[Bits]

i'm moving house soon & in the new place i will finally be able to make my bun a house rabbit, i wanted to do it from day one, but haven't got anywhere suitable for him inside the current house.<br><br>
anyway, i was just wondering if anyone has any experience with changing their bun from outdoor to indoor..i'm not too sure how well they adapt, anyone got any advice for me?<br><br>
thanks <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/smiley.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="">

 

[CountryDreamer]

I recently brought my rabbit inside from being an outside rabbit, and he was fine with it. The only advice I have is to make sure your rabbit gets a lot of light (natural light if possible), such as near a window and clean his cage out often to prevent smell and flies being attracted. Also, if possible, fence off an area in your yard a bit bigger then his cage, in a grassy area so he can stretch his legs and get fresh air. My rabbit loves running around his "rabbit yard" that I have fenced off for him, nibbling the grass and digging in the dirt.<br><br><br><br>
Good luck!!

 

[CherBear]

My husband and I had an indoor rabbit. He was actually litter boxed trained! <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/thumbsup.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title=":up:"> You can buy corner litter boxes for the rabbit crates - just put it in one corner with some wood chips or litter and the rabbit will use it. Usually rabbits go to the bathroom in a certain area anyway. Makes clean up super-duper easy too!<img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/sunny.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title=":sunny:">

 

[queenarmadillo]

Do you mean house rabbit as in living in a cage indoors, or house rabbit like house cat? If its no.1 then there are no big issues, just light, and access to outdoor grass sometimes still (in a run or supervised on a leash is best).<br><br><br><br>
If no.2 then depending on your animal it can be really easy or absolutely unbearable. before you let it live loose fulltime, make sure it is litter trained. Mine was fairly fast about this (once we got her a bigger box so she didnt pee over the edge) but still had occasional incidents on the carpet which are murder to clean up. Prepare for this and buy a special pet clean-up spray with deoderizer and disinfectant. Some are very funny about it and the best way to handle it is a) put the tray in the bit of the house where they seem to wee most, b)pick the rabbit up mid-flow if you see it start, and place it in the tray. Lots of rewards when it goes in the right place itself, c)try to put some existing droppings in the tray so it gets the idea. Even then expect to find small hard poos around your house occasionally, they do these whilst they are running so dont think about them as tray type activities.<br><br><br><br>
Also if you have any electrical items you are fond of, keep the rabbit away from them. There is something in the current that makes the rabbit drawn to them, and they dont realise its a stupid idea even after one (mild) electricution (from experience). Also they eat clothes, furniture and carpet. Supervise closely and reprimand for chewing things that arent food or rabbit toys. Be aware that if it really wants something, an overweight rabbit can still manage to jump at least 3.5 ft (again from experience, in this case he wanted to have babies, so it was a fairly strong incentive).<br><br><br><br>
Despite all that I've said, my houserabbit was really quite good once she got used to it (although we were never brave enough not to put her in the hutch at night or when we were out because the cat had the only room with no electrical items in it and was not at all fond of the rabbit) ooh, on that note, some rabbits can use catflaps. Its not a good idea to let them.

 

[Bits]

Thanks for your advice everyone, sorry i haven't replied sooner, i'm trying to sort everything out for our move day at the minute.<br><br>
I'm hoping that chewing things won't be too much of a problem as we have a smallish room that we are turning into rabbit friendly accomadation...hard floors incase of any accidents, lots of stimulating toys etc. we'll be able to let them hop about in other rooms when we are there to supervise, so i'm hoping everything will work out ok...thanks again <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/smiley.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="">

 

[Pescas]

Having an indoor loose rabbit works fine. What you probably should have though, is a small indoor cage in which you can keep the food in, (the bunny hops in and eats there) and a safe place for him to hide and sleep..A little food/bed station on the ground. Notice in what corner he goes to the bathroom and put a bunny toilet there, and move it around if he changes place. You should probably clean and wash that daily, thats what I do =D

 

[Minibean]

I don't have rabbits but have you looked at The House Rabbit Society? (<a href="http://www.rabbit.org" target="_blank">www.rabbit.org</a>)