I lost my baby for like 20 minutes. He only free roams two upstairs rooms (where I spend all my time except meals), and he gets supervised time downstairs during mealtimes. He literally ALWAYS comes when called, and he also comes running if he hears me shake the pellet or treat containers. I tore everything apart to find him, crawled under cabinets and the bed, and even checked downstairs in case he somehow snuck through the stair gate. It turns out he was stuck in the bathroom (connected to the larger of the two rooms he free roams)- he must’ve gone in there when I was coming out after taking a shower and gotten stuck when I shut the door behind me (specifically because my pets aren’t allowed in there for safety reasons).
My little guy is okay, and there isn’t actually anything dangerous he could’ve gotten into while in there, but I was at a 9/10 on the panic scale (did he get through or over the gate and go down the stairs and then get through the door leading to the garage? Did he get trapped inside of something and somehow suffocate himself?) and still a half hour later I’m at like a 7. Similar things have happened to my cat (where she sneaks into a room where she isn’t allowed and then ends up stuck in there when people close the door behind them), but she always calls for help. So if I run around the house calling for her, I will eventually hear her calling back.
This is my first time having a bunny. I adopted him like 2-3 months ago. It is TERRIFYING to me that he cannot call me for help if he is lost or stuck or something.
When he’s been hiding within my bedroom in the past (like when he sneaks under the bed), I’ve been able to call him and then listen for his movements or tap on the ground and have him lightly stomp back. But I had no way to hear him through a door- especially while calling his name and rummaging through everything.
Other than, you know, paying attention when you’re walking between rooms and opening/ closing doors… what do you do to make sure you can always find your free roam bunnies? He has so many intentional hiding spaces (caves, tunnels, hidey houses, etc.), so I went through all of those before I got to the point of checking anywhere else. When my cat was as small and easily lost as he is (4.7 pounds), she wore a harness with a Tile tracker on it any time I took her out of my bedroom. This obviously won’t work/ be safe for my bunny- and he’s also never going to get much bigger (10 month old Mini Rex), unlike my cat when she was his size (at 4-5 months old).
Any suggestions for the future besides paying better attention? He’s fine- lounging on his memory foam mat eating some pellets; I just might die in the next ten minutes out of sheer panic and guilt. I’m looking more for tips on how to find him if he’s hidden or sneaks into another room rather than how to not lose track of where he is in the first place, but either type of advice is fine. I want to make it easier for him to communicate to me if he needs help and can’t get to me. My career is in finding ways for people who can’t speak to communicate and be understood- but not in helping rabbits call for help.
(I do have a severe panic disorder. Nonetheless, this is a real problem requiring a solution for the future).
Image description: Brown Mini Rex rabbit inside a wooden hidey house under a desk- a much more appropriate hiding spot.
by ahhdecisions7577
