Need to convince parents for new habitat

[Rain]

I don’t know how to convince my parents to let me replace my buns cage with a pen instead. They just won’t have it. They don’t know much about rabbit care either so they don’t listen when I say it’s too small. Rains current habitat is much too small for her now. How might one convince someone stubborn for something like this? Also they do not listen to anything from the internet…

[sarahthegemini]

If they won’t listen to anything/anyone online, would they be open to reading a book about it or speaking to somebody that specialises in rabbits? Someone from a shelter maybe?

Have they told you the specific reasonings for not wanting a pen?

[Harley&Thumper]

Is it the house rabbit society that sells a book full of information on rabbits? I did a quick search of their website but I didn’t see anything.

[graysonbun]

I’m sorry that your parents aren’t open to the idea of a better habitat. I think something I’ve always done when trying to convince someone to do a certain thing is write down a list of pros or positives for the idea you’re promoting, in this case — a better area for her!! I can speak to a few positives about ex-pens!! both of my boys each have there own ex pen area set up, they share one wall, but have plenty of room! they are great for many reasons:
– quite easy to rearrange and move
– if you have some kind of easily cleanable floor underneath than that makes cleaning a breeze! for me it’s just a sweep and a spot wipe!! (they’re on tile but also have soft things like fleece pieces / seagrass mats
– relatively cheap, if you order online it’s even better. just make sure that if you get a shorter size, you have something you can put over it (i just use an old bed sheet!)
– and lastly, this would obviously be a better area for rain to live in, I’m not sure how much they know about rabbits but we all know that the most space is the best!! there’s lots of options when it comes to pens, much more than if you just have a simple store-bought cage.
i’m not sure what kind of cage you have, but I’ve found I like pen setups much better! If you have any other questions I would love to try and help!! based of my experiences of course. I do hope your parents come around!! be sure to keep us updated.

also!! you can add even more floor space to ex pens by adding wood shelves! that’s what we have for our buns!! again I hope this helps you in some way!! don’t be embarrassed to literally take a list of written down points when you talk to them, i’ve done it!! it just makes you more prepared and shows them this is a big deal, because they probably don’t see that right now!!

[Sirius&Luna]

I thought Rain did have a pen?

I would emphasise the positives – easier to clean, easier to move, can be rearranged if needed, could be moved entirely (eg. if they had friends coming over and didn’t want it out)

[Rain]

I read all your helpful advice and decided to show it to them, and explained in depth why Rain can’t live in this cage anymore. And then when they were still not sure about it I used the pros and cons. They agreed to letting me get her a hutch which I’m not so sure I want to do that. I told them I can make her one myself cheaper with nic grids and stuff. Rain does have a pen but it takes up quite a bit of space, which is their reason for not wanting to use it. Although I’m pretty sure if I experiment with some shapes I can get a good size. Another reason is that we use that pen to block off areas we don’t want her going but it was pretty cheap and I can simply order another. I’ll have to get that book so they can become a bit more informed on rabbit housing and general care lol.

[Author]

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