Difficulty putting Samantha back in her house

[RabbitPam]

Well, it’s a cage, that I don’t especially like (big cage, small opening, raised above the ground, hard to clean) but it’s what I had and she seems to like it.

Anyway, I have no trouble picking up Samantha and holding her, which she seems to like because she lets me know when she’s ready to get down. I suppport her firmly, pet and hold her at the same time – all fine.

But I am having an awful time putting her back in her house for her breakfast or bedtime. She is squirming furiously, she’s thin and slippery, and I have to point her into the square entrance to shoot her in like toothpaste or she’ll run away completely. She didn’t respond to Papaya tablets so I haven’t lured her in yet. Frankly, she wants to be out, then when she’s ready to go back in, she lets me catch her. She’s put herself in a couple of times, so there’s hope for the future.

But this morning she gave me a scare. She squirmed so much she flew onto the floor, just next to the cage and wall, and her legs splayed out. She clearly landed hard, and sat there while I got upset. I gently touched her then picked her up to my lap to examine her. She wasn’t crying, making noise, or tooth grinding, and she let me feel her all over without any pain response. She even kissed me. I put her in and she sat in litter (I think for a soft landing place to recover, if only from the shock.) Watching her and holding her once more (she wanted to cuddle) proved she is unharmed.

But this method of putting squirmy the wormy back like a flinging frisbee has got to change. Other than building a totally new habitat with xpen, is there any method of holding a bun that I could learn that would keep her from hurting herself when I deposit her? I have to use a side entrance cage door because the top is locked on, and way too high. She’s grown so much I forget she’s only 4 months old. My baby has a wee bit of splay to her legs, and rarely jumps on things, so I’m watching her. Does she need leg exercise for strength? Should I find a lure? She takes a bite of breakfast, but then she wants OUT!

Any thoughts? (I think I’m still sensative from all the care I did for Spockie. I get heartbroken at any sign of illness or hurt. I’ll work on that.) (New pix from this week.)

 

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[bunnytowne]

OH yes the go to bed time. I finally got Cotton trained to go to bed.  I would call him and guide him in with my hands. Or he would land in his litterbox and wait.  Then I would pick it up and bring him to his door and use my hands to guide him in.

It got easier once I started putting 2 blueberries on his shelf in his house. Now I just say Cotton go to bed if he doesn’t stir I nudge him with my hand and go tap on his shelf in his house.  Then he runs over jumps on his shelf to find his 2 blueberries. His dessert.

I have heard of putting the fiesty bunny in the cage backwards so squirmy the worm won’t jump in the cage with a big racket and clumsiness. You know how they leap out of your arms into the cage. Or in your buns case onto the floor that one time.

Or can you hold bun with a towel and take her to her house?  Maybe the towel would help to hold onto her.

Or put her fav treat in her food dish and say bedtime and tap in her food bowl once you get her in the cage. Then she will start looking forward to that particular treat and eventually learn to go to bed when you tell her to and nudge her along.   ……………..Hopefully that will work

Took some time to teach Cotton.  Ruby would come along too and I would guide her into the cage as well. 

[Scarlet_Rose]

Pam, have you tried to use a designated bed-time goodie to lure Samantha back into her cage? For my two, I only give them bunny cookies at bed time and they absolutely adore them. All I have to do is open the cookie jar where they are kept and they go flying back into their cage – they know it is where they must go in order to get it and that it is bed time. It took a couple of time as they used to come running up to me and I herded them into the cage and then gave them to them. Rabbits are very smart and they figured it out after only 2 times. They weren’t wild about the papaya tablets so I had to find another bunny-safe treat to give them as “bait” to go in.

Another thing you might want to try is herding her into the cage so she hops in herself. This can be tiring and often times they will get it eventually if you offer a treat after they go in.

[jerseygirl]

 I really don’t mean to laugh at you………It’s just so interesting to hear of the changes in Samantha and to hear of you experiencing all these joys once again.  They are clever and she may even start to hide when she figures bedtime is approaching!

If she doesn’t mind you picking her up, I would try maintaining this.  Do it frequently then set her free. Hopefully she won’t associate being picked up with being put to bed.  Try cradling her to you and popping her head under the crook of your elbow or just covering her eyes with your hand.  Lower to the opening and then release her.  Good idea to give a reward treat in there too!

Maybe try attaching a walled ramp to the cage opening. She can hop up the ramp and sort of be “steered in” instead of “put in”.

[RabbitPam]

I would love to get her a treat routine going. It’s not bedtime (though I’ll try it then, too) as much as morning before work, as in right now. Do you think a treat will work when she’s just had breakfast? I let her out, get her breakfast ready and then she goes in more easily because she’s hungry. This morning she’s just confusing since she chewed on bars, then wouldn’t come out, then chewed on bars, then ate, and is now lying down. Fickle.

