Moving

[nutmeg183]

So in a month I’m moving out of my apartment and into a house.  I want my Nibbles to be ok with the move.  Is there anything I can do to make her ok when we get to our new house and have her settled?  Also, it’s a 2 story house, and she has only ever lived in a one floor apartment, can rabbits go up and down stairs?

Also, when we move, should I wait to see where she goes potty and then put her litter box in that spot?

She is litter trained now, but when we move she will be confused.

Thanks

[Spacehopper]

re; the litter training, keep some of the old litter throughout the move, that way bunny has familiar scents in an unfamiliar surroundings. 🙂

[Scarlet_Rose]

Are you talking about litter boxes outside the cage or inside? If you locate the litter box in the cage in the same spot, it should be OK. One thing you might want to do is have the carpets cleaned before locating your bunny it it’s spot. The scent from other animals having been in the home can cause a number of reactions like fear, territorialism (poo & pee, more than usual) or any number of other odd behaviors. How far away are you moving? Allergies that were not a problem before might crop up because hay comes from a differnt source, depending on where you live and what you buy. I would also suggest bringing a bottle of tap water if it is not the same where you are moving, to mix with it as it happens rarely, but some rabbits will have an aversion to drinking water that is not the same as it was before.
I think it is best to set up her potty box where you would like to locate it and see if Nibbles can locate it on her own. Then just scoot her over to it if she starts to go in a place where it is not convenient to place a litter box. Which she may very well do because she is in a new place and is claiming and marking her territory. I suggest waiting a few days for a romp for them to settle in or limit the space at first then widen it so long as her litter box habits are OK.

[MooBunnay]

Concerning the stairs – I would be cautious allowing your bunny on the stairs because I have heard quite often of bunnies that like to hang out on the stairs and then cause their human friends to fall DOWN the stairs avoiding them. Also, if it is dark and your bunny is hanging out on the stairs they may accidentally get hurt by someone on the stairs. Perhaps this sounds a bit random, but I have actually heard bad stair stories from 3 bunny owners now, so I thought I would just give you a word of caution about them – don’t want you or the bunny to get hurt!

[Beka27]

^ ^ ^ that’s a good point on the stairs…

maybe can you put a baby gate at the bottom to keep bunny downstairs?

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

I have personally not had problems with the bunny and the stairs. I put up a baby gate if I do not want him going up for some reason, but he doesn’t relax on the staircase or anything unless I’m there sitting with him. He loves to come storming down the stairs when I call him. I don’t know how he does it so quickly, but there have never been any wipeouts.

[Gravehearted]

well – we had stairs in our old place and our bunnies LOOOOVED playing on them, but started pulling at the carpet. We put up a baby gate much to their dismay, since they wouldn’t stop. We never tripped over them fortunately, but that does not sound fun!

i’d also agree with ScarletRose and give him a few days in the new house before letting him roam. Since it’s a new territory, don’t be surprised if he starts to mark for the first few weeks while he’s claiming it as his own. You might add several more boxes initially. If he’s really having an issue, limit his roaming space and add more boxes until he improves and then slowly increase his territory.

[Deleted User]

Hi, I have moved with bunnies in the past, and I had no problems at all, apart from them having one or two accidents outside the litter box. They can run up and down stairs, but, as other people said, you need to be cautious of where they are. My bunnies overall loved the extra space when we moved.

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