Beauty problems

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ldoerr

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Brenham and Spring, Texas, USA
So as most of you know I built a new cage a couple of weeks ago. I also got my rabbits living together (bonded) on Saturday night. My problem is that Beauty will not jump down from the shelf in Shiny Things cage (the top cage). I have it so that they can go between the 2 cages fairly easily (1 grid jump). They both seem to spend their ENTIRE time on the shelf in the top cage. Beauty will not jump down from the shelf at all. (all levels/shelves are spaced 1 grid). When Beauty was kept in the bottom cage she would not jump down on her own. I ended up having to make an extintion of the cage and add a box so that she could jump down. I eventually took the cage extention off because it seemed as though she was able to get down (and because I could not get to the top cage). The reason I know that she can not get down is that she is peeing and pooping all over the fleece on the shelf. SHe is normally 100% with pee and 95% with poop. I did end up adding a box to the top cage a couple of days ago to see if she would be able to get down with that, but it has not helped. It actually seems to make it so that Shiny Things can not get down. Any thoughts on how I can get her to come down? I have in the mean time added a litter box water bowl and some hay to the shelf so that she will be ok. I do not have enough grids to make an extention of the cage like before.
 
Hmm, is she having a grip problem? Like slipping or something? Or, is there something "scaring her" down below?

Can you post pictures of the cage? It's hard to give ideas if I can't get a visual of the space we are working with.
 
Honey isn't much of a climber, jumper, either. For going up, she needs to put her front feet on the new floor before jumping up. I had to lower some things.
 
Here are some messy pictures (I need to clean soon).
Overall cage with top cage door all the way open and the bottom cage door 1/2 open. Also ramp leading to top cage so they can come out to play.
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Top cage. The shiny floors actually provide quite a bit of traction.
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Part of the bottom cage. I put the grid covered in animal print fleece in there yesterday to see if that would help. They can go between both cages, but always are in the top cage.
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It could just be that they like to be up high and having a good view as for why they're in the top cage. As for her not being willing to make the jump, it may be farther than she's comfortable with. I think using a box or something as a half way step may help her. It's also a possibility that the other bunny is being territorial and not letting her jump down.
 
Do you think the shiny floors, even though they provide grip, are deceiving when they go to jump down? Like maybe they can't see depth very well in it? I would try switching up material (buns can be picky, ya know). Also, can you try a ramp in the cage too?

The jump from level to level is alot shorter in my condo and both my two are jumpers and climbers. I'm not wondering if the material and height combined is the problem........

Let us know!
 
I do not know if the shelf could be lowered. It took me LITERALLY 5 hrs to assemble the cage in Brenham. I had done the majority of the work at my parents house. I am going back to my parents this weekend and MAYBE we could build a ramp. How long should it be? I did try the box and she did not like it. She can get up to the shelf no problem, it is getting down that she strugles with. Does anybody have any suggestions on how to make a mid way shelf? All the ways that I have thought of would not help much and would take up the whole cage. You also have to keep in mind that the opening to the shelf has not walls next to it that are not the doors. The cage is surrownded by the shelf on all of 3 sides and most of the 4th. Also I have NO tools (other than a box cutter and small cheep wire cutters) so can not build anything. I also can not bend any pannels.
 
Do you have any spare grids left over, or any of the wood sheet? If not, I've thought of something that may work if you have a box that you could use as a step.
 
Ok, so it's the very top shelf she is having trouble getting down from, right? I hope I can explain this so it makes sense. So below the opening to the top floor, you want a shelf for her to be able to jump up and down on to get up and down from the top level. You will also need two long dowels that will go lenghthwise along the front and back edge of the grids to support the shelf. You could use one or both grids and put them at whatever height you want, between the two levels, and secure the dowels by ziptieing to the grids that make the outer shell of your condo, and ziptie the shelf grids to the dowels. Then cover the shelf grids with carpet, or board covered with fleece, or something that isn't slippery.

If you would prefer to use a box for the step up to the top level, you will want to cover the top of the box with fleece or something so it isn't slippery, and then you'll want to secure the box to the floor that it will be sitting on. I thought that maybe double sticky tape on the bottom of the box would maybe work to secure it to the floor. I usually will just fold duct tape over on itself to make double sticky tape, and it seems to work pretty well. You just fold it over so the ends stick together, with the sticky part of the tape on the outside.

If you're confused about any part of my suggestions, just let me know.
 
I do not think that the dowl thing would work. If the dowls were to go from the front of the cage to the back of the cage, there would be no place for them to go through the cage in the front, because that is the door.

My mom had an idea for a ramp. She said to attach 1 grid to the shelf and then prop it against these blocks that we have that we will set on the floor of the cage. If we left the grid attached just on the one side (the top of the shelf) the grid would just hang straight down. If we rest it on the blocks, it would give it an angle. We will cover the grid with fleece (and I might go and get carpet scraps) to provide traction. Does this make since? If it does do you think that it would work? I also JUST had an idea of making the ramp. I would attach 2 grids (1 on each side of a corner). 1 would just hang down. The other would be the ramp and would attach to the grid hanging straight down.
 
No, the dowels go side to side. Your buns would have to crawl under them to get to the one corner of the cage, but that was the only way I could think of that would work. The ramp could work if it's not too steep of an angle and has enough traction. Giving it a try is the best way to find out.

Lowering the top level actually wouldn't be that hard either, if you have someone to help. Just cut the zipties holding that floor on and lower it down to where you want it, then reattach.
 
What about taking one of the grids that is currently making up the top shelf and making it be a step instead of part of that level by moving it down about half a grid? (so your top shelf would be more of an L shape instead of a C shape.)
 
missyscove I wish that I could do that, but the wood on top of the grids is 1 solid piece the size of the shelf. I do not have any tools so could not cut it either.
 

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