It’s coming up to a month and a half since my bunny, Milo (on the left of first photo) passed away. It was very sudden and unexpected.
I got them in 2019, and they were coming up to 6.5 years old. I knew they were getting old but I still hadn’t expected Milo to pass so suddenly, he was still running under my feet and causing mischief the day before, then the next day I had to make the decision to put him to sleep after he had pretty much shutdown overnight.
It devastated me. But I’m also worried about my other bunny, Neo, getting lonely.
He isn’t showing any signs of being lonely right now. He seems to get zoomies more often now, and is more eager to be out in the garden (he’d often stay in the run when I opened the gate to let them out before).
Neo always has access to his own cage, and the shared run (about 6ft x 6ft), I also never close Milo’s cage but he’s not shown any interest in going in.
He has plenty of food, hay and water.
He has tunnels but rarely uses them.
I let him run around in the garden often.
And I’ve sat with him for a bit everyday since, stroking him, giving him treats and attention.
He’s never shown much interest in toys, but I’d like to get him some in case he changes his mind. He’s very food motivated so I often hide treats around his cage or put them in a cardboard tube and stuff either side with hay.
I don’t think it would be fair to get another rabbit. I have considered it, but he’s only ever gotten along with Milo (and not always). And always used to fight with all the neighbour’s rabbits through the fence.
He’s also getting old and I don’t want to stress him out by introducing another rabbit. Then if they don’t get along I’d have to separate them and he’d lose half of his space. I also have to consider the cost of any necessary vet trips. I wouldn’t have anywhere to keep the new rabbit while trying to bond them, other than Milo’s cage which is joined to Neo’s and only separate by chicken wire.
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Is there any toys you would recommend trying?
Is there anything else I can do to stop him from getting lonely?
by Maxi_Moon