2006-06-25 08:15:14 · 10 answers · asked by elizabeth 2 in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
You should let him jump around, rabbits are naturally nervous creatures, it works to their advantage in the wild as you might guess. As he matures he may relax a bit and become a better lap pet.
2006-06-25 08:21:38 · answer #1 · answered by eggman 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The first thing I want to mention is that young rabbits aren't the easiest to hold. So if your rabbit is young, don't worry too much. It is a good idea though to work at holding your rabbit when it is young so that it will be calmer when it is older.
If your rabbit is not a baby rabbit, then you are probably just holding it wrong. Most people try holding them like a baby, which isn't a good idea. It is a good way to get your stomach scratched, especially by their powerful rear feet. If a rabbit is used to being held, it can be held OK like a baby most the time, but still it's not the best idea to do that.
Rabbit's like to have a place to hide when they are being held. When you pick your rabbit up, put one hand under its chest and the other hand on its rump. Then lift the rabbit up to the armpit of whichever hand is on the rump of the rabbit. Place its head gently into your armpit, covering its eyes. This will give the rabbit a sense of being hidden and it will be more calm when you hold it. After the rabbit's head is in your armpit and secure against your body, you can remove the hand from under its chest and pet the rabbit between the eyes. Petting a rabbit between the eyes has the effect of putting it into a trance. Even mean rabbits will calm down when you pet them between their eyes.
I can normally hold most all of mine for hours at a time and them not hardly budge a bit.
2006-06-30 06:13:06 · answer #2 · answered by devilishblueyes 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Do you live where it is hot? Rabbits can't take the heat and want to get on the ground to dig in the dirt. Also most rabbits hate to have their nose touched. If someone kept touching your nose, your eyes would cross trying to look that close, it would tickle, and it would be very annoying.
Maybe you aren't holding the rabbit correctly. Are you supporting it's feet?
What breed of rabbit do you have. Some are more active, such as the CHECKERED GIANT, and was born to run. If you own an angora breed, they were born to be handled a lot and don't mine being held. Also the smaller breeds are easier to handle.
If bunnies aren't handled when they are young, sometimes they never tame down enough to want to be held.
2006-06-25 08:34:55 · answer #3 · answered by Amanda J 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some rabbits like to snuggle, some don't. Mine will snuggle and take naps for over an hour. My mom's bun like to be held for a total of 45 seconds, and then he starts to flail. If you want to pet him, try setting him on the couch and snuggling up next to him. That way, he's free to move around, but can be close to you if he wants to.
2006-06-25 10:07:23 · answer #4 · answered by loloshorty9 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Check out this Yahoo Answer -
http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AlgejiOOFjAuk_VEJ3IunELg5gt.?qid=20060621215536AAOsI3J
And also enjoy browsing this site for very interesting translations of bunny behaviour -
http://www.muridae.com/rabbits/rabbittalk.html
Enjoy!
2006-06-25 14:37:47 · answer #5 · answered by Lea 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Just let him be. Rabbits like to explore and move around.
2006-06-25 08:18:43 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I just hold mine firmly if I don't want him going all over the place. or rub his head and he'll stay with you longer and start closing his eyes.
2006-06-25 08:39:15 · answer #7 · answered by LaLa N 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Rabbits naturally do not want to be held. There is nothing that you can do to change this. http://www.rabbit.org
2006-06-25 09:06:26 · answer #8 · answered by sugarcarat 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
get another pet like a dog
2006-06-25 08:17:41 · answer #9 · answered by nanag72 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
let him walk around
2006-06-25 08:17:10 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