Zeus refuses to go back in his cage!

[bunnnnnnie!]

So now Zeus is getting quite a bit of out-of-cage time, he has decided he will NOT go back into his cage when it’s bedtime or time for me to go to work!

This morning I decided to let him out for like 15-20mins while I had breakfast and stuff before work.  When it was time for him to go back into the cage, he WOULD NOT GO.  I usually “herd” him over to the cage using a 3-ring binder (hey, it worked! ), but today he just would shove against the binder, jump away, run behind things, he was just NOT cooperating.  I ended up having to wrap him in a towel with his eyes covered, and kinda scoot him along the carpet (he gets scared when picked up and fights) just to get him back in.

Once he was back in, he was fine, let me pet him, ate a carrot, etc, so it’s not like he was traumatized or anything.  He was just being stubborn!

So, any ideas?  I’d really rather not have to physically MAKE him go back into it, but I’m not sure what to do!  I don’t think I’ll be letting him out in the morning before work for awhile, so I’m not on a time restraint.  How do you get your buns to go back into their cages when it’s bedtime/time for work/whatever?  Unfortunately he cannot be free range, I need to monitor him to make sure he doesn’t damage the carpet because I live in an apartment.

[Elrohwen]

The one thing that works best for me is to have dinner time at bedtime. The bunnies run back to the cage as fast as possible! It’s much harder to get them to go back mid-day, but I try to be consistent about giving them a treat when they go back so that it’s positive.

Also, how large is your cage? It sometimes helps to have a larger area so they don’t resist going back so much.

[bunnnnnnie!]

Posted By Elrohwen on 05/14/2010 08:26 AM

The one thing that works best for me is to have dinner time at bedtime. The bunnies run back to the cage as fast as possible! It’s much harder to get them to go back mid-day, but I try to be consistent about giving them a treat when they go back so that it’s positive.

Also, how large is your cage? It sometimes helps to have a larger area so they don’t resist going back so much.

It’s a large dog crate, so plenty of room.  But it doesn’t compare to having free run of the whole apartment I guess.
 

I usually have pellets, lettuce, and a bite of carrot waiting for him, but he doesn’t really LOVE his pellets or lettuce, and isn’t CRAZY about his carrot, so they aren’t tempting enough to go back into his cage.  Maybe I need something tastier?  What do most rabbits LOVE as a treat?

[Beka27]

Can you get an xpen for an additional play space when you’re not home? After so long of always being cooped up in a teeny tiny space, he probably loves the free time he gets now.

[Elrohwen]

My guys love dried papaya. They go crazy for it. When I have to put them back in the middle of the day they come running if I shake the container.

I also agree about the xpen. A dog crate is big, but not big enough to really stretch his legs much.

When you put his pellets and lettuce in, do you give it to him right when you want him to go back in? Or are they already in there? My bunnies eat at 7am, then at 10pm. By 10pm they’ll go anywhere the pellets are! But if I try to encourage them with pellets mid-day they’re not interested because they ate recently.

[Karla]

Has he ever tried to dig/chew/or pee on the carpet when he has been outside? Mine never go for the carpet, that’s just why I ask.

Well, as the others say, it might help if he feels he has plenty of room to move around when you are not around, so if he cannot stop chewing the carpet, then add an x-pen as suggested. And make sure there is plenty of toys. Perhaps a big cardboard box with just two holes, so he can redecorate it, some toys to throw around and so on.

Also, if I want my bunnies in the bunny room for some reason (if we have visitors with children, I don’t want the bunnies out eg.). I just put some pellets in their treat ball. That way they have lots of fun for a long time and hardly notice that I have closed the door. They come running as soon as they hear the treat ball. Simply: make it fun for him.

[bunnnnnnie!]

Thanks for all the input!

Yes, he does dig/chew the carpet.  I don’t know if he’d pee on it, but he hasn’t yet.  It is REALLY important I keep the carpet in perfect condition, as I’m a college student and my parents are actually paying my rent.  I’m sooo appreciative of them for doing this, that I just do NOT want to risk them having to pay for carpet damage to my apartment.  I’m sure you guys can understand that! 

On the same vein, since I live in a teensy studio apartment, there’s really no room for an x-pen.  But I am perhaps thinking of letting him have the kitchen or bathroom for free play when I am at work, would it be okay to close him in the bathroom while I’m gone?  That way he could be out for 4+ more hours while I’m at work, and I think the bathroom would be safe for him (ie, no cables, wires, things to get into, etc).

Otherwise, I’m going tomorrow to buy him some more toys for his cage.  I bought him some parsley, mustard greens, raisins, and banana chips to make sure he has plenty of goodies in his cage to snack on.  He just was out for 1 hour 30 mins, then went back into his cage on his own and is now dozing in there after he snacked on some hay and greens. .

