Preparation for Free Roam

[Aaron]

As you may know, Sebastian and Juliet are my happily bonded pair of rabbits. I spoil them rotten with toys and love as any rabbit lover would do. They live in their spacious cage, but I would like for them to become free roam. They wouldn’t have free roam of the house, just my room. How should I prepare my room for a free roam rabbit? 

Sincerely, 

Aaron. 

[Sirius&Luna]

The ones that spring to mind are:

– all wires must be hidden, or covered with wire protectors.
– make sure there’s no poisonous house plants that they could nibble.
– they can’t reach any human food
– there’s nothing too high that they can jump up to but can’t get down from

They also still need their own area, so I would keep their existing cage, just remove the door.

The best thing to do is watch them while they’re out and check for any potential problems – eg – does one always chew your bed etc. Then find a way to protect them from that problem!

[Vienna Blue in France]

Get down on all fours, hell, lay down on floor and imagine you’re a bunny…. in all directions… amazing what we don’t see from our great heights of hoomans…

[Maranello]

My buns are free roam and they have an area specifically for them with an open cage and food area. I have actually used fake grass to line the carpet so it doesn’t get spoilt. Surprisingly only one of my buns likes to explore the other rooms and the other is more lazy. It has certainly been trial and error with many cables being munched through. Seal areas behind TV any dangling cables coming out of plug sockets (keep nice and taught going upwards if you can). They will explore every little hole they can get into. Most wood/fabric furniture will be munched or licked to get a taste but generally won’t be repeated. Mine only like the taste of cables (they like the rubber) and also I had a wicker box that got destroyed. And cardboard boxes or organisers will get holes in. Make sure they feel safe in other rooms – mine chills out under the sofa most days. Another thing I can’t stress enough is watch self closing doors or if you tend to close doors to rooms watch out for fury feet scuttling passed you. I restrict access over night just in case they get up to mischief.

[Wick & Fable]

Supervise them 100% of the time until you know exactly what they might get into.

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.

[Deleted User]

If your bunny is a chewer you might want to consider options for baseboards too.. I won’t be getting my deposit back on my apartment because one of my buns was such a bad chewer.

[joea64]

I live in a small, crowded efficiency apartment at this point so free-range isn’t practical for my own two; I compromise by giving them at least 8-9 hours every evening/night (more on weekends, up to 12/14 hours depending) out in an exercise pen attached to their 2-story habitat. In fact, I have had to put a bedsheet over the X-pen enclosure every night since November because Fernando has figured out how to jump up to the top of their habitat, then to the hay storage bins sitting next to it, and then out into the wider world.

[Aaron]

I am definitely going to block off wires (NIC Grids is what I have seen will work for other bunny owners. They will not be allowed under my bed either. I am going to put them in their cage at night to sleep and watch them when I am home. Thank you for your advice!

[Floppyhoppybunnies]

My buns love to test the boundaries! They will nibble books, pick up anything on the floor, my female bun comes into the kitchen when I cook and runs off with scraps I drop! Im surprised she hasnt died yet with the variety of diet she gets

Make sure there are no places they can get stuck, but enough safe spaces for them to hide and run (ie carpet instead of wood floors). Mine love it under the couch and it is just a cheap ikea couch so I dont mind her chewing the wood underneath. I have learnt to distinguish what she is chewing on by the sound of it haha. My male doesnt have front teeth so he never tries to reconstruct the house but the female does and I have found its better to re-direct her to areas she is allowed to chew rather than abolish it all together. I have some thin planks of wood protecting the skirting boards as she has had a nibble on these before. She also knows how to open doors – dont let the buns ever learn this in the first place! LOL. The male is still new to the family and much dumber in the head, so he is barely any trouble but my smarty female bun is very much the explorer and adventurer and I needed to make a fair few adjustments to make the home safe for her. She would jump up on my bed which was over a metre high! And then JUMP OFF IT! I was terrified she would break her neck even though she appeared to enjoy this and do it with ease. I have made a wood floor “buffer zone” around the high areas, she is smart enough to know the floor is too slippy for her to launch herself off. She cant even jump on the couch now thankfully as I always leave my dinner plates there!

Mine have their “bedroom” pen for at night and when I am not home, it has ample space for them both and they could live in this full time but they just love the freedom and snuggles in front of the tv at night.

My best advice is dont train them so much that they become too smart for their own good!

[Author]

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