Free Roam/ stairs?

Redrabbit · Aug 13, 2019

Hi,
Our rabbit free roams downstairs but when we go out I shut him in one room. I’m now worried he’ll fall down the stairs/ jump through the bannisters. He’s never shown any interest in the stairs until today - should I block them with a gate or similar?
Thank you

samoth · Aug 13, 2019

My rabbits love the stairs. My doe took to them immediately, but my smaller buck took almost a year before he braved them. I now leave them free roam 24/7, whether anyone's home or not.

My stairs are carpeted. If they weren't, I doubt my rabbits would use them (or could do so safely).

My house only has bannisters for a small area near the bottom, so I don't know how it'd work if they were the full length of the stair or along the top floor of the house. You could always block them off with NIC grids or something similar. My doe enjoys looking out the bannister area and has never tried to squeeze through, but it's not even two feet high. Hoepefully others have suggestions here

Redrabbit · Aug 13, 2019

Thank you. We have wooden floors everywhere and bannisters the whole way up so maybe best to get the grids although I guess they could jump over them if they wanted to? Hmm. Maybe a gate? Thanks for your help

Niomi · Aug 13, 2019

Your rabbit could get hurt jumping from a distance onto a hard surface. I had a rabbit that got injured jumping off the back of a sofa onto a hardwood floor. I doubt that your rabbit would go over the partition if it were two grids high. I taught my mini rex to go up and down the stairs. Our stairs (carpeted) have a wall on both side with the exception of the last four stairs. Sometimes she would try to jump over the last step, but I have her on a leash and I use the stairs for leash training.

Popsicles · Aug 14, 2019

My rabbit is great at going up the stairs but too scared to go back down, so we have had to put a baby gate at the bottom to prevent her going up and getting stuck while we are out.

samoth · Aug 14, 2019

Redrabbit said:
Thank you. We have wooden floors everywhere and bannisters the whole way up so maybe best to get the grids although I guess they could jump over them if they wanted to? Hmm. Maybe a gate? Thanks for your help

I'd recommend gating off the stairs if they're all finished wood. Rabbits have fur on the bottom of their paws, not pads like dogs or cats, which makes such surfaces more dangerous for them.