What really is a “home base”?

[dontyouforgetaboutme]

Our bunny is free-range during the day and sleeps in his X-Pen (which is in our bedroom) at night. Since we all share the bedroom, it’s pretty tight (e.g., the room barely fits our furniture). The X-Pen is about 5.5′ x 3′.

To make it feel roomier for everyone, we are thinking of removing the X-Pen but leaving his Cottontail Cottage (cardboard 2-story house), litterbox, and other essentials. Without the X-Pen as a “wall” between us and him, will he feel unsafe or uncomfortable? Also, do you ever find that you need your X-Pen, e.g. to keep him safe from something (we have never even closed its door)? 

We just adopted him 1 week ago. He is a timid boy that comes out of his shell more and more each day, and we want to promote his sense of safety and well-being!

 

Thank you for your feedback!

[Mocha]

You’ve only had him a week and he’s already free range!?

If you always want to free range him, you’ll have to bunny proof EVERY little thing. Wires, desk legs, base moldings, the bottom of walls, chair legs, and everything else, which won’t look to good in your house. Those little buggers, whether it seems like he will or not, will chew up anything and EVERYTHING. When I first got mine (2), I had no idea how much they loved wires and I was out $200 the next week after freeranging. Not too mention I now have chewed up base moldings.

My bunnies are mainly free range, but they like having their OWN home, their pen. If i’m gone for the day, I have no idea if my bunnies will get stuck behind something, or cut themselves, so I always put them in their x-pen, or in a fully bunny proofed room while i’m gone.

I personally think that you should keep the x-pen, but if you really want to, you can fully bunny proof your house and free range him.

[dontyouforgetaboutme]

Hi Mocha!

Thank you very much for your experiences! It’s good to know that they like having their own home, in their pen.

Sorry, I should have mentioned that we spent a few weeks rabbit proofing our whole apartment! We have wire covers galore, no plants, and we built blockades from untreated pine. His pen is in our small bedroom, the safest place in the house for him, and when we’re not home the bedroom door is closed (though he’s actually supervised at all times since my boyfriend works from a home office).

Anyway, one of the reasons I asked is because he seems to get super curious and active when we remove the wall of his pen for his morning and night litterbox cleanings. He seems to understand his pen is “his place” so far but like I said, his curiosity and activity seem to peak when we remove its walls. Unlike what I’ve read elsewhere, he doesn’t seem annoyed or angered by it–he actually seems happy and curious.

[Clarajb]

My Ralphie is free range, we are bunny proofed. When I first brought him home(11 months ago) his ‘home base’ was one of those super pet cages within an xpen. I had his litter box with hay in it, and a water bottle attached to it as well.
As we got to know him better and felt somewhat confident in his litter habits we expanded the xpen to allow him access to our dining room, and we moved his cage to one corner.
After a few weeks we upgraded him to a dog crate that I fitted with some plywood levels as his ‘home base.’ Now he has free run of our entire downstairs and that crate is still his home base. I’m currently in the process of bonding him and a new gal so the xpen is out in full force again, lol.
So basically we created a home base by allowing him one area of the house of the time and gradually expanding. He has a litter pan in the cage and one outside of it.

[Sarita]

My rabbit is totally free roam as well – he does have a little room area with his litter box and some little willow tents but he usually hides under my bed (which I hate) and he usually comes downstairs every day too and lays under a table or sits on the ottoman. So he really doesn’t have a home base but I suppose his little room with his tent and litter box are his home base.

[Author]

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