She already associates finding a raisin on occasion in her tunnel or hidey thing. I like the cookie idea (I’ll break them in half.)

jerseygirl, I’m also thinking of revamping a ramp. With sides is a good idea. If I could make something that has traction that I could push up to the opening and hook on, it would probably help. Right now I have a nic cube box with a seagrass matte that slides down. Time to call the Engineer Father for a trip to Lowe’s?

You may laugh. It’s new baby time. Now I know why most women can’t have kids after 50.
*lies on couch holding clicker. Calls out to empty room, “Sammy. Don’t chew on wires.” changes channel with clicker. Invisible bunny continues to play.*

[RabbitPam]

P.S. I just let her out for AM run, and she sat down under my bare feet and got me to pet her with them. Now she’s kissing my foot.

[Hedi]

I think a treat any time of day will lure samantha into her house no matter what time of day it is.

With my buns all i have to do is shake the treat container and they ALL run into their houses and jump around waiting for their treat! I ran out of papaya tabs so they have been gettin a raisin or craisin and they still act the same.

So my routine is I shake the container and get them all excited, if they dont automatically run into their house then I will “make” them by continuing to shake the container and tell them to go to “bed” (they know that word) and then once they are in I hurry and latch it and THEN i give them their treat.

Im pretty sure my buns would do anything for treats though. But they all associate bedtime w/ a treat so I guess they all think its worth it to go to bed for treats. lol

[jerseygirl]

*gasp* Wasn’t Spockie foot obsessed?

[RabbitPam]

Yes….yes he was.

Just a couple of weeks after we moved to the apartment, Samantha found my slippers in the dining room – and licked them. She still does. And she sits still for my toes to give her head pets.

I know what you’re thinking. It crossed my mind when she found my slippers. They’re a different shape, but I’m tempted to buy my old kind just to see what she does.

(Of course, I might just have the greatest smelling feet on the planet, but I’ve smelled them and that’s not my opinion…)

[MooBunnay]

Aww – Spockie bust have told Samantha that you like a good foot cleaning

For the most part, I herd bunnies when it gets to be bed time. I have not really set up a treat routine with them, but after hearing all the success that all the other members are having with this, I think I will start to try that out! As far as the herding technique, at the end of exercise time I usually confine the bunnies to an ex-pen, and then herd them from there. Usually when I set up the ex-pen and herd them into there, they will just go all the way back into their cage because they don’t find the ex-pen as fun!

[RabbitPam]

I’ve been thinking of buying an xpen next, and that would make sense. She just clamoured to get out furiously, but I think it was because she had just soaked her litter box. Now it’s clean, she’s had a run, and a raisin. She squirmed, but liked the raisin. I need a treat cup to rattle too.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Hahahah pam-OT but on the foot smell thing-For some reason, that’s completely eluded us-ALL animals love Daves shoes!! Dogs, cats, goats, rabbits, etc etc. They roll on them, sniff them, lick them-it’s the weirdest thing ever and no animal we’ve ever met fails to pay them attention

I have a lot of bunnies who squirm going into their cages at the shelter-what I do is trance them and then hold them upside down until they are in the cage about an inch from the floor, then slowly let them over and down.
The other way to do it is hold them so they are looking at you, going down bum first-this ensures they cannot see where they are going, anticipate being put down and jump/fling; You’d think they’d struggle but really they struggle a lot more ‘preparing for landing’ then otherwise. Try putting her in her cage so that she can’t look down, bum first, facing you

[jerseygirl]

Ha Ha, OT but love it! He must emitted some pheromone they can’t resist, and animal lover that you are, maybe you couldn’t either haha!
You should get his shoes tested and get the chemical replicated. It would assist greatly in work with difficult animals ya think?

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

LOL I bet your actually right Jersey!! Sweaty areas do emit pheramones -and I bet if the animals like them that’s why I like him too Too funny!

[RabbitPam]

OK, OK, – Dave and I are soulmates from the ankles down. Sorry, K&K.
BTW, what does OT stand for?

Latest developments: 2 days ago I built a ramp out of a wood plank cut into thirds and nailed together. I’d measured the opening, height, and since it was a wee bit smaller in width, it would fit the opening just fine. True, except when I was finally done (nailing seagrass matte on ramp for traction), it was smaller than the drop down cage door, and that sat on top of the sides – blocking the ramp part. ARGH! Useless. (Guys at work might be able to trim it.)

Next, I let her out for a run before any breakfast, so she’d be good and hungry when it was ready. After a while, she let me catch her for a cuddle yesterday and this morning. Gave good head pets, then put my hand over her eyes in a full head pet so she couldn’t see. I was on the floor already, so moved her into the opening. She squirmed much less! Couldn’t maneuver her butt first, but this helped. And then I’ve given her, or left inside, a treat for her to have right away. Don’t think she’s caught on to the treat = house = good girl, yet, but it was better. Today she ate and flopped.

