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BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately!  Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES 

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 Out of cage time

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    • Suivezmoi
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        How do your buns spend their out of cage time? I’ve left Moonpie’s cage open for about 9 hours today, and he has only come out for about 20 min total. I’ve set down rugs and towels so he doesn’t have to walk on the wood floor but he doesn’t seem interested in coming out.

        He hasn’t been eating much today either, yesterday he scarfed his parsley, but he’s been ignoring it all day as well as the pellets. He has eaten quite a bit of hay, and has been drinking and pooping.

        I’m not sure if him not wanting to come out of his cage has anything to do with him not eating much, yesterday he also mostly stayed in his cage. I’m just worried. The neighbors new bun is out and constantly and won’t stop scarfing food. I’m hopIng I didn’t break him!


      • Suivezmoi
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          Everytime I move the pellets around and he hears them he gets super interested and comes over, but as soon as he smells them he walks away. I’m feeding him the same stuff he was eating at the shelter…..


        • C_Harris
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            I don’t know about the not wanting to explore part…but my bun won’t eat pellets either (even the kind she was eating before she came to us). She’s been incredibly picky…the only things I’ve gotten her to eat are kale and cilantro and her hay…and I’ve tried a LOT. From what I’ve read, the hay is the most important part of their nutrition, then veggies, then pellets. However she begs for her out of cage time and throws a fit when it’s time for her to go back into her cage, so I dunno. :/


          • Sarita
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              He may still be in sensory overload – is he eating anything?

              Some rabbits are slower to come out of their shell and some are just much more mellow.


            • Elrohwen
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                For not eating, it could just be stress and he needs to get used to his new home. Keep an eye on him and contact a vet if he doesn’t eat for 24 hours.

                Not all bunnies like to explore out of their cages – could be due to stress, or they could just be laid back. One of mine really wouldn’t care if he was locked up all the time. When he comes out, he explores for 5min then lies down somewhere for a nap. My other bun likes to come out and run around, look for trouble, etc, so they’re all different.


              • Suivezmoi
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                  He ate a ton of hay, a few bites of pellets ( then turned the bowl over) and maybe two bites of a bok choy leaf.

                  I forgot to mention that yesterday I gave him some Oxbow pellets, and after he had been eating good all day the lady from the rescue texted me that he had actually been eating Purina.

                  So now I’ve been mixing the two and he doesn’t want anything to do with it, though if he hears me pour it in the bowl he gets excited.


                • Sarita
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                    He may be filling up on hay which is good. Pellets should just be a small amount of his diet anyway. That’s funny he gets excited by the sound :~)


                  • Suivezmoi
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                      He only got hay once a day at the shelter, so maybe he’s just excited that he can have as much as he wants and is filling up on it


                    • Beka27
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                        Is he the bunny who is blind or partially blind? Can he easily hop out of the cage as he pleases?


                      • Suivezmoi
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                          Yes he is partially blind. The cage is on the floor, and the opening is about a little over two feet wide. He seems to leave and come out with no issues. I think he just may be a lazy guy. I need to get some more rugs so he can explore a bit more, he goes to the very edges of all the blankets when he comes out but won’t go further because it’s so slippery. Then goes right back to his litterbox and lays down.

                          He has a box to go into, and some things to chew when he comes out, but I don’t have much else for him to do when he is exploring. He likes his wicker ball I got him, so I am gonna try and get him another one he can play with when he is out. I am trying to figure out what things he likes to play with. He has ignored the hanging toys I got him, as well as the cardboard tube. Maybe out of his cage just isn’t exciting enough for him. Usually I am on the floor where he can come visit if he wants, but he won’t come see me most of the time.


                        • Suivezmoi
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                            He also seems to have no interest in the levels of his cage. It may be because he has never had them. The lady at the shelter said he wasn’t allowed any because he would fall off (which was funny because when she made me buy a cage from them the only ones available were ones with a level).

                            Before he came to the shelter he was someone’s FFA project (has a tattoo on his ear even), and his buddy was actually sent off to be food . The only reason he wasn’t as well was because of his eye. He has spent the majority of his 2 years of life in a cage at the shelter, so maybe he us just not used to this “freedom” thing.

                            It’s alright if he is lazy , I just wanna make sure he has the best life possible. He does love to be stroke when he is chilling in the cage, he’ll close his eyes and  won’t move for as long as I am petting him, so hopefully that is a good sign.


                          • Beka27
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                              He might just be a very chilled out guy! Sounds like a sweetie!


                            • Ardelt
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                                When I first adopted Nigel he spent all his cage time just sitting and staring into space. I had lots of toys for him but like Moonpie he didn’t seem to know what to do with them. I started clicker training and gave him a click and a treat every time he went near his toys. Within a few short weeks he was playing with several different ones, and explores all the toys I give him now.

                                As for the floors the blankets might be part of the problem, my floors are wooden and Nigel won’t walk on them unless he is alone and can sneak around the edge by the walls. Before I had all the rugs down that I do know I tried blankets and he never felt save on them as they slipped on the floor under his feet. Rubber backed mats might be better. Though I’m saving up to replace my mats with the interlocking padded mats I’ve seen in some of the bunny rooms on this sight.


                              • Suivezmoi
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                                  I think you are right, that is definitely part of the problem with the towels. He will lean out and they start to slip, he scrabbles, then runs back to the cage. I am keeping my eye out for some better solutions. I think he does want to explore more.


                                • Baby-Daisy
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                                    when I first got daisy, for the first week or so, she rarly moved,unless she went to drink or eat. And she had to get used to everything aroud her, from when I fed her in the morning, to when it was time for bed. But then she was fine. She was shy at first before when we pet her she flattened up aganst the floor, but nownshe sits up and perks up her ears.:-)


                                  • LoveChaCha
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                                      My bun is free range and spends a lot of it sleeping, digging in her blankets (or my clothing), eating, and zooming around the apartment.


                                    • Buckley's Mum
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                                        About 2 months ago (when I got Buckley) I made a post on here complaing that he wouldn’t come out his cage, he just sat there and didn’t move and now I’m posting question on how to the get little monkey back in!!!! Be patient x


                                      • Floppybuns
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                                          It took one of my buns about a week to get comfortable enough to come out and explore. I usually have to cage door open for up to 7-8 hours a day he comes out and explores and has a few binkys and runs around and then goes back in his cage and sleeps for a few bourse and then repeats the process. However my other bun won’t go back in her cage unless she needs a drink or is hungry, I have to lure her back in with craisins :p

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                                      Forum BEHAVIOR Out of cage time