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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 BEHAVIOR Bunny loves to make flying death jumps!

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    • Aylnine
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        I’ve had Sir Rupert for about two weeks now and have slowly let him out into larger but still blocked off areas in order to let him get some exercise. The trouble is, by letting him out and jump onto the sofas he seems to have figured out exactly how far and how high he can jump, and last night he managed to jump ON TOP of his cage (a Living World cage with the wire top) and then over to the sofa where he promptly escaped. It was only lucky that another family member was there to see that he had escaped and I managed to shoo him back into the x-pen and took away his cage. He won’t be able to jump over the x-pen I’m sure, but I’m wary of letting him out into the room now.

        I could and have been watching him whenever he jumps onto the sofas, but he’s always determined to go beyond them and I definitely can’t let him be free range (our house is big and has too many places he can get stuck or lost in, and it’s far too much for me to bunny proof it all). However, I do still want for him to be able to come out into wider spaces since I want to start training him. I’m just not really sure what to do because I don’t want to move him back to my room but I also don’t want him to hurt himself or get himself lost.


      • Aylnine
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          One other thing, I still haven’t found a good way to groom him. If I let him out into the wider blocked off area he wants to run around (and I’m assuming same with counters and stuff since he already doesn’t mind jumping off high places), and I’m a little too big/clumsy to do it in his pen. Should I try to do it in his closed pen anyway?


        • CinnabunMom
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            Tell a bunny they can’t go someplace and instantly it becomes the most important place in the history of the world. I’d like to say they grow out of this, but Cinnabun (a year after I got her) is still trying to go places she knows she’s isn’t allowed. Make sure the areas he can get to now through his super bunny powers are 100% bunny proofed because now that he knows how…he’ll keep doing it. You could try using a clicker to train him not to go on top of the cage and then jump to the couch, but it’s going to take time. You could try a water bottle, give his butt a little squirt whenever it looks like he’s about to jump off the couch; bunnies hate water for the most part, so this might work. Or it might just annoy him. I’m sure someone will be along shortly with better advice.

            Have you tried grooming him during nap time? I always do Cinnabun’s nail and big brushing when it’s late in the afternoon because bunnies are normally super sleepy then and I find it makes then (a little bit) more cooperative. Have you tried the bunny burrito?


          • bullrider76543
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              Oh god not another one!!! Cinnamon still climbs the inside of his Nic cage, and he was the one who taught Chipmunk to climb, and thats how chipmunk hurt his toe. All I can say is what Cinnabun already said. I still havent figured out what bundini’s limits are.


            • sleepy538
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                i let cosie jump on and off my bed, which is pretty high. she discovered she could and liked to sleep at the foot of it, but she’d jump down to use her litterbox. in the process of jumping down one day she landed funny and fractured her ankle. not fun. so beware there are other issues involved beyond bunny-proofing!


              • TH004
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                  Mine is a daredevil too. He likes to sit on the back of the couch, like a cat. He fell off once while cleaning himself. I just watch him closely when he is out and say “No!” whenever he is doing something I think is dangerous. I do allow him to sit on the couch and the couch arms.

                  Watch him closely until you learn his limits of jumping, etc. Mine learned how to open closet doors even, so bunny proof very strictly! I have had my rabbit for 2 years (he is 4-years-old now) and he is still pushing the limits (he got on the kitchen table the other day). If yours continues to push the limits, just always watch him when he is out. Clapping or yelling no works to stop mine when he is doing something bad. (The squirt bottle works, but I don’t always have it close by and/or he isn’t within squirting distance).


                • bullrider76543
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                    I freak out now after what happened to chipmunk, now he has to have his toe amputated. But just like children I need to let them have some freedom I guess


                  • Aylnine
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                      I’m extra worried now; we just found out that Rupert can jump clean out of his x-pen from the ground. The x-pen is the shortest one the store had (about 2.5 – 3 feet tall, I think) but it still looked quite tall. He doesn’t try to do it all the time but now that he knows he can I’m worried about him hurting himself trying or getting into other parts of the house where I can’t find him. The way his area is set up now it’s actually harder for him to get back into his pen than out of it, I think (I have carpeting down inside but not outside). I don’t have the funds to buy a taller pen at the moment, does anyone have any ideas on how to raise the pen high enough so he can’t escape?

                      ETA: Another reason why I think he might be trying to escape is because he seems bored a lot; he used to be content with lounging and sitting and kind of staring off into space, but now he seems a lot more hyperactive and mischievous. I’ve tried to give him all sorts of toys but he’ll kind of chew them and then get bored of them immediately. He dislikes boxes and he doesn’t seem like the burrowing type. I haven’t tried bells or baby keys yet but knowing him I have a feeling he’ll get bored of them quickly too. 


