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Update: he's fine, he probably had hay fall into his eye or something. I did get confirmation from the vet that his tear duct is basically hosed up, it probably happened years ago. Basically the tear duct on his right eye doesn't work so it doesn't drain right so instead of going through their nose it just goes down the side so he looks like he's crying. Luckily he's really chill with me cleaning it, I just use Q Tips and he's good to go in like two minutes. It looks a lot better today. Usually the only problem is that he can get a rash if it happens and I don't notice and clean his skin so his skin gets irritated, but his eye's fine. He also discovered recently he can jump directly up onto our desks, which is not good. Luckily, though, I found out that he doesn't know what to do if I try and pick him up if he's on the desk so he just lets me. So now if he jumps up I just grab him. Either he'll stop jumping up or I get to cuddle with him for once, either way it's a win for me.
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Dec 11, 2019 20:04
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| # ? May 20, 2024 12:00 |
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two years after gracie died, we've adopted a new bun. shes 4ish months old - her name is apparently 'lionhead' but I dunno about that. I'm thinking Cleo? She is just settling in right now so I'm trying to give her some space and peace, but man she is so friggin curious and exuberant I'm going to need to give her the run of the house soon. OH! and she only has three legs! One was amputated when she was only 2 months old! She is super nimble for being a little tripod, I am very very impressed. in love. what a good day.  quote:Lionhead is the name, couch surfing is her game! This 3-legged little cutie, known as “Buns” in some circles, is a free spirited, brave little butterfly who loves to roam free, bounce high and snack long. She's a sweet and social bunny who loves hanging with people and other pets alike. Proof? Her foster family consisted of a lazy old hound dog and four well behaved cats who all became Lionhead’s friends. They were a cute, playful little cast of characters fit for a TV show! .
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Dec 16, 2019 20:04
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okay this little girl is officially the coolest spunkiest bravest most curious little bun I've ever met. I can't believe she's had so much trauma so early in her life and still acts like she does. Just full of exuberance. Ever seen a one legged binky? I've seen about a million. And she's only been home for a day!! This gonna be such an amazing pet experience. Without further ado, Cleo the Bun:  
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Dec 17, 2019 18:36
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god she's so FLUFFY did she have surgery or something recently? Fur's looking thinner on her back half.
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Dec 17, 2019 21:02
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she was spayed 9 days ago and had her leg removed 2 months ago, so yeah lots of surgery. shes got a powerful little spirit
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Dec 17, 2019 21:46
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so the one thing she can't really do is scratch her right ear, but she hasn't really figured out yet that her leg is missing so her little thigh muscle just motors up and down while she does the familiar bend to side with one ear down motion every rabbit owner knows. I just discovered that she VERY VERY much appreciates it if you give her a scratch behind the ear at that exact moment. if you do it just right she starts "scratching" even harder like she's just discovered how to do it through telekinesis.
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Dec 17, 2019 22:25
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aw look at the little trooper she'll learn to do it with her front paw, i'm sure
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Dec 18, 2019 00:21
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this bun is so frigging sweet and curious. just opening up an amazon package and she's immediately up on my lap "what's this" "what are you doing" "can i eat it???"
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Dec 19, 2019 15:47
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i'm surprised you were able to take her home nine days after her getting spayed, it took my guy like a month after getting neutered before he was good to go. he was older, though, that might be why. apparently he's 5ish but everyone that sees him, including vets, are always shocked to hear that and assume he's like 2.
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Dec 21, 2019 01:02
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The Walrus posted:so the one thing she can't really do is scratch her right ear, but she hasn't really figured out yet that her leg is missing so her little thigh muscle just motors up and down while she does the familiar bend to side with one ear down motion every rabbit owner knows. Oh my goodneeeeeess  I'm a few thousand miles away from my bun, so stories like this are always appreciated! I am so happy that she's so happy!
