Bunny

6 Signs of Depressed Rabbit & Tips to Cheer Them

Rabbits that have been socialized have always been observed to be friendly, happy, and extremely social. However, there are situations you would find your pet bunny appearing quite sad or depressed. Well, there can be several reasons that a rabbit can get depressed.

The primary issue you would come across would be to undressed the rabbit behavior and ascertain whether your pet rabbit is really sad or depressed. To begin with, you need to understand if rabbits ever get depressed.

The typical signs of a depressed rabbit would include a lethargic and a dejected attitude that it may show. Rabbits can show destructive behavior when they are depressed. The destructive behavior can exhibit itself in the form of a high level of biting and pulling at the fur or other bedding. A depressed rabbit can also show low interest in eating even when you offer it its favorite food. Other signs of a depressed rabbit would include an incessantly more extended period of sleep, frequent move into hiding, and taking less interest in playing.

Contents

1 Can Rabbits Get Depressed?
2 Signs of Rabbit Depression
3 Can Rabbits Die of Loneliness?
4 How to Cheer up a Rabbit When Depressed?
5 How to Tell if your Bunny is Happy?
6 The Closing Remarks

Can Rabbits Get Depressed?

Rabbits do get depressed. Contrary to popular belief, rabbits tend to exhibit a wide range of emotions such as anger, depression, and fatigue. They are also susceptible to positive emotions like happiness, socializing, love, and affection.

Rabbits can experience depression when they find something wrong with their environment. They would also experience pangs of depression and anxiety when they in trauma, which can result from a variety of reasons.

Rabbits are emotional, and they need a lot of mental and physical stimulation for a better degree of socialization. A bunny is sensitive to factors that are external in nature and thus can pick the emotions from their human counterparts. If you do not find the reasons for depression and make attempts to alleviate symptoms, the conditions can get deteriorated. Your rabbit may lose interest in eating and eventually die of the consequences.

Signs of Rabbit Depression

Rabbit cannot express its feelings explicitly. You would not be able to find the perfect reasons why or whether your sweet bunny is depressed. However, there are a few tell-tale signs that can give out the fact that your rabbit is under depression.

Some of the signs of depression in a rabbit can be summarised as here below:

Seclusion

Your rabbit may seclude itself and may not respond to any call which it otherwise would respond to. Self-imposed isolation can be a clear sign of rabbit depression if it happens for prolonged periods of time. A rabbit can even seclude itself from the other companions and from its human counterparts.

Your rabbit may cut itself off entirely from the outside world. They may even dig under the covers for a prolonged time period and may not come for hours together. Hiding from everything around it can be the exact sign of depression in a rabbit.

Lack of Appetite

A depressed rabbit may not show any signs of sickness as such. However, one simple giveaway sign that your rabbit is depressed may manifest itself in the form of a lack of appetite. You would notice that a depressed rabbit would show a very low appetite. It may completely ignore meal, or even if it eats – it would nibble at a little and leave the rest of it.

Under normal circumstances, the rabbit loves to feat on its favorite food. In fact, they love munching on their hay throughout the day. But, a depressed rabbit may not touch the hay or other food at all. A good test would be to offer it the treats that your rabbit loves much – such as Blueberries. If your bunny does not show the enthusiasm, it should be a clear indication that it is depressed.

Lethargic Attitude

A lethargic attitude or a lack of interest in physical activity is a clear sign of rabbit depression. As we, bunny lovers are aware, a rabbit can never be idle. They are one of the most sociable and highly active animals. If you observe the rabbit is not showing its usual tendency of energy and speed, it should be a clear indication to prove that something is wrong and your bunny is under depression.

If your rabbit does not play much or shows very little interest in physical activity, it can be an indication of the lack of motivation. Rabbits love social interaction, and a lack of it can be something quite serious in nature.

Biting and Aggressive Behaviour

Normal biting and chewing are acceptable behaviors. Rabbits indulge in the biting and nibbling behavior to keep their teeth filed down. If a rabbit has developed depression, it may indulge in excessive biting and nibbling behavior.

Biting other rabbits or humans can be a sign of depression in a rabbit. If you find they are indulging in severe aggressive behavior, it can be a sure sign to indicate that they are under depression. One of the sure signs of depression can include biting on their cage.

Destructive Behaviour

Destructive behavior is one of the prime signs of rabbit depression. A lonely and depressed rabbit can develop a hyperactive behavior. A healthy rabbit does have the habit of digging at things, but an aggressive rabbit will show extremely destructive behavior. It may even begin pulling its own fur rather aggressively.

If not self-destructive, a rabbit that is depressed can even begin gnawing at carpet and furniture very aggressively. Observe your rabbit closely and check if it shows any aggressive behavior with its companions.

No Interest in Social Interaction

Rabbits are known to be social animals. If you find your bunny showing asocial behavior, it can be a clear indication of a case of rabbit depression. Whether it comes to social interaction with humans or other rabbits, it can definitely be a sign of depression.

The depressed rabbit can show the signs of extreme sleepiness, and a non-motivated behavior. It will show the behavior such as a dejected appearance, a non-motivated behavior, and of course, a behavior where it would not move at all from its hiding place.

Those signs explained above apart; you would also find a few other symptoms of rabbit depression that would include insomnia, lack of interest in sound stimulation, and very ignorant behavior.

Can Rabbits Die of Loneliness?

Rabbits can die of loneliness. There have been several instances where a rabbit has died within a couple of weeks of the death of its partner.

