Leaving my bunny for two nights – HELP!

[NHarris]

Hi, I’m new to the site. I got my mini lop bunny, Currant (bun-ny), two weeks ago. We are training him up to be a fully fledged house rabbit which is going very well – he seems to already be litter trained He is not quite ready to be left on his own though as I think he would destroy everything in sight if left him for a whole day, so we have him out the entire time we are in the house. He has a cage which he has for the night and when we’re not there. My problem is that we are away for the next two nights – he’ll have some playtime this evening before we go but we will be gone from about 8pm this evening (Thursday) until around midday on Saturday – will he be okay??? Any suggestions on what I can do to make sure he’ll be happy by himself would be much appreciated x Nina

[luvmybuns]

Hi Nina,

Do you have someone you trust who could come and let your bun out for some play time?  I hire my cousins son when I go on vacation to come and let my bunnies out for at least 3 hours a day for them to hop around.   He also cleans their litter, gives them fresh water, etc.   Do you have anyone you can call?  My vet also has some pet sitter business cards at his office.  Have you checked with your local bunny vet to see if they know of someone who could bunny sit?  Have fun on your trip.

[NHarris]

Hi, thanks for your reply. We don’t really have anyone who could check on him as we have just moved. Do you think it would be better to just leave him out for the time we’re away. He’s interested in chewing things but hasn’t destroyed anything yet, when we have been there – what’s your experience – does he need longer to learn what he can and can’t do? I have sprayed everything with chew guard stuff but he is only 10 weeks old and has been with us for two weeks.

[Bunny Mommy]

please don’t leave him out unattended.  you obviously haven’t seen your bunnies mischievous side yet.  apart from chewing everything you own, he could possibly chew on wires, which could lead to death.  and believe me, he WILL find the wires.

do you have an x-pen you can attach to the cage?  this allows him to run a little bit but still not get into any trouble.  i would get a high x-pen so he can’t jump out.  they are usually around $60 and are in the dog section of the pet store.

i really DO NOT advise leaving him ALONE for that long of no one checks on him.  bunnies sometimes will eat all their food and its dangerous for bunnies to have an empty stomach. 

if you are afraid no one will know about rabbits, there is a good bunny sitter guide on this site that explains EVERYTHING.  you can leave it for the person who visits.

where do you live?  is there any pet sitter companies nearby that can check in?  i know its a little late notice now…

Gina

[NHarris]

Hey, good news – I have found someone to look after him for a couple of hours tomorrow and Saturday, and top up his food and water! I’m feeling much happier in the knowledge that he won’t be on his own. Thank you for all your help everyone – I think I’m definately going to buy a big pen for next time so he has somewhere to stretch his legs when we’re away! We have bunny proofed our house so hopefully when we do leave him while we’re at work he’ll be okay from a safety point of view. The only thing he seems really interested in is our blinds. I have used the chew spray on all the wires etc and have cable tidies – have you found this works? Does anyone leave their bunnies out for an entire day while at work??? Thanks again for your help x

[wendyzski]

I planned from the beginning to be able to leave my bunny for 2 nights at a time, and she had been free-run 24-7 for a few months before I did so for the 1st time. 

However, I think your little one is too new to risk sudden unsupervised freedom.  He could get into all kinds of trouble and lose any good litter habits he has.

If you can buy or make a pen out of NIC cubes so that he has some runaround time but can’t get out, this would be better.  If you are worried about him hopping out, you could attach an old sheet over the top with binder clips or clothespins.

Training up a new bunny-sitter would be ideal as well, but I understand about being new and not knowing anyone yet.  Make sure that he has plenty of hay and water (2 bowls in case one gets knocked over) and about 1.5 days worth of pellets – that way he can’t eat himself sick on them.

[wendyzski]

Hee – I posted while you were replying.  Having someone visit for a couple of hours is perfect!  They can top off food and water and he can get his runaround time.

