Hey everyone.

My rabbit, Fidget, is 6 years old. I've had him since he was old enough to leave his mum and I've never had any problems with handling him or anything. He's always liked being picked up and cuddled.

But lately, when I take him out of his hutch he starts to shake, as though he's scared. Today I sat with him on my knee to brush his fur (which he has always enjoyed) and he was sat very low with his ears flat against his back and I could feel his heart beating rapidly. It was as though he was scared of something.

He went to the vet last week for a regular checkup, and there were no problems, he's a very healthy boy.

Could this just be due to his age, or should I be worried about something more serious?

Hi,
Was going to suggest a vet visit but if your vet found nothing wrong last week it is unlikely to find anything now. Could something have spooked him lately, like a cat or a weasel or even if there had been large birds flying overhead. He certainly sounds like he's nervous. Is he behaving normally when not being handled? Has anything happened while you have been handling him such as a loud noise or other unpleasent event? Might be a case of rebuilding his trust with lots of treats when you handle him and making him feel secure again. Is quite sad for you when you've had him so long and he's been so handlable. Lets hope its just a blip!

I don't know if anything's spooked him, we share a back yard with 5 other neighbours and there have always been cats/dogs/children/cars in the yard. He's never had any problem with any of them, in fact he comes to the front of his hutch to have a sniff at my cat and next door's Staffy.

He's behaving normally in the hutch, and lets me stroke and cuddle him while he's in there. Nothing has happened while I've been holding him that I'm aware of, he just suddenly seems nervous to be out of his hutch.

He still takes treats from me, so I'm pretty sure it's not me that he's scared of. I'll just have to keep handling him more and give him some extra attention until he's more comfortable.