House Help: Ramps???

[rswilkinson]

Hello, my little one just adopted two small lop ear bunnies. I helped her build a bunny mansion out of an old bookshelf. There's about 14 square feet to roam. However, the buns stay on ground level. I can't convince them to venture up the ramp. Any advice out there? I've seen other bunny houses with ramps. Seems like they'd go for it. Am I right? Would carpeting the ramps be a bad idea (chewing, etc)?

We let them roam free for part of each day but right now we prefer they sleep in a cage. If they don't use all of the the space available in this one, I'm afraid we'll have to toss it and get something more "ranch style". Thanks very much. Appreciate any advice you all can offer.

 

[MaggieJ]

Did you try putting something yummy leading up the ramp and on the next level? It could be that they are not yet comfortable in their new home and will explore later. Be careful with the treats though . . . too many can really cause problems. If these are your first rabbits ever, I suggest you read extensively in the forums to learn about their care.

 

[a7736100]

In my experience ramps are useless because my rabbits just jump from level to level. Beautiful cage. Maybe you can try placing them on the second level to introduce them to the new cage. After a while they'll probably prefer the upper level.

 

[Preitler]

I use ramps a lot, for letting them out of the hutches. Inside the hutch they are somewhat useless when they can jump the distance easily. Except when that ramp is a tunnel, like a cardboard tube.

I would put the rabbits on the next level, give them a treat to give it a positive spin, and let them figure out by themself how to get down - once they know the way in that direction they will also use it in the other.