New bunny - getting him out of his cage

[Norman1]

Hi,

My names Sarah and I am new to owning a rabbit; we got a mixed lop on Saturday called Norman. He is 12 weeks old and very friendly and already lets us stroke him and is alright being picked up. This afternoon he accidentally got under the sofa and we had to chase him a bit to get him back which really scared him. We sat down with him for ages and after about 2 hours he let us stroke him again and was laying on his side so seems fine. We are getting his cage extended this weekend but I want to get him out again in the living room before this. Is this a good idea or should we wait incase this causes him stress again?(we also have to carry him from one room to another as its not possible to let him out in the room his cage is in) Also I cant seem to upload a video but I thought he was jumping when he was out because he was happy but someone said it could mean he is stressed. I just wanted to see if anyone had any advice on this!! Thank you

 

[FuzzyBunny ph]

Can you share how his enclosure looks like? Try to avoid carrying him. let him come out from his cage on his own, when he feels like its safe to do so

With regards to the video, can you upload it in youtube or maybe google drive and make it public?

 

[Blue eyes]

There is a section on the following page of my website that is all about "getting a bunny out of his cage." You can find it if you scroll down here:
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/bonding-with-your-bunny.html
Carrying him from room to room is a habit you won't want to establish (or continue).

 

[Norman1]

Can you share how his enclosure looks like? Try to avoid carrying him. let him come out from his cage on his own, when he feels like its safe to do so

With regards to the video, can you upload it in youtube or maybe google drive and make it public?

Great thanks!! There is a small area he is able to come out of his cage but he doesnt come out because the side of the cage is too high we have tried to make a ramp but he doesnt seem to like the ramp. He doesnt show any signs of being scared in the cage so I dont know why he doesnt want to come out. I know being in the cage all day isnt good for him so is it better to take him out for exercise or leave him until he decides to come out? Thanks

 

[FuzzyBunny ph]

@Norman1 possible he doesn't want to come out 'cause he doesn't think it's safe to do so and treats his cage as his safe space. Its good that you keep the cage open, at least he can come out when he's ready Don't force him though, just show him that the room is a safe place for him to roam around

I dont think the sides are too high, thats actually how high our litter box is

 

[Apollo’s Slave]

I agree with FuzzyBunny ph, it’s likely that the cage is his safe space and he wants to come out on his own accord. It also might be that he just doesn’t want to come out when you want him to come out. My boy can free roam four rooms but he won’t move his fluffy behind until he wants to.

He does also need some more hay in his cage. Bunnies should eat their body size (not weight) in hay each day, and a large heap of it should be available at all times (those hay racks can be a bit hard to rabbits to eat out of).

 

[Diane R]

Great thanks!! There is a small area he is able to come out of his cage but he doesnt come out because the side of the cage is too high we have tried to make a ramp but he doesnt seem to like the ramp. He doesnt show any signs of being scared in the cage so I dont know why he doesnt want to come out. I know being in the cage all day isnt good for him so is it better to take him out for exercise or leave him until he decides to come out? Thanks

Looks like floor is slippery? They need floor with traction to feel safe.

 

[Catlyn]

I see from the picture that the cage floor has litter all over the place. I would remove it and get a square litterbox instead. It will be cleaner and use less resources.