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my rabbit is very scared

22 11:22:28

Question
i woke up this morning with my rabbit dashing round the cage. this in itself scared me as when it comes 2 running round, the cage has quite limited space and he was ripping his bedding, kiking sawdust and smashing into the sides.
i have had him for just over a month now (14wks old) and he has been settleing in very well and become very tame. i also frequently experience his 'dancing' and leaping around my room which was quite the oposite to his reaction this morning.
he wouldn't let me come near him and if i did he'd belt round like before so i refilled his food bowl and opend the cage. he came out and is now under the bed a great deal calmer.
the only thing i can think of is if something scared him as he went outside for the first time yesterday afternoon in his pen. he was quite content after getting used to it and was only weary of the cat he normally enjoys chasing round the room.

im really stuck and was frightend this morning please help me out

meg
ps he has been lightly sneezing and breathing heavily- anything to do with going outside? he had been eating grass which he hasnt tried before but it wasnt wet or damp.
pps he was grinding his teeth under the bed and i want to let him rest but i cant see if hes content or in pain.


Answer
Dear Meg,

It sounds as if your bunny got a terrible fright, and the right thing to do was to let him out of the cage. A frightened rabbit trapped in a cage can literally batter himself to death, and can have a heart attack.  My advice, if the house is rabbit-proofed and the cat cannot harm the rabbit, would be to *always* leave the cage door open so that if something frightens him he can run to a place where he feels safe, and not risk killing himself in this panic state.

If he is sneezing and breathing heavily, he could have a serious respiratory problem.  This could cause him to panic, if he could not breathe.  Please get him to a good rabbit vet for a full check up and listen to his lungs and sinuses:

www.rabbit.org/vets

I hope this helps.

Dana