Petting inside the cage, but not outside

[Paul]

My 1.5 year old Lionhead seems to be afraid to let me pet him when he’s outside of his cage. He might come up and sniff my hand, but he almost immediately hops away to his cardboard box or into his cage. If I walk into the room, he’ll hop away. But when he’s in his cage, he loves to be petted. Sometimes, when I give him treats in his cage, he’ll ignore the treat entirely and nuzzle my hand so that I pet him. This has been going on for the year that I’ve had him.

I’m kinda thinking it has to do with his living arrangement during the first month I had him, where he had a cage that was high up and too small. He did NOT want to go into it. I had to put him in there by chasing and catching him. He’s just not a fan of being exposed. This makes brushing him and trimming his nails a bit of a challenge, as well as bringing him out into the living room where he has more room to run. He really does not like being picked up.

I also moved a couple months ago to a house with hardwood floors, so he’s not able to run around like he once was. He used to love when I’d “chase” him, saying “I’m gonna get you!” Now he runs in fear. Even with carpet runners down the hall to his room, he’s not enthusiastic about running. He’ll barely leave the room on his own. Pictured is one of the few times he has. A few times, he’s gotten into his pet carrier on his own and I seized the opportunity to expand his surroundings and brought him to the end of the runner.

Should I try forcing him to expose himself by blocking his box and cage? Or just sit on the floor and let him approach me?

[curiiouscat]

I like to disperse my rabbit’s favorite toys throughout my room to encourage him to leave his home and explore. You could also try using veggies as a time to encourage him to explore new territory.

[Paul]

Last night he seemed much more sociable. I spent a couple hours on the computer and reading with him in the room, and he hopped around, sat on my feet, and lounged next to my chair. He even let my scratch him!

Last week I had picked him up to take him into the living room on a much larger rug to hang out, explore, and run around. He binkied a few times while he was out there, so he certainly enjoyed his time out there. I also left some celery sticks out in the hallway overnight and left the cage door open, and they were gone in the morning.

I’m kinda thinking that he’s beginning to realize that being picked up doesn’t have to mean being put in a tiny cage or getting brushed or having his nails trimmed. It could mean that he gets to run around for a couple hours.

[Author]

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