Won’t come out of his cage!

[Hunny]

I have an angora cross who is about 2 years old. His name is Myles, I adopted him just a little over a week ago. He’s been doing really well and seems to be comfortable most of the time. But I just can’t get him to come out of his cage! He’s allowed out in the room that his cage is in and everything is bunny-proofed. I even leave his cage door open 24/7 and there is a ramp attached to make it easier for him to come out, but he just won’t leave. I’ve tried coaxing him out with treats but it wouldn’t work. He either just wouldn’t eat them if I set them on the ramp, or if I tried to hold the treat and slowly get him to move out with it, he would yank it out of my hand. He spends most of his time under the shelf that is in the cage. I would really love for him to get out so he can get a bit more exercise. Any advice would be great!

[Amys Animals]

When I brought Marley home a couple weeks ago he was shy too. He didn’t want to come out of the cage and he would not take or even eat treats that were in my hand. It’s only been about a week since you’ve gotten him. He will warm up. What I did was I would sit by Marley’s cage and talk to him softly with the cage door open and offer him hay (he didn’t really eat hay at the time cause he had a tooth problem). I would try offering him treats too. Talking to him and doing anything near his cage would help warm him up to you. Just being near him so he knows you and knows you won’t hurt him. Marley warmed up after about a week and a half. He’s still making progress but I think he knows I won’t hurt him. Sometimes bunnies, when they come from rescues, can have a bad past and they could be a little traumatized. So just working with him would be good. I am sure he will come out when he feels comfortable.

[Hunny]

Thanks! I’ve been getting a little discouraged because he seems to hide out in there quite a bit. But I really don’t know anything about how he has been handled in the past. Just need to be more patient with the little guy I guess!

[Amys Animals]

You can ask the rescue for his background information. They may be able to tell you something. =)

[Beka27]

Has he EVER come in and out of the cage on his own? Is it possible he just doesn’t know how? Some rabbits are very apprehensive about new things until they’ve done it once or twice.

[Hunny]

No, he hasn’t ever come out. Should I just take him out and see what happens? He really doesn’t like to be picked up, but sometimes it can’t be avoided. And thanks Amys Animals, I’ll call the people that I got him from today and see if they know anything =)

[Sam and Lady's Human]

I’d give it another week, maybe put a plate of greens outside the ramp and leave it. Or a bit of banana, so it’s fragrant.

[kinggoblin]

Mine was scared to come out when I got him until he finally did it once after 4 or 5 days. I think I bribed him with fruit. Then he did it all the time. I tried to keep him confined to the kitchen but he jumped over my 4 ft barricade so I just let him do whatever he wanted after that.

It took over a year for him to want to spend more than 1-2 hours out of his pen even though I left the door open pretty much all day. Like now I let him out nearly all day and sometimes all night if I forget to shut his pen ( I make him stay in the pen at night cause he has a bad habit of nudging my face until I wake up and wanting to play at 3 am )

[Hazel]

What type of flooring is the cage sitting on? If it’s something slippery like tile or wood floor it might be the reason why he’s not coming out. Most rabbits are afraid of slippery floors.

[Hunny]

The room his cage is in is all carpeted. He’ll peak his head out of his cage fairly often but that’s as far as he ever goes. I put a little plate of his favorite treats and some hay outside his cage just by the ramp hoping it might pique his interest and he’ll go check it out

[Hazel]

Okay, so that’s not it.

The only other thing I can think of is his nails. Have you checked if they need to be clipped? That should have been done at the shelter of course, but you never know. If they are too long it might be painful for him to hop around much.

Or maybe he just needs some more time to adjust to his new home

[Beka27]

Yes, I would take him out and then put him down in the room. He’ll probably run over to the cage door and hop back in, but in doing so, he’ll learn that he can get in and out that way. My rabbits have always needed to be taken out of the cage the first time and allowed to find their way back in.

[Author]

Messages