Just a lil information post about putting rabbits on their backs!
You might have heard (correctly) that putting rabbits on their backs can induce tonic immobility, or "trancing" so you shouldn't do it. However, this is not the case every time a rabbit is flipped, or they wouldn't be able to roll around by themselves without going into a trance. Baby bunnies also tend to love to sleep on their back!
If you look at how a rabbit is shaped, the back is somewhat curved. This means when it's lying normally, the head is slightly lower than the back. Similarly, when it flips upside down, the head will be slightly higher than the back.
If a rabbit is in a state of tonic immobility you can tell this by the head dropping backwards (towards the floor). The legs will be stiff and unmoving, often appearing unnaturally straight. When the rabbit gets out of the paralysis it will be extremely stressed, and might not trust you anymore.
It's perfectly fine to hold a rabbit on its back as long as you make sure it can still move. This is usually fairly easy to do, simply by making sure the rabbit's head stays upright. A rabbit with an upright head won't go into trance.
A rabbit that can still hold its head up or move the legs is not tranced!
