Help my ten year old bunny will not leave his cage

Question
My bunny has always been a house rabbit and is free range downstairs apart from at night when I shut him in his cage. I have had him since he was eight weeks old. He has come out of the cage less in the last year but he does come out for a walk especially in the evening and when the fridge door opens and he wants a treat. I put him in a boarding place before Christmas last year and when he came back he was perfectly happy however when I put him in a different place at Easter which I had thoroughly researched and looked lovely when I visited that was run by a veterinary nurse he has refused to come out at all. When I have tried to put him outside of the cage leaving treats on the floor immediately outside of the cage he has jumped straight back in ignoring the treats. He is eating and going to the toilet normally and taking strokes inside the cage but I am very upset by this sudden change in behaviour. Whilst he was at the veterinary nurse luxury boarding place I did arrange for him to be washed, fur clipped around his bottom and claws clipped which he hates. As he loves being dirty although he was washed and had his claws clipped at the other place at Christmas. I am very upset as I love him very much. I always to try and leave him at home whenever I go away but this is not always possible. He still licks me and doesn't seem upset with me but clearly he is upset. What can I do? Please help.

Answer
Dear Rima,

I would rule out medical reasons for his change of behavior before assuming that this is psychological.  Please see:

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

At his age, he may also be developing things that just make him uncomfortable and less willing to move about.  I would find a very rabbit-experienced veterinarian and ask to check for dental problems:

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

and for signs of arthritis or other degenerative disease that are just making it unpleasant for him to move about.  Pain medications could make a huge difference to his quality of life if these are the problem.

But a trip to a very good rabbit vet seems to me the first order of business.  The coincidence of the behavior getting worse after his boarding may be no more than that:  a coincidence.

Hope this helps you get him on the right track to recovery.

Dana