Anyone else's Bun attached to their house?

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 11sd replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 13 years, 3 months ago by kamdynandsunshinesmom.

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- 12/22/2012 at 3:29 PM
  AnnBunny
  Participant
  36 posts
  My Bun is 9 years old now and my fiance was thinking of maybe getting rid of his cage entirely and letting him just live on the rug/grassy mats. We have wood floors and he isn’t as limber anymore so he won’t walk on them. He can jump in and out of his cage and his litter box but I took out his second and third floors of his condo because he can’t jump up them anymore. I leave the doors to his cage open all the time but he seems really attached to his house. He likes to lounge in there. It’s a big marichorio (?) brand cage so it has room for him but I want him to get out a little more. I don’t know if we should actually take it away because even when I clean it he has to be there, and I dont’ want to stress him out that his house is gone. I should mention that he has cataracts and does not see well.
  
  Sorry if this was rambling, I am just not sure the best thing to do because I like the idea of him just having the floor but I feel like he’ll get upset. I did get a pet bed and some grassy mats so he doesn’t slide on the plastic of the cage anymore.
  
  Anyway, does anyone else have a Bun who would get kind of stressed if you changed their habitat? If he was younger I think he would take better to it but it might be best to avoid stress now.
- 12/23/2012 at 7:25 AM
  Snowytoshi
  Participant
  263 posts
  When rabbits get older they tend to slow down and prefer to stay with what is familar, removing his cage would get rid of his safe spot and stress him out. If he likes being held, then just take him out everyday, cuddle him, and allow him to run around in a carpeted room.
- 12/23/2012 at 10:18 AM
  tanlover14
  Participant
  3617 posts
  I have to agree with Snowytoshi — I think you should leave his cage for him. You really don’t wanna risk stressing him out and taking away what he considers “his space”. Many buns are very terroritorial over their houses simply because it’s a place where they know they will not be bothered. I’d leave him the choice of whether or not he wants to be out or in.
  
  If you don’t think he’s coming out enough, have you tried bribing him out with some of his favorite treats? Just so you know he’s getting some exercise and attention daily.
- 12/23/2012 at 5:20 PM
  AnnBunny
  Participant
  36 posts
  Thanks!! That was my feeling. He comes out a little bit but I do carry him to our basement/tv room to roam around on the carpet though he doesn’t look thrilled about it. We are less than a year in this house and in the old house the whole room he was in had carpet. But I gave him some blanket and a small bed in his cage so he’s just now getting used to it haha… when he was younger I would try to give him a mat or something cushiony but he would push it in the corner and lay on the plastic! Lol!!
- 12/23/2012 at 6:00 PM
  tanlover14
  Participant
  3617 posts
  My buns do that too. We had CareFresh lining the bottom but they also just pushed it out of the way so we just took it out.
  
  OH, wow. I just realized you said he wasn’t coming out very much at all and you have all wood floors. I would try putting some of those grass mats around outside the cage, kinda like a walk-way. A lot of buns won’t walk on flooring like that because they get nervous about falling. For example, none of my three will go anywhere near the tile! He may just not feel comfortable (especially with bad eyesight) walking on flooring like that. I would try that or even some carpet tiles that can go down around his cage but still look nice! I really think he’s just not comfortable with the floor.
- 12/23/2012 at 6:23 PM
  AnnBunny
  Participant
  36 posts
  Oh yeah he has a rug outside that he will come out on. He just doesn’t run like he used to. I also bring him down to the carpeted room and we snuggle on the couch haha. I just think it’s so funny that until now he wouldn’t have anything to do with a bed, grassy mats, etc… he would just crumple it in the corner. We caught him snoozing on the bed today though it was cute haha!
- 12/23/2012 at 6:35 PM
  Snowytoshi
  Participant
  263 posts
  I’d also recommend keeping an eye on his toenails as our rabbits refuse to go near the kitchen if their nails are getting the slightest bit long.
- 12/23/2012 at 6:36 PM
  tanlover14
  Participant
  3617 posts
  Awww, what an adorable boy! How big is he?? He looks giant in your photo, almost like a Flemmie!
- 12/23/2012 at 8:02 PM
  AnnBunny
  Participant
  36 posts
  Oh yeah he’s pretty giant haha! He’s about 7-8 pounds I can’t remember what the exact weight was! That’s normal, his just a big breed. My vet’s office had a sweet bun that looked exactly like him. They were so funny, similar personality. The vet tech stuck his nose to the other bun to say and they kind of didn’t even care haha.
  He was always skittish about the tile floors too in our old house, but he would run down the carpeted halway and slowly inch his way onto the tile floor of the kitchen just under the refrigerator because he knew that’s where his salad came from every night! He impressed my family with how smart he is!
- 12/26/2012 at 9:17 AM
  Beka27
  Participant
  16016 posts
  It sounds like he’s getting along just fine. I wouldn’t change anything for him at this point. Their cages do offer a safe space and I’m guessing he would miss it if it were suddenly gone.
- 12/26/2012 at 9:22 AM
  Sarita
  Participant
  18851 posts
  I agree with Beka. Don’t change anything – at this age, just keep it the same and make him happy.
- 12/27/2012 at 8:24 PM
  kamdynandsunshinesmom
  Participant
  910 posts
  My bunny sunshine is the same way. I can let her cage open all day long and she hardly comes out it will go 3 sometimes 4 days before she comes out. She just really loves her cage!
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