Help with Hide House

[sniffablecow]

My rabbit hides everywhere EXCEPT for her hide house. She always finds a way behind and into the couch, under the treadmill, somewhere that we would prefer for her not to be. But she never goes into her hide house. Do you guys have any tips with location of the hide house? I was thinking that she would prefer for the door to be opposite of the rest of the room, so she would know that no one could see her while she was inside, but do rabbits prefer to be able to see while in their hide house?

[Boston's Mama]

Could be a couple of things… mine doesn’t like small hidey houses – I had to go bigger- like big enough I could fit 3 of him in it. Some like small tight fits . I suggest making a few from cardboard boxes in different sizes and she will soon let you know what she likes
Mine doesn’t like wooden ones except the ware lounging logs
But he loves plastic ones
You may need to play with ideas – find the size using the cardboard prototypes since they are free then trying some cheap options in that size for materials – buckets , baskets – things around home

Also some like two holes to exit from rather than one – more tunnel like , since they are prey animals they sometimes feel trapped if there is only one way in and out
Mine prefers one opening …

Try it out with cheap or free items you already have etc and see what she likes before spending a lot of one you don’t know if will work

[Bam]

Many buns do want two or three “doors”. That’s how they make their warrens in the wild, there are always “emergency-exits”, or the bun could be trapped in the burrow with f ex a ferret. But as Okley’s mama says, try different things. Use cardboard boxes until you find a setup he likes, then you can upgrade to something similar in wood or plastic if you like.

My Bam likes to have a vetbed in his hidey-house. That’s like thick sherpa fleece with anti-slide on one side.

[MyLikeIt]

Mine like two doors at perpendicular sides of the box, and they like to look out into the room with one door. I think their instinct is to keep an eye on things, in case of danger. I have two buns, but the hidey box only fits one at a time. They work it out. During the day, they prefer to sleep together in a corner of the room behind an armchair, so I put a fleecey bath mat behind the chair for them to cuddle on. I think the armchair serves as a kind of hidey.

[Bam]

MyLikeIt, that’s a good point, a hidey house doesn’t absolutely need to be a box. It can be a chair or a coffea table f ex, although sometimes the bun will choose a really impractical spot to hang out in. A hidey box has the added advantage of providing a vantage point. My Bam often sits on top of his hidey house or bunk bed. But he also likes to lounge under the coffea table.

[Boston's Mama]

On top of hide houses Oakley has a step stool with a soft cat bed on the top – he hides under it , and lays on top of it

[sarahthegemini]

My two loved their wooden hidey house (with one door, one window) when they weren’t free roam but ever since then they’ve not really been interested in boxes or houses. During the day they lay under the sideboard together, right in the middle usually snuggling.

I guess the whole under sideboard area is their hidey house :p

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Oakley’s mama on 2/18/2017 2:44 AM

On top of hide houses Oakley has a step stool with a soft cat bed on the top – he hides under it , and lays on top of it

That’s a really good idea! I might try getting a step stool and covering it at 2 sides with a blanket and see if they use that too. I’ve also got a cat scratcher tree that has a hidey home at the bottom. 

[Author]

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