I got a pet and we both feel suffocated

[MTrixie]

I thought long and hard before deciding to post this. I don’t want to sound like a brat or a bad human or posting something that others would think menial, but I really feel like I’m at the end of my line.

Today’s day 3 after I got my bunny. I was so excited for him long before I got him. I was looking through videos, blogs, everything for the last couple of months before I finally decided that I was ready. Then I found him last week and finally got him 3 days ago. He’s 10 weeks old and he’s just so cute and shy. A day before I got him I got the playpen, litter box, his hays, his pellets, his bowls, etc. And I got him. Along with hidden massive ball of anxiety.

I put him in his playpen and was planning to let him familiarised himself with my home before I let him out. I am going back full time so he would have to stay there basically 10pm-6pm daily. And then I feel like I’m an abusive human. Because plan is just a plan and I haven’t let him out his playpen area.

Day 2 he started digging on his playpen. That was when anxiety hit. I talked with a friend and she said that his digging is completely normal. I know that. But my anxiety just can’t take notes. I feel my heart rate is constantly high, I’m sweating, I’m dizzy, and I can’t sleep nor eat. Google is both my saviour and doom. I googled everything from puppy blues to surrendering a pet, from how to be close to your bunny to how to look at your bunny without hate, from how to free roam your bunny if you’re not home to can your bunny stay in playpen for life.

I don’t want to hate him as he has not done anything wrong. It’s me. I really want to make this work. I want to believe that getting him is not an impulsive decision. But I feel suffocated and he is suffocated and I feel like such a big failure and I just broke down.

I was looking through the forum and saw that some people has faced the same thing. So I am bracing myself and post my story here, hoping for some advice.

Note: I can’t get a 2nd bunny as financially it’s hard for me, and I also don’t have the space for another playpen.

Thank you.

[jtjt_4862]

Hi MTrixie,

Warm welcome to the forums, and congratulations on adopting a pet. I feel it's an amazing thing that you're doing for yourself, as a pet can have many beneficial to our growth and development through their unconditional love. It can certainly take time to familiarize yourself on how to care for a pet, but it will be worth it in the long run.

Like all new things, we tend to get anxious on whether we're doing things right or wrong. It's only day 3 of owning him, and it will take some time for your new bunny to familiarize his surroundings, and having someone to care for them. I feel you're doing the best you can at the moment, and sometimes we can be really hard on ourselves, feeling like we're cruel for keeping them all locked up and not following through with our plans on how we want to care for them. After all, we have our own responsibilities as well to keep ourselves living, and caring for another (whether it be a person, or a pet) carries along additional responsibilities that we'll learn to manage and fit into our schedule.

Take it nice and slow MTrixie, I feel you have the determination and right mentality to be an awesome pet owner. It will definitely take time to adjust your schedule to care for your new pet, and unless your bunny can speak, it'll be a challenging task to understand what's the best method to care for your bunny. But the two of you can definitely make things work out. Perhaps you can speak to a vet/petshop owner/place that you bought the bunny from, and gather a bit more information about your bunny and what are some things to look out for. Dedicate a small amount of time (you can start from 10 mins) to let your bunny out of the playpen area as you intended to do so. From there, slowly increase the amount of care time for your bunny as you get used to adjusting your schedule for your bunny. We don't immediately become the #1 pet owner for pets, it takes time/dedication/resiliency to become that, and I believe you can do it.

Happy to chat more and listen to you MTrixie.

Jt

[Guest9337]

Thanks for sharing here on bb MTrixie.

Bunnies are cool. We had a rabbit for years.

I suggest when you get home from work you let the rabbit out of the cage and be free to roam your home. Keep the doors/windows etc all closed so rabbit can't escape, but give rabbit as much freedom as you can safely provide.

Enjoy rabbits time of freedom, experience that with your bunny.