territory issues

[carolinagirl]

my bunny usually has general run of my room and closet when i’m home, and stays in a cage while i’m out. i have a fairly big walk in closet with plenty of places for her to play and hide, but i’m wondering if it’s becoming a problem. she’s been so well behaved, but the last few days, i’ve had to chase her down to get her back into the cage before i have to go to work. if i herd her out of the closet, she usually runs right to her cage and hops in, but the last few times she has tried to hide in other places – behind the toilet, where she NEVER goes (and i don’t like her hanging out in the bathroom anyway), under the night stand, under a chair, etc. i started to wonder if maybe i did give her too much territory and shut the closet door when she’s out of her cage. she thumped like CRAZY for hours and was behaving very brattishly. i opened it back up and she is now ignoring me, for the most part. she’ll come up to me and hop around my legs to smell me out but she won’t let me pet her if i try, and she used to LOVE that. when i walk around, she acts like she’s afraid of me.

my questions are, is she going to hate me forever? if i keep the closet door closed, will she eventually get used to it? she’s only been with me about three weeks, and i was worried at first about giving her too much space but things were going so well until now. i’m just worried i’ve turned a well behaved bunny into a spoiled brat.

[Mr.Buck]

Maybe she just needs more out of the cage time? How much free run time does she have now? You say cage – maybe it’s even too small for her?

[Stickerbunny]

Sounds like she has turned her closet into her “safe spot”, which is normal cause it’s closed in and den like. Instead of herding her or picking her up to put her into the cage, have you tried treats or pellets to get her back in ? Neither of mine would let me pick them up on a regular basis, or herd them into anything every day. What I do is when I want them to go back home at night I feed them their pellet dinner and when I want them to go in on a non-routine time I use a craisin.

[Elrohwen]

I feed my rabbits dinner at the time I want them to go back to their cage and they’re happy to run back. Other times I need them in the cage I get out the craisins and shake the bag until they come running. Bunnies really don’t like to be chased or herded – luring her back with a yummy treat will be much more effective.

How old is she? The other behavior changes (not wanting to be petted, etc) might be related to age and hormones.

[Rei]

Chasing down a bunny is never a good thing. Molly would hide under my bed every chance she got and I would have to force her out and then try and catch her. This was AWFUL!! Not only is it stressful on me trying to get her out before I went to work (and was late several times because of it), but its really stressful on the bunny to be chased. They are scared when a big human comes chasing them trying to catch them! If her getting into certain places is an issue, then they might need blocked off. I did that with the underneath of my bed, so now she can’t get under there, so the conflict has been completely avoided.

Also, when Molly is ready for food, she goes back to her pen on her own. She knows when dinner and breakfast are and will wait in her pen until I give her the food. Try sticking to a routine when you feed her. That way if you need to go to work at a certain time or school, she will already be waiting in the cage for you to deliver the food.

Treats are also a great way for me to get Molly in the pen even when she isn’t ready to back in. Break out the treat bag, take one and hold it close so she can smell that you have it, then have her follow it to the cage, and then hide it somewhere in there. When I do this Molly will go crazy trying to find the treat! Its a great way to “herd” her back in without upsetting her, and she gets to forage around for her snack

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