multiple pens and play areas

[Jennifer]

     I adopted Pebbles, a 5.5 lb 2 year old female Dutch Agouti rabbit 2 weeks ago. She had been in the shelter for almost 3 months, but she had time out of her ex-pen everyday.  She had 2 prior owners who kept her in a cage all the time,never litter box trained her, brought her to a vet, or had he spayed.  At this point, she has been spayed and is about 90% litter box trained.   She won’t let me brush her and tolerates minimal petting.

         She is much, much more of a chewer than my previous 2 rabbits.  They were a male neutered Australian Giant and a Flemish Giant.  I left the cage open all the time. Amazingly neither chewed on the wicker couch!  I lived in a single level apartment at the time. Basically it was safe to let the rabbits move around the house on their own.

          I don’t think it’s safe for Pebbles to go where ever she pleases in my current house.  The wood trim has a bunny irresistible texture, but also lead paint under latex paint.  The stairs are very steep with small wooden treads and widely spaced banister spindles.  Then there’s children’s toys, a flat screen TV, the furnace, hot water heater, asbestos tiles in the basement, and appliances.

        So far Pebbles has only been in one room on the third floor.  When I’m not with her is is in a 4ft by 6ft ex-pen. Next week I’m connecting a 2 level bunny condo to the pen.   Is it realistic to bring Pebbles downstairs in a carrier then use a large pen or gates to block access to dangerous areas?  How quickly should I expose her to new parts of the house?

           Pebbles is a big change from the Giant rabbits. Tim was 17.5lbs and close to 4ft when he stretched out.  I walked him on a leash in public parks without him being stared by the dogs.

      Jen

      

[SansaHotot]

When I moved it was very traumatic for my bun. It was something like “the floor is lava!!” for a while. I had her cage (which stays open for her to come and go) with her mat laid out on the floor in front of it in the main room, but she would not dare go beyond where the hardwood floor (aka lava) awaits for several weeks. She eventually became more adventurous and now will scurry across the floor along the walls until she reaches the carpeted area.
She is free to roam while I am home with her, but if I go out or to bed she is in the basement in the x-pen.
My advice is just go slow when introducing new areas or even just pick 1 or 2 designated areas and stick to that. My bun took several weeks or even a month to become comfortable with one area (she still has not explored the other parts of the house even though she has access and we’ve been living here for 8 months!). I think for my girl, the x-pen and the main room is enough for her and it appears that she does not desire more freedom than that.
The other day I moved her cage to a different spot (about 3 feet from where it is now) and it was like the world was ending- she was so concerned about this and would not stop poking around her cage and investigating.. I ended up moving it back because she would not relax lol! Buns like consistency I suppose!

[Jennifer]

I tried bringing her to a sunroom on the 1st floor. She loved it! I think she liked the view. So that’s two rooms. I have a two level bunny condo coming from a cousin. This will let her see out the window of her current room and add more safe space for when no people are home. Thanks for the advice.

[SansaHotot]

Sounds like she’s got it good, lucky bun! My girl chewed our baseboards at the last place we lived so I make sure to supervise when she is out and about… I did notice a piece she’s been chewing on the back of the leather couch lately though 😐

[Author]

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