out of cage

Question
Hello! I have 2 indoor buns, a 8 mth. Dwarf and 6 mth. Mini Lop, both not spayed and female. They get let out of the cage from the time i get up till i leave for work, which is 6:30-7:30 am, and when i get home from when i go to bed, which is about 5:45pm - 9:30pm or so. And they also get free run of my bedroom most of the day on Saturday. Is this enough exercise time for them? I have their cage and play area set up in a large walk in closet, they usually stay in there to play except on Saturday when Daddy isn't home ;). I have wood houses and boxes of paper for shredding but i think they are getting bored. Is it a good idea to rearrange their room every so often to spice things up for them? i try to provide them with plenty of toy and chew things, but they don't really play with the toys anymore since they became bonded. Any ideas on fun things i can make for their playroom? Also my lop, while out of the closet, sprints in and out of the closet and under the bed and around the room like she is running from something. One minute she will be sitting still the next, she is like a dart. Is she scared of something? Also, how much time is recommend I spend with them while they are out? I usually spent 5-10 mins. intervals every so often throughout the time that they are out. I try to spend as much time with them as possible, they are my babies and  i want them to know that i love them. Is that enough time per day or will they start to shun me or will i loose the bond i have with them? I noticed that my Dwarf, sometimes flicks her back feet at me when i let them out when i get home, is that her way of saying "what took so long"?  

Thank so much for any input on this.

Answer
Dear Kelly,

The more exercise, the better.  Our bunnies are never caged; as long as the house is thoroughly "bunny proofed" and your bunnies have good litterbox habits, it is probably safe to start experimenting with free run.  :)

Sounds as if they have lots of fun things to play with, but you can find more ideas here:

http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-a=00062824-sp00000000&sp-q=toys

The running, zig-zag bouts your lop does are probably racing binkies, a bunny's way of getting exercise and having fun.  They can go completely nuts sometimes, ripping around the house at full speed and jumping into the air to do little wiggle dances.  

As with run time, the more time you spend with them, the more they will bond to you.  It sounds as if you're giving them plenty of love.  If they start to act snotty or aloof, then they're probably telling you they're not getting enough attention.  That you got "flicked off" says that your bunny was annoyed with you!  :)  They don't say much, but they DO  know how to say it!

Hope this helps.

Dana