My bunny won’t come out of his cage!

[bashfulbunny]

After a lot of research and endless googling about how to take care of a bunny and how much caring for a bunny costs, I’ve recently bought and taken on the responsibility of my first rabbit, a 9 week old netherland dwarf! I’ve had him for 4 days now, and already we’ve bonded quite well (I think!) He runs over to the edge of the cage whenever I’m close, he eats from my hand and let’s me pet him until he falls asleep, he even gives me bunny kisses by licking my hand to death (Or my leg if I’m sitting close enough!)

The only problem is, no matter how much he wants to, Bashful doesn’t come out of his cage! I’ve bunny proofed my room and set a few toys around, making it his for the taking! I leave his cage open all day every day, and I’ve tried tempting him with treats and a few other little things! He often comes to the edge of the cage like he wants to jump out, but simply backs back down and sits there, as if waiting for me to pet him! I can’t help but think he’s too small to jump out of his cage, which is stressful for me as I haven’t got enough money to buy him a cage with less of a jump to get out? Is there another reason as to why he won’t come out? Am I simply being too impatient?

Also, I have him in a simple indoor bunny cage from Pets At Home, feeding him the hay and pellets that the pet store said he was on (He doesn’t eat his pellets at all, I don’t think, but he eats his hay all day every day) and have started giving him small amounts of greens – which he loves – to introduce them to him gradually! The bottom of the cage is covered with Snippets pet bedding, which says ‘healthy, hygienic and dust free’, though I have read a few forums on here about this type of cage not being recommended, that it’s better to use vinyl flooring or vet beds and fleece blankets? What will be best for my bunny? As a first time bunny owner, despite reading up about everything and anything for days on end, I want to make sure I’m doing everything right for his health and happiness!

[jerseygirl]

I think we are always learning no matter how long you’ve had rabbits!

Some things to try in helping him come out on his own are:
Cover the door/ramp with something solid and with some traction. For example, you could put a piece of carpet over it while you have it down as a ramp.

You can also try putting something inside the cage as a half step in front of the door.

What type of flooring is in the room? He might be a bit put off by light/dark shades or if floor is slippery. So I’d experiment putting something down in front of the cage door (like a cotton mat) to see if that encourages him.

His cage is his safe haven which is good. It just might take him some time to grow confident. Bashful sounds like a great name for him! Rabbits are so curious so I think you’ll find he’ll get there eventually.

The bottom of the cage is covered with Snippets pet bedding, which says ‘healthy, hygienic and dust free’, though I have read a few forums on here about this type of cage not being recommended, that it’s better to use vinyl flooring or vet beds and fleece blankets? What will be best for my bunny?

If you wish to litter train him, you can do away with the bedding. Rabbits can find bedding material too similar to litter material, so they’ll just think of the entire cage as a litterbox!
To me, bedding is an unnecessary expense and would make work to clean up.

Along with this, some shavings or wood chips are not good for the respiratory system and can effect the level of liver enzymes.

ETA: Welcome!

[skibunny8503]

I think maybe he just needs some more time but I don’t know to much about those cages so maybe making a little ramp out of cardboard might help if you think he can’t jump out. I would think he would because rabbits can jump pretty high. I remember when I first got my one bunny, Archie, and it took him awhile to get used to leaving the cage. He probably thinks he’s safe in his cage and just wants to stay in his safe spot until he knows it’s ok to come out.
I never trust pet stores to recommend what to buy because they’re going to try to sell you their products or the most expensive. What type of pellets is he on? Since he’s young I’d recommend the Oxbow pellets for young rabbits. Also what type of hay did the recommend? I think young rabbits need alfalfa (correct me if I’m wrong though).
I’d recommend getting a small litter box instead of putting down all that bedding because that can just get messy too and rabbits can easily be litter trained. We get horse pellet bedding and that’s a huge bag for like $6 (available at like a tractor supply or farm supply place). Fleece blankets would be perfect if you want a soft floor for him.
Being a first time bunny owner you’re doing great! One more thing I’d recommend and I’m sure other members will chime in with other ideas for you; is you start saving to fix him. I’d highly recommend it because as he reaches puberty (around 6 months or so I think??) he might start acting up, chewing on stuff, peeing outside the litter box. It really helps them but that’s just my suggestion. 🙂

Hopefully he’ll start coming out of his shell and leave his cage soon so you can really see him running and binkying around 🙂

[Eepster]

I’m going to assume your cage has a fold down door of bars your bunny has to get past. I would get a strip of carpet that you can lay over the door ramp to give her a firm sure footing to climb out on.

I love these cheap and easy to cut to size rugs from Ikea. I use them all over Porky’s condo. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80186688/

[robyn and 'tipps']

Good suggestions above….You are obviously caring and have made a real effort to make things good for him. My bunny was the opposite, she couldn’t wait to get out and explore. Breaks my heart to put her away at night but its necessary. Give him time Id say. He will get curious. 🙂

[robyn and 'tipps']

PS. Looked at his pic. Bashful is gorgeous!

[bashfulbunny]

The cage, instead of opening downwards into a ramp, opens upwards so that the front bars of the cage lift up! (So he only has to jump over a little plastic edge!) I’m going to go to a pet shop and buy some sort of little wooden bridge, perhaps! Make it somewhat fun for him to get in and out!

I do have laminate flooring, but took this into consideration the day I got him and I placed a large blanket underneath is cage and outside of his cage! It doesn’t look the greatest, but it’ll make do til I can fork out for a carpet!

As he is going to be taking over my room, litter training was top of my list! Haha! I’ve asked several people and all have said that shavings are often mistaked as litter and the buns take this as one huge toilet and poop absolutely everywhere in the cage, that it’s unnecessary, money wasted, and also sometimes dangerous! I will definitely be switching to a litter box, vet beds, blankets and fun little toys!

