Cage door too high?

[muggy]

Nightwing is an the Living World Deluxe X-Large habitat. The thing is huge, he is tiny, and he has plenty of room to run around it. It's easy to keep clean, and our apartment manager loves that no hay or poops get outside.

But the door to the cage is elevated, about 4-5" off the ground/the bottom of the cage. And Nightwing has no interest in climbing out on his own. I even built him a ramp out of plywood and carpet, and still nothing. He won't come out on his own for his out of cage time.

Do you think this is an issue of him just not caring to come out yet, or should I try a step or some other way for him to get out? I want him to be able to get in and out of his cage so he can explore at will. He's also very skittish right now because he's not used to me, so picking him up to get him out/put him in just scares him. : /

 

[whiskylollipop]

5 inches is plenty easy for a bunny to jump over if it wanted to, even a baby one. He just doesn't feel like coming out right now because it's a new environment for him, and until he settles in and decides to explore on his own time, forcing him to come out isn't going to do much.

For now, just leave the cage door open and keep things calm around the house. When he seems less skittish/scared of the outside, you can try using food bribes to lure him out. For instance, don't feed him in his cage, if he has all he needs in there, why would he ever want to come out? Waft a pellet by his nose, lure him outside the cage, and then reward him with a nice pile of it. My bunnies only get hay and water in their cage, their out time is also their pellet and veggie time so they're always keen as beans to get out.

You can try tiny tiny pieces of banana too, offer him a taste to get him interested, then hold the rest of it just outside the cage. Bribery works wonders in bunnies.

 

[JBun]

Just be careful about introducing too many sugary foods, especially to a baby bun. They should only get a very tiny bit, if any at all, until older, and none if it causes mushy poop.
http://rabbit.org/suggested-vegetables-and-fruits-for-a-rabbit-diet/

 

[missyscove]

If it's a door with the hinge on the bottom and it's possible to rehang it so the hinge is on the top and you clip it up, I usually recommend that. The alternative is where the door folds down like a ramp but they can get their feet stuck.

Otherwise, just try leaving things he likes outside the cage, like say his pellets, and see if he'll come out on his own without you watching him too closely. It sometimes takes them a while to realize that it's okay to leave the cage.