Outside Rabbitt wont go in hutch when there is snow?

Question
We have a 4 year old male mini lop. Before we got him, he was mostly an indoor rabbit. We tried for 3 or 4 months to keep him inside, but the cleaning of his pen every day or else the whole house would smell, was too much. We built him a super nice HUGE hutch outside. Outdoor play area, ramps to go up and down the two story rabbit condo and we also included a box for him to snuggle into when its cold. He LOVES the ability to run and jump and play, my kids can go into the hutch (its that big!) and hold and pet him, without worries of letting him go and something getting him. Now that this is his first winter outside, he just sits in the corner of the play area in the snow. He will go up and inside the condo area, and he is eating and drinking normal. Why in the world is he not going inside when its so cold? Two nights ago, it FINALLY got really cold where we live, so I had my husband place a heat lamp on a timer inside the main hutch - I would think the lil guy would rather be in there on occasion than sitting in the play area in the snow? Any idea why he might be doing this?
Thank you soo much in advance for your help!

Answer
Dear Andrea,

Since we can't get inside his head to know why he's avoiding the hutch, I think you're wise to take precautions to make sure he doesn't freeze to death out there.  If it gets really cold, I think you should bring him back inside.

This would be a good time for you to have him neutered so that his litterbox habits will improve, and he can go back to being a member of the family, instead of a lonely bunny outside.  It's possible he's sitting outside in the hope that someone will come outside and "rescue" him from the cold, and that he'd welcome the chance to run inside where it's safe and warm.

It really is not safe for him to be outside in Wyoming in the winter.  Neutering will help you resolve the litterbox problems.  You can read more here:

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/spay.html

and you can find tips on litterbox training here:

http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/litter.html

and here:

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/training.html

To find a vet who can safely neuter a bunny, check here:

http://www.rabbit.org/vets

I hope this helps.

Dana