Spoiled Bunny throws a fit.

[ChewysMama]

Newbie here. Not sure if I am doing this right but here goes nothing. Chewy is 5 months old and I am fairly certain he very spoiled. I am not allowed to have a pet but my wife still decided to come out of the store with Chewy unbeknownest to me as I was waiting in the car. Her reason being she felt I needed an emotional support animal because I have bpd and anxiety. She bought hay, food, and bedding but that was it. I had no knowledge of rabbits beyond their cuteness. I've done the best I can to give him everything I can. He now has a cage but I just give him free run of the entire upstairs hallway which is about 7ft x 7ft and he is almost never caged. The hall is his "room" because its completely bare except for his stuff and its carpeted. I built him a two story cardboard bunny castle which he loves. I don't even have to block the stairs because he won't go down them. He will go up, just not down. I spend time with him almost every time I pass through to go to the bathroom or bedroom and everyday I even go up there a few times just to lay on the floor and pet him and play for awhile as do my 16 and 13 yr olds. The problem is he throws an awful fit if I have to cage him for a little bit. Maintenance is coming in to change the furnace filter and I have to leave for an appt. He went in his cage and began to throw his dishes, dump his hay, and chew his cage. I am wondering if I need to make him spend more cage time rather than run free all day and night so maybe he comes to be more use to it. Anyone else think this might help? He didn't use to behave like this but then again he also use to have more cage time so I think maybe he just got spoiled with complete freedom. I just need him in his cage and fairly quiet for a cpl hrs and then he can come out when I am done with my appointment.

 

[RavenousDragon]

He sounds like a classic bunny to me! I used to have a bun throw fits like that ALL THE TIME. One thing you could try to do (since I very much believe in mostly free range rabbits like you have now) is make his cage a good thing. My two current rabbits will go in their cages on command, and honestly get rather excited because they know that they will get a treat (e.g. a few pellets, a bit of parsley) when they go in their cages. You can even train him for this by asking it of him and then not locking him up, so it's not an immediate cage time every time. Just use a verbal and visual command (I say 'cage time!' and snap and point to their cages) each time and give him a treat each time and he will learn fairly quickly (the first few times will be difficult because he won't quite know what you want, but once he figured it out, it will be easy from there!). If you need more detailed training tips, let me know!

 

[Aki]

I don't think your rabbit is spoiled or anything. The main problem is that it's not a habit so, from his point of view, what you are doing is completely arbitrary. Think about it for one second : you are freely walking around in your appartment everyday and, suddently, that weird giant thing that lives with you take you and randomly lock you in the bathroom for no reason. My rabbits have all always tolerated their cage very well. They go inside on their own and never ask to get out... until it's time to get out, and then they will throw fits if I'm not here to open it. They mostly sleep in it. I put vegetables in the cage before they go inside and I keep regular hours everyday. It can vary a bit (whenever I'm on a business trip, I just let them be free-range, so they grumble a bit when I come back and close the cage on the first day but I reinstall the routine immediately) but I try to avoid it.
You have to create a routine. Call him with a specific sentence everytime he has to go, leave something nice in the cage and ignore him (try not to be near) until it's time to open the cage. You can put a sheet on the cage too. My rabbits are only caged at night so I've always done it and they know that when the sheet is on, there is no point trying to get out.
I hope something like that can help.
The second thing is that your rabbit is 5 months old. He's a teenager. Most teenagers suck, no matter the species - they have mood swings, they feel entitled, they're noisy, and they mess up your house... it will pass ^^.

 

[mark]

Chewy would probably have some strong competition for "most spoiled rabbit" among the forum members here, mine included! It happens, and it will likely pass as Aki says. Our still get upset at times when we leave them alone (or when we don't). They get in moods, it seems to me.

One thing I would recommend for any single-rabbit owner, is to adopt them a friend from a shelter. There is a lot of info on the right way to do it in order to maximize your chances of a successful "bonding" as it is called. We were somewhat concerned about the increased cost (money, time and effort) of a second bun, but that has all faded away as we saw what a joy it was to our original rabbit, to have a friend who is always there with him. Not to mention the joy we derived from truly rescuing a second rabbit!

Probably not the advice you were looking for but there seems to be a consensus that the rabbits are happiest and healthiest when they have another bun with which to pass the hours - particularly when you and your family are not there to interact with them.

Good on you for caring so much! Welcome to the forum.

 

[samoth]

I don't even have to block the stairs because he won't go down them. He will go up, just not down.

Careful -- he may very well learn. My doe took to the stairs immediatly, but my buck took just over a year. They both run up and down on a daily basis now.

If he were to go downstairs, are there any immediate concerns, for his safety or your wallet? Perhaps something to keep in mind...

The problem is he throws an awful fit if I have to cage him for a little bit.

Maintenance is coming in to change the furnace filter and I have to leave for an appt. He went in his cage and began to throw his dishes, dump his hay, and chew his cage. I am wondering if I need to make him spend more cage time rather than run free all day and night so maybe he comes to be more use to it. Anyone else think this might help? He didn't use to behave like this but then again he also use to have more cage time so I think maybe he just got spoiled with complete freedom. I just need him in his cage and fairly quiet for a cpl hrs and then he can come out when I am done with my appointment.

I can relate to this! My buck was free range upstairs within two weeks of coming home. I didn't even need to block the stairs, as he clearly wasn't yet ready to brave such an obstacle. He was a happy & free bunny, merrily sprinting from one bedroom to another as he pleased, and sleeping contentedly under my bed at midday.

When I adopted my doe 4 weeks later, I had to re-confine the pair to facilitate bonding, proper litter box use, and behavioral training for the new dynamic. I started with separate xpens in the day, the whole room at night, and the hallway during playtime. The other bedrooms were blocked off. Key point: the rooms my buck previously assumed to be his space were now blocked by metal bars.

He constantly chomped the gates now blocking the path to his space. He started to dig at the carpet, so I placed a long runner down -- which he found, when yanked at, pulled the gate open enough to squeeze through. So I placed a bunch of old magazines in front of the gate to block/distract him -- which he spent hours obsessively shredding each night.

Fast forward six months: the doe is suffiently well-behaved, and the pair is granted free range. All digging, shredding, and bar chewing from the buck stopped instantly.

His behavior was just frustration at having something important taken away, and he acted out accordingly. (Hey, nobody wants to be confined to a small area!)

In your case, positive-reinforcement training might help: work with him to associate going into the cage with a treat. Then again, he may see through the ruse.

Acclimating him to more jail time might help, too. But he obviously doesn't like being grounded, and will dislike more frequent groundings even more so.

Maybe a compromise could work... does he behave around maintenance strangers, perhaps hiding and staying out of the way? (Mine do this.) Does he behave when you're away for an appointment? If not, is it something you can both work on together for mutual benefit?

Also... welcome to the wonderful world of house rabbits

 

[PaGal]

I have 5 rabbits that all have their own space in a room. They all get time out of their cages every day but have to be caged when it is not their play time. All of my rabbits are fine at being caged because they are used to it. In fact if one is out and something frightens them they run into their cage which they obviously see as their safe space. So having to spend time in a cage is not the end of the world. Not to mention if your bun ever has to spend time at the vets it will be caged which would be just one more strange thing to stress him out