Landlord moral dilemma – he has requested the buns be in a pen 24/7, need advice

[Rae]

Hello!

I have two rabbits: Gus and Max. Both neutered males, unbonded, living separately, and around four years old. Gus is a lop (like 5ish lbs maybe?) and Max is a rex/flemish (10ish lbs). I think rex, past owners said flemish.

When I moved into my current apartment, we disclosed we had our bunnies and was told that was fine as long as they were kept in an enclosure of some sort 24/7.

I originally didn’t like this idea, but my partner said hey – as long as they are penned when landlord is around, who cares if they are out when he isn’t?

Gus is freeroam constantly, and Max gets roam time daily in the kitchen (we keep Gus out of the kitchen during this time). No area is off limits to Gus when Max is in his pen.

This hasn’t caused any issues (yet, and thankfully), but my landlord is coming over for an inspection on Sunday and it’s caused me to feel guilt for essentially lying to his face.

So, I’m looking for advice on a few things and some opinions from other bunny lovers.

Option One: We follow the landlord’s wishes and pen our rabbits 24/7. Here comes some questions – how large of an area would each rabbit need in order for it to be okay that they are penned constantly? What can be added into their pens for enrichment or comfort that would help ease the transition to no more roam time? Even if your advice is to pick another option, I am still in search of this information so please provide if you know!

Option Two: Continue on as is. We pen them when the landlord is over, but keep them roaming when he isn’t. Nothing changes.

Option Three: This has recently come to mind as I rent privately and directly from a landlord who has stated time and time again he likes us as tenants and as long as we don’t do any damage he doesn’t care what we do. I’m considering the idea of talking to him (moreso having my partner talk to him, since they are much more friendly with each other) and requesting he allow my bunnies to roam under the condition that we keep the place clean and damage free. Perhaps I could offer to add to our pet deposit, or to allow him weekly visits to check and verify the bunnies aren’t doing any damage? I’d love some input on how to go about this conversation and what I could offer!

In short, looking for advice on which option to choose (or suggest one not mentioned) and information on how large their enclosure would need to be for 24/7 living and what to add for enrichment/comfort!

Thank you for reading! 🙂

 

[LBJ10]

So you have already paid a pet deposit? I don’t know… if it were me, I would probably just not say anything. IF you feel you must, then I would go with option 3. But keep in mind that could be opening a whole new can of worms and then you might be forced to keep them penned all the time.

[Rae]

Yes, we paid a pet deposit somewhere to the tune of $200 for our four pets which the landlord stated was mainly due to the rabbits.

I still feel a bit guilty about it, but I decided after talking to my partner that we just won’t say anything and continue on as is – just penning the buns when the landlord comes by and hope for the best. I don’t want to accidentally out us by bringing it up, which I fear is what would happen (seems you were thinking the same thing, or at least on the same track).

Appreciate the input, thank you!

[BrunosMama]

Hey Rae!

I guess, if it were me, I would probably not mention it to him and just pen them up when he comes by.

You paid your pet deposit and it sounds like you and your partner are responsible and excellent tenants. It doesn’t seem like anything would really change if you penned them up vs leaving things as they are except alleviating a little bit of guilt on your part towards the landlord. That may not be worth the trade off of having to live every day with pouty bunnies lol.

For your other question about enclosures and stuff, there are all sorts of ideas and information on the “habitat” forums I believe. But generally, I would say for Gus, an X pen would be a good size for an enclosure, but for Max, he may need 2 (just connect them). Alternatively, you can use NIC cubes (wire grids to build cubes/shelves with) to build custom bunny cages to fit your space and size needs. You can also go vertical with them and add a second floor.

As for enrichment and comfort, hidey spots are perfect. Cardboard boxes work great and double as a chew toy, but you can find all sorts of cute stuff online like wooden castles or soft pet beds. Just depends how your buns handle different materials. You can give them toys to hang on the side of the pen and to have to play with on the floor. I’m a big advocate of plushies for single bunnies, too. Just watch at first to make sure they aren’t eating the material, but it gives them a “companion” to snuggle with and groom. And spring is the perfect time for find bunny plushies! 🙂

Sorry if any of that is repeat knowledge for you, just wanted to share. :)<!–/data/user/0/com.samsung.android.app.notes/files/clipdata/clipdata_bodytext_250406_103257_965.sdocx–>

[mia]

Personally, I think if buns have a home base and then freeroams sometimes, that’s considered being penned up. I think it’s also fair to say to landlord, if it comes up, hey, I cuddle with my bun and then they run off. Even better is if you say, due to this, I’ve set aside a larger amount in case of any issues.

Back when I had a hamster, the hamster still came out in a ball or even freely. No one considers a hamster not caged.

Of course, this has to mean your buns are 100% well behaved when it comes to the house. No urine accidents, damage to walls, damage to carpet etc. Deposit or not, if they are supposedly penned up, these things should not happen.

[Author]

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