                    • Elizabeth Paige
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                        one thing that might help and is usually free is putting cardboard on top of the xpen that tends to make bunnies rejudge jumping!


                      • Elrohwen
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                          Keeping bunnies where you want them is a lot of trial and error. I use NIC grids, built up into a gate, to keep mine from going where they shouldn’t go. Some bunnies will always be curious and try to get places they shouldn’t go, but each time you can figure out a better way to keep them contained. Or, you could just improve your bunny proofing in areas that are easy to get to so that she’s allowed more room to run around.


                        • TH004
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                            My buns can jump higher if he has traction, such as carpet. Maybe remove the carpet inside the pen? I would recommend some kind of roofing if possible too.


                          • Aylnine
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                              I have taped up cardboard underneath the pen, so I’m afraid he’d chew/get into it if I remove the carpet. I think a roof is a good idea though — will get on that tonight


                            • wendyzski
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                                You can clip a bedsheet across the top of the pen with clothespins or binder clips.  I had to do that with Pepper when I traveled.  She could clear a 36″ Xpen from a standing start

                                 


                              • HyzenthlayLudo
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                                  I had a problem with my lop jumping up and and over his 30″ pen as well and found that a fitted sheet works best. Living in California I was afraid of trying something solid (like the cardboard suggested earlier) as it can shift and fall on to the bun should an earthquake occur, and I found that when I used a flat sheet my bun would get ahold of one end and pull it down… but a fitted sheet has the elastic around it to ensure that all loose ends aren’t loose enough for him to grab on to and it stays in place. Just make sure it is an old or cheap sheet as your bun will get ahold of it sooner or later when you’re not watching and chew small holes in it.

                                  Regarding the other escapes – do you have tha ability to bunny proof the entire room that the bun is living in and then just getting a baby gate to secure any hallways leading out of the area? This should alleviate your frustrations as well as your bunny’s, and like others have said, if the bun is allowed on the couch it is less likely to take flying leaps off of it in order to make a clean getaway when you’re chasing it. I am fortunate enough to have a set up where my buns have free reign of the main living area, but the back hallway leading to the bedroom/bathroom has a door that I keep shut at all times. If you don’t have a baby gate you can easily create a makeshift blockade out of broken down (flat) cardboard (so the bun can’t jump on top of it like it can a box) or a piece of shelving plank that you can get at a hardware store for under $10, etc.

                                  For boredom, try a Snakshak Log, a baby rattle and more room to run/explore.


                                • bullrider76543
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                                    hmm never thought of that one


                                  • Aylnine
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                                      Well he hasn’t done anything lately even without the covering, so I’ve left that alone for now. He seems to get more uppity the more I let him out of his pen, and I haven’t had enough free time to let him roam a little bit while watching him, so I think he’s a bit calmer (though he’s been chewing and clawing the carpet covering the bottom of his pen instead, which isn’t a huge concern for me). Unfortunately the room I keep him in is kind of a gigantic room and I would never be able to bunny proof the entire thing without some major changes/purchases; it’s not exactly a bunny safe room to begin with but it was the only place that was kind of out of the way and had enough space for his pen. My only other option would be to keep him in my room, which would be acceptable if he wasn’t so stinky =|

                                      PS. Any tips for keeping bunny smells down would be appreciated. I currently use Aspen pellets which also smell up the place.


                                    • Beccaberry
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                                        Hahah made me laugh. So true about the fact they make it their number 1 mission as soon as they know they’re not allowed!

                                        My bunny jumps on everything I don’t get it. 

                                        I have also tried to stop her from jumping onto my bed because she just poos everywhere and lies to pee on my pillows :'( but now she knows she’s not allowed on there she jumps on it only when she knows I’m out of the room or she can’t see me. One time I went to the toilet I came back and found a poo on my bed and Wolfie was in her cage looking innocent and I thought maybe I had sat on one on the floor and moved it via my bum. I went to wash my hands after removing it and came back and there was another poo in the same place on my bed and Wolfie yet again was still in her cage. SO SNEAKY!!!!!!!  


                                      • Aylnine
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                                          LOL!! Oh no, now I’m paranoid of keeping him in my room. My bed is really pretty high so I doubt he can get onto it without some intense acrobatics, but then my problem is he likes to get under the bed and just pick up all kinds of dust and then leave little poops down there.


                                        • bullrider76543
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                                            as a bunny parent the fist thing that you learn is that if there is a place you dont want your bun to go or bun to do, it becomes the most important thing in your bunnies mind to do, just like a child.

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                                        Forum BEHAVIOR Bunny loves to make flying death jumps!