My bun is free-range 24-7 while I am at work and when I have to travel.  Only place she isn’t allowed is the bedroom, which is also my sewing room so there are pins and wires about.  I built a gate from NIC cubes to keep her out of there.  Of course, she was nearly 2 years old , already spayed and had excellent litter habits when she came to live with me, and i totally bunnyproofed as I was moving in.  She’s never been a cord-chewer, so I can’t tell you about the sprays –  I use cord covers.  She’s gotten to some papers and a pair of boots I left out, but I figure that’s my fault for leaving them there.

Even so, she still surprises me at what she can get into – yesterday she got up on the desk  somehow and sat on the computer keyboard, which turned the computer on and it autodialed out.  I couldn’t check my messages all day because my bunny was online!

[NHarris]

Ahhh that’s really funny – she probably want to speak to her friends ha ha. Yup, I’ll be much happier while we’re away now – I think Currant would get really depressed if he was left for that amount of time on his own.

Do you, or does anyone know how long we should wait before leaving him for a day on his own. I’m surprised his litter habits are so good already and am wondering whether this is the lull before the storm?? I understand bunnies chew stuff and will get him spayed as soon as he’d old enough to help with that and hope that he leaves the sofas and blinds alone – can you train bunnies to not chew stuff? Does anyone else have more ideas of keeping destruction to a minimum? He has loads of chewing toys etc! Thanks again for your help guys xxx

[Bunny Mommy]

THAT IS HILARIOUS   that really made me laugh!

Gina

p.s  maybe we should make a commercial with your bunny complaining up about the slow dialup.  LOL

[Scarlet_Rose]

Welcome Nina Harris! It’s always great to see a a new face here! It sounds like you have resolved things as far as going away for a couple of days. It definately is best to have someone who can keep an eye on them while you are gone. As for the chewing on the blinds, you say you have used a deterrent. Which deterrent have you been using? If it is the sour apple, there are bunnies that actually LOVE that stuff and it ends up having the opposite effect.

[(dig)x(me)x(now)]

Sounds like a great start with your rabbit. Mine was very well-behaved when he was a baby too. Keep in mind that since he’s ten weeks old, he hasn’t reached “bunny puberty” yet. That’s when destructive tendencies and things of the sort start to kick in. For the time being, try to keep an eye on him for the most part while he’s out. And I would recommend cord protectors if you catch him chewing sometime… every bun is different when it comes to sprays to keep them from chewing something… plus one little nip can go right through a wire.

[poopy]

Personally I don’t think there’s anything wrong with leaving your rabbit overnight….if you have someone to look in on him great, if not, you did what you can do. Just make sure the rabbit can’t escape while you’re gone and make sure there’s plenty of water/food.

I left mine for 10 days while I was on vacation, family watched her for part of the time, neighbor for the other. Wasn’t my ideal choice, but its less stressful on the bun than moving him to rabbit boarding. The place was a mess when I got back and Medusa got into my closet…you just have to make sure there’s nothing the rabbit can hurt himself with in your room (like childproofing).

[BinkyBunny]

WELCOME NinaHarris.  I am so glad you were able to find someone that could check-in. You’ve gotten some great advice on things to watch for and be careful of.   Make sure your the person checking in checks the litterbox for new poops, just to be sure Currant is doing okay.   Also, to make sure your bunny is feeling okay, you can have the person checking offer a healthy treat as soon as they arrive.  Most bunnies will eat it right away, if a bunny refuses or doesn’t want to come near, then that’s a good reason to double check if there is some sudden health issue.

 EDITED TO ADD:  I forgot to answer your question about leaving them free to run around during the day.  I can do that with Jack and Rucy only.   Bailey is too messy.   I could also do that with my other bunny (he’s passed) Forrest.  I couldn’t do it right away though, I had to learn about what 
"naughty" things they would get into. (like into a closet full of shoes)  I learned what they things they were likely to destroy while I was gone and worked on house proofing those things even more.  I would leave them alone for shorter times and see if anything crazy happened, like pee on the couch.   Once I felt I blocked off all access to dangerous things, and trusted them to behave, then I did.  But I also have to note that younger bunnies can be very destructive, so you may have to wait until they older if they prove to be destructive.

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