Is it normal for bunnies to lie down

Ears held back and lowered, tail raised, pupils dilated. If you're concerned about your rabbit's behaviour , speak to your vet first. They may then refer you to an animal behaviourist. Need to register your pet with a veterinary practice or call a vet for emergency advice?

If you are concerned about your pet's behaviour, contact a behaviour expert. Share this What does my rabbit's behaviour mean? Understanding your rabbit's feelings A good place to start is to look at your rabbit's ears.

Is my rabbit happy? Rabbit is lying down, with a relaxed body posture and legs tucked under the body. Rabbit is lying down, with front paws pointing forward and rear legs stuck out sideways.

Never leave your rabbit alone with a cat or dog, even if they are familiar with each other. Once your new rabbit is home you should continue to gradually introduce it to being handled by people and normal sights and sounds, always ensuring it has a safe place where it can retreat.

Hold the rabbit close so that it feels secure and it is prevented from falling. Forcing your rabbit to interact may lead to behaviour problems. A rabbit owner should make new situations as relaxed and pleasant as possible for their rabbit so that it will want to investigate. Rabbits respond to stress in different ways. It is important that you can recognise any changes in the behaviour of your rabbit. In most cases, where rabbits are afraid they prefer to run away to a quiet and hidden location.

This is normal behaviour, but is reason for concern if it happens more than just once in a while. If you see any of these signs of stress you should contact your vet quickly. Your vet will be able to advise you on the best course of action. You should take reasonable steps to protect your rabbit from being stressed. Typical things that can make your rabbit stressed include:.

Rabbits rely on you to provide everything for them, including entertainment. You should make sure that your rabbit has enough mental stimulation from you and from its environment to avoid boredom and frustration. A rabbit with nothing to do will quickly become unhealthy, unhappy and possibly aggressive. It is your responsibility to provide opportunities for your rabbit to satisfy all of its behavioural needs.

Or why she likes to rub her chin on everything? All animals have their own secret body language, and rabbits are no exception. Rabbit body language is unique. They use their ears, tail, nose, and body position to tell us exactly what they mean. All we have to do is learn the behavioral signs and pay attention.

A cheat sheet for you to learn everything your rabbit has to say. Understanding rabbit body language is the first step to bonding with your rabbit. Learn more about what you can do to bond with your rabbit! This post goes into the body language of pet rabbits, but they also make some sounds that can tell you a little about how they feel.

Check out my guide to learn more. If your rabbit has their ears forward and is looking intently in a certain direction it means they are on high alert. They could be standing up on their hind legs or alert with all four feet on the ground. This is usually easy to spot, since this behavior is the same in rabbits as it is for cats and dogs. Rabbits have big ears for a reason, so they can hear sounds from far away.

That crazy jump and twist in the air that your rabbit does? A binky is literally a jump for joy. Your rabbit is just too happy to stand in one place. Often times, binkies will be accompanied by high speed zooming around the room. Your rabbit is so happy and just cannot contain all the energy they have. In the end, only their head does a little happy twist. When a rabbit stands up on their hind legs and raises their front paws to swat at anyone who comes close, they are exhibiting the boxing behavior.

Their ears will be up and they will have most of their weight on their toes instead of their heels. The rabbit might growl too. This is an aggressive rabbit behavior. Most of the time, rabbits would prefer to run and hide instead of fight, but you might come across a stubborn rabbit who chooses to stand their ground.

I see this often in videos where people introduce their pet rabbit to their dog. It might look like the rabbit is being cute, but in reality they are very upset and ready to fight. When you give a rabbit a yummy treat, you might notice that their butt starts to twitch.

It could even be twitching so fast that it looks like their butt is vibrating. This means that your rabbit is very happy and enjoying the food you just gave them. This is one of the less common rabbit behaviors. But I do see it occasionally in other rabbits that I interact with at the animal shelter. A cautious rabbit will slowly tip-toe around with their ears forward and their tails down. This is an incredibly common rabbit behavior, and you are likely to see it at any time when the rabbit is entering a new room.

Rabbit teeth are constantly growing , so they have a natural instinct to chew on everything. This is one of the more frustrating bunny behaviors.

It can be very destructive, but the have to chew on things for their own health. And you should give your rabbit other chew toys to help them keep their teeth trim without chewing on your furniture. This is your rabbits way of claiming her territory. The rabbit will rub their chin against the leg of a table, the corner of the wall, or anywhere they want to claim as their own.

Rabbits have scent glands under their chins, so this spreads their scent around. If any other rabbit were to come into the area, they would know the space is already claimed. You will most often notice this behavior when your rabbit is exploring a new place.

I also find my rabbits tend to chin my clothing if I come home with the scent of any other animal on me. When a rabbit runs circles around your feet or run figure eights between your legs , this is a sign of excitement and love. Most often you will see this behavior when your rabbit expects a treat from you. My rabbit also gets really excited to see me when I come back from vacation.

Some rabbits can really hold a grudge. If you do anything to upset your rabbit, like rearranging their cage or clipping their nails, they might refuse to interact with you for a little while. No sounds or movements are upsetting them or stressing them out.

No matter the reason, simply enjoy the fact that your rabbit is quite content at this moment in time. She will flop over and just listen to the whole video. Now she throws a fit when it's over. Remember we said it indicates they are relaxed and content?

Well, think about how you personally feel when you too are feeling relaxed and content. Perhaps we are more in-tune with our rabbits than we think? With this, we just want to let everything go and let all that stress and worry fly out of our body. Well, your rabbit is doing exactly that, but in their own unique way.

By adopting this position, they are placing themselves in more of a vulnerable state. But then, they feel comfortable enough to do this simply because they know that nothing bad is going to happen, and they completely trust you. So, just think that your rabbit is chilling out and smile when you see them on their side. Also, just leave them alone when they are like this. It may startle them if you approach them or try to show them some affection.