behavior change after free roam

[Louiethebunny]

Recently I have been allowing my bun MUCH more free roam time, going from a few hours a day to practically all day that I am at home. I’m getting into the habit of letting him run with his xpen door open as long as I’m home. I did notice after allowing him more time, he spent less time exploring and doing binkies, but he has been resting and flopping more. Should I be worried?

[Wick & Fable]

That can be pretty normal — he may be habituating to it. It may not be as exciting anymore, so a reduction in binkies makes sense. Without making too many assumptions or cognitive leaps, I imagine a rabbit who is used to being penned up going “FREEDOM YAY!” when let out, but when let out more frequently and routinely, the energy becomes more so “Great. Gonna go nap over there now”.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Louiethebunny]

Ok thank you, being a new bunny owner, I’m super paranoid about everything. Just glad my bun’s doing fine.

[Chris]

Our newly acquired and probably abandoned rabbit (she had a harness on) that I found living in the wheel-well of a car in my work parking lot is now a free-roaming bunny. We had her outside for about two weekends once we brought her home, on Easter Weekend. We had a pen for her when we first tried bringing her inside, on May 1st. When we first let her out of her pen (probably the following weekend?) to see how she’d do free roaming, we’d just keep an eye on her; she explored a lot and learned quickly where she liked to go and what she liked in the house. It’s just over a month later and we can leave the house for hours at a time and she is just fine. She has a routine for morning and night, and she usually sleeps in the bedroom under the window, where the A/C vent is to keep her nice and cool (she’s a black-and-dark-brown-colored Jersey Wooly from what we can tell). Sometimes, she’ll sleep in her “couch cave” we made for her that is the love seat in the living room.

Basically, now,WE live in a giant hutch and she is queen of the castle! 😎

[prince dorian the bun]

New bunny owner too, but from what I have read and heard it’s pretty normal behavior, basically they now know their territory so they don’t get the same need to explore it all. My bun, Dorian, is a bit like that too. He is pretty much free roam and yet most of the day he just hangs out in his room. He does have a couple areas he gets to visit for short time periods and he tends to charge around and get super excited when he does. I think like humans they get used to a place if they get to explore it all the time. I do notice if I mix things up with where his toys or tunnels are it perks him up a bit.

 

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