Just a quickie

[Slater91]

Hey there,

Just bought a cute little 6 week old boy and things seem to be going well. The thing is that the house/cage we have for him has a hinged from door that it kind of life a gate (or a railing) that folds out like a drawbridge. He seems to be able to jump in and out of it OK, but I am worried that he might catch his legs between two of the rails and hurt himself.

I have tried to cover it with a towel while he was out playing (well, hiding behind the dishwasher) and then he wouldn’t go back in. I moved the towel and he hopped straight in and started to eat. I thought that if I put the towel back on it while he was in there he would get out OK, but he looked at it and stayed put. A bit worried, I moved the towel off again and he hopped straight out…. It is like he is scared of the towel????

Any ideas what it might be, or any ideas how I can make the door/bridge any safer for the little guy?

Thanks

(Have tried to add a pic, hope it works)

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[kralspace]

Welcome and what a precious little dust bunny!

Mine did the same thing and I put the towel in their cage so they got familiar with it and then they didn’t see it as something-that-is-going-toeat-bunny when I put it over the door when it was down.

Kathy

[Beka27]

welcome here! what a sweet bun!

another thing you could do is remove the door so it’s no longer attached, and when you need the door closed, use a dog clips on either side to clip it on. when you don’t need the door, just unclip it and lay it on top.

[BunnyMuffin]

I had a similar problem so I had my boyfriend construct a ramp.  It’s just a hunk of wood with some hooks on the end that screw in so it hooks onto the cage.  And then he screwed on some carpet for traction.  The best picture I have on hand is below  – but let me know if you need more detail and I’ll take a better one.  If you plan ahead and measure how wide the doorway is (which we obviously failed to do) you can get a plank that’s the actual width of the door for less sliding back and forth, but Noelle did just fine how it was.

 

[BunnyMuffin]

And don’t ask why Noelle is up on top – she only hopped up there that one day, and never again. Kinda an odd ball.

[Ang]

my pet store had a sea grass thing that clipped in there and said welcome, like a welcome mat.
here is the link they are cheap too. it has clips on the back that clip to the bar

http://www.petstore.com/ps_viewitem.aspx?idproduct=IL60393&child=IL60393&utm_source=pscsegooglebase&utm_medium=cse&utm_term=IL60393&utm_content=SuperPetGrassyHopWaySisalMatforCageDoorofPetCritters&utm_campaign=pscse&site=google_base

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Welcome here! What a cute bunny!

[KatnipCrzy]

I had a door like this on a raised cage- and since I had already made a step for the bunny to hop onto to get into the cage I was also worried about getting bunny feet or toes caught.  I took the door off- bent the looped wires a little- and then put it on upside down- so that when I opened it I had to clip it to the top or side of cage to keep it open.  If I ever closed it again- like I did after spay surgery I reinforced it with a dog leash clip since the place to put pressure to make it open was not at bunny level.

[skunklionshow]

I had one at my school…we used a thick piece of cardboard as a ramp and attached it.  We held the cardboard on there w/ zip ties.  Even though he’s a tiny sprout now, we all know that they grow like little bunny weeds….so prepare to build onto your current cage set up.  At one point we also bought a cardboard construction tunnel.  We attached it to the cage so he had a long tunnel…Trigger greatly enjoyed that set up!  RIP lil’ Triggs.

[RabbitPam]

I bought one of those nice small seagrass mats that BB sells here. When I open the door (it’s like yours) I lay it on top of the wires and hold the bottom until she comes out. She loves to take some bites out of it first, but seagrass is good for her teeth, then she jumps up and walks out. I have it set by the cage until I go to let her out. Am considering putting little hooks on the end to hook over the first cage bar when it’s open, like Bunnymuffin has.

[Slater91]

Hey all, thanks for all the tips, will try them all to see what works for the little devil 🙂

At the minute I have left an old thick T-Shirt of mine in his cage and will try it on the drawbridge tonight to see how it goes. Failing that I will work my way through the tips 🙂

Have a little more trouble now as little Jimmy has discovered he can fit under the couch……. So I have a heavy night of bunny proofing ahead of me 🙂 Any tips for couches?

Thanks again

 

 

 

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[Cassi&Charlie]

Aaaw, what a sweet bunny!
Couches ey, I haveno advice because my couch is really low, sorry.
Welcome to Binkybunny & congrats on being a Bunny slave

[KatnipCrzy]

What a cutie- that soft gray color is so beautiful and looks so soft and comforting to snuggle with!  I hope some of these suggestions work out for you!

[jerseygirl]

Some members have zip tied nic grids together and used them as a barrier to use around base of furniture. There was a good pic but cannot remember where I saw it. There may be some ideas in the Bunny Info section under Bunny Proofing.

[bunnytowne]

NIC cubes I should try that.    I have stuffed numerous cushions under the couch and between the wall and the couch and they don’t get back there.  Took all of 13 pillows and my old couch cushions I kept from the thrown out couches to  get the barricade bun proof.  

OH my that sure if a pretty bunny. It has white on it’s nose how cute.

[Slater91]

Just want to say thank you to everybody, it worked  

I put an old shirt in the cage and now he uses this as a padded walkway out of his cage/house (so relieved about that), and using towels and pillows, he can no longer get under the couch……. RESULT

He even started binkying around like a crazy devil last night, my girlfriend and i were so happy, not only have we sorted out a couple of problems for him, but he was happy as hell  And the little binkies are the cutest things I have ever seen.

He is only 6 1/2 weeks old, but as you can see from the photo below (sorry about the red eye), he is a brave/cheeky little bugger

Thanks again, and when I have more questions, I know where to go

Matt

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[RabbitPam]

That is so adorable!!!
I’m convinced that they learn well when they’re very young. My new baby is already waiting to step out of her cage until after I set down the seagrass mat for her. She seems to know that means it’s time to come out.

[Beka27]

when my bun was smaller she could fit underneath our big wood entertainment center (barely).
i folded up a piece of cardboard and shoved it underneath so it blocked the opening.
it wasn’t pretty but it did the trick until she was too big and then i was able to remove it.
what’s your couch like? what kind of dimensions are you trying to block? is it a couch on legs, or…

[Slater91]

It is about 3 inches off the floor and he can just get under there (you can sort of see it on the picture). I assume it is a softer underneath with a bit more room as he can run around under there quite happily. It is just a bit scary as we don’t know where he is, and getting him out involves lifting the whole thing.

Blocking it with towels seems to work, but I know we have some spare cardboard so I might try that tonight.

Thanks again

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[Beka27]

yeah, so that should work… try folding a long piece of cardboard into thirds so it’s about 4 or 5 inches wide.
one of you lift up the end of the couch and the other slide it underneath.
it’ll stick out an inch or so, but again, it’s just temporary till his butt gets a little bigger…. lol!

[Slater91]

 Right now he does have a tiny butt 🙂 But it is so cute watching him go under hahahahaha

[Author]

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