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Liza Beth812

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May 24, 2019
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Hello,

I’m new here. We recently adopted a bonded male mini-Rex and female mini-lop about a month ago. We got them from our local rabbit society house shelter: They’re both about 2 years old. I didn’t know anything about rabbits but have completely fallen in love with “my babies”, especially my little guy and have emmersed myself into learning as much about rabbits as possible.

I do have some questions;

He has a habit of escaping his pen. He is neutered and the pen is sufficient size for 2 rabbits. The shelter came by and did a check before we were allowed to adopt them and said the pen was more than fine.
We’re in the process of probably just going to give them the entire room once we get some things out of there. There isn’t anything that could harm him but I’m concerned that he leaves her in the pen by herself, especially since she is very skittish. Is that common behavior of bonded rabbits to leave their mate by themselves in the pen consistently? He’s also quite bold with it. We will herd him back in and he will escape about 5 minutes later. What could be the reasoning for this?


Also, Will rabbits refuse to use their litter box and trash their pen when frustrated or upset? Last night, we brushed them and they were not happy about it. We gave them plenty of enrichment time to get their energy level out. I came in this morning to find him out of the pen, poop everywhere and the litter box dumped. (This also happened when my boyfriend went out of town. He works from home and they are used to him being there during the day.)

Also, she is quite skittish. She hides and will barely let us pet her. However, the shelter said she was the more friendly rabbit. He on the other hand, is very loving, binkies all over the place and will demand attention. However, we were told he was the more reserved rabbit. Is that common for rabbits to “flip” personalities when they go to new homes?



Sorry for the long post but any feedback as to why some of this is occurring and how to be a better bunny parent is appreciated!
 
First off, welcome to the forum!

Flipping personalities is not "a thing." I'd suspect it is more that one is simply taking longer to adjust to her new environment. I've had rabbits that seemed adjusted within a day or two and others that literally took months.

The escape artist needs to be stopped -- for his safety and your belongings' sake. If you could post a photo of your housing set-up, that might help us see what could be the possible weak spot (or do you know how he is escaping?) It isn't good for their bond for him to be outside the pen (and presumably unable to get back in) while she is stuck inside the pen.

I didn't quite follow the litter box being upturned after he was outside his pen. Is this a separate box outside or the one inside the pen that perhaps the girl upset? Either way, I'd consider an overturned litterbox to be just something to do. The box could be too small if they are able to turn it over. Or are they digging the contents out?
 
Thank you for the response.

This is a pic from their first day home. He scales the gate. I’m not sure if we need a higher pen. We’ve put thin cardboard boxes around the gate to keep them in but I don’t really like obstructing their view. The goal is to just give them the entire room and leave their pen gate open so they can come and go within their room as they please. I’m also concerned about their bond. She runs and tries to hide behind him when scared and when they’re together. I don’t like the idea of her in the pen alone.

As for the litter box, we have 2 larger litter boxes inside their pen that they use, in fact one of them is technically for a cat. The contents were thrown out of one of the boxes. One (or both of them) pooped all over the pen as well. The poop was in clusters and not strung out like they were marking territory. The one with the contents spilled out was the one she seems to use more.
 

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You can put a sheet or blanket over the top to prevent him from jumping out. I have seen rabbits get angry and do some interesting things. My male will dig at my blankets on my bed or even dig at me if I upset him!
 
Thank you! I will try the sheet idea to keep him in the pen until we finish their room!
 
The photo with the black rabbit shows clearly that the pen is too short. Could you post the entire cage?

The sheet can help temporarily but if you already have cardboard around and then put a sheet on top, they will be visually blocked from the room. That isn't going to be so great for them. Perhaps a taller/different pen would be better (not sure on that until we see the entire set-up).

What is the height of the pen (at the corners)?
 

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