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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum HABITATS AND TOYS When to Let Them Roam?

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    • Hokankai
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        My buns, Theo and Ariadne, are doing great and I’d love to be able to let them roam my room throughout the day. They are currently in a 4×4 cage during the day, so it’s not a small cage or anything, but I’d still love to let them have more room.

        At what point did you trust your buns enough to let them go unconfined? Theo is almost 2, but Ariadne is only 11 weeks old and unspayed. They pee reliably in their litter box but there’s always a lot of poop when I vacuum the cage. I don’t want that poop all over my carpet… I’m aware spaying should help with that.

        How do I make this transition as successful as possible? Theo doesn’t really care to be out of his cage anyway, but Ariadne loves to find her way into trouble. Should I wait until she’s fully grown and spayed before letting her roam unattended? 


      • Sarita
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          For the baby, wait until she is much older, less fragile and spayed. Babies aren’t good at being free roamers and are small and can get into places you wouldn’t imagine.

          As for Theo, it really really depends. Some rabbits are better at free roaming. Poop may be a problem for awhile too with 2 rabbits. And free roaming really does depend alot on the rabbit – how destructive they are, how litter trained they will be…it’s really a matter of observing them when they are out and seeing how they behave. Every rabbit is different. Since Theo is more comfortable in his cage, then he may just prefer this.

          Even though Ariande loves finding trouble right now, she may change alot as she matures, so it’s hard to know at this point how she is going to be at all.


        • Mr.Buck
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            Also, as far as the stray poops, I don’t know how your cage is set up but I found that if Buck could eat and be out of the litter box that encouraged him pooping out. If you arrange it so that they have to be in the box to eat hay, pellets and veggies, it should help a lot.

            And I’d really listen to Sarita, babies turn into terrible 2’s toddlers and teenagers. They go through destructive stages and all. You already say she loves finding her way into trouble, imagine if you weren’t there to monitor it.


          • Hokankai
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              Very true. I definitely wouldn’t trust her being out an about at this point now that I think about it. She’s definitely getting in the preteen stage at almost 3 months, and I’m sure the next month is going to be her bratty phase until she can be spayed.

              Alright, well I won’t worry about it too much then. Theo is super laid back and really just sits in his cage waiting for food all day, but enjoys when I take him on field trips outside, and Ariadne likes to be out when she gets the chance so I’ll just stick to that for now.

              The hay rack is right above the litterbox, but I do give him his pellets outside of it unless I can figure out a way to keep Ariadne out of his food. I noticed that they did a really good job of keeping the poops in the box right after I vacuumed out the cage, but today there are poops on the floor again.


            • Mr.Buck
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                Does Theo ever get active and run around when he’s out and do binkies?

                Sometimes it’s just about being persistent. I know if I change something in Buck’s cage he will “mark” with poop all over again for a few days and if it’s a big change sometimes a few weeks. And yet he was the cleanest at the shelter, not a single stray poo. It was kinda the deciding factor about adopting him.


              • Hokankai
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                  He does get out and wander around the room. I haven’t seen him binky in awhile though *shrug*. He mainly runs around looking for food and if I don’t have any he’ll hop back into his cage and sit in his favorite spot.

                  Now, when I take him outside he’s a lot more active, and when I put his harness and leash on he bounds all over the yard. I don’t think I’ve seen a binky in awhile though.


                • Mr.Buck
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                    I’m sorry. Binkies are my favorite! They’re so random though, and Buck lives with my boyfriend so he gets to see them so much more than I do.

                    I’m seeing so many people take their buns outside, it’s making me want to go get a new harness and leash now. I’d love him to get all dirty digging in the dirt! Animals doing what’s natural is so cool, even though their domestic, there are so many things they’ll still do.


                  • LoveChaCha
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                      I would caution against harnesses. It can cause many accidents, especially for rabbits. Their bones are so fragile.

                      I did not let my rabbit go free range in the apartment until she was about a year and a half. My dad actually initiated it and said we should go to the store and leave Chacha out of her condo. When we came back, she didn’t do anything bad. There has to be trust between rabbit and human. Chacha has had a few accidents – such as chewing up the carpet, but nothing too crazy. She is still free range, and gets pissed off if I close my bedroom door on her, so that I can get some sleep. She ends up thumping and grunting outside my door. It is quite scary sometimes..


                    • Hokankai
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                        The harness I got is the type people use for rabbit agility, so I’m not worried about it. I also leave enough slack so that they never are pulling on it, and Theo doesn’t spook because he’s deaf. Ariadne hunkers down when she gets spooked, she doesn’t bolt.

                        I can’t wait for the day when they can go cageless, at least when I’m home. Right now my house is mostly fake hardwood and they hate not being on carpet, so they’re stuck in my room anyway

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                    Forum HABITATS AND TOYS When to Let Them Roam?