Set up/general advice

[Smores]

I was originally supposed to bring home a few year old Rex but I eneded up with a lionhead lop born feb 7nth. Since I researched for a larger breed I just want any advice I can get! As the sudden change really has me spinning and questioning everything I know because she’s just a baby.

The initial enclosure was meant to be larger but I had to move her into a backroom after our dog who’d been tested for months without caring about rabbits outside sniffing them if they stopped moving too long decided he needs to groom her so she’s in this general space with 4 hours x-pen time a day until i can train that out. Am I even right to be concerned enough to be moving her over her being groomed by him? When I told my mother she said I was over reacting but to me it feels dangerous because in my mind all it takes is something spooking her at the wrong moment to have her jump and catch his teeth while he’s doing it.

 

Her name is Smore’s

[LBJ10]

I would suggest not letting the dog groom her. And not let them around each other unsupervised. I’m not saying your dog would intentionally hurt your bunny. I’m just saying accidents can happen, especially when you have a larger predator animal with a smaller prey animal.

As for the setup, what is the dog crate for? If it’s meant to function as a “house”, then I would suggest not putting bedding/litter in there. Your bunny may confuse it with the litter box. Also, your bunny may find a way to get out by jumping on top of the crate. In other words, you may need a taller pen or you may need to configure things in a way that the dog crate opens into the pen and your bunny cannot jump on top of the crate.

The fleece is fine. If there is carpet under there, then you may want to have a barrier between the fleece and the carpet (just in case there are accidents). You may also need to clip the fleece so your bunny cannot pull it up.

Where is the food/water dishes and hay?

As for the size, it is fine for the transition period while your bunny is becoming accustomed to their new home. It also helps with litter training. Long term though, the pen needs to be bigger.

[Smores]

The water bowl and hay rack are in the small cage section, there was hay in the tp roller but she ripped it all out already by that pic, and obviously there was a bunch in the little box that she kinda just mixed in there so i’ve since switched the hayrack to in front of it and use two tp rollers as extra hay holders/toys. I’m home all day so I’ve been hand feeding her daily greens to help her adjust to me and placing pellets/parsley under the strip of clean non-dyed cardboard for her to find since she refuses to chew it for whatever reason. In fact the only thing she seems willing to chew is my shoes she even snubbed her nose at some sticks I made her.

 

The cage is now removed, it was intended as her vet carrier but I used it here in effort to help her transition into the 3 x 3 section because when I saw where her prior owner was keeping her, it was just one of those outdoor hutches but indoors and she was sharing it with seven other rabbits, I was afraid she’d hurt herself if she could immediately freely use the space without getting used to it considering I don’t know how she even moved in her prior home. So I waited until she laid flop in there, which took about five hours the day I brought her home then opened it and waited until I saw her flopped on the fleece a day later to remove it. I have a cardboard box with all the ink cut away now in it’s place as a ‘proper’ hide but I intend to order a few of those fleece strip hides as i heard a lot of rabbits really like them cause they can see well without feeling like they can be seen.

My next intended step is enlarging it to a 3 x 4 once I see her using the hide in a relaxed state, after which i intend to add a shelf and ramp with self adhesive carpet when I see she’s comfortable again. I know I’ll probably have to replace the carpet due to accidents/marking until she’s both older and spayed, but, I figured it’s worth it for her comfort. And I pretty much intend to keep going that way, addition, wait until she’s comfortable, addition, until this is at least 3 by 4 and 6 high with a roof. hopefully by which time the dog will be trained to entirely leave her alone supervised and she can start free roaming that room before slowly being allowed to free roam other spaces supervised as well.

 

Also, luckily, while not visible in this picture, there is a plastic sheet like the kind you use to cover windows underneath the fleece. Shockingly though I haven’t needed it, she as expected sucks at pooping in her litter box but she’s only had a few pee accidents and most have been in the x pen while she’s playing with me, she is very set on peeing on the litter paper and immediately rushes in to pee once more after i clean it even though i leave a few scraps so it still has the right smell she just has to instantly stop whatever she is doing and pee in it whenever I change any amount of litter. Last night she ran actively chewing a piece of turnip green to do so when all I did was remove half the poofs and add an extra handful of litter to make up for what came out with it.

[LBJ10]

Sounds like you’re heading in the right direction then.

[Author]

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