Is it fair to give one rabbit more playtime if the other doesn't enjoy it?

[A & B]

I've had Lola for almost 2 weeks and I have noticed she gets very scared of being outside the cage. She won't run around or jump onto my bed, play with toys, she won't even go pee or poo most of the time. She won't touch her food either. She just sits in the very corner of her box. When I put her back into the pen and let Bugs out, she will run around, flop, and eat and use the bathroom. This is very worrying, especially because she isn't eating or using the bathroom for the 12 hours she is out. I came home yesterday and I thought she was in stasis. I put her back in the pen and she immediately started eating her veggies and used the bathroom. She seemed to want in the pen because she was digging at the bars. This annoyed Bugs and I think it caused the session to go terribly yesterday because they were both annoyed with each other.

If she is this scared, should she be in the pen for the large part of the day? I would gradually increase the amount of time outside the cage she gets, by 15 minutes each day until they're bonded. I just feel like she should be given that option to run around, but the pen is in no way small, it's 4 feet by 4 feet.

Is it fair for her to have less playtime than him?

 

[Hermelin]

Let her be in the pen more instead. And let her only have short moments outside, with you encouraging her to walk around and explore when she’s out.

Myself have a bunny that was really scared indoors and tried to hide every time, he was really stressed.

But now after getting more comfortable among people and spending many short times running around in the house. This helped him to build up a little safety.

 

[A & B]

She is terrified of me (was an abused breeder bunny who only had negative experiences with people) and if I'm in the room, she won't even come out of her box. I'm hoping the two of them are bonded soon because she only lets me touch her when he's next to her. It's so sad to see her run when she sees me. I'm trying to show her that I'll never hurt her by letting her approach me and giving her treats, but even then, she gets really nervous and will breathe hard. She also watches Bugs a lot so I sat in front of the pen and I called Bugs over to me. I pet his head and gave him a treat when he gave me a kiss. I let her watch all of this so she learns that I'm not a threat and that if he can trust me, she can too.

 

[Blue eyes]

Am I misunderstanding? When she is in the pen does she have access to her cage?

 

[A & B]

Sorry I didn't make it clear.

The pen is the cage. I used the term "pen" because the cage is an x-pen. They take turns having playtime and the one out for playtime can't access the pen (as the other bun is in there). There is a small dog crate that the litterbox and water are in for the bun having playtime, but there isn't space for her to lay and relax in that crate.

 

[Blue eyes]

Then I believe I see the problem. Some rabbits (as you are seeing) take longer to feel comfortable in a new home/environment. For these buns in particular, it is crucial that they have an established cage that is theirs alone (or for a bonded pair). "Playtime" for these rabbits require that they always have easy access back to their cage -- their place of safety. From what I am understanding, she is forbidden to return to her cage during this playtime. This would be most disturbing for her and will serve to delay her settling in. It must confuse her and increase her stress.

You've only had her 2 weeks? She should have an established cage. Her play time should mean that her cage/pen is open to an area and she can explore as she desire -- always with the comfort of being able to retreat to her "safe zone" (the area she considers her home). Being able to return to her cage allows her to feel a measure of security.

I'll post this now then add a relative story.

 

[Blue eyes]

My current rabbit was also timid outside the cage. Once he was bonded with my girl and they were both established in the cage together, he was still hesitant to leave the comfort of the cage. Finally he began to venture out -- just a little at first. He'd wander maybe a foot or two from the cage opening and then return. It took weeks before he ventured further. He clearly took comfort in being able to retreat whenever he felt nervous.

Then, we moved to a new home. I kept them both closed in their usual cage for about a week to give them time to adjust. Then, I began to keep the cage door open all day (as used to be usual). The one rabbit was eager to explore. Mocha, on the other hand, took longer. It was a full 2 months before he felt comfortable enough to follow his bondmate outside the cage.

The point of this story is to demonstrate how important in can be to allow a bunny constant easy access to his/her space even when it's exercise/play time.

 

[Hermelin]

She is terrified of me (was an abused breeder bunny who only had negative experiences with people) and if I'm in the room, she won't even come out of her box. I'm hoping the two of them are bonded soon because she only lets me touch her when he's next to her. It's so sad to see her run when she sees me. I'm trying to show her that I'll never hurt her by letting her approach me and giving her treats, but even then, she gets really nervous and will breathe hard. She also watches Bugs a lot so I sat in front of the pen and I called Bugs over to me. I pet his head and gave him a treat when he gave me a kiss. I let her watch all of this so she learns that I'm not a threat and that if he can trust me, she can too.

I’ve had my bunny for nearly a year, he still avoids my hand most of the time but he will run up to me when he sees me and I can cuddle with him when he want to. He still run away when I’m going to give him a treat if I’m not already holding it in the hand, but he will slowly and nervously come back and take the treat.

You will just have to take it slowly and she will slowly build a trust towards you. Make sure to always have treats on you or have her pellets ration for the day in your pocket.

So every time she comes up, she get a small treat and slowly build from there.

It takes time with rabbits that are scared and two weeks are a really short time.

Took me 5 months to not be bitten by my bunny that was scared [emoji5]

But it’s really rewarding seeing the progress they make and becoming more comfortable and safe around you. It’s hard seeing progress but you can put up small goals for her. Which you want to work towards, making it easier to see progress and also be determined to reach.

