Won’t come out of his cage

[Carolyn]

I’m having trouble getting my bun to come out of his cage.  He’s been with me 3 weeks now (he’s almost 3 months old).  We were told to keep him in his cage for the first two weeks so he could get litter trained.  We took him out on the couch a bit, but mostly kept him in his cage.   Now I can’t get him to come out.  I know someone asked about this in another thread a couple weeks ago but I can’t find it.  I would love advice or if someone could point me to the other post so there’s no need to answer this question again.

Thanks so much!
Carolyn, Allen and Snickers 

[joea64]

Is your bun eating/drinking/toileting normally? Is he sitting/lying in a relaxed position, or is he hunched over? I’m asking these questions because – without meaning to alarm you – refusing to come out of one’s cage is a signal that something could be medically wrong, and we need to make sure about that. Also, does he appear to be frightened of you or of anyone else who’s in the room with you when you try to coax him to come out? Is there another animal (dog, cat) in the room? Any loud noises going on? Also, how much have you been interacting with him the past two weeks while he’s been in his cage?

[Deleted User]

You’ve had him less than a month, and not having him out of his cage from a few days in has probably made him still a bit nervous. He’s still new to you and the environment and it will take some time. Some buns are naturally more shy. Asriel would come out of his cage and stay in the exact same spot until it was time to go back in. He still does it now when the environment changes on him. Just be patient and let him come to you. Keep his door open as long as possible, sit on the floor, and talk gently to him. His curiosity will eventually take over.

[Carolyn]

He’s not sick. He binks all the time and hops around his cage like a maniac. I just want him to come out and enjoy the whole house for doing binkies and running around. I’ll be patient and just wait for him to come out on his own terms. Thanks everyone for the advice. Hopefully he’ll come out soon.

[sarahthegemini]

It might be too overwhelming for him, especially if he’s been in a cage for 2 weeks. Give him a bit more time. Try to ignore him as well – I found when my Peanut was younger he was more likely to investigate something if I wasn’t paying attention (or pretending I wasn’t paying attention ) Make sure the environment isn’t scary so provide lots of spaces for him to hide if he does come out and try not to be too loud.

[RC92]

Posted By sarahthegemini on 9/15/2017 4:44 AM

I found when my Peanut was younger he was more likely to investigate something if I wasn’t paying attention (or pretending I wasn’t paying attention )

We did this with Taffy when we first got her, she was super scared so we put her on the middle of the bed and let her come to us and let her initiate all the interaction. After 30-60 mins her curiosity took over and once she realised we weren’t a threat she has been fine ever since. 

She is still a little skittish but that’s more of a personality trait rather than being scared.

[Author]

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