Hoomans moving...

[KaliQ]

Hi everyone,

My husband and I are buying a house yahoo:eeeeh!) and will be moving in just a couple weeks. We've been packing in stages for about a month (we have a lot of stuff) and Botsky has enjoyed the various arrangements of cardboard boxes in the living room during the process! I am wondering what suggestions ya'll have for helping our mini lop doe (1.5 yrs) adjust in this transition. She'll end up having an entire room to herself during the day as we have extra rooms. Right now there is only sub flooring in the new house though we'll be adding flooring room by room as we can afford it and her cage has been bed sheets on top of carpet. I think she's probably confused about all the moving around of stuff but has not shown any behavioral problems (thank goodness!) during this process. I know that rabbits like routines and dislike change (she was not happy when we went out of town for a weekend) so I want to make this major transition easier for her. We'll probably move her cage last and transport in a pet carrier that she is used to.

Thanks in advance for all of your wonderful advice! I always appreciate the kind help!

 

[missyscove]

I'd leave the carrier in her area for a few days so she can sit in it and get used to it before the move. Those bedsheets you have, bring them into her new area and spread them out, that way it'll smell more like her. Resist the urge to clean eveything while you're taking it down. It'll make her more comfortable if everything has her scent on it. I'm not sure how far away you're moving, but it might even be helpful to bring some water from your curret home with you in case the new water tastes different.

 

[KaliQ]

Thanks, Missyscove! I hadn't thought about taking water but that is a great idea seeing as how we're going from city water to a well. I'll definitely transfer the same sheets with the cage. I also figured we would keep her in the cage for the first couple days and slowly expand her roaming area as we adjust.

 

[degrassi]

I moved in the spring and my bunny didn't make the transition well so its great you are planning ahead. Since I was moving out of my parents house I was able to keep my rabbit there until I was fully moved in. I didn't want the extra commotion of moving my stuff to stress him out. After a 2 weeks I moved him over. I kept his cage the same and moved him into the kitchen as his cage used to be in my room so he's used to seeing my all the time.

He didn't like it at all. I knew he probably wouldn't as he is 10yo and a grumpy old man that doesn't like change. He stopped eating for 2 weeks and I had to force feed him. So be ready for that just in case. He also had some issues using his litter box and decided to let me know he wasn't happy by peeing right next to it. After a couple weeks he started to come around to eating normally and using his box. Its now been a few months and he is back to his normal behaviour in his cage. I"m still working on trying to get him to come out of his cage and into the play pen I attach so he can have more room. He comes to the edge of his cage but won't actually go into the play area. So his outside the cage time has been non existent even though I try every day.

So I'd recommend moving him last and keeping everything in his cage the same. Be prepared for a change in eating/drinking and have syringes etc on hand just in case . Spend as much time with him once he's moved over to comfort him. Hopefully he'll take the transition ok. Good luck

 

[KaliQ]

Thanks to everyone for your wonderful advice!

We are all moved in and Sherbotsky has done wonderfully! The night we moved her over she was pretty scared and her nose was shaking like crazy! Thankfully she has adjusted well and I even saw a couple binkies the other day! She has been eating voraciously and pooping like normal. The next step is to get her a buddy!