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Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A dog pen for a rabbit? is this tall enough? 24″

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    • DutchRabbitsFtw
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        i am looking to buy a dog pen for my rabbit but i was wondering if 24″ in height was tall enough? i dont want to get something too short or too tall. thanks. he is a mini lop and doesnt seem like a jumper (he hasnt figured out the second shelf in his cage) 

         

        also, is it normal that my rabbit wont stop biting the bars in his cage until he gets out? i have to bunny proof my room (even more) because he likes to get under my bed and crawl out from the sides and its hard to herd him out of the “restricted” area. i just adopted him yesterday and all day he was binkying and running around and wouldnt stop biting the bars in his cage whenever i would put him in it. so i think a dog crate may work. if not i can always use it outside when he has playtime outside (his foster mom said that he loves to dig and eat the grass and stuff… 

         

        soo would a 24″ dog crate work? also how can i stop my rabbit from the biting the bars of his cage? which is an XL dog crate so the sound is very annoying. alsoooo, how can *i* bond with my rabbit? i hand feed him veggies for a few mins and then let him have the rest but he doesnt eat them if i just leave there.. well he does but it takes a while. i’ve tried petting him on his nose / between his eyes with my chin (lol idk) and thats about it… any suggestions? he is around 6 months old and very hyper. thanks


      • Monkeybun
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          24″ is too short. Go for a minimum of 30, more likely 36″ to make sure he doesn’t jump. Just because he doesn’t seem interested now, doesn’t mean after he is settled in her won’t want to explore


        • Sam and Lady's Human
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            I’d go with 36.
            As for bonding, there is a great section up above in Bunny Info, as well as some great advice given in your last thread. Patience is important, it will take time, weeks even, for your rabbit to get used to you.


          • Elrohwen
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              I agree with 36″. I have one rabbit who never jumps and 24″ could keep him in, but then I got my second and she could clear that easily – you just never know.

              Just give him time. He’s probably very excited to have so much space. If you need to get him out of areas he shouldn’t be, try offering a craisin or some other yummy treat – eventually he’ll come every time you crinkle the bag 🙂


            • Stickerbunny
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                24″ is not high enough if it is an open top, Powder isn’t a jumper either, but you can bet he’ll jump out to freedom if he can. You want the 36″ or 42″ tall x-pens. My Powder actually won’t jump on anything, but when I did put him in an x-pen one time I came back 20 minutes later to odd noises in his room and there he was, perched on TOP of my about 30″ tall pen and couldn’t figure out how to get down. He had his front legs over the front and his back legs clutching the back, it was funny and I had to come rescue him. You can get the kind with a cover from petsmart as well, which would be useful if you intend to take him outside, as then you don’t risk him jumping over the x-pen and escaping or any birds swooping down to take him.

                An x-pen added to the dog crate would probably stop the biting, he’s probably bored and wants to run around and the crate is too small so he bites the bars. He might adjust to your schedule more, he’s probably atm still on his fosters schedule of playtime. But anytime they want something, it usually is asked for by being annoying and chewing things. You could try to divert him to chewing something like willow toys, or some people try bitter sprays, but not sure how well that would work.

                Bonding with a rabbit just takes time. Best way honestly is to go by what they want – if he likes pets, pet him. If he doesn’t, ignore him and let him explore you without trying to touch him, then he’ll crawl over you when his curiosity gets the better of him. Take your cues from him.


              • Elrohwen
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                  The suggestion of bitter apple reminded me that I’ve had success with a lime no chew product (I have the gel rather than the spray). It does eventually wear off, but it lasts long enough to deter Hannah until she forgets about it. When the bunnies were cementing they were in a 4’x4′ pen and she hated it, so she chewed constantly, but the no chew stuff helped. Now that she’s in her normal 4’x8′ pen she never chews the bars, so more space absolutely makes the difference.


                • FrankieFlash
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                    I think everyone has cleared up that 24″ is not tall enough. Mine can jump really high so I have to get a min of 40″ and he’s 6 months old too.

                    As for bonding- I was there. It’s very hard not to have them instantly like you or want to cuddle. I got Bunjamin in September and it wasn’t until December when he first asked me for pets. Ever since then, he’s been super friendly and circles me, the bf, and sometimes strangers. Patience really is the key. Keep treating him right with lots of hay and free time and all the other important stuff and he’ll most likely come around. Also sit on the floor with him while he’s out and do something like read or I played on the computer. Eventually Bunjamin was like “Hey you! Slave, why you no acknowledge me?” and he would start sniffing and bumping and maybe tasting me lol. The bow of approval will come eventually

                    I also do the thing I do with all animals before I pet them and I put out my hand gently in front of them and let them sniff it. Bunjamin will bow if he wants pets at that point, the cats will stick their head in my hands and my dog usually licks or sticks her head in my hand. That way, it’s their choice if they want pets.


                  • Elrohwen
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                      I agree that it takes a very long time to bond with most bunnies. Otto took at least 6 months, then he decided he didn’t like us again and was standoffish for another whole year. Hannah has always been friendly, but after a few months she was so much more comfortable and would seek us out for attention instead of us going up to her and wanting to snuggle.


                    • DutchRabbitsFtw
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                        thanks! i’ll get a 36″ one.(when i can, hopefully soon) when i got home from school he managed to get on the second shelf and was just lounging there lol..

                        also, today while he was having free time i was sitting infront of my bed (trying to block him from going under there again even though i blocked it off.. he manages to nudge himself between the wall and a metal gate and gets under my bed) and i was blocking him from going under my bed with my hand and he nipped me . i know that he wants me to move, but does that mean he doesnt like me?