 

[Minty]

I think it would be nice for him if you blocked off the kitchen as long as it’s safe. I agree with a larger space, my buns get antsy if they are in their crates for too long.

[bunnnnnnie!]

Posted By SullysMum on 05/14/2010 06:54 PM

I think it would be nice for him if you blocked off the kitchen as long as it’s safe. I agree with a larger space, my buns get antsy if they are in their crates for too long.

I was thinking of getting a baby gate to block off the kitchen, so he can hang out in there. 
 

[Minty]

I think that’s a great idea! Just set him up with his litter box and toys in there and I’m sure he’ll be happy to have the extra space!

[bunnnnnnie!]

Posted By SullysMum on 05/14/2010 07:13 PM

I think that’s a great idea! Just set him up with his litter box and toys in there and I’m sure he’ll be happy to have the extra space!

Hm, I just thought of a possible issue though.  My front door is in the kitchen, if the off chance a maintenence guy comes by he might let Zeus escape out of my apartment.  I could gate off that part of the kitchen (with the front door in it), but then it would be a smaller space than the bathroom (it’s a teensie galley kitchen).  I could put a baby gate in the bathroom door though so he wouldn’t be totally closed in.  Which would be better? 
 

[Beka27]

Be careful allowing free roam of a room tho. Even if there is no carpeting, if there are baseboards, cabinets, furniture, painted walls, or wallpaper, they are all at risk of getting chewed without you there to supervise. Rabbits can actually eat drywall off of a wall. This is why xpens are preferred b/c YOU control where he has access to. Can you get an xpen and set it up, attached to his crate, when you leave and fold it up when you’re back home to allow for more space?

[AbigailBW]

One of the first things we did with our buns is to teach them “go in.” It was simple to do– you take a treat (we use 1/2 a papaya tablet), and hold it just inside the cage and say “go in” over and over and when they go in you give them the treat. You do this every time you want them to go back in and perhaps a few extra times just for the sake of teaching them (when you don’t latch the cage). Both of our bunnies caught on within a week or so. Now, I’m able to let them out in the morning while eating breakfast and just say “Okay go in!” when its time and give them 1/2 their papaya for the day. We do the same thing at night so they each get 1 tablet per day. One of the two goes in 100% of the time, the other, well…. he weighs his options. Nonetheless, he knows what he’s SUPPOSED to do. In that case, I just calmly follow him around until I aggravate him enough that he goes in just to get me off his tail.

Hope it helps!

[bunnnnnnie!]

Posted By Beka27 on 05/15/2010 04:22 AM

Be careful allowing free roam of a room tho. Even if there is no carpeting, if there are baseboards, cabinets, furniture, painted walls, or wallpaper, they are all at risk of getting chewed without you there to supervise. Rabbits can actually eat drywall off of a wall. This is why xpens are preferred b/c YOU control where he has access to. Can you get an xpen and set it up, attached to his crate, when you leave and fold it up when you’re back home to allow for more space?

Hmmm.  I didn’t know that.  An xpen attached to his cage is a no go, his cage is on carpet.  I could perhaps set up an xpen in the kitchen when I’m not home though.  
 

[bunnnnnnie!]

In some good news, last night and this morning he was very good going back in his cage when I asked.  I just kinda rested my hand on his bum and scooted him towards his cage.  If he let me scoot him, I’d stop every foot or so and give him pets and “Good Zeus!”.  If he started trying to leave, I simply held him still gently, waited until he quieted down, then more pets and “Good Zeus!”s.  Today once we got to the front of his cage, he hopped right in himself and started snacking on the carrot I left in there for him.  He also has a buffet of parsley, mustard greens, romaine, his morning pellets, and fresh hay.

Today I’m going to get him a few toys for his cage, too.  I can understand why he associates cages with bad things, as he used to live in a TINY cage 24/7.  So I’m just trying to teach him that cage time can be good, too! 

[bunnnnnnie!]

Another good update! 

I think Zeus has figured out that he will get plenty of out of cage time, so he doesn’t have to fight me to stay out.  Right now I have his cage door wide open, and he’s sitting in his cage by choice, grooming himself.  I got him some new toys too, he hasn’t tried em out yet but I’m glad he’s decided his cage isn’t such a bad place.

[Beka27]

Posted By bunnnnnnie! on 05/15/2010 07:37 AM

Posted By Beka27 on 05/15/2010 04:22 AM
Be careful allowing free roam of a room tho. Even if there is no carpeting, if there are baseboards, cabinets, furniture, painted walls, or wallpaper, they are all at risk of getting chewed without you there to supervise. Rabbits can actually eat drywall off of a wall. This is why xpens are preferred b/c YOU control where he has access to. Can you get an xpen and set it up, attached to his crate, when you leave and fold it up when you’re back home to allow for more space?

