Rabbits, Moving and stairs?

[Maria]

Hey guys, I’m here again with more questions from the lovely folks of Binky Bunny!

Now sadly, I’m having to leave my current flat at the end of October. I have just a few questions into what kind of flat to get? Are bunnies able to cope with stairs? Is there anything i can do to help them cope with the move easier? And lastly, the rabbits have a nasty habbit of chewing and digging the carpet, is there anything I can do to discorage this before moving to a brand new pristene carpet? I give them boxes, sea grass baskets and mats to chew but I swear they do it just because they know they shouldn’t. Any advice would be greatly appreciated and just for the people who helped me before, I’m taking the bonding slowly but it seems to be progressing! 

[JessicaS]

We actually just moved our three in April. 2 of our buns do stairs, but our older geriatric boy cannot. We made sure to buy a house that had a good area to make for the bunnies and I deal with the carpet issue by getting a place with wooden floors and then putting cheap carpets that I can replace around. That way I don’t have to stress about it so much. If you have a place with carpet already, I would still buy some cheap area rugs that are attractive to buns (They have fringe or a lot of texture to chew on). That might distract them from the nice carpet. Good luck!

[RabbitPam]

Stairs can vary depending on whether your bunny likes to jump or change levels, or stays low, like my bunny Samantha does.

But new carpet I’ve had to cope with. I’d suggest going around all of the edges and push the carpet down firmly where it meets the walls. My apartment had the carpet laid down rather hastily, and I actually had to rehammer some of the carpet tacks and get it to stay down so little teeth couldn’t pull it up.
You can also cut thinner strips of sea grass mats and line the edges, like a flat baseboard, so they chew the mat instead of the carpet. A little spray of vinegar and water will not smell good but don’t overdo.

The best way to get a bunny to cope in a new home is to keep their own habitat, and their routine, as much the same as possible. I’ve set up my bunny during a move in his house with all his familiar stuff and meals right on time with a small area of play time with me in the new place at the usual play time. I didn’t have stairs, however.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

To ease the move-don’t let them see you packing-I kept mine at my parent’s house during the move, until packing and unpacking was done. Also make sure that they have all there old things in a familiar order in the new place. I kept mine in their cage/room for a few days before letting them explore so they could get used to the new smells. Oveall mine adjusted wonderfully to both moves (Kokanee moved onece, and all four moved this time).

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