How to encourage a lazy rabbit?

Charlie has always been lazy, even as a baby. Some days he doesn't even want to come out of the cage.
He pretty much wants to spend his life sleeping, eating and happy flopping (he happy flops a LOT!)
It's just taken me about 10 minutes to convince him to come out of the cage, and all he's doing is looking for food I've dropped! :roll:

He's almost 4 now and I don't want him to get any problems from basically refusing to move :roll:

I thought he'd get more active when he had a friend, but I've had Milly nearly a full year now and he's still lazy :lol:

He has no interest in toys or tunnels... The only thing he'd ever work for is the treat ball, but the bunnies tiff over food so I don't like using it unless I'm sat with them and giving them my undivided attention which I don't have time to do for hours every day!

Any ideas on how to make him actually exercise?! :lol:

I had a bunny a lot like that. Chrissy was content to stay in her cage all day and the cage was always open. She would mostly only come out if I laid on the floor next to her cage. She would come out,climb on me and go to sleep on me.:shock: The only way I could get her to exercise was to take her to a different part of the house or outside. I had to keep moving away from her the entire time so she would chase after me or she would climb on me and snuggle/sleep. Fortunately she did seem to like the chase game.

bunnytoes said:

I had a bunny a lot like that. Chrissy was content to stay in her cage all day and the cage was always open. She would mostly only come out if I laid on the floor next to her cage. She would come out,climb on me and go to sleep on me.:shock: The only way I could get her to exercise was to take her to a different part of the house or outside. I had to keep moving away from her the entire time so she would chase after me or she would climb on me and snuggle/sleep. Fortunately she did seem to like the chase game.

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If I take him downstairs he just goes to sleep under the table! :lol:
He won't even chase me, unless I'm carrying food :lol:
I scatter their food every day, but that's about the only time he willingly moves!

:lol: He sounds so very lazy and happy....:lol:

Sometimes I tickle my buns to get them going - esp. when I think they have not run about enough:lol: - or give them free range time in the garden...like Charlie - my buns will def. move if there is food about...but to get them to actually play involves sitting with them, tickling them, getting them to run about on the mat when they think they will get a treat and def. free range in the garden - then they go like mad speed demons with the long runs and space.:lol:

Does Charlie get to go out doors where he can run and forage and has interesting thing to investigate?

I find that unless they get the garden to play in they dont really play or run - space is an issue and I htink the slippery floors and the safe areas of where they are comfortable too...:?

Perhaps a cardboard box with hay and dried foraged bits and poke holes in the box so the smells come through - perhaps he would enjoy trying to get into that?

Is he overweight or otherwise unwell?

If not, is it bad to let him be lazy if he wants to be?

Is he always lazy? I'm just wondering if he might be more active when you are not around or awake. Bunnies bodyclocks are different to ours. I sometimes wake up through the night with Spenser landing on my head. :shock:

Vita said:

Is he overweight or otherwise unwell?

If not, is it bad to let him be lazy if he wants to be?

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Right now he isn't, but I worry he will get overweight and become unwell if he doesn't do a bit more... He's put a bit of weight back on again and they already get less than an eggcup of pellets each so I don't want to cut it down more... So him moving a bit more would be a good thing!

susie bun said:

Is he always lazy? I'm just wondering if he might be more active when you are not around or awake. Bunnies bodyclocks are different to ours. I sometimes wake up through the night with Spenser landing on my head. :shock:

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I'm sometimes awake for 40 hours at a time... He's always lazy :lol:

Chase him with a feather duster!

That's what my Mum does when we can't get Hopscotch out from behind the sofa. He likes playing with it instead though :roll:

My rabbit is super lazy as well, just watching her makes me sleepy! I tried scattering food around the house to get her to move about- she didnt manage to find anything that was more than a metre away from her! As long as she looks happy i just leave her to it now, and i think she is happy considering the amount of happy flops that she does!

Julie is 7. She will be 8 in July. She is most active at food time and in the morning, evening and at night. During the afternoon has always been sleepy time but over the last year she sleeps more and is less active. She is like Charlie in the way that she is very food driven so I use her food to get her going. I lie on the floor and hold the food to the oposite side of my body and she will jump over me. I do this a bunch of times before letting her have it. I also will lure her into a different part of the house with food. She does love to explore once out and about and loves climbing on low furniture. You could hide food everywhere for Charlie or let him chase you with the food. i agree that you should encourage him. The hay box is a good idea.