(note: the rabbits have an outdoor shed and run, but at the moment they are indoors in two double decker hutches joined together- it's this that I have the issue with currently).
Bandit is nearly 8 years old now and isn't as agile and flexible as she used to be. She's had some traction issues recently (slipping on the wood), can't turn as well on the spot (so gets stuck in smaller spaces) and is having a bit of trouble going down her ramp with any kind of elegance. Anyway, today I heard this racket and turned around to find her upside down on the ramp, flapping about like a fish, and had to jump in and rescue her. I'm aware that the hutches are no longer adequate for her current needs but I'm not sure what to do about it. If I get a single, not only will it cost a bomb but it would restrict the area she and Oren have and be too small to house both of them... When Sealy was alive, he had problems with the ramp in his hutch (they were separate prior to Bandit's bond with Oren) and to stop him nosediving down it I put a block of wood along the side so he had to go down the ramp directly rather than trying to jump on sideways, if you know what I mean. That worked. I might try to do that with Bandit's old hutch, which has no safety railing yet, and hope that helps stop her falling down or else trying to tackle the ramp at an angle she can no longer cope with. But then I noticed she has turning issues with the other adaptation because she can't easily turn in the space between the door and the wood block (she can do it, just not elegantly) but if she learns to go in the bedroom at the end, turn around and come back out, I'd still rather she have to learn that than to fall down the ramp. And then the traction issues... I'm not sure how to tackle that unless I somehow carve grooves in the wood to help her, but the wood is pretty thin... And what about the future? She could live years yet and the vets say they won't treat her for arthritis yet because the negatives (affecting the thingies in the gut etc) outweigh her need at the moment. What about when it gets worse? I'm not sure what to do.
Bandit is nearly 8 years old now and isn't as agile and flexible as she used to be. She's had some traction issues recently (slipping on the wood), can't turn as well on the spot (so gets stuck in smaller spaces) and is having a bit of trouble going down her ramp with any kind of elegance. Anyway, today I heard this racket and turned around to find her upside down on the ramp, flapping about like a fish, and had to jump in and rescue her. I'm aware that the hutches are no longer adequate for her current needs but I'm not sure what to do about it. If I get a single, not only will it cost a bomb but it would restrict the area she and Oren have and be too small to house both of them... When Sealy was alive, he had problems with the ramp in his hutch (they were separate prior to Bandit's bond with Oren) and to stop him nosediving down it I put a block of wood along the side so he had to go down the ramp directly rather than trying to jump on sideways, if you know what I mean. That worked. I might try to do that with Bandit's old hutch, which has no safety railing yet, and hope that helps stop her falling down or else trying to tackle the ramp at an angle she can no longer cope with. But then I noticed she has turning issues with the other adaptation because she can't easily turn in the space between the door and the wood block (she can do it, just not elegantly) but if she learns to go in the bedroom at the end, turn around and come back out, I'd still rather she have to learn that than to fall down the ramp. And then the traction issues... I'm not sure how to tackle that unless I somehow carve grooves in the wood to help her, but the wood is pretty thin... And what about the future? She could live years yet and the vets say they won't treat her for arthritis yet because the negatives (affecting the thingies in the gut etc) outweigh her need at the moment. What about when it gets worse? I'm not sure what to do.