Those of you with free-range bunnies...

[cleverpony]

I rescued a beautiful female Mini-Rex last spring, and I've grown SO attached to her. After discovering this forum a few weeks ago, I built an NIC condo for the little bun. She had been living in one of those bunny starter kits in our living room, but I'm certain she appreciates all the extra space the condo affords her.

The thing is,Iwill be returning to school in the fall and I live with roommates who are not rabbit-savvy, or even pet-savvy, and I doubt they will see Moxie's new cage in the same light that I do. I anticipate them asking me to keep it in my room due to its size, which should work out okay; I will have to rearrange some furniture but otherwise I can't see it being a big problem. However, since the cage itself takes up so much space, I won't have room to attach a run for her to come out and play in. I would love to give her the run of the room, once I figure out how to get all the various wires up out of her reach. My main concern is her litter-box habits; right now she is doing pretty well but does leave occaisional pellets on the floor - maybe 15-20 pellets scattered if she;s been out for 3 hours or so. I will be having her spayed in September (she is about 7 months old now), but I'm unsure whether I should expect the surgery to act as a cure for this last little hurdle.

Do those of you with free-range bunnies just accept this small amount of pellets in your space and still consider your bunny "litter-trained"? Am I expecting too much? I just don't like the thought of pellets ending up under the bed where I maynot notice them right away, or worse, under my bare feet :disgust:

Any tips/encouraging words/alternative solutions would be much appreciated :thanks:

 

[sunnybunny]

Sunny litter-trained herself, pretty much. Except whe she "matured" and we were waiting for her spay appointment, she went back to pooping everywhere.

After her spay, she used her litter box again. I do see the occasional poop here and there, maybe one a day and she is never caged. Usually when she does that, it's because her litter needs changing.

 

[Runestonez]

Our bunns have always left pellets as they roam around. They are considered litter trained. I asked my vet about it with our first bunn. She said.."are they peeing in the box? Yes. Then count yourself lucky...by a hand vac!" Even the best trained rabbits in the world will leave pellets...it's just part of being a bunny. She related it to a 3 year old who is potty trained...but is having so much fun playing they "forget" to go to the bathroom and have an accident! It is also just bunn territorial behavior as well! If you are getting spayed her litter habits will probably improve a bit afterwards...but you just can't beat owning a hand vac!

 

[ruka]

My girls refuse to use their litter box, but reserve a corner for their business. When they are out roaming the living room, they usually jump back into their cage to do their business, then come back out to play. At least they're a bit considerate!

 

[naturestee]

Will she be in a carpeted room? I have a huge paranoia (mostly justified, too) about rabbits with carpet. Some a fine, but many will pull and eat carpet fibers. You don't always notice until you move a piece of furniture and find a huge hole. I'm less worried about the carpet than the rabbit, because carpet fibers can cause dangerous intestinal blockages. So IMO, unless you are sure that she does not chew carpet at all, it's best not to let her have the run of a carpeted room.

If you can fit the cage in the apartment, why not keep her in the cage but let her roam around the room while you're home to watch her? That's what I do and it works well. That would also protect her from an inconsiderate roommate and their friends who aren't rabbit savvy.

As for my buns (all spayed/neutered), I'm happy when they keep their pee in the litter box. Sometimes Mocha doesn't, and sometimes the girls start a pee/poop war in a corner of the living room.:? Two of my girls are very clean except for a small handful of poops around their pen. My boy is usually very clean too. My third girl (Mocha) poops where ever she feels like. Which is everywhere.:rollseyes:

 

[cleverpony]

Sorry, I should clarify a few things. The floor is hardwood and pretty well destroyed (after all, it is a student house), so I'm not concerned about the bunny hurting it or it hurting the bunny. Her NIC cage is 2 panels high and 3 panels long, and while it may cramp my space a bit, it should fit - as someone suggested, I plan on letting her have the run of my bedroom only when I am home. Last spring I let her romp around our bunny-proofed living room, but my roommate didn't appreciate the time it takes to litter train a bun. Add another new roommate to the mix who thinks rabbit poops are "disgusting, a health hazard" and you can see why I anticipate my bun moving in with me from the living room.

She has picked up litter box = pee place right away, but often leaves little poopies around my feet, especially when she is excited and doing the "love dance" around my ankles.

Another thing that concerns me is the possibility of noise at bedtime; I've never had to share a room with my bun before, and I know it will drive me up the wall if she rattles the bars of the cage all night. Before I could never hear her since she was in the living room, and she usually doesn't do it unless she can see someone she thinks she can bully into opening the door, lol. I'll likely sleep with a fan on, but is there anything else I can do to discourage nighttime noise?

Thanks for all the responses so far

 

[maomaochiu]

i use ear plugs and they work fine

 

[sparklyyy]

cleverpony wrote:

Another thing that concerns me is the possibility of noise at bedtime; I've never had to share a room with my bun before, and I know it will drive me up the wall if she rattles the bars of the cage all night. Before I could never hear her since she was in the living room, and she usually doesn't do it unless she can see someone she thinks she can bully into opening the door, lol. I'll likely sleep with a fan on, but is there anything else I can do to discourage nighttime noise?

I'm a senior in college and keep Zeke in my apartment with me during the week, and take him home during weekends. I've had to think about all of the same problems!

First, as for the noise: Zeke used to be very loud at night. He'd rattle the bars of the cage and it would drive me nuts and sometimes startle me! The best solution is to rub down the bars with some kind of chewing deterrent (found at any pet store -- make sure it's rabbit safe!). Also try all-natural soap if the above doesn't work. Zeke seems to like the taste of those sprays because he continues to lick and chew wherever I spray. :shock:

As for leaving poops here and there -- Zeke does this. I haven't met a bun yet who doesn't. I fully clean his bedroom (yes, he has his own room in the house) about once a week or every other week. In that timeframe, there will be maybe five poops on the ground or so. As long as it's not much more than that, and he doesn't pee outside of his litter box, all is well.

Please ask if you have any other questions re: bunny integration into a roommate situation.

Erin

 

[sparklyyy]

Also, one more thing:

In my apartment, there's only one large bedroom so I have to share with two other girls! What I am going to do is take a bunch of NIC cubes and build a run for him along one of the walls in the living room. Maybe your roommates wouldn't mind if, during the day and when you can supervise your bun, she ran around in a larger area (living room, etc., whatever your living situation allows), in a confined area.

I've been lucky because one of my roommates last year LOVED Zeke. I litter trained Zeke in the apartment and my roommate would even help clean up and babysit him. I'm sure that your roommates will fall in love with your bun (who can resist 'em???), or at least tolerate him. It's hard to imagine that they'd truly give you a hard time about it.

Erin