Rabbits are social animals, and if they are lonely and depressed, they can die of loneliness. They tend to develop an intense bonding with their partner – whether humans or their own community. If they are lonely, they will begin experiencing depression and sadness and can ultimately die of further complications.

Rabbits are tightly bonded to their partner or partners. Once their partner is moved away or dies, they tend to suffer from severe emotional trauma. This can make them unhealthy mentally and subsequently kill them. A lonely rabbit would not eat properly. It would even develop insomnia or sleeplessness. This depressed behavior can ultimately make them dies in many cases.

How to Cheer up a Rabbit When Depressed?

The first step in cheering up a depressed rabbit would be to check for its exact depressive behavior. If you are unsure about whether your rabbit is depressed or not, it would be a good idea to take your rabbit to the vet and get it checked thoroughly.

Some of the signs indicated as the signs of depression can also be a result of ticks and mites affecting your rabbit. It should be the best idea to get your rabbit checked by a vet to understand the exact reasons for the depression that your rabbit may be experiencing. Rabbits do not show off their pain or illness. The aggressive or depression may be due to some other reason such as a disease or similar other issues.

Once the vet confirms the lack of any disease or health conditions, you can come to the conclusion that your bunny is facing issues related to loneliness and depression. Once you have pinpointed the possibility of depression in your rabbit or a sort of loneliness, you can further take measures to cheer up your rabbit.

How to cheer up a rabbit when depressed? You can follow opt for a few precautions and tips to cheer up your depressed rabbit.

Some of the best tips to cheer up a rabbit when depressed would include:

Get yourself a new rabbit – Rabbits are social animals. That would mean if they do not have a partner – either a rabbit companion or a human – they would end up getting depressed. One of the best ways you can cheer up a depressed rabbit would be to get a new rabbit. Make sure you get a rabbit of the opposite sex so that they would be able to get along really well. Same-sex rabbits may fight for territory supremacy. However, even in that case, they would get socialized within a few days.
Spend more time with your rabbit – That should be self-explanatory. A rabbit is a social animal and constantly looks for companionship. You can spend as much time as possible with your rabbit. It is advisable to spend a minimum of two to three hours your bunny.
Provide your rabbit more things to do – A rabbit is a very active animal. If you make it sit in a room doing nothing, it may soon develop loneliness and subsequent depression. Providing a good deal of activities for your rabbit will keep it consumed and feel less lonely. Offer as many good toys as would be possible to the rabbit. This will keep your rabbit completely pre-occupied, and it will not face pangs of depression.
Give enough space to your rabbit – Smaller cages and hutches would be something your rabbit may not be comfortable with. This will hold more true if you have more than one rabbit. A rabbit would need a minimum of 32 square feet area to spend enough time with.
Keep the rabbit surroundings clean – Rabbit needs a cleaner environment. Give it a little time to get used to the surroundings. Make sure the enclosure and the surroundings are clean and fresh.

The best way to cheer up a depressed rabbit would be to check their behavior consistently and trying out different measures we have outlined above. That way, you would be able to follow a pattern and make sure that your remedies in cheering up the depressed rabbit have been effective.

How to Tell if your Bunny is Happy?

There are a few signs that indicate that your bunny is happy. A happy rabbit loves head rubs. If your rabbit enjoys the head rubs without being messed around and grinds its teeth – that should be a clear sign that your bunny is extremely happy. While grinding their teeth can be a sign of contentedness, an aggressive grinding can indicate that the rabbit is in pain. This would need you to take the rabbit to the vet.

A few other signs that tell if your bunny is happy can be summarised as:

Love for food – Rabbits love their food. A happy rabbit will always run after food and consume a huge amount of it. If you find your bunny munching through its hay or other food, you can be assured of the fact that your rabbit is exceptionally healthy and happy.
They enjoy playing – Exploring the things, and playing is one of the prime behaviors that a healthy and happy rabbit would exhibit. Activities such as chewing, exploring, digging, and jumping around are quite an indication of a happy rabbit.
Your rabbit has a lot of energy – An enormous energy is one of the prime factors that would make a healthy rabbit what it is. Irrespective of the age, your healthy and happy rabbit would show a huge amount of energy. In fact, even the older rabbits exhibit the same amount of energy that a younger one would show. If your rabbit is active – especially early morning or early evening – you can be assured that your rabbit is hale and hearty.
They love companionship – Attachment and companionship is yet another excellent sign of a happy bunny, and if your rabbit loves playing with you, it would indicate your rabbit is extremely happy.
Your rabbit follows a routine – Rabbits love sticking to a routine, and the rabbit that strictly follows the routine can definitely be the happy rabbit. In fact, you should never make an attempt at breaking their routine. This would ensure that they stay happy and hearty.
They take a lot of naps throughout the day – While bunnies tend to sleep at least 8 hours a day, they do not do it at one stretch like us humans. If you find your bunny taking a few intermittent naps through the day, it can be an indication to prove that your rabbit is happy. If you find your bunny isn’t taking those little naps, you may have something to worry about.

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The Closing Remarks

Well, a depressed rabbit can definitely be the one you would find quite a huge issue. A rabbit that is depressed can seriously quit eating and face issues such as insomnia. In fact, it would be essential to take care of your rabbit right in time so that you would make every attempt to cheer it up.

Check out the best options outlined in the above discussion to find the right signs of depressed rabbit and how to cheer up your depressed rabbit rather quickly. You would be able to take better care of your rabbit if you are aware of the rabbit behavior properly. The discussion above should definitely help you pick the right solutions.