Change of routine

[Phwoffy]

Hi guys, we’ve had a lot of help here before, so I guess I just wanted some reassurance/ideas. 

We’ve had Monty for just under 2 years. All the time we’ve had him, one of us has been at home – unemployment/studenthood etc. My partner has been working for a year or so, but I have been at home. I’ve just found a job, and, naturally, my main concern is Monty. The job is part-time, but 3-4 full days a week, so we will be out of the house for roughly 9-10 hours a day. 

Monty will be going from fully free-range, always with company, to more cooped up, with nobody to chat to. We have an X-pen on order, but we live on a silly island in the middle of nowhere, so it won’t be here until after I’ve been at work for about a week. Monty is an only-bun. He’s never lived with another rabbit, and he’s not neutered – when we adopted him, he hadn’t been done, and he’s now 3 1/2. We don’t have a very rabbit-savvy vet (only one practice on the island) so I am very, very reluctant to get him neutered – and think adapting to another pet after so long would probably be even more stressful on him. 

He has a 2-story house, enough room inside to move about and lay down etc., and as I say, he does have a pen on the way so will have space to hop around and will have goods within to trash! I guess I’m just hoping to hear that other people have gone from a similar no-cage until bed time routine to a ‘yeah, we’ll be out all day’ thing. When we get home, he will be the most fussed bun in the world, and we’ve already decided that we will take it in turns to get up earlier every day, so he can have a run about and a play. 

So, yeah… any ideas how we can make this change of routine more natural? And, has anyone else done this and had a happy bun? Thank you! 

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Just wondering why he has to go in a pen? Can you rabbit proof enough that he can retain his free range privileges? I think the penning will be more stressful to him than alone time

They adjust to routine changes and I’m sure he’ll be fine with the alone time. I’d maybe have the TV or radio on while you are gone, if it’s normally on while you are home-that will help give some back ground noise. He may take right to the change, as rabbits like to snooze generally while we are at work and are most active in the early am and late evening.

I agree I wouldn’t add another bunny. It’s nice when they are bonded, but they don’t get along with each easily-bonding can be very tough to do; and most rabbits are fine all by themselves. A change in routine and a new guy to compete with, could be very upsetting for him.

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