                        and i wouldnt have a problem with him going under my bed BUT i have a BUNCH of junk under my bed. it wont fit in my closet and i cant just give them away. so yeah. under my bed in the very back theres an open space and he likes to run around in there (after he gets over all the mounds of junk) i try to catch him (only a couple of times) but he just scurries away even faster and now that i think about it hes probably scared that im a predator or something… -.-…

                        he is also really hyper. i tried just letting him out and i would just sit on the ground doing nothing but all he would do was run around his cage and binky a lot. and then rest between his cage and the wall (the cage is close to the wall, but not too close) and then do the whole thing over and over again. but now that he knows whats under my bed and “how much fun it is” he wont stop trying to get under there. -.-


                      • Stickerbunny
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                          If you can get some NIC panels, you could block off the underside with those. My boyfriend ended up buying a thin flooring panel of untreated wood for $12, having it cut to size and used little nails to fasten it to each side of the bed so our buns can’t go under the bed (the frame of ours is wood).

                          And no him biting you just means he wants you to move so he can get where he wants to go, nothing more. Stickers nips me and I think even Powder (as calm, loving, cuddly and gentle as he is) would nip me if I tried to block him with my hand, doesn’t mean anything more than a little kid screaming at you if you tell them “no” to something they really want.


                        • DutchRabbitsFtw
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                            i was thinking of getting some nic panels actually, some one is selling 25 CUBES for 50$. not sure how many actual panels she has but im still thinking about it anyway. could i transform nic grids into a playpen some how? inside and outside . (he lives inside but he likes to be outside; or so ive heard) and thats good! ha i was a bit nervous. it wasnt hard but i did feel it. ha.


                          • Stickerbunny
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                              I wouldn’t trust a NIC play pen outside to be sturdy enough, unless it was a permanent thing and you braced it up with wood to make it stronger.


                            • DutchRabbitsFtw
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                                oh okay. i’ll get a dog pen as soon as i can! also, are the ones with the soft sides okay for rabbits? or will they chew their way out?


                              • Stickerbunny
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                                  Anything that isn’t metal that they can chew, they will chew. Fabric also can be shredded with claws. You want a metal play pen.


                                • FrankieFlash
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                                    Bunjamin did the exact same thing to me (the nipping when my hand was blocking an off limits area) the first week I had him. But he stopped when I yelled “ow” high pitch and he didn’t attempt to go back to that spot for a whole 30 min . He’s just being normal bunny it sounds like with the running. I read on BB somewhere that they like to chew cords because they resemble vines in the wild and bunnies like to have an escape route at all times. Bunji moves anything we put against the wall since that’s his favorite place to do zoomies. But hey, zoomies and binkies = happy!


                                  • FrankieFlash
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                                      Also where’s the pictures of this bun? we’ve been hearing about him for weeks! *poke poke*
                                      If you need help, i use imgur.com and a lot of people use photobucket. Then you copy link (for me html link works best) and you put in post.


                                    • Sam and Lady's Human
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                                        Soft sides are no good, they’ll chew through them.


                                      • Elrohwen
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                                          Anything with soft sides wouldn’t be good for rabbits – they’ll chew right through it. I’d get one of the standard metal ones.

                                          Biting you don’t mean anything except he was annoyed at you. If you hardly felt it, that means that he was inhibiting his bite because he didn’t want to hurt you, so that’s a good thing! If he wanted to hurt you he could have, but he just gave you a little nip. And pretty much all rabbits will run off when you try to catch them – that’s just what they do. That’s why using treats to get them to come to you and do what you want is much more helpful than chasing or herding them.

                                          Sounds like he’s an active little guy! Just check out all of the threads from people who get bunnies who never move – their personalities run the whole spectrum from lazy bums to crazy and hyper active. I own one of each and the lazy one is sweet, but the active one is so entertaining.


                                        • DutchRabbitsFtw
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                                            okay i’ll get the normal metal kind ! and ha okay im glad, i thought i already messed up as bunny parents and its only been 2 days! lol. and haha i guess (:

                                            and here is a picture of him! i took it last night on my phone and my phone doesnt take pictures well in the “dark” but i took one anyway lol.

                                            http://www.flickr.com/photos/66580029@N07/6711988323/


                                          • Elrohwen
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                                              He’s a cutie!! I just love lops, especially black and white ones.


                                            • DutchRabbitsFtw
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                                                ha yeah he is cute ! looks like yours! ha, oh and oneee more question. can rabbits eat raisins? i know that they can eat craisins, and is there a specific brand i should get? should it be organic?


                                              • Monkeybun
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                                                  Raisins are fine Mine go bonkers for them.


                                                • DutchRabbitsFtw
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                                                    okay thanks


                                                  • Stickerbunny
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                                                      Do limit the raisins though, as they are very sweet – one a day is usually what people feed. And you want the kind that is preservative free.

                                                      He’s cute! Fluffy white and black little thing.


                                                    • FrankieFlash
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                                                        ahhhh he’s a cutie!


                                                      • bunnyfriend
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                                                          Awhhh you got your bunny! Yay! He’s super adorablee  What’s his name?


                                                        • DutchRabbitsFtw
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                                                            thanks ! hmmm not sure what i’ll name him.. any ideas? ;o. his original name was penelope but then they found out that he was a boy so then his name was changed to pippin. but eh… i dont really like that name lol. but i would like it to start with a P! i like paisley buuuut its a girls name lol


                                                          • CocoVermont802
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                                                              I know with 24″ my bun would be jumping right over that… and she is not that big!


                                                            • Yuki Kathleen
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                                                                I would think that could work as long as he gets lots of exercise out of his cage in a large playpen or with a harness…


                                                              • Monkeybun
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                                                                  I wouldn’t recommend a harness. Too many things can go wrong with one. Even experienced rabbit jumpers have had accidents with bunnies and harnesses. Too risky.

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                                                              Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A dog pen for a rabbit? is this tall enough? 24″