# Vacuuming



## kagerod (Jun 21, 2012)

Okay another cleaning/housing question, but not really related to the other. if I was smart.. it would've been in the same thread. Whatever.

I have a feeling my rabbits would be terrified by a normal vacuum but the carpet around them is so dirty, and it takes me forever to crawl around picking up every little bit of hay and poop. Is there such a thing as a silent vacuum or .. I don't know, something that will pick up hay and poop without being loud?


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## degrassi (Jun 21, 2012)

My rabbit could care less about the vacuum. I vacuum his cage all the time when he's in it. He even comes up and sniffs it or if he's lying down I have to nudge him to move out of the way. He really hates the dust pan broom I have though. He'll grunt and lunge at it. Weird bunny.

My suggestion would be to bring the vacuum into the room and see how the rabbits react to it. Turn it on far from the cage and see how they act. If its ok then try a little bit of vacuuming. If they are scared then try again the next day. Get them used to it slowly. Also if they are a bit scared of it just move them to another area if you need to vacuum their cage. 

When my bun was a baby he was a little scared of the vacuum but I'd have to vacuum my room so he just got used to it. Now I vacuum his cage 1-2 times a day and he could care less.


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## Nancy McClelland (Jun 22, 2012)

We use a shop vac to pick up the large stuff and to clean the hutches and a regular vacuum to clean with after the shop vac. Bunnies can get used to anything. Was using a sawzall to cut a window in our old sanctuary and most watched for a minute and then laid back down. Our shop vac is rather large too--35 gallon.


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## PaGal (Jun 22, 2012)

When I first brought Thump home I was sure the vacuum might make him nervous. I would always start vacuuming at the other end of the house and work my way toward his room so he would hear the sound long before it was right in his face. 

At first I started vacuuming with him in his cage but he would dart around and I was afraid he would hurt himself so I started letting him out while I vaccuumed. He would stay away and be alert but did not dart around. Not long ago he got used to it enough to sneak up and start biting my cord. 

Now I vacuum with him in the cage so he can't eat the cord but he is used to the sound/sight of it and does not dart around his cage.


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## MiniLopHop (Jun 22, 2012)

Three of mine just hop away and look annoyed when I run the vacuum. Becky will try to attack the "poop thief". Then again, she tries to get into the trash bag when I clean the litter box too. She worked hard on that poop and it's no fair to steal it


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## patches2593 (Jun 22, 2012)

Nancy McClelland wrote:


> We use a shop vac to pick up the large stuff and to clean the hutches and a regular vacuum to clean with after the shop vac. Bunnies can get used to anything. Was using a sawzall to cut a window in our old sanctuary and most watched for a minute and then laid back down. Our shop vac is rather large too--35 gallon.



:yeahthat:

i also use a shop vac for my bunny. i vaccuum out his cage almost everyday sometimes every other day cuz i hate messy/dirty cages . and anyways it wouldn't be fair to him to have to live in a dirty environment.

my rabbit was terrified when i first used a vacuum to clean out his cage. (the owners i got him from didn't do anything for him, i felt really bad for him and thats the main reason why i bought him from them.) after a while he's fine with me vacuuming.

what you could try is turning on the vacuum in a different room near him/her or in the hallway and gradually make it to the room where your bunny is in. this worked for my bunny.

hope this helps

:biggrin:


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## Lydia (Jun 22, 2012)

I agree that there might be a little reaction, but nothing too major. The thing that gets our bunnies freaked out is brooms. You could be sweeping up some random poop on the other side of the room and it would cause a mini stampede. 

I think that they are mostly upset with the vacuum because it steals away all the poop they worked so hard to make. It's a skill to make things so stinky!


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## Ellie (Jun 22, 2012)

I think animals are a LOT smarter than we often give them credit for. My guy was scared when I first got him (only 4 days ago!) when I vacuumed. Now I explain to him that it's going to be a loud noise and show him the end of the hose. Then I go to the other end of the room and pick up poops there and work my way over there. He startles a TINY bit when I first turn it on but then continues doing what he was doing.  
Could you get one of those really small hand-held ones? They're normally a little quieter. Good luck!


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## Nancy McClelland (Jun 22, 2012)

Ours didn't like the noise, but after a couple times it was no big deal. We have three that follow around and try to look into the hose, two try to attack it, and one that likes to chew if you don't pay attention to her--she's a real sneaker.


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