Can my baby learn to walk on hardwood floors?

[bigtab]

I have a 9 week old bunny & she kind of just slides on the hardwood floors. Will she adapt to the floors eventually? Or any tips to help her?

i have a blanket down for her now to walk on but I’d like her to free roam.

 

[Blue eyes]

Some (most?) rabbits always have difficulty walking on slick flooring. It is especially important when she's young to not let her slip about on such a floor as she could injure her hips or legs. Rabbits only have fur on their paws - no pads like dogs or cats.

We had a large area rug in our living room but the rabbits' home base was on the wood floor. I kept a runner rug to span the distance between their base and the area rug.

 

[samoth]

I can't speak for young rabbits, but with my two adults, one learned to adapt quickly, and one has maintained a lifelong avoidance of hardwoods.

For areas I'd like them to easily travel, I place long rugs.

 

[John Wick]

As mentioned by @Blue eyes , rabbits do not have paw pads on their feet so being on floor without traction (i.e., slippy floors) will, by default, not be preferred by rabbits as a place to explore and exercise. Even if your rabbit does get acclimated and begins navigating on slippy floors, that type of floor is going to hinder your rabbit's ability to exercise effectively and move comfortably-- imagine trying to run around and exercise on kitchen tile if you can only wear fuzzy socks. Injuries and joint problems, whether short-term or long-term are not unheard of due to rabbits being housed on inappropriate flooring.

 

[NYAngela]

I have a 9 week old bunny & she kind of just slides on the hardwood floors. Will she adapt to the floors eventually? Or any tips to help her?

i have a blanket down for her now to walk on but I’d like her to free roam.

When our bun was a baby he was apprehensive to tackle the hard wood floors. But once he did and got used to it there was no stopping him. He’s quite agile on them.

 

[bright_eyes]

As stated above, it's not really a matter of 'learning'- most rabbits are physically unable to move on slick flooring and it presents quite a bit of unnecessary risk. Rugs and hallway runners are a great kindness to bunnies living on slippery floors!

 

[Orrin]

Unless the price has gone up, recently, Costco hallway runners were/are only $9.99. We used them exclusively until our buns learned how to cope with slick floors.

One of our rabbits absolutely refused to leave carpets and rugs; but, after a few months it got the hang of walking on smooth surfaces.

 

[Cinn-a-bun]

My Cinnabun will not walk on non-carpet floor. I don't need to put up any fencing. To keep her in one place all I need is pick up the throw rug.

 

[bigtab]

She started walking good on the floors right after I posted this!