My rabbit is very inactive in his cage but very active when let out

[neatherlanddwarf]

I don't understand why he's doing this
I'm not sure if it's anything critical because he's still eating drinking, he still goes bananas for his carrots and treats
but when he is in his cage he just lays out, sleeps or just sits and stares at me for minutes on end
So I obviously think something something is wrong, so when I decide to let him out, he goes all bananas and runs around room to room, scents corners, poops and pees, scratches the carpet and goes to the other rabbits rooms to see what their up too!
I don't get it, why does he look so sick and bored in his cage!
Has anyone experienced this before and is this something to be concerned for?

 

[Watermelons]

Well cages are pretty boring. It is a "cage" after all. How often is he getting free time out of the cage? How big is his cage and what enrichment objects do you provide for him inside it?

 

[neatherlanddwarf]

Well he has a pretty big cage for his size, he's a dwarf!
I'm not sure how big he's cage is in measurement but it's big enough for miniature schnauzer to sleep in
However he's cage doesn't have much, just food and water!
We've had him for 3 years now and he was always out with the exception of these past few weeks where he's been in the cage all day because I've been working so much! so he's been looking so bored in his cage
But he's out right now and doing his usual
It's such a weird behavior

 

[Watermelons]

Its not really weird at all. Hes bored in his cage and enjoys being out. Hence a really bored behaviour when he's in it and happy when he's out.
My Pit Bull can sleep in a bed made for a cat so saying a mini schnauzer can sleep in it means nothing, but that sounds small.
Dwarf rabbits are generally more hyperactive then giant breeds so they should be housed in something similar.
Most pet store cages are far to small for any rabbit. Give him something to do and somewhere to go!

The more time out of the cage the better.
Get an x-pen with a lid of some sort and attach that to his cage so he can come and go as he pleases and have bonus free time when you can let him out of that area.

 

[Bonsai]

The absolute smallest cage I'd ever put a rabbit in is an XXL dog crate (typically 48 inches long). A mini schnauzer can fit in a very small cage, so that doesn't tell us much. It's possible he doesn't have much room and he feels confined/bored by this. My rabbit was in a smaller cage when I first got him because we had intended to have him outside (inside our gate) but he wound up stealing everyone's hearts and he's inside now, so I was not prepared to have him inside. So I got him the XXL dog crate as his home ASAP. I can tell a marked difference in his behavior then and his behavior now, he has a lot more space and he seems a lot less bored when he's in his cage.

It's a good idea to have a lot of different types of toys to offer your bun, and rotate them out so that he doesn't get "used" to them. One toy I've found that my rabbit responds very well to is a treat ball. I put his pellets in it and he will roll it around for hours getting all the pellets out! I usually give him this at night when I'm not awake to entertain him.

 

[briennap]

For the times that he does need to be caged up try putting some toys and stuff for him to chew on that
Might ease some of his boredom!