Older rabbit - getting in and out of his cage

[pam9]

So I have a rabbit that's at least 8, probably more like 9+ years old. He lives indoors and has a typical cage - powder coated metal with a plastic bottom, that opens on the side. This little ramp is how he gets in and out of his cage. He rarely comes out on his own anymore, but he does usually hop back in on his own.

In the past, he was more agile and could get in with one big leap, pretty much jumping over the ramp entirely. However, lately I've noticed that he's no longer able to do that, and so has to actually use the ramp. In doing so, he's caught his foot several times in between the bars. In the past few days, he doesn't go in on his own at all - instead, he sits at the entrance to the cage and waits for someone to put him in.

Does anyone have any suggestions to make it easier for him to get in? I had been thinking of sewing a piece of fabric taut over the bars of his ramp, but wasn't sure If he'd start chewing on that once the cage was closed - plus, I didn't know if that would work to support him getting in - though he is a fairly small rabbit, between 3-4 pounds. Any other solutions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Pipp]

I'd take zip ties and bind a light piece of wood onto the ramp. I use a very light, thin oak plywood. Its okay if he chews it. You might have to change the ties if he chews through them, but very unlikely that he'd ingest them.


sas :bunnydance:

 

[Nancy McClelland]

cardboard works nice as a cover also and is easy and cheap to replace.

 

[tamsin]

Is he litter trained? You could take the top off the cage and just use that with a sheet of lino or similar underneath instead of the tray.

Edited to add: I would get him checked by a vet just to see if there is anything they can help with. Although it's quite likely it is age related there are other things that cause hind limb weakness that could be ruled out. Smallish bunnies tend to live longer so whilst 8 is getting on for a bunny it doesn't automatically mean ill health

 

[elrohwen]

I have a similar cage and here's what I did:

I found a little wooden box at a craft store, maybe 5" high. I put that under the wire door/ramp of the cage to hold it up. Then I take a piece of fleece and use bindger clips to clip the fleece on. So it's more of a platform, than a ramp now, and my bun can jump up on the platform, then into his cage. And the piece of fleece keeps him from getting his feet stuck.

I hope that makes sense! If you really need to see pics I'll see if I can post some for you.