avoids hardwood floors at all costs

[enfield]

My rabbit executes pretty big jumps in order to get from one rug to the next. When I had another bunny he would never go on the hardwood floor by himself - only when she led would he follow.

Now he occasionally goes on it by himself, but only when he's adjacent to a wall.

Do other people have rabbits like this? If they do, then I guess maybe its just an evolutionary danger instinct due to the slickness of the floor, which is totally different than natural terrain.

Or maybe my rabbit's just paranoid.

 

[Watermelons]

Rabbits like to have traction. Hardwood or Laminate flooring dont provide traction.
Quick easy and cheap fix - Area rug.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Some of ours got around just fine on the hardwood and tile while others wouldn't go near it unless we had throw rugs down. Just depends on the bunny.

 

[enfield]

^ interesting! Could you say anything about bunnies that avoided the tiles vs. the ones that didn't care. Like were they more likely to be a certain way, or something?

 

[LaylaLop]

My bunny right now doesn't seem to care if it's linoleum or tile... I had a rabbit I rescued temporarily like yours who would NOT come out of the cage unless there was a huge area rug. She was very unhappy in my fully wood floored apartment. I tried area rugs too but she got to the point where she wouldn't come out of her cage and had to be picked up (which she hated). When she went to the pet-sitter's (who had carpet) she was always happier and more energetic and loved running around. They were also looking for a bunny so I let them keep her since it was in her best interest. I also didn't know if I was leaving state moving or not, so I decided it'd be least stressful for her to stay where she was happy. She gets full run of their house now and loves to find all the chinchilla's dropped hay under the cages. I tried accommodating her but she was never happy. I think it had a lot to do with my roommate at the time's cat which would pester her, but in the end I had to make the choice to make her happy and not stressed.

I would try runner rugs or area rugs like others have suggested. It really depends on the rabbit since mine now does fine running around and binkying on linoleum... Your bunny sounds like he might do just fine with extra rugs.

 

[BunnyLove♥]

Mine have been through a few moves. Our first apartment was entirely carpeted except for the kitchen and the rabbits would refuse to go near it. Then our next two moves were on wood and ceramic floor and they didn't have a choice. I had an area rug they liked best, but they took advantage of full floorage. They got better at walking on the slicker floors the more they were exposed to it. I guess that's the number one downside to not having any pads on your feet.

 

[missyscove]

Neither of mine seemed to care about the flooring, but yours certainly isn't the first bun to fear shiny floors.
Reminds me of playing "the floor is lava"

 

[jujub793]

I have hw floors to and mine don't really like it but they do pretty good. I do have a big floor rug right outside their cage and they like to lounge on the rug

 

[MagPie]

I live in an apartment that has carpet every where except the kitchen. He does fine in the kitchen, usually in there to beg for treats or take advantage of how cooler the linoleum will be on hotter days. Smart bunny haha.

 

[patches2593]

some rabbits get wrist problems from slippery floors. they can get arthritis too

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

I've found especially if they get used to it from a young age they won't mind it. Also maybe {*Probably*} just a coincidence, but my 3 holland lops haven't minded the wood a bit and my 2 mini rexes won't put foot on it..

 

[Paddy Ohara]

My girl doesn'tmind hard wood floors at all. She runs as fast as she can on the floors from one end of the house to the other and binkies. Our floors are bamboo so they are very slick. Sometimes when she needs to stop she just pauses and slides into the area she wants to be in. She also does great on tile floors. She doesn't know anything else since she moved into this house after when she was old enough.

 

[elrohwen]

I have two - one who doesn't mind the hardwood and the other who avoids is like it's lava. Hannah doesn't mind it and has no problem crossing rooms with hardwood, though she prefers the traction of the carpet for running around. Otto hates the hardwood with a passion and will only step over small patches or, occasionally, hug the wall to get where he wants to go.

Hannah is generally much more adventurous and bold, so it's not surprising to me that she doesn't mind it. Otto is a chicken who took 1.5 years to figure out how to jump on the couch, so it doesn't surprise me that the floor scares him too. Otto was scared of slippery surfaces from day one - as an 8 week old he wouldn't walk around his plastic cage unless a blanket was down for traction. For over a year he wouldn't cross the hardwood dining room to get to the area rug in the living room. Being raised around hardwoods didn't change his innate fear of them, though having a buddy who wasn't afraid did make him a bit bolder.

 

[Digdug]

My bunny prefers rugs/carpet to slick flooring but wont let that keep her curiosity down for long.
If something should scare her while she's on slick floors, she'll always look a little silly as she gallops at full speed in one spot for a few seconds like a cartoon character before she's able to tear off.

 

[Kim1218]

My girl won't go near our kitchen or bathroom floors (both linoleum). She's neer had a traumatic experience with it,she just never liked it from the first time she tried going in the kitchen. I think it's because she can't make a quick escape on the slippery surface in case she feels threatened. It's instinctive as far as I can figure.

 

[Ashley B]

My bun hates not being able to jump far on hardwood floor. What i do is i set blankets/ rugs down! It helps him alot and he loves them! Hope this helps