Rabbits doesn’t want to leave cage?

[Klutz]

Backstory:

We recent;y moved into an apartment, we didn’t rabbit proof (shame on us) and so while she was free roaming she ripped up the carpet. She also decided to mark her territory because I haven’t managed to get her spayed yet. Because of that she has been confined to her cage (it’s a pet store cage since we moved here with only what could fit into our car), it’s been a few months now. She’s still in the same cage because we’ll be moving again around New Years. This is also the reason we haven’t set up a spay appointment, even though we have the money set aside for her.

Her cage is an older version of this: https://www.petsmart.com/small-pet/starter-kits/all-living-things-rabbit-roostandtrade-starter-kit-43364.html

Problem:

I’m trying to get her to come out and run around and get her legs moving but she refuses to leave her cage. When I force her out, she just wants to go right back in. Even treats wont incite her to come out and roam. I have towels down so she doesn’t slip (she’s in the kitchen: see carpet incident) but she has run around on tile without towels before so I don’t think that’s the problem. 

How do I get her to get out of her cage and move and run and work her legs? It’s probably so boring to be in that little cage.

[Asriel and Bombur]

Please clarify when you say confined. Like was she confined there for months without being allowed out at all? Also why can’t you get a bigger cage or even a xpen with blankets underneath? That cage seems really small.

[Klutz]

By confined I mean she has been in there most of the time for the past few months. She gets placed into the bathroom when I change the litter box, but that’s also not a big space. The rule is she isn’t allowed on the carpets anymore until we move, unfortunately our apartment is almost all carpet.

The cage is big enough for her to lay all the way out even with her litter box in it, and for her to stand up in, it’s just not big enough for her to run around at all. (That’s why I’m trying to get her to play in the kitchen.) The cage we have is around 3 feet long and just under 2 feet wide.

We are planning to get her a bigger cage, but we’re in a tiny apartment and we’re moving soon, so we’ve decided to get into a house, figure out what space we’re working with first, then build her a custom cage.

[Asriel and Bombur]

A lot of rabbits don’t particularly enjoy non carpeted surfaces because it’s hard for them to navigate. So that could be the problem with the kitchen. Could you lay down some fleece that way if she pees you can just wash it out? She’s also probably depressed going from free range to stuck in a cage. She might also just feel safest there. My boy Asriel prefers his cage to being out whereas Bombur would rather be out constantly. So I think there could be a few factors at play, including her hormones.

[Klutz]

Posted By Asriel and Bombur on 9/06/2018 6:16 PM

A lot of rabbits don’t particularly enjoy non carpeted surfaces because it’s hard for them to navigate. So that could be the problem with the kitchen. Could you lay down some fleece that way if she pees you can just wash it out? She’s also probably depressed going from free range to stuck in a cage. She might also just feel safest there. My boy Asriel prefers his cage to being out whereas Bombur would rather be out constantly. So I think there could be a few factors at play, including her hormones.

Thank you! It might be a combination of all that! She has a lot a of other behavior problems related to her not being spayed yet, so maybe she’ll be more interested in coming out and being social after her spay once her hormones die down.

[Author]

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