BudgetBunny

Question:

We recently moved my bunny’s house/food/bed/litter box to the other side of the living room to give him more room and he hasn’t gone over to it for food or anything. He continues to hang out in his old hood. It has been about 4hrs since the move. Will he adjust and find his new location?

Thanks!

L.

Answer:

Hi L,

I think he’ll just need some time to adjust. Being prey animals bunnies get a sense of security from knowing their surroundings, that way if danger arises they know the quickest way to their safe place. Although your living room is familiar, his home area is not. If he seems nervous or still hasn’t ventured over to check things out I would try moving a few things back to the old spot but leave a few things in the new spot as well. Then slowly over the next few days as he seems more at ease you can move the rest of the items to the new location. Perhaps move his house and bed back to his old spot as these are very important for a sense of security. Then in a few days time move his bed and finally in another few days his house. Monitor him closely to make sure that he’s still eating and drinking fine although I think when he gets hungry he’ll mosey on over there. In the future if you are planning on moving his home location I would do it slowly, one or two things at a time, so it’s not so scary for him.

Hope that helps!

Question:

What should I do if my rabbit gets in to his hay rack and pees in his hay? I have to throw it away and I end up throwing half the bag away!

It would be great if you could respond to this!

E.

Answer:

Hi E,

If you don’t have a litterbox under your hay rack I would suggest putting one there. Rabbits are easily litter trained and they love to eat and poop in the same place. Perhaps if your litterbox is under the rack your bunny will poop and pee in the box while munching on it’s hay instead of trying to get in to the rack itself.

Something else you could consider is changing the type of hay rack you are currently using. There are ones you can purchase on a spinning ball that attach to your cage. It would be impossible for your rabbit to jump in to this however it won’t hold too much so you may have to fill it up multiple times a day. You could also purchase the hanging veggie baskets and stuff those with hay but again they don’t hold much. Personally I use under the shelf organizers. These are a basket that’s meant to hang under a shelf but I’ve attached a piece of wood to the back of them and hung it upright. It would be really hard for any of my rabbits to get in to and it holds a large amount of hay! I found them at the dollar store so they’re also cheap!

Dunlea Farms makes something called a Tidy Feeder that you may also want to check out. These are an edible box stuffed with hay that have a cutout in the front so your rabbit can access the hay. It attaches to the cage with zip ties. Alternatively, you could try and make your own for free! Take a small box and cut a rectangle on the lower front of it. Tie the box to your cage and stuff with hay. Your bunny can eat the hay from the rectangle you cut out, the box is safe to shred and chew but bunny won’t be able to jump in it! When it starts to get worn out, just replace the box! I have done something similar here.  You may also want to check around your area and see if there’s a farm that you could purchase hay from for a much cheaper price. I get my bales for $15 and it takes all six of my hay eaters about a month or so to get through that much hay! Now when hay gets wasted, I’m not so concerned about it!