Going away, what to do with bun?

[JenandLudwig]

My family and I are going on vacation starting Sunday morning to either Tuesday evening/Wednesday morning. As much as I would love to take Ludwig to the beach ( I don’t think he would like that very much!), he unfortunately must stay home. I’ve searched through previous entries on this topic, but it seems as though most of them were for people who were going on vacation for a week or more. I’ll only be gone three nights at the very most, so I figured I would make my own. 

Naturally I have a few concerns! This is our first time leaving Ludwig alone – I’ve gone on vacation or been away for the night but my parents were always here to check on him/feed him/let him out. I see many people board, but I don’t have the money to board him, nor do I want to stress him out by taking him out of his familiar environment, since it is only for a few days. Our neighbor, who is a pet person (though not a bunny person, but I don’t know any bunny people!) has volunteered to come over and check on him, change his litter, feed him, etc. Normally, Ludwig is out of his cage and around the house for 2-3 hours a day, sometimes more depending if we’re home all day. Letting him have his normal free range hours does not appear to be an option while we are away – he is a bit of a handful to get back in his cage and would jsut be too risky for someone who doesn’t have bunny experience, especially when he’s out and about! So, I’ve come up with a couple alternatives and I’m hoping you guys could give me some feedback/ease my worries!

As I said, our neighbor is going to be coming over at least twice a day to change his water, feed him, and change the box when needed. She is going to come over a couple days before we leave and pet him and give him some treats so he will become familiar with her! I plan on laying out very specific and easy to follow instructions as far as feeding him goes, and I plan on showing her how to handle him when she goes in and out of his cage – he’s a very manigable and friendly fellow, never puts up a fuss when you go in and out of his cage.

 During the school year, Ludwig is often home alone while I’m at school and my parents are at work, so I’m not TOO concerned about him being in his condo during the day; he is used to it and does fine. However, I want him to be able to get SOME exercise. My idea was to get some more NIC cubes and make a play pen that would be an addition to his condo. All my neighbor would have to do would be to come over and open his door, put a sheet over top of it, then let him play for a couple hours before putting him back in his condo for the night. It won’t be a huge space compared to his normal run of the house, but I it at least gives him some ability to move his legs even more without my neighbor having to worry about him running around the house.

OR do you guys think he would be okay in his condo for a few days without the additional play plen?

That being said…any ideas on how to make a play pen out of NIC cubes? I know how to tie them together but how can I get them to stand upright and balance on the carpet? Once I stack the NIC cubes ontop of one another, it sort of folds in on itself. Any tips would be greatly appreciated! 

[Beka27]

He will be fine in his condo while you are gone. I wouldn’t change anything right now because you won’t have enough time to figure out any weaknesses or escape routes in an attached pen. The safest place for him is in his condo with all of his stuff.

[JenandLudwig]

Hm, this is true. I was going to build the pen tomorrow and test him out in it for the next couple days…still not enough time? 

[Beka27]

Not enough time. It can sometimes take awhile for the bun to “figure out” a new space. Knowing MY luck, my bun would find a way out right in the middle of me being gone and my bunny sitter wouldn’t be able to find/catch her! You can make a pen when you get back (and are around to supervise!) but for now, I’d leave him in a PROVEN safe space!

[JenandLudwig]

I will do just that! Thank you!! 

[Eepster]

I agree 100% with Beka about waiting till you get back for the pen area.

When you do get back, the trick to making a ridged structure that can stand up from NIC grids is to over lap them.  Like this.

[JenandLudwig]

Yes, I’m definietly going to wait until I get home, and use the NIC pen idea for next time. Thanks for the drawing! That helps tons!

[Author]

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