My goals I had for my bun was:
No more biting and attacking people
Being calmed and relaxed when being picked up/ handled by me
Petting
Not run away when he saw a human
Walking in a harness
Not being scared indoors

And so on

So don’t stress and don’t feel down over that she still doesn’t trust you and feel safe. It’s take time and a lot of bribing with treats and a lot of love, to build up your trust with a scared bunny


My little boy that was scared of humans, he’s still scared of kids, so a working progress [emoji5]

 

[A & B]

Then I believe I see the problem. Some rabbits (as you are seeing) take longer to feel comfortable in a new home/environment. For these buns in particular, it is crucial that they have an established cage that is theirs alone (or for a bonded pair). "Playtime" for these rabbits require that they always have easy access back to their cage -- their place of safety. From what I am understanding, she is forbidden to return to her cage during this playtime. This would be most disturbing for her and will serve to delay her settling in. It must confuse her and increase her stress.

You've only had her 2 weeks? She should have an established cage. Her play time should mean that her cage/pen is open to an area and she can explore as she desire -- always with the comfort of being able to retreat to her "safe zone" (the area she considers her home). Being able to return to her cage allows her to feel a measure of security.

I'll post this now then add a relative story.

I just don't know where I'd put the other pen. I could make the cages smaller (probably 2 feet by 4 feet) but that wouldn't leave much space for them to relax. She did have an established cage during playtime, but because Lola seemed to be very uncomfortable around Bugs during the sessions, I took that apart and set the pens up so they can see each other at all times. That has helped greatly, besides the chewing on the bars. I will attach a picture of the cages before and how they are set up now.

I could set the cages up how they were before because she seemed more comfortable that way. I was even moving them cage to cage twice a day. This is because the bun on the bottom was the one out for playtime. She did seem more comfortable this way. I couldn't re-setup the cages until Saturday though.

 

[Blue eyes]

The before and current photos would help.

 

[A & B]

Oh my gosh, I am so sorry! If you need better pictures, please let me know! The first one is the old one and the others are of the current setup

 

[Blue eyes]

This would be my suggestion for Lola's sake. I would go back to having the 2-tier, 2 separate cages as in the first photo. I would put Lola in the lower cage. When it is her turn to exercise, simply open the cage door. Let her go or come as she pleases. This way she has one, permanent, 'place of her own' space. Don't pull her out of that space or reach inside to pet her. Let it be her private space - a place that she can learn will be her private domain.

I would put the confident Bugs in the upper cage and have a box or such that can be used as a step to allow him in or out of his upper level cage when it is his time for exercise. I am assuming that since Bugs is more settled, that he'd adjust to going in and out of his upper level cage during exercise time. This way, they each have their own space. They each get turns to exercise while still always having access back to their own space.

The only kink in this plan is that I assume you are intending to bond them. Rather than having neutral space, they have space that they are taking turns in. That isn't ideal.

If bonding sessions can be done somewhere totally different, that would be great. Once fully bonded, the two-tier cage can be dismantled and a new, larger one can be made that will then be new to both of them. This is always good when moving a newly bonded pair into a new cage -- for the cage to be new to them. That new cage could be the pen with new (or neutralized) bunny stuff inside.

 

[A & B]

I could use the dog crate as a stool for Bugs too. The only reason I was switching cages was that Bugs seemed to get a bit territorial of his things, but that seems to have stopped. I do like that idea, I just wish I thought of that earlier.

We are in the middle of the bonding process now. Bonding sessions are being done in pretty much area but my room and the living room as Bugs has some playtime there every once in a while. I liked having my spare x-pen so I could do sessions outside because Lola is more comfortable out there, but I'm sure I can find something else I can use.

I can't set the cage back up until at least tomorrow night, but I will probably get to it Saturday morning. Is it okay if she stays in the pen until then?

 

[Lionheadloady]

Yes that is ok. I would really limit the play time until she is fully comfortable in her pen. It’s not going to kill her if she stays in the pen for a couple days to establish her sent and area. I defiantly understand how you are feeling as I always want my bunnies to have lot of playtime, but I always give them time before encountering a new space.

 

[JBun]

I think I would just leave it the way it is since you are likely going to be finishing bonding them this weekend, right? She'll be fine without the option of playtime for a few days, and once they are bonded then she is probably going to be more inclined to follow Bugs lead and be brave enough to start exploring. So I would just wait til then. No need to go through all of that extra work in rearranging cages since you are just going to have to do it again once they are together. If you weren't planning on finishing up the bonding this weekend, since they seem to be doing so well together and don't like being separated, if all still seems to be going well then I would just finish up the bonding.

 

[A & B]

I wanted to finish bonding this weekend, but I don't think that's going to happen. Next weekend (the 7th), I am going to finish bonding. I haven't had a good session since Monday. The last one was on Tuesday and there were quite a few scuffs within the span of 10 minutes. I will explain why I haven't done sessions in detail tonight on my blog. I could open the cage and let her run around for an hour or so and I would take Bugs and his things into the living room so she can explore without either of us (mainly me as she doesn't mind him) frightening her.