Thankyou!

[bashfulbunny]

I think that I am simply being impatient, as buns of course can jump high! He’ll come out when he is ready, as I don’t want to force him! I was thinking of buying a little wooden bridge perhaps, as the cage opens upwards instead of down into a ramp! He might enjoy climbing over this instead of hopping in and out!

I definitely should have researched more about the cage setup as well as the care and cost of a bunny, of course the pet store would sell me their highest quality products! Haha! They’d actually ran out of the bags of pellets he was on, and ended up making me a bag from their own supply, so I have no labels to indicate which brand they’ve given me! They told me it was usually in a light green bag and is for young bunnies! I’ve heard a lot about oxbow pellets and I’m going to try and order some online, as I have no idea where to buy them from around my area!

Yeah, I’m definitely going to switch over to litter training instead of laying down all of these shavings! Messy and expensive, haha! I’ve also already found of the price for his neutering and plan on putting that money aside when I get paid, so that it’s there when the time comes! (The last thing I want is a psycho bunny!)

Thankyou!

[bashfulbunny]

Thankyou, I’ve only ever had dogs before this, which are a lot different to a bunny! Plus, the dogs were all paid for by my parents, whereas my bun is mine and my responsibility! I’m doing my best

[LizziAnn]

Hello and congratulations on your new baby!
The cage you have bought is ok for now but when he grows you will need a higher one for him to stretch in. I recommened a dog crate which you can get on ebay for about £40
I use fleece for my bunnies and carefresh colours under the hay in their litter box, you will find wood shavings a nightmare after a while because it gets all round the house.
He sounds like he is very comfortable with you which means you’re doing great but he is still adjusting to his surroundings.
My nethie did the same when I brought her home, even though I left the bedroom door open to which she was living in, it took her months to venture out and explore the rest of the flat. Don’t worry, he can jump it and in time he will
Good luck!

[bashfulbunny]

Thankyou! I’ve noticed a lot of the indoor bunny owners I’ve seen on here have dog crates and I did eBay a couple last night, though I won’t be buying one til he’s bigger as right now he’s absolutely tiny! (I’m sure he won’t always be so small, dwarf or not! Haha! I’ve already found some lovely fleeces and am on the hunt for a nice sized litter box and other little goodies to make him more comfortable! I’m sure he does know how to jump out, but simply wants to be 100% sure he’s safe before doing so! As long as I’ve made everything comfortable for him, I’m sure it doesn’t matter how long it takes him to venture on out! Thankyou so much!

[kirstyol]

Bramble would never hop out of his cage by himself but was happy enough for us to lift him in and out of it, we have a playpen for him and he only really goes in his cage at night but now that he is getting older I decided to try and teach him how to hop in and out by himself which all my previous bunnies have done. He was not interested at all until I bought one of those wooden bridges, he hops out quite happily now.

[LizziAnn]

Just wondering, did you but him, from Pets At Home?

That is where I picked up my first bun, Neji.

 

Also, if you are in the uk you can get oxbow pellets from viovet.co.uk and vetuk.co.uk.

[bashfulbunny]

I didn’t buy him from Pets At Home, no! I bought him from a pet store in Lakeside, fell in love as soon as I saw him!

Thankyou!

[bashfulbunny]

Little update! Bashful isn’t as bashful as he led me to believe! He came out of his cage yesterday and getting him back in of a night time is proving to be harder than getting me out of a Topshop sale! I’m from the UK and I can only seem to get Oxbow pellets online with a costly delivery charge, and I was literally just about to order some when Bashful started eating his food! I’m not sure what changed his mind, maybe he wasn’t quite settled in just yet! His whole personality has changed now that he’s more comfortable in his new home, and he’s even taken to demanding more pellets by running between me and his bowl and biting at the bag! He’s gone from being a shy bunny to an absolute nutter! He did his first binky last night, and seems a lot happier to have discovered all this new space!

I’ve also gotten him a larger cage, and I am buying the litter box, fleece blankets and vet bedding this week! I can’t wait!

[kirstyol]

I am in the UK too and my vet recommended Exel rabbit pellets, I bought a great big bag from amazon but you can get them in pet shops here or maybe your local vet sells them (mine does but they are a lot dearer in there!) My first bag hasn’t arrived yet (Bramble has been finishing off his baby/junior bunny food) but I read the list of ingredients and they look good, plus my vet is a small animal specialist so I doubt he would recommend something that’s not good for them.

I am so glad Bashful seems to be enjoying himself, sometimes it just takes a bit of time for them to settle in and come out of their shell. Catching Bramble is always a problem for us as well, especially if he is in the living room because he tends to hide under the dining table when he thinks we want to go to bed. I have found that if I sit on the floor at the door of his cage he will eventually come over to me and I can pick him up and place him in his cage so I have just started doing this half an hour before we go to bed.

[Beka27]

Lol… Yeah once they get a taste for freedom, that’s all they want! 😛

I know your issue with him is fixed, but for others who might come across this thread, what worked for me with a new bunny is physically removing them from the cage and leaving the door to the cage open. They want to get back into their “safe space”, and take it upon themselves to go back in. Once they realize they can hop IN, it’s only logical that they can also hop OUT.

(This goes against the conventional wisdom of letting them explore on their own time frame, but what can i say… I get impatient… Lol)

[jerseygirl]

Burgess Excel and Supreme Science Selective seem to be popular pellets in the UK.

Now that he’s taken a liking to his pellets, you’ll be able to use them as a lure to get him back in his cage. :p

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