Please help us settle gizmo ....gizmo hates his new home :(

So we have finally finished the summer house and gizmos semi outdoor hutch is first one completed . .... We have tried putting his blankets and litter tray in it but he either sits in his litter box or hides in bed .... (He only moves if we make him ) most of the time he sits huddled but occasionally shows the whites of his eyes.... He has been living in our spare room since April when he had his abscess removed and his partner Alex rejected him .... But now we have paid out over £1000 to build this new large summer house for them all to live in separate areas and gizmo is not interested .... Any suggestions would be great

How long has he been out there?

If you've only put him out in the last few weeks he'll likely be cold unless the shed is heated so that may explain it.

If he's been there a few weeks he may still be chilly, and still be settling in.

If he's been there more than a few weeks I'd say perhaps he's scared of the ramps because they're quite narrow with no sides so he feels he may fall off. It would be worth adding a bannister to both sides, and perhaps lifting the end up with a brick or two to make the ramps less steep. A bannister can easily be made with skirting board or narrow wood from homebase and they'll cut it to size, but it looks like you've designed and made the inside yourself so I'm sure that'd be no huge bother for you

How does Gizmo sleep when he's inside? Does he tend to really relax but doesn't in his shed? I used to have Nena and Tapla indoors and they used to really flop out but since I moved them outside 3 years ago they tend to sleep 'hunched' like you mention - on all 4s, tucked up. It almost looks like they may be in pain but that's actually how mine seem to prefer to sleep for some reason now they're outside.

It may be worth a vets check if you're concerned, if for no other reason than to rule out any pain issues.

There's a chance he could also be unsettled from seeing his ex partner, although many people house bunnies adjacent to each other with no problems.

Hi thanks for the reply. Gizmo was an outdoor bunny before surgery and would flake out but since becoming a bit too domesticated lol.... He has no interest in outside playing or living . We are putting blocks under the ramps and like the rail idea ( not that he is even considering that yet at all. He isn't moving around the floor. Let alone anything else. His ex partner isn't in there yet as we were concerned he may get scared so wanted him to feel safe in his own home ..... As for heat yes it has a radiator (oil filled ) but we aren't leaving him out there too long at the moment as we don't want him to get dehydrated or go into gut stasis from not moving so doing short periods .... Should we leave him longer ? He has vets Monday to check his other abscess so will have a health check then but just think he doesn't like being out doors anymore.... .... Don't know what to do

Also wanted to add when indoors in the room or playing downstairs he is so happy and bouncy so don't think there is anything wrong health wise.... We need him to live outside as if our landlady found out he was in we would all be living in a shed

How long are you generally putting him outside for and how long are you bringing him in for? I would guess that he's not feeling settled because he's constantly being brought in and out, depending on your timings. I think he's probably confused as to why he's there and perhaps feels like it's just a matter of time before you bring him in, so he might as well just sleep. It could also be that it's colder outside and he's not having time to get used to it. Even though you have a heater, even if it's on permanently it's likely to be colder outside. It's also not healthy to keep bringing a bunny indoors and outdoors - it can cause respiratory issues such as snuffles so I'd say definitely try to stick with the shed idea for now. He'll soon settle in once he knows he's there to stay and as long as he gets lots of human companionship as he did indoors. I found it difficult at first too... I used to fret a lot about not knowing how much they'd drank because I couldn't hear them drinking, and I still do worry sometimes if I check on them 3-4 times a day and they're sleeping every time but it's nothing to worry about.

Perhaps installing a webcam might be an idea if you feel it would help? It's something I'd like but I'm unable to while living with my parents. Quite a lot of people on here have webcams so they can monitor their bunnies throughout the day - it's surprising what they do get up to!

That's a tough one, he may be getting confused by moving back & forth? Also outside is all new noises again, especially this time of year. Rabbits are more on alert/frightened on their own - they are prey animals & feel safer with company. You may even find that he will improve with his ex hutchmate in situ as he won't be so on edge.

Good luck he's gorgeous by the way

Clare-uk said:

That's a tough one, he may be getting confused by moving back & forth? Also outside is all new noises again, especially this time of year. Rabbits are more on alert/frightened on their own - they are prey animals & feel safer with company. You may even find that he will improve with his ex hutchmate in situ as he won't be so on edge.

Good luck he's gorgeous by the way

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Its so difficult as they all come in the house and play in the garden but Gizmo I think is just too domesticated now. He is 6 and a half and although in some ways he is a bit of a numpty, when it comes to moving house he seems quite switched on to the fact if he sulks we give in and bring him indoors. We have left him out there for no more than 2-3hrs but going to try longer tomorrow and I am planning on sitting down there doing crafts to keep him company. He is so special (not that my others aren't its just he has been through so much) and we are so gutted he doesn't like his new home at the moment after all the hard work we put in to it. The heat is the summer house is the same as his bedroom during the day so temperature isn't a problem (we have compared thermometer readings as don't want him getting a chill when he is technically getting on a bit) OH is going to try and get his ex partners hutch ready to see how he reacts when she is in there but we are stumped ....... I know people are saying its the indoors outdoors thing but how can we get round that :? he lives indoors and now he is going to be outdoors..... we cant just putting him out there and hope he gets used to it so a few questions to try and clear this problem or at least head in the right direction. 1. how long would you leave him out there? 2. how do we get round the chance of stress making him ill? The thing is we don't know how long he has as he is on antibiotics for life due to the control of the abscess he had removed and to try and control the growth of the 2nd one he has to have his ear cleaned every day from where the abscess was removed and they left a drainage hole which we do well and he copes fine ..... but despite this problem, being a gummy bunny, and other surgery on his chin he is a tough cookie until it comes to moving house :? please please someone tell us what you would do.... remembering he cant stay in the house as we risk loosing it if our landlady finds out

