Out of Cage for Eight Hours at Least?

[Scarlet]

I have a mini rex named Harvey. He has, and excuse any crude wording, absolutely no interest in the world outside his cage. He has no fun being outside of it, rarely runs around, and is very much what I’d called a “lap dog”. He is the equivalent of a fat neutered beagle I had in the past minus the fat part. My other rabbits love to run and play, but he loathes it, he prefers a small spot, mainly his cage or a shoe box, lays around all the time, and is absolutely inactive save throwing his toys around, chewing on wooden toys and Kaytee chews. I’ve always been told rabbits need to run and play, but he will not. He will get brought out and set down and just sit one spot, stretch out, and sleep.

Same thing he does in his cage.

He has no real social interests, is solitary. He likes things the other rabbits do not, and he does not like any company. He enjoys pets and being left alone.

So basically Harvey is a cat in a rabbit body.

After a near year of trying to find anything he is actively interested in, he has acquired toys, but no interest in doing as my other two rabbits do. Is he an exception to the rule?

[Rain]

Are you sure he’s not sick? To me it sounds a lot like when a rabbit isn’t feeling well. They’ll usually just sit around not wanting to do anything when that happens. Is his hay consumption and pooping normal?

[Scarlet]

He’s been this way for almost a year, is very happy, eats well, drinks well, poops well. I’ve never seen him so much as sneeze or have a bad day in his life.

It’s literally all he ever has done since day one besides curl up beside me, roll over, and as stated, sleep in one spot for hours on end.

[Bam]

My Bam was like that for the first year I had him. Then he became more social and more active, but he’s certainly still not an active rabbit. He likes cuddling though, and reciprocates with endless licking. He doesn’t seem to see any point in toys unless they’re edible. Sometimes he jumps on the sofa or hops into the bedroom from the living room or vice versa. He’s completely free roam and was only caged at night during his first couple of months with me.

There was a big change in him after a year, when he suddenly decided to come out from his “camp” under the coffee table and socialize. He’s become increasingly cuddlier over the years since he came here in November 2011. His interest in food has always been very strong though. He can jump up on people if they have sth yummy, like a peach.

I think his personality is like this. My other rabbit was very different.

[kurottabun]

I think it might just be his personality. Is he food motivated?

[joea64]

Panda is a very reserved, quiet-behaved rabbit who loves best to relax in one of the hidey boxes in the buns’ condo cage or in the big box in their overnight play area, that being said, she’s developed a distinct taste for relaxing in the litterbox in the early evenings as well, along with Fernando. She doesn’t really like being touched by humans though she enjoys being recognized/noticed, talked to and exchanging “rabbit gazes”; she reserves her physical affection for Fernando. After a year of living with her, I’d say this is definitely her normal way of doing things. Fernando has always been the more outgoing of the pair, very active and mischievous, loves to chew things and knock the boxes around, and is very receptive to being petted at breakfast time. He also has developed in the past few months a habit of snoozing in the litterbox!

So, relevantly to your question, I’d say that if your bun appears to be healthy in all other respects (eating, sleeping, elimination, and so on), he’s just doing what he likes to do the way he likes to do it.

[Scarlet]

I have found sometimes “making” him leave his cage upsets him. Some days -like once a week- he will come out, lay down, and sleep, but most days unless brought to the bed, where he will lay down, sleep, and not much else, he’ll lay down and be content to stay in his cage.

[Scarlet]

Posted By kurottabun on 8/07/2018 4:09 AM

I think it might just be his personality. Is he food motivated?

He’s actually motivated by pure greens and toys more than anything. He loves a bit of oats, but wood chew toys are his passion project to chew on and toss or move around.

[Asriel and Bombur]

Honestly, I think it could just be your boy or that maybe he needs a friend (obviously not everyone can do that). My Asriel is just like this. He prefers his cage to being out and when it’s his time to roam around he usually comes out for like 15 minutes and then goes back in and loafs/flops on his ledge. I take turns letting him and Bombur be out all night, and when it’s his turn he usually goes back and forth between being by my side or in his cage, whereas Bombur would be out all day if you’d let him.

He’s more inclined to come out now that he’s in the middle of bonding with Bombur and gets pretty upset now when he goes back in.

[Scarlet]

Posted By Asriel and Bombur on 8/07/2018 1:04 PM

Honestly, I think it could just be your boy or that maybe he needs a friend (obviously not everyone can do that). My Asriel is just like this. He prefers his cage to being out and when it’s his time to roam around he usually comes out for like 15 minutes and then goes back in and loafs/flops on his ledge. I take turns letting him and Bombur be out all night, and when it’s his turn he usually goes back and forth between being by my side or in his cage, whereas Bombur would be out all day if you’d let him.

He’s more inclined to come out now that he’s in the middle of bonding with Bombur and gets pretty upset now when he goes back in.

You basically just described Harvey, he’ll be a year this December, I do believe, but he does fifteen minutes at best. He finds things much more interesting if they are in his cage than outside too. While my other rabbit goes all over and stays out for hours on end, Harvey does maybe ten minutes to an hour if that, and nothing outside interests him. Food, toys, etc all have to be put in his cage or they are just ignored. 

[Scarlet]

Posted By bam on 8/07/2018 3:38 AM

My Bam was like that for the first year I had him. Then he became more social and more active, but he’s certainly still not an active rabbit. He likes cuddling though, and reciprocates with endless licking. He doesn’t seem to see any point in toys unless they’re edible. Sometimes he jumps on the sofa or hops into the bedroom from the living room or vice versa. He’s completely free roam and was only caged at night during his first couple of months with me.

There was a big change in him after a year, when he suddenly decided to come out from his “camp” under the coffee table and socialize. He’s become increasingly cuddlier over the years since he came here in November 2011. His interest in food has always been very strong though. He can jump up on people if they have sth yummy, like a peach.

I think his personality is like this. My other rabbit was very different.

Harvey is going on a year, he’s been here since December 24th 2017, so he’s not become a year old likely. I don’t know if he will mellow after awhile, he’s retained a very asocial and lay around personality. He does not like other rabbits in my experience, nor other animals, closest I have seen is humans as he accepts them, but rabbits he ‘glares at’ any and all. 

Is there some science to a rabbit older than a year being calmer?

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