It is generally recommended that female laboratory rabbits are housed socially, although this may not always be possible for experimental reasons. Some newer cage designs allow rabbits in adjacent cages to have visual and minimal tactile contact through a mesh panel. However, it is not known whether rabbits find such limited contact rewarding. It is becoming increasingly common for rabbit cages to be fitted with a platform, which provides a raised area as well as a darkened and often enclosed area underneath, which can act as a bolt-hole. Rabbits may be able to see into adjacent cages from on top of platforms, and it is not known whether they use the platform primarily to rest on or as a means of gaining social contact, or both. The aim of this experiment was to investigate the motivation of rabbits for visual and minimal tactile contact with a conspecific and a raised platform/bolt-hole.