• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

House bunnies and stairs

daphnephoebe

Wise Old Thumper
I'm getting concerned about Phoebe with the stairs. Their bedroom is upstairs and they go up in the morning/evening for feeding. They get free roam so aren't shut in their room.

Just lately we've noticed Phoebe seems to have trouble with the stairs. She tries to rush them and ends up slipping and stops about 1/2 way to 2/3 of the way up. It's kinda like she's lost her footing, has almost fallen down and just wants to stay there. She eventually comes up after a few moments but obviously we don't want her to hurt herself.

What can we do to help her with the stairs?

Could it be her flat face making her depth perception a bit off?

Could it be her slightly smaller body/legs?

Feeding downstairs isn't really an option as she'll just chase us up, then back down.

I can't teach her one step at a time as she is hesitant of coming near us on the stairs... she thinks we're trying to trick her into the bedroom for grooming/vet trips.

They had a full health check mid-november and all completely healthy.

She has no trouble going downstairs & they're carpet. Daphne gets up and down fine but she is a slightly bigger bun.


Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk
 
Put a pellet of food on each step or alternate steps just as she's going up? It will slow her down as she eats them. Some buns do tend to fly up rather than hit every step - maybe she had a fall recently and is a bit wary of hurting herself again?
 
Put a pellet of food on each step or alternate steps just as she's going up? It will slow her down as she eats them. Some buns do tend to fly up rather than hit every step - maybe she had a fall recently and is a bit wary of hurting herself again?
Daphne would steal the food [emoji38]
I could potentionally distract Daphne in the room with some forage while OH works with Phoebe on the stairs using some high value treats. "Daddy" isn't associated with vet visits, grooming or trips in the car.

(We don't use pellets as Phoebe gets so many dental issues)

It's definitely possible she hurt herself as it seemed to be very sudden that she became funny with the stairs. Last two months or so.
We're honestly considering putting in a ramp.... :oops:

Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:
It does sound like something has knocked my wee girlies confidence stair wise. Mouse won't do the stairs - I thought it was because she is too long. When I put her a few stairs up she'll go to the top. She'll only go down if she is on last / second to last step & then she looks like she is going to somersault. I wish I knew how to help Phoebe & Mouse. Boo zooms up the stairs (or she did til I removed the carpet, she is a tad more careful now) & a couple of times its sounded like she has slipped
 
I think I've sussed it out. If I stand at the top of the stairs she slowly hops up until she's about 3 or 4 from the top. From there I go into her room and she takes a few moments to hop the last few. At least this way she doesn't race up the stairs and slip... I'll be trialing it for a few days to see if she improves... I'll also show the OH as he feeds in AM so will need to do this with them.

Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk
 
Back
Top