more space?

[Sunny]

my rabbit Sienna’s “cage” area is in my closet. she has a hutch but also a bit of extra space in the front that’s easy for her to move around in but not me. i have to sort of squeeze in to clean or give her fresh hay. one of her favorite places to be is underneath the hutch tray where i put her pellets, treats, water, and greens. i think it’s because it’s where she feels safest – the only ways to get to her are to take everything off of the tray (not including the newspaper) and pull it out (if you’re a human) or unlatch the lifty doodad on the top right side, lift it up, and crawl down to get her (if you’re a cat). 

i was thinking that maybe taking the hutch out completely would be more beneficial. if i did decide to do this, she’d be able to hop around and play a lot more while she was locked up at night than she could now because the space she has is very small and slim. while i would most definitely provide plenty of more hides to compensate for her favorite spot in her hutch, i’m not sure if she’d feel as comfortable as she does now. Sienna almost never lies next to me like she does when she’s down in her hutch. she does lay on her side, but she’s still upright – in her hutch i often find her all stretched out, completely on her side with her entire belly exposed. i’m almost jealous of the hutch! 

i’m not sure what the best option would be. Sienna doesn’t play as much as i’ve seen other rabbits play, and the hutch did cost us a lot of money, so while i would hold onto it, it would feel like a waste, just putting it away to most likely never be used again. who am i kidding, though? one of the doors and the ramp already popped straight off and i haven’t had the thing but for 2 years. i suppose the choice depends on my rabbit and her specific personality. maybe i could try it out?

here’s a very low quality picture of her hutch. that little rectangle of low space underneath the top tray is where she likes to hang out.

[Vienna Blue in France]

Bunnies love to hide out in low places, it reminds them of their natural habitat in burrows and they feel safe, so don’t be worried about that.
Do you mean if you took the hutch out she would get closed in the closet overnight?
Is that a closed-in closet with no windows (light) or air circulation, because that would NOT be acceptable accomodation.

Is the cat threatening towards her?. If not, could you put some blocks of wood underneath the legs to raise the hutch up slightly so you could spend more time with sienna, laying next to her.

If she is not flopping next to you, dont be too worried about it as long as she is happy coming for strokes and spending time with you.

[Sunny]

Posted By Vienna Blue in France on 6/18/2017 3:52 AM

Bunnies love to hide out in low places, it reminds them of their natural habitat in burrows and they feel safe, so don’t be worried about that.
Do you mean if you took the hutch out she would get closed in the closet overnight?
Is that a closed-in closet with no windows (light) or air circulation, because that would NOT be acceptable accomodation.

Is the cat threatening towards her?. If not, could you put some blocks of wood underneath the legs to raise the hutch up slightly so you could spend more time with sienna, laying next to her.

If she is not flopping next to you, dont be too worried about it as long as she is happy coming for strokes and spending time with you.

i didn’t mean that i would close her in at night with the closet doors – she would be locked up the same way she is now where i just stack up some of those grids in the entrance to the closet so she can’t get out. i’m just considering taking the hutch out to give her more playing and stretching space at night while she was put away. i wouldn’t even think about putting those doors back on because they most definitely would keep light and most air circulation out! 

i was also just using the cat as an example for something that would be able to crawl into that low space to get her. i myself wouldn’t be able to do that, so i have to pull out the tray to bug her, which i don’t do unless i’m cleaning, haha. i do have cats, but luckily they never get the chance to bother her. at night the grids are stacked up too high for them to jump in and i don’t let them into my room while she’s out playing.

i’ll consider the block thing. i don’t have blocks, but i could figure something out!

[Author]

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