EXERCISING concerns

[Bkysiu]

I let Perry (flemmie giant) out for 2 hours in the day and night ,but what happens is tht my boy will run around for like half an hour and then sit or lay on his side and hardly move!

He has plenty of toys and I play games with him..so..is my bunny just lazy and hates exercise?He is only 4 months old and I dont want to be a bad mummy tht lets her boy get fat.

Suggestions?

[Monkeybun]

Moose is like that, he’s perfectly happy just flopped and enjoying some sun. He has his moments of doing the bunny 500, then flops again… not all buns are super hyper like little Monkey

[Beka27]

WHEN you let him out can make a big difference. Buns are most active early morning and late evening. So if you can schedule his exercise time around those periods, that will be the most beneficial. I can leave my buns’ pen open all day long, but they’ll barely budge b/c that is their naptime. Once they reach their active time (somewhere betw/ 8pm and midnight…) they’re ready to zoom everywhere. If you leave early morning (you’re a student, right?) you might try opening his pen while you’re getting ready to go, and as long as his space is well bun-proofed, that should work out well. What kind of housing is he in? With a large bun like a Flemish, you have to have a very large space for him when he’s confined.

[Karla]

How about feeing him his pellets in a treat ball:

I can really recommend it. I used to feed mine this way, and they were busy rolling the ball all the time.

Also, as Beka suggests, let him out at those times where he is actually most active. Mine are hyper-active between 6 and 9 in the morning and then again between 5 and 8 in the afternoon/evening. It is a shame if he only has time outside his cage when he is in a sleeping mode.

What does his living area look like?

[Beka27]

I don’t want you to think that you are doing something wrong tho! Some buns really are very mellow and once that sudden burst of energy is out of their system, they are more than happy to just lay back and chill…

[Elrohwen]

Some bunnies are just lazy! I would say mine has about an hour of activity per day – and that’s not running around fast, that’s moving at all 😛 Since he’s a flemmie I think it’s very normal for him to be lazy and mellow.

[Bkysiu]

Thanks to all the replies!

I let him out when he is most active. In the morning that’s from 8-10am, then at night 8 -10 usually. I keep my routine consistent to make sure he knows what’s happening. He lives in a large cage crate it’s like 2 metres in length and 1 metre in width and is 1.5 metres high (apologies for metres instead of centimetres, I live with the metric system). His run around area is our hallway which is very large as I live in an old-villa house and they have huge long corridors (that space is like over 8 metres long, it’s the size of two medium rooms together).

I’m beginning to think Perry is just a mellow guy (flemish roots I suppose)… like just this morning he came out and just had his usual sniff-stroll around me then laid next to me for pats and that didn’t even last half an hour! He does have his bursts of energy and does bunny500’s up and down the hall for like 10 mins…then flops on his side and that’s when he usually goes back to his cage then never moves again . Actually, a couple of days ago, he hopped back into his cage and tried to shut his gate door, maybe he thinks of his cage as his sanctuary and wants ‘him’ time? As he gets older though I will increase his run areas to my whole house, but that will take a wee-bit more house training there!

[Elrohwen]

It sounds like he’s just a mellow guy! Not necessarily a bad thing.

One thing that helps with my bun is clicker training. He likes training and it gets him interested and off his bum. The easiest thing I’ve taught him (and by far his favorite thing) is to touch a lid (from an old tupperware food storage container) with his nose. I’ll throw the lid down on the ground and he has to run over and touch it, then I give him a treat. I can now throw it across the room and he’ll look for it and touch it. It’s a nice way to keep him moving and he doesn’t seem to get bored with running after his lid. It’s very easy to train too, because most buns are curious enough to touch something you put down on the ground, then you just reward for touching it.

[RabbitPam]

What a cool trick – I think I’ll try it.

He sounds like he’s exerting a lot of energy (bunny 500s for 10 minutes is actually a long time, like distance running rather than sprinting.) and then pooped. I am reminded of how kittens run from ceiling to floor and totally spaz out, then drop in a dead sleep in the middle of anywhere. He’s still got some of that baby behavior happening.

[Monkeybun]

lol Pam, my moms cat Jack would eat and eat and eat when he was a kitten.. and then fall asleep with his face flat in his bowl. He was a funny kitten

[RabbitPam]

LOL exactly!

[Bkysiu]

Haha imagining a kitten with its face flat in the bowl is hilarious, and adorable at the same time .

I should stress less then about Perry. He is happy and I guess I’d definitely know for sure if he wasn’t getting enough exercise! He’d have obvious messages signalling my way . The clicker training thing is a good idea! I’d have no idea about where to get a clicker tho . I’ll shop around and wll try and find something.

*Beginning to be so thankful about her baby buns *

[Elrohwen]

If you want to clicker train, you can probably find a clicker at any pet store for $1. I really like the site http://www.clickerbunny.com for learning the basics. We also have a few threads on here where it’s been explained. You might not even need the clicker if you just want to teach the lid trick – you could just get some of his pellets and reward him when he touches the lid. He’ll probably figure it out (the only different with clicker training is that you click before you give the food – this indicates to the bunny that he’s done something right and will be rewarded for it)

[Karla]

Just be lucky you don’t have one of those hyperactive teenage bunnies – or maybe he might become one soon though ! He sounds like he has plenty of space, so don’t worry.

But really, I can highly recommend feeding him his pellets in the treat ball.

And Elrohwen – great link. I so wanted to clicker train mine, but just couldn’t come up with any tricks, so I let it go.

[Elrohwen]

Karla, I have a hard time coming up with more tricks. After stand up and spin, it’s kind of tricky. I’ve just started picking up objects and making him do something with them – touch a lid, push a ball, etc. Problem is he learns thing in 1-2 sessions now, rather than a week 😛

[wiseleyd]

Mellow is also really, well, Mellow and he is a teenager! Training has worked well for him as it exercises his mind and his body. I too, am running out of “tricks” to teach him. the next one I want to do is “go home”, but I anticipate that it will take awhile! I like the “touch it” idea. You could use that command when you want to get your bunny used to a new object like a harness or something. It also sounds like good exercise. I can’t wait to start it. Perry might like it, too. He also might like a soccer ball, (that is football to you) to push around with his nose. You could even train him to push it down the hall or something.

[Elrohwen]

Mellowzmom, you reminded me – I use Otto’s lid all the time when he’s nervous. He loves to do it so much, that I just have to show him the lid and he forgets what he was being nervous about. It’s a great way to change his focus and give him something positive to do. I haven’t had much success using it to get him to go scary places (like on the hardwood floor) but I’m still working on that.

[wiseleyd]

That is awesome! I used “touch it” with my dogs for agility training, so I think it could be used for bunnies to get them to touch unfamiliar things as well. Idk about actually getting onto the slippy floors, but you might be able to get him to “touch” the slippy floors with his nose! I think I will use it for beginning halter training so that I can occasionally take him outside. We should brainstorm to come up with as many unique and useful commands to train as possible. Lately, I have been trying to see if Mellow can count. He hands, (mouths) me a wicker ball or basket that he wants to play with. (That is usually how we start a play session, he initiates it). Then, I tap it on the floor two or three times and hand it back. He taps it, but not the same number of times that I do. If he ever gets it right, I will click and treat. I think he is trying to train me to count bunny style. lolz

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