Hmmm.  I didn’t know that.  An xpen attached to his cage is a no go, his cage is on carpet.  I could perhaps set up an xpen in the kitchen when I’m not home though.  
 

That doesn’t matter.  Most people will get a low-pile area rug to go underneath the xpen to protect the carpet, or even a scrap of linoleum.  Either could be rolled up and put away when not being used.

[Bougatsa]

My bunny would always come when I crackled the pellet bag but now we switched into adult pellets that she doesnt fancy a lot so she is not moved at all when I crackle the bag…even the old one! I dont know how to get her back into the cage now and the last few times I had to pick her up (which I hate cause I know she hates it )…what do I do?? i dont want her to be afraid of me…plus while she’s out she does hop in and out of it so she doesnt hate it.

[LoveChaCha]

I connect an x-pen to my buns cage. It works well

Does your bunny have blankets? Bunnies love to dig, so maybe a blanket. What I do with mine is that I sprinkle some hay onto the blanket, and it keeps the bunny busy for a while. Mine will claw at hers and eat the hay, rather than the carpet.

[RabbitPam]

He sounds like Sammy. She gave me trouble going back in the morning at first, and also sits in her cage in the evening, or naps, as long as the door stays open.

I have a routine that she knows very well now, and it’s with one treat in the morning and one at night. Because of this, I use the healthier treats, ie. the Veggie hearts, or Barley or Timothy hay treats – something that is a small piece of food rather than pure sugar. I have a covered treat jar of them. I rattle the jar, take one out, say “Bunny Breakfast Time”, turn over her basket so she can’t go back into it (she stretches and moves away from it then) let her see and smell the treat, then put it in her cage dish and clink it onto the side so she knows it’s in there.

She then runs around, checks to see if the bedroom door is still closed (it is), and comes back. I stand near the door to herd her into her room and away from the living room (and open apartment, so I understand a studio’s limits) and lately I close the doors to her room just in case once she’s in.

It’s cute – she’s started running around the room once or twice, then goes full speed into her cage and lands in her cuddle cup. Wheeeee! She then gets comfy and eats her treat.

Bunnies love routines. Get a morning routine, and you’re off to work in time. Believe me, before she was a year old, I had to call my boss to say I’d be late. And why. She has pets and kids. She understood. LOL

[Bougatsa]

Thanks guys all that’s great but in long term. What do I do now??I mean she wont even be treated by veggies or fruit and I need to leave in a couple of hours and she keeps hiding behind the couch!! I had to pick her up in the morning and when I let her out again she was running away from me and thumped once. I swear she knows that I’m trying to trick her!!!lol what do I do?pick her up again?

[Beka27]

If it’s an emergency and you HAVE TO get your bunny right away, you can lightly toss a small blanket or towel over her as she’s running around. That will disorient her and make her stop in her tracks. You can then use the blanket to scoop her up.

But the problem is… different rabbits will react to this differently. It may break her trust with you, or she might forgive you right away. There’s no way to know. It’s also possible that after awhile, it may become less effective.

Do you have the house bunny-proofed? If you make it so she cannot go behind the couch, that will no longer be an issue.

[Bougatsa]

I did it finally…she was sleepy and sitting very quietly and then I dragged her gently until she was not behind the couch any more and then lifted her up holding her close to the ground and put her in front of her cage, put my hand on her butt and pushed her a bit so that she will jump willingly into the cage. And when she was in I thanked her with a bit of apricot and carrot. yay…!

The thing is that I cant do anything really to stop her going underneath furniture. The only way would be x-pens but I cant find any in greece. They are not sold here. And I dont have anyhting else that could help blocking of some places…

[Beka27]

Can you get some wood cut to fit those spaces? Even attaching some kind of chicken wire to a frame could be used as a deterrent…

[RabbitPam]

I have NIC cubes all around my chair and part of my end table.
But for under the couch in the front, I squished a sleeping bag that is unrolled and it fits snugly along the whole front of my couch, which is low. I then covered that with a fairly thin quilt that was a nice color for the room, tucking it in at the edges, so it looks rolled. My camera is at work or I’d show you.

Anyway, blankets and small pillows are good for squishing under the openings. Just watch out for a bunny digging them.

[bunnnnnnie!]

Just thought I’d update since this thread is staying active.

Zeus has figured out his “schedule”, and knows when I ask him to go back into his cage, there will be pellets and greens waiting for him.  A lot of the time he actually beats me to his cage, because he knows what times he can expect dinner.  He’s got a really good internal clock!

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