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Robyn13

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Jul 2, 2012
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Location
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
I recently got my first rabbit about two months ago. He was very young when I first got him, and now he is about three months old. Im having problems with his time outside of his cage. I have a large pen for him with a blanket where he does all of his running around. Lately however, he has figured out that he has grown enough to jump out of his pen. (Its suppose to be a dog pen its 23" high). I put a little net on top of his pen but now he seems unsatisfied being in his pen, he is just constantly trying to get out of it and I am scared he is going to hurt himself.

He is litter trained in his cage, but as soon as he is out of his cage (his pen) he completely ignores his litter box and does his business on the blanket. So I cant let him hop around my room in fear that he will do his business on my carpet (landlord will not be pleased). I dont know what to do. I want him to be happy, but I feel like his pen has just become a bigger cage to him. He has more then enough room to run around in it, he is just focused on trying to get out.

Also as a seperate issue, how fast do rabbits breathe? I handled a lot of buns before and maybe I never noticed, or maybe Im paranoid because he is my own. A lot of the time he is breathing so rapidly it looks like he is shivering, like we do when we are cold. He isnt breathing hard, just rapid. When I first got him he was sneezing a lot so I took him to the vet and he had a respiratory infection (the vet I took him to is very good, an exotic vet clinic only, so they deal with rabbits more then anything else). He was put on two seperate antibiotics for two weeks, then when back for a follow up and got a clean bill of health. That was about a month and a half ago, and I just want to know if this rapid breathing is something I should be concerned about, or is normal for rabbits.

ANY help/insight/ or advice would be very much appreciated!!! I want Pippin to be as happy and healthy as possible and Im worried about being a bad rabbit owner.
 
Have you tried giving him different toys? Or re-arranging what you have in there for him? Maybe just switching things up a bit will keep his little bunny brain more occupied.

Bunnies breathe fairly rapidly, compared to humans and other animals. I was sort of worried about that when I got Max, but have found that they all breathe like that. If he doesn't look like he's in distress, and he's pooping and peeing normally, he's probably okay. But I'm not a vet. Hopefully someone can jump in here and say for sure whether it's okay or not.
 
Hi!

Grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Rabbits will push boundaries. It's instinct. I think once you get your bunny nuetered, the marking will stop. In the teenage months, bunnies love to let you know what they think is theirs.

Don't feel bad about the x-pen or the crate. Your bunny is settling so he's looking to explore. They all do it. You have just be firm and eventually as he gets older you can open up the room for him. Believe me, know about marking stains.

Regarding the breathing, all my bunnies breath rapidly. Just check the nose and mouth and eyes for any discharge.

K
 
23" isn't very high. Some people use 48" ones. Maybe you could find a used one somewhere, or get another 23" one & use zip ties to fasten it atop the one you have. You'll want to have things in the xpen that he CAN climb on [such as a hide box], & then he'd have a way to get out from that height if the pen's sides weren't high.
 
A 2ft tall pen is not really that tall and most rabbits can get out if they really want to. You can use wire mesh to make a top or get a taller pen (you may need a top anyway). Some rabbits just like to try to escape. Make sure he has lots of toys and things to keep him occupied.

The peeing and pooping outside the cage can be pretty normal. If he is still young and not neutered, then he can want to mark his territory. If the area is set up so that he can't get into his cage on his own, then that can be an issue too. Some rabbits just prefer to use one litter box and don't take to using a second one outside their cage. Getting him neutered can help.
 
It all depends on the bunny. We have a 36 inch baby gate and only one has ever jumped it even though it wouldn't be much for the big bunnies, the smallest is the only one. We had three that would climb up wire, no matter how tall and get over it--even 48" wire. We finally bunny proofed our family room and finally got it right in the sixth incarnation.
 
Thank you to everyone who replied! I am planning on getting him neutered as soon as he his old enough. I will try to anchor his wire top down better, and hopefully when he stops marking I will open up more space for him.

If anyone else has anything else to say I appreciate it! :D
 
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