my rabbits won’t stay in their xpens

[fredricks owner]

so if you’ve seen my account before, you know i have my rabbit fredrick. so i’ve been thinking about getting him a companion for a while. and so recently layla has been given to me by someone who wouldn’t keep her anymore. she’s about 3 years old (i’m guessing about the same as fredrick! i’m not sure of his age) and she’s a black and white french or mini lop (also not sure of her breed but she’s a bit on the large side) and so i decided last night they would meet. i made the good idea of putting up their xpens in my room for the night, because i’ve noticed fredrick can jump the almost 3 foot pen and layla can open the cage to escape. before falling asleep i made sure fredrick was in his old cage for the night and closed by door so if layla escaped again she would just be in my room.

do you have any suggestions on what i should do? i have no idea what to do now, my plan is going out the window because of these two escape artists. I see videos on youtube of people using these and they work fine.. so what’s up with my bunnies?? please help!!

(ps. i am bonding these two, and i would like to say their first meeting went well! they did take a lot of interest in each other at first [i had her in her pen while i put him on the ground around her] and sniffed each other through the bars but after i put him in his xpen he didn’t care as much. they both started laying down and eating/drinking. i really hope bonding them goes well! i’m sure along the process i’ll ask some questions, so look out for me!)

[Wick & Fable]

Rabbits like to explore and go around their territory, so it’s pretty natural they’d want to leave some times. Sometimes this behavior can be resolved by letting them free-roam for longer, while other times, it’s just they’d rather be somewhere else. When I close the bedroom door, Wick will keep going back to the door and trying to push it open with his head. When I finally do open it, he hops in a few steps, then literally just follows me right back out.

You can put a roof on the xpen with a bed sheet or something. Usually rabbits don’t try to go first into things that look solid… usually.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[fredricks owner]

hi, thank you so much for your help! unfortunately, i’m not going to keep layla. after one night and a whole day of her mischief i don’t have time for a bunny like her, let alone another bunny at all. she needs a lot of time and care, which is something i don’t have right now. but since i am currently running a small rabbit rescue im hoping to find her a good home with an owner who does have that time to work with her. and she also has a few issues with dominance, so i’m scared if they fight fredrick would get badly beat up. again thank you for the advice!! maybe ill try the sheet on top with him at night!

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