Indoor rabbit help

[toots82]

Hi

So over the weekend we sadly lost our Dutch cross bun, she was 6 and a half, she had been her normal self until Sunday when we noticed she wasn't herself. Vet said her temp was very low and they suspected something serious but treated for infection just in case and gave pain relief but were very clear that they didn't think she would last the night. They advised us to bring her and Charlie (our lop) in, give her heat pads and try to warm her up. She was all cosied in on DH knee having a cuddle when she slipped away. That was at 2am, we popped her back in beside Charlie and DH came down around 8am before the kids woke to take her out.

We've decided that Charlie will be staying in with us, we're moving in a few weeks and the garage has been converted into a 2nd sitting room which we will rabbit proof for him, he will have a pen for whilst I'm at work and overnight but he will have a load of free roam time (we have 2 dogs so mostly it will be limited to the one room but we will also have a wee hutch and run outside on the grass for nice days when we can take him out for an hour or so). If he were younger we would consider rebonding but we feel like we are happy for him to be our last and hes 10 now and slowing down so hopefully he will be content with our company.

The point of this huuuuge post is, I'd love to see any indoor set ups or your rabbits fav boredom breakers etc. I'll post a pic of what hes in just now but I have 6 more panels for the pen coming on Thursday, this was a last minute emergency job. Any advice is much appreciated, I feel heart sorry for him.

[400ixl]

Sorry to hear this.

Not a rabbit, but our guinea pigs have free reign of the house. Their cage is closed when they get put to bed at night, but they are released first thing in the morning for the day.

We have various beds around the place they can go for a snooze and have tubes and toys around to play with.

Main thing is plenty of interaction throughout the day if possible to stop them getting bored.

[toots82]

Originally Posted by 400ixl

Sorry to hear this.

Not a rabbit, but our guinea pigs have free reign of the house. Their cage is closed when they get put to bed at night, but they are released first thing in the morning for the day.

We have various beds around the place they can go for a snooze and have tubes and toys around to play with.

Main thing is plenty of interaction throughout the day if possible to stop them getting bored.

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Hi,

Thank you, your piggies sound quite rightly spoilt. I only work 3 days a week and school hours so I'm hoping he will have loads of free time. I'm going to baby gate the door to his room so it doesnt have to be closed. Hes not bothered in the slightest by the dogs but one is a cocker and she would just want to play chase and he would likely rather not play chase lol.

He had a shot in the dogs bed the other day and was rather comfy so I'll see if I can get a small version for supervised time (its fluffy so I wouldn't want him alone in case he chewed it).

[Guest]

I don’t have a rabbit myself, but I work with them. Personally I would block up that wall his hutch is against. He will
More than likely chew the skirting board and that’s not great if you are moving in a few weeks time. Aside from that he will need plenty of enrichment and good quality hay. 🙂

[klr15]

My other half’s sister has two French lops that she keeps indoors and they have the run of the downstairs.

She has a big blue set of boxes that are attached together and are on all different levels for the rabbits to play and sleep in. They also have loads of big cardboard boxes lying around plus a load of wooden toys they can chew too and a tunnel.

[LostPrincess]

I know nothing about rabbits but I just wanted to say I'm really sorry. I lost my little hamster last month and even though they are small they do touch your heart.

Sending lots of love to you and Charlie and I hope you get some good ideas here!

[RockTheDots]

Sorry to hear about your bunny.

We have a mini lop, Gadget, who's nearly 10. He has free roam of our flat although he doesn't go too far these days, he has arthritis and is almost blind. He has a cage in one corner of our living room (we had to cut a doorway into it for him as he can't jump any more!) with his hay which he mainly uses as his bathroom. We made a narrow corridor for him between the cage and the wall to emulate a burrow, he likes to sleep down there. He generally likes any rabbit toys he can chew/destroy. Maybe we're lucky, but he's never chewed the wall, skirting, carpet etc

[catherinesian]

Where abouts are you? I know of a couple of rescues that have rabbits out ‘on loan’ for people who don’t want to continue the cycle of rabbit ownership. Might be an option for your old boy 🙂

[Rac20]

Be careful of wires when you let your bunny roam. Make sure they are tucked well away. My bunny has never chewed skirting but does love the curtains. I pick them up out of his way when he plays out now.

[klr15]

Originally Posted by Rac20

Be careful of wires when you let your bunny roam. Make sure they are tucked well away. My bunny has never chewed skirting but does love the curtains. I pick them up out of his way when he plays out now.

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Yes that’s a very good point! My partner’s sister’s bunnies chewed through her cables twice and blew the electrics! They’ve also chewed all of her skirting boards, tv stand, corners of cupboards ect and they’ve dug holes in her living room carpet too!