. You can try to wait it out and some will calm down as they get a bit older, but not all will. 

When he is out, try to get him in a corner. Put one hand out to stop him going forward, you can put your hand over his head. This does make it easier to pick him up as he won't be running off.


----------



## Voldii (Apr 7, 2012)

Thanks for your reply. He is neutured yes, I'll try thay suggestion thanks but it's still hard even when he's cornered because he finds away to get away from the corner, even if it means jumping over the person crouching. Hopfully I'll be able to pick him up now with the suggestions. I just guess there's no way to stop his hyperness though.


----------



## patches2593 (Apr 7, 2012)

ifyour trying to hold him, try covering his eyes


----------



## Elliot (Apr 10, 2012)

How is Voldii doing? Have any of the suggestions worked?


----------



## Nela (Apr 10, 2012)

Ha! My girls are the same. They run because they can and they know it They just know that they are too quick for you and it becomes a game. It's quite annoying for the slow human that wasn't gifted with that kind of speed and agility. Lol. Usually ignoring them will get them confused... I usually fill their food bowls and that gets them to come inside but yeah... It's still on their terms. Lol.


----------



## Voldii (Apr 10, 2012)

Not really if I can get him to hop in a box he goes crazy because he's a little bit higher so he can leap out the box (no matter how high it is) and jump out his run. Crazy crazy bunny with no sense of direction. I cant count how many times he jumps out my arms and straight into a fence where he falls to the floor bewildered haha, he's always fine after though. (yes is eye sight is fine)  
Yay someone else with a crazy bunny! I've tried treats but he isnt a greedy bunny, he isnt overly keen on food. Just have to keep trying I guess. He's so cute that I guess I can tolerate hyperness.


----------



## Trinah (Apr 10, 2012)

My bunny is exactly the same... He liked to explore a lot so I made a lot of places out of cardboard that he could play in and tear apart. It seems to have helped calm him down and keep him out of places he's not suppose to be. Also since he comes up you, you might be able to put treats in you lap so that he associates to two... I'm currently doing that with Kurtus so I'm not sure if it'll work or not.


----------



## Voldii (Apr 10, 2012)

Hi thanks for the suggestion, I'll try it and see if it works. I have a few carboard boxes spare, he'll bite anything so I'm sure he'll love them.


----------



## Voldii (Apr 10, 2012)

I hope this works, just a picture of voldi looking cute :biggrin:


----------



## Nela (Apr 11, 2012)

Small bunnies may be small but they are often very crazy hyperI kinda think of them as the chihuahua of the rabbit family. Lol. He sure seems to have that fun spark in his eyes. Yeah, my girls (mine are big though) absolutely looooooooove to destroy things. I don't even bother with store toys because they simply never last. We once bought one of those woven balls for Maybelle... She was like 2-3 months old... We came downstairs to find it had somehow exploded all over the place. There was nothing left other than tiny bits of string scattered all over the room. She had had it for just a few hours. This is the same girl that destroyed my bicycle too. No more pedals or wheels. I was totally freaked out, thinking we'd be rushing her to the vet in no time (I even checked the vet hours to be ready) but she was fine. They are just crazy. *Shakes head*


----------



## Voldii (Apr 11, 2012)

Wow! Maybelle sure sounds crazy  I wouldnt let Voldi near a bike. I once had him on the sofa, he was sat innocently so I bent down to pick something up (litterally had my back turned for 10 seconds) and he was sat in exactly the same spot, except he'd managed to hop away, bite through a laptop charger ( which was on) and bit the heads of my brand new headphones before returning to look innocent.  some bunnies sure love to bite!


----------



## Nela (Apr 18, 2012)

Lol they are fast, sneaky, and way more intelligent than we often give them credit for, making a deadly combo Bunnies keep me on my toes more than any of my other furbabies. Hehehe.


----------



## Voldii (Apr 18, 2012)

Yep I have to agree with that  I wouldnt change my bunny for the world


----------

