Chuey hates being locked in his cage

[Jroyalimages]

So I’ve had Chuey for about two weeks now. He is doing really well with his litter training. So far we have not had any accidents and he always knows where his litter box is (i’ve moved it a couple times this week alone). Chuey is out of his cage (no longer in the bathroom) whenever I am at home and I work from home so he is out pretty much all day. Sometimes I don’t even know where he is. But most times he is laid stretched out in the middle of the floor. Being out of his cage has made him so much more social. He likes to be near me and follows me to whatever room I go to. He lets me pet him but being picked up isn’t his thing and I respect that. 

My problem is that Chuey HATES being locked in his cage. I know he doesn’t hate his actual cage because his litter box, food ,and water bottle is in there and he goes in and out of it to eat, drink, or use the bathroom, and sometimes sleeps in there. But whenever I locked him in the cage he chews and tugs at the bars constantly. He paces back and forth and is really antsy. I admit, his cage is a little small by your (experienced bunny keepers) standards but he gets so much time out of the cage that I hadn’t really thought he needed anything bigger. The only time I lock him in there is when I leave the apartment or when I go to sleep at night. And I’m a night owl so I go to sleep as late/early as 2am most nights. What can I do to make him a little more comfortable in his cage. I’ve tried putting toys in there but he never really plays with toys so I don’t think that is the problem. I considered letting him stay out 24/7 but I have a dog and although they do very well together, I wouldn’t just leave them alone together all day. I also considered only locking him up when I leave and letting him stay out at night. What do you guys think? what can I do to make him more comfortable in his cage? Do any of you guys let your buns stay out at night or 24/7? how did you know they were ready for that much freedom?

THanks guys!!

[LBJ10]

Sometimes too much freedom too soon isn’t a good thing, but it sounds like he is doing okay. Some bunnies just can’t be free-range 24/7. I would not be able to trust Leopold. Wooly, yes, but Leopold is always asking for trouble.

Have you considered getting an exercise pen to make a fence around his cage? That way he can be secured at night, but the space won’t be quite so small.

[Deleted User]

My Henry is free roam 24/7 with 3 dog’s. I never encourage this with other member’s as I only know MY dog’s – I trust them completely with Henry. My Henry doesn’t even have a door on his house – like you, it stores his food, water and hay. When we leave the house we call out “Henry, your in charge”, so if we come home to a mess, it’s Henry’s fault cause he was responsible, ha ha ha!
Henry sleeps under our bed while the dog’s sleep on top with us, but it doesn’t stop him from jumping up at 3am upsetting us all (ME!!!).

Just 2 weeks ago we ‘tried’ to lock Henry away while having our carpets cleaned – we put up 3 boards and the little bugga still got out and laid on the wet carpet under our bed. What infuriated me – the next day he spent the day in his house – so angry!

What I am trying to say – free roam bunny’s do NOT appreciate being shut out/away, locked up! It doesn’t mean they want to be into everything, they just hate being restricted. The more you lock them up, the more they are determined to get out – not to get into trouble, just the choice/freedom to do what they want whenever (does that make sense?).
Before Henry was neutered and he sprayed us I put a board across the bedroom doorway – he jumped and got his front paws over and then climbed with his back feet scratching on the board – he got over and in! I took the board down that night and yes, got pee’d on!

A free roam bunny means the new boss of the house – ooop’s! Sorry!

[Tully]

[Tully]

Try feeding and hiding treats. Sounds like you have a board bunny. I usually feed Tulley and hid a couple of peanuts around his cage.

[JustineT]

I wouldn’t worry about it. I was worried too when this first happened with my bunny, Willow. She has full access to our house, except when we’re sleeping, then we cage her in. For the first year we had her, she’d always chew on the bars and I thought it meant she was unhappy. Truthfully though, I believe bunnies do need a little boundaries to understand that they can’t get away with everything they want. LOL

Anyways, she eventually learned that the cage wasn’t a punishment and was just a nightly rule. She now hops in willingly (my husband used to have to playfully chase her in and she would run around the house learning new ways to make him run like a nut! She really loved outsmarting him and would binky the whole time!). Now she only chews on the bars if we slept in and she knows she was supposed to be out earlier. Keep in my though, she only chews on the bars once she sees us. If we peek in and she doesn’t spot us, she’s flopped on her shelf or eating hay. Bunnies just have a talent at knowing how to make us feel bad so they can get their way. ?

Keep doing what you’re doing, although, getting a bigger cage could be helpful! We have a cage from Petco for bunnies that is quite large and has shelves and ramps for her to play on. Teaching your bunny that there are rules can definitely be a good thing and your bunny will adjust, and still lick you and give snuggles!

[Nuggets Momma]

We have a cage with an attached play fence for Nugget, It’s by Oxbow, and it works really well for confining him away from the dog. I even bought and attached a seperate small animal fence to allow us to expand it as needed. Works great, and lets him be semi-“free range” without making me worry, or stressing him. i’ve put a pic of part of it below, i’ll try and get a better pic later and post it, maybe meeting him “halfway’ would alliviate the issues

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