Yesterday she boxed my hands whenever I came at her, then wanted pets, then boxed, then pets – so it’s official: SHE’S A TEENAGER NOW.
She did the most amazing binkies and bunny 500s last night! Fickle girl. Thank God her legs are fine after that fall.

Keep the advice coming, please. I think this is a temporary cooperation, but I’ll keep trying. Xpens are so expensive!!!

[bitterepiphany]

I don’t know if this helps any but we usually let meco decide what bed time really means to her She gets out at around five-ish and starting at nine, someone sits that the computer chair. Since she’s litter trained, she goes back in her cage at about 10 or 10:30, sometimes sooner, to user her litter boxes and when we descend with the tie wraps

We treat our rabbit like a Mac…we sort of trick her into doing everything

[MimzMum]

Sadly I must admit, after all this time, I still have the ‘toothpaste squirt’ experience with my bunnies when it’s beddy-bye time. I remove the ramp from the shelf, so Pip doesn’t strike that with her neck or head, and let her make the leap. I’ve tried everything else I can think of to make the landing softer, but knowing how heavily she comes down from her sleeping shelf and how she binkies to pen height and comes down in one piece so much, my guess is now that it’s not hurt her yet, so it probably won’t. There’s no great distance involved, just an awkward placement situation.

Perhaps wrapping bun in a soft towel and then settling her down in the pen in that may help. I had the same thing happen with Mimzy once, scared the h-e-double-hockey-sticks out of me. He actually fell all the way down to the floor and went under the bed with all my books and who knows what and I panicked, until I remembered how much he loves blueberries. He was back out in five seconds and when I checked him over he was fine. But I am VERY uneasy about removing/returning them to and from their pens.

The Christmas tree finally leaves the xpen area in the kitchen today, so bunnies will get a chance out after about a week or so of confinement. They will be overjoyed!

Someday, a nice floor xpen setup for all…but for now, we have to do it the hard way.

[Dee]

Hey rabbitpam, sounds like our buns both have foot fetishes! Ludicrous the bun will be glad to know he’s not alone . About bedtime, I agree with the treat thing- it really works! It takes some time, but eventually they get conditioned to go to their cages for their favorite foods. My buns only get their greens/apples/bananas at night, so they love bedtime. Sometimes I must brings the bowl out to the living room and wave it under their noses, then yell”C’mon buns, bedtime!” with manic enthusiasm until they run to their cage.
Once in a while one of them will decide to give me a hard time. Lude is easy- I just p[ick him up and carry him to his cage, which is on the floor with a swing-open door. Nelli, however, is tough- I haven’t gathered up the courage to pick her up yet. Hubby tried and she put him right in his place with a big kick and scratch- those strong lop legs really pack a punch! So Nelli must be herded or lured carefully to bed on her difficult nights. They don’t occur often though- in fact it’s been a long time. I think they just get into a routine and settle down to it. Good luck!

[RabbitPam]

Well, the fickle girl has been very good for 2 days now. She is less squirmy just enough when I cover her eyes that she hasn’t fallen again.
I am at fault for not having a treat ready EVERY time – I need that in my routine for her. I think it’s helped.

And not sure if she was mad, mildly hurt, or what at the beginning of the week. Conicidentally I got her Endive (Chickory) by mistake instead of Green Leaf lettuce and she’s gobbled it up for 2 days. Also, gave her a new dish just for lettuce so her pellets won’t get soggy. She seems to like it.

She just snuggled in my arms, then after putting her back she is ramming on the bars. I could have sworn she was sleepy. She’s up on her platform for the first time in Weeks. I am now wondering if she’s just recovered from an invisible leg problem. Hmmm.

[MimzMum]

Ramming the bars?? 0_o You mean with her head, like a goat? *tries to imagine this*

Hmmm…She wasn’t done snuggling, clearly.

Mimzy has been pummeling his pen bottom with front paws AND teeth of late as the xmas tree has not been chopped up and there is no room in the kitchen for the xpen. They are very barnsour, all three of them.

[RabbitPam]

No, just chewing furiously and incessantly. Me being euphemistically challenged. You’re right though – I can’t get used to a bun that wants to snuggle!

It’s a bit better now that she’s been asking to be held when I sit at the computer. I pick her up then, give her a cuddle and pets. Then when she’s all tucked into my arms I cover her eyes during the head pet and get her close to the cage opening. She doesn’t like going back in, but there’s a treat with breakfast and I praise her while handing her the treat. No interest in going in by herself yet.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Awww that’s so sweet she wants to be held when your on the computer!!

[MimzMum]

This reminds me of Pip. My guess is, being cooped up in that tiny little container you first found her in has her a bit claustrophobic. She enjoys her freedom is all. Pip is a riot to get back home at night and I have to make sure I’ve cleared the runway before launching her. >.<

Awes, you has a shnuggle bunneh! ^_^ I am so jealous!

[Author]

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