I'd try taking Gizmo there when it's feeding time, (pellet time if that is his favourite and he gets them,) and leaving little treats around for him in the new space. He could just be unsettled by being moved to a unfamiliar surrounding.

That's what we tried this morning and he sat in the corner nibbled a couple bits then huddled up again. He is one stubborn bunny. Hopefully the vet might give us an idea on Monday or he may decide his sulky tantrum isn't working and he needs to get used to it.... Let's hope tomorrow he is more up for exploring
I really thought he would love it

I hope he settles in after several days of it. It's tough with a house bun who's been used to being around the hoomins. Good luck there and fingers crossed for you!

It's bound to be stressful for him as its not his 'territory' and he keeps being put in it and he can't understand why. It's probably quite scary for him. For the time being I would leave him out there full time for a few days, or however long it takes for him to get used to it, and then resume bringing him inside for playtime if you want to. You are confusing him and making it a more difficult transition by taking him back and forth

elmoandfern said:

It's bound to be stressful for him as its not his 'territory' and he keeps being put in it and he can't understand why. It's probably quite scary for him. For the time being I would leave him out there full time for a few days, or however long it takes for him to get used to it, and then resume bringing him inside for playtime if you want to. You are confusing him and making it a more difficult transition by taking him back and forth

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thanks for the replies . Really worried now ( last thing we would ever want to do is stress him out. So leave him out there all day.... wouldn't that risk him getting chilled more? When he first moved indoors after surgery he didn't like that but in time he now loves it. We do feel so sorry for him hense building such an extensive summerhouse to try and make it home from home I have taken him down there this morning and put his litter tray in there and his blankets from his indoor hutch etc and his teddy and he has sat there eating his breakfast and ran through his tunnel twice progress ,,,,,, no whites of the eyes either so fingers crossed. Due to his health issues we want to do this very carefully to make sure he doesn't have set backs

i'm not sure about the chill risk but i wouldn't think it would be any more risky if it's a longer period of time, since lots of changes in temperature is also bad for them. i think if it's similar temperature like you said it will be fine plus its lovely and warm today! i hope he settles soon

Hi, I have just skimmed through this quickly as I'm in work but could his indoor hutch/cage fit inside the summerhouse? This might make him feel safer?
Good luck with settling gizmo and I hope he realises soon that he has a great new home :thumb:

All I can say is when my Jazz lost his wifey bun, he became very distant, sat doing nothing would jump at every noise & wouldn't let me anywhere near him. I literally left his food & came out of his enclosure it made me as sad as he was. Then I got two girlies, and somewhat controversially (because of referred aggression) I put them side by side, Jazz is now a happy binkying bunny as are the two girls. So what I'm still saying is I think he may feel safer with his ex hutchy next door even though they fell out.

Anyway you can leave a webcam in him? He may explore when you leave him alone?

Thank you all for the advice. The last two days gizmo has spent most of the day out in his new home with his companion teddy bear lol... (His ex has one too and they snuggle up to them it's very cute)
Any treats are given too him down there and he has his breakfast in there . He hates the vinyl even though he had that in the old summerhouse , so we have lined his hutch with blankets which is making him more willing to wander. Last night when we got him down to clean his ear and give him his meds and supper he was very soppy so think he is missing our company but as Alex his ex 's hutch is ready hopefully she might keep him chirpy.
He has vets tomorrow to check on his abscesses so fingers crossed that is good news .... Couldn't handle bad news for my little man right now

Good luck for the vets, sending lots of vibes x

Thank you

How did Gizmo get on?

Hi Clare kinda good news at the vets (I think [emoji195]) Gizmo has gained weight so showing no signs of stress or pain from his other abscess. She did tell us that other than loud noises which he may only hear through vibrations gizmo is pretty much deaf as the other abscess is draining into his ear canal and the original one he had his ear canal re sectioned so couldn't hear that side for a while .... However due to the complications they met on the last surgery (which she said she can't believe he actually survived [emoji47]) she would only want to operate as a last ditched attempt to save him or stop him suffering should that time come. She told us to keep going as we our and if gizmo shows signs of any discomfort give him metacam as well as his normal antibiotics . She said we will know if he is in a lot of pain or having problems as his head would tilt or he would stop eating ..... Hopefully it won't come to that as it hasn't grown much at all ..... As for the summer house she recommended rubbing his chin where his scent gland is with a cloth and rubbing that all over the new hutch.... But basically we need to toughen up on him and keep him out there all day for the next week then start doing nights. Fingers crossed