How small a space and how high a leap can a Holland Lop get into/jump up on?

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This topic has 12sd replies, 11 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 2 months ago by Otti.

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- 03/08/2011 at 9:07 PM
  Knabbel Did It
  Participant
  82 posts
  We’re preparing to bring home a one-year old, 3 to 4 lb., Holland Lop this weekend (hopefully) and I’m trying to figure out just how much bunny-proofing needs to be done. At first we’ll give him free use of the laundry/craft room where his bunny bungalow will be located. Do you think shoving thick towels or blankets between the washer and the wall, about 3 or 4 inches of space, will work for closing off that space? Then there are lots of open shelves, like cabinets without doors, at floor level. Most of the shelves just have closed platic bins in them, but there is probably room for a little bun to jump up to the second shelf and find mischief there. So…
  
  How high do you think a Holland Lop can jump if he REALLY wants to?
  
  And, how small of a space could he squeeze through?
  
  I’m guessing that the typical walk-thru baby gate with the vertical metal bars may not keep the little bun in his room?
  
  Thanks for any help you can provide!
- 03/08/2011 at 9:27 PM
  mocha200
  Participant
  4486 posts
  Rabbits can jump 2 feet or higher depending on the bunny. Rabbits can squeeze into some pretty tight places. I would make sure to block them off in case they get stuck.
- 03/08/2011 at 11:24 PM
  Monkeybun
  Participant
  10479 posts
  My almost 4 pound dutch can jump more than 3 feet straight up if he can see something he can land on! So definitely bunny proof everything. And he has been known to squish his body into spaces no more than 3 inches wide.
- 03/09/2011 at 3:14 AM
  Beka27
  Participant
  16016 posts
  Bunny-proofing requires some creative thinking. For a space like betw/ the washer and wall, I’d recommend building a wooden frame/block that can be wedged in there. Bunnies see towels/blankets and cardboard as a challenge, not a deterrent,
- 03/09/2011 at 7:20 AM
  Molzy
  Participant
  161 posts
  They can squeeze into the smallest places! Definitely block off those.
  
  My experience with gates – Riley won’t jump over them, only into things. So a gate works fine, but blocking with boxes or something won’t. Similarly, using towels to block off passages doesn’t work, cause he’ll climb over them. I have to use a couple of NIC grids or a taller piece of wood to block off areas I don’t want him crawling into, or I have to admit defeat and just make it a bunny safe tunnel!
- 03/09/2011 at 8:12 AM
  cainan
  Participant
  347 posts
  My almost 3# mini rex cleared a 3ft high xpen wall (unscathed) and without a box to jump off of! I don’t know if that’s just minirex special powers or just intact male bunny powers…
  Merry’s never even attempted to jump out of the pen, even with boxes, etc. in there.
- 03/09/2011 at 8:14 AM
  Knabbel Did It
  Participant
  82 posts
  Okay, thanks. I’ll work on the wood frame idea for the washer/dryer area. I don’t really mind him getting into the shelves, as long as the plastic tubs don’t get eaten. Do your rabbits ever jump all the way up to the countertop, assuming there is no bunny hidey house in front of it to give easier access? How do you keep NIC grids or x-pen panals in place if it’s just one piece or panal?
- 03/09/2011 at 8:15 AM
  Knabbel Did It
  Participant
  82 posts
  Cainan, ha-ha, you’re reading my mind before I could hit the “submit” button!
- 03/09/2011 at 8:58 AM
  GrumpyBun
  Participant
  643 posts
  Beka makes a good point about the towels. I tried stuffing blankets between the TV stand and wall as a new bunny owner. We no longer have Sky, and very few of the scart leads are originals, but the buns had fun.
  
  You could attach nic grids or something similar to a gate to make it safer.
- 03/09/2011 at 12:39 PM
  jagx30
  Participant
  6 posts
  Our holland lops prefer to find the smallest spaces imaginable and squeeze in and just hang out. They love places so small they can’t move and have to back out. One of ours also used to jump up on the couch, then on the back of the couch, then up on the bookshelves. My advice would be to put the bunny in there and let him do a supervised inspection… he will lead you to all the problem areas pretty quickly.
- 03/09/2011 at 1:29 PM
  Elrohwen
  Participant
  7318 posts
  I use NIC grids to block off areas and small spaces and it works really well. For many of these areas, once they’ve been blocked for a while I can unblock them and my rabbits forget they were ever interested in getting back there. Not that I would do that for their main living area, but I was able to take down more than half of the bunny proofing in my living room once Hannah forgot about going under the couch and tv stand – not to say she’ll never try it again, but there’s almost always someone supervising them while they’re out and she hasn’t done it yet.
  
  For small spaces, my 5.5lb mini lop, with a big bum, has squeezed under our couch which is only about 3″ high.
  
  I agree with others who said that gates work much better than anything they can climb. Hannah has climbed onto the dining room table by jumping on the chairs first, but she would never attempt the jump from the ground. She will jump over a gate that is one NIC grid high, but otherwise gates keep her in well.
- 03/09/2011 at 1:35 PM
  CarlieL
  Participant
  81 posts
  Ha, I just had to bunnyproof our “laundry room” too…we ended up using this gate for the doorway http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0012XDF8S and we have a sheet of plywood that was leftover from building the NIC condo that we place against the washer/dryer, and push the cage against it to hold it steady. :p Not the most attractive option, but it works for now. I’m working on finding something better to fill that gap between the wall and washer…we’ve discovered that if Rufus gets back there, he won’t come out lol!
- 03/09/2011 at 1:51 PM
  Otti
  Participant
  535 posts
  If you’re looking for a less ‘mounted’ or permanent type of gate, I’m currently using this gate in a hallway for my 4 pound bunny (not a Holland Lop). It’s working really well and was easy to install (I’m using the lowest one). Also, it’s cheap LOL
  
  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BVD0EG
  
  He’ll jump onto a 2 feet or even higher shelf type object (like my couch arm, a chair etc.), but won’t jump over a 2 foot barrier because he doesn’t just have to go up two feet, but also down two feet on the other side lol
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