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Dec 21, 2019 02:40
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cleo is still a dear but has a couple bad behaviours we're having trouble dealing with. 1. she is big into sniffing and then kind of biting. she took a try at my finger last night and drew a bit of blood. is this just young rabbit behaviour? shes just learning whats a finger and what's food, and a few good loud "OW"s should teach her the difference? We adopted our last bun at 4 so have never had a youngling like cleo,. 2. she's big into grabbing at the carpet fibres and trying to yank them out. we've tried a loud noise right when she does it (which stops her for a moment but she's persistent) as well as trying to redirect her energy with alfalfa cubes, timothy mats and cardboard boxes, but she is a persistent bun. she's also decided the corner of the couch is her litter box, but we're already working on this - there's a litter tray up there now that she's using - and we'll be putting it in her cage with her at night and then hopefully eventually moving it away from the couch once she adjusts to it. check this frickin cutie out though - gallery here https://imgur.com/a/jltZX6w https://i.imgur.com/bGRIxO4.mp4 https://i.imgur.com/UnmnT6N.mp4 The Walrus fucked around with this message at 16:43 on Dec 21, 2019 |
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Dec 21, 2019 16:35
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It’s really difficult to keep a rabbit from eating a textile it wants to eat. With my penned trio, giving them lots of food and chew toys all the time (this means copious hay, ad libitum. Take an entire head of lettuce and break it apart in the morning. Etc) helped, and they were penned, so their environment was controlled. And it still wasn’t really perfect. They had a thin, chew-safe carpet because my ex and I couldn’t 100% keep them from eating it. If there’s an unsafe object that your rabbit insists on eating (particularly one that resembles grass to their dumb brains) your best bet is to remove the object or the rabbit. Sorry.
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Dec 21, 2019 19:17
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thankfully shes chilled out on the carpet pulling. she was just having a sassy day I guess.
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Dec 22, 2019 17:48
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The Walrus posted:thankfully shes chilled out on the carpet pulling. she was just having a sassy day I guess. watch her butt for threads
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Dec 22, 2019 17:59
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https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/grannicks-bitter-apple Get this, it's excellent. Smells like rubbing alcohol, tastes like bitter apples, it's perfectly safe to ingest. They hate it and will immediately stop. Whenever Ajax goes for the carpet somewhere I just clap at him to make him look up at me and then I spray the carpet while he's preoccupied, and then he loses interest. I think he knows what I'm doing, too, and he gets mad at me once he can't bite the carpet there anymore. But it's saved our carpet.
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Dec 24, 2019 22:52
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The Walrus posted:okay this little girl is officially the coolest spunkiest bravest most curious little bun I've ever met. I can't believe she's had so much trauma so early in her life and still acts like she does. Just full of exuberance. Ever seen a one legged binky? I've seen about a million. And she's only been home for a day!!
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Dec 25, 2019 20:03
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more cleo, shes so friggin chill. you'll be petting her and she'll move a bit, and my last rabbit conditioned me to understand that as 'she's done with pets and will hop away'. but cleo just needs to move a bit so she can then flump right on the ground as you pet her. it owns. she really is a pro rabbit, really high level rabbittry. https://i.imgur.com/EmPFJOL.mp4[
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Dec 27, 2019 05:55
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welp 350 bucks later we've laid down runner carpet and mat carpet over our whole apartment, cleo really needs the help on traction with fewer legs. but ooohhhh man does she like the change - for the couple weeks since we'd gotten her she was constantly on the edge of the carpet peering out trying to figure out how to get going. as soon as the carpets went down she was tearing around like a madrabbit. I've never seen any rabbit move this fast to be honest let alone a tripod. you just hear this noise "kathumpthumpthump" and the rabbit has in half a second done the whole circuit through the kitchen and dining room. You'll just be doing dishes and feel a blur pass by behind your legs. this bun owns.
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Dec 28, 2019 15:47
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I’m actually really curious to hear from people who free range. How bad is the poop/pee situation? None of the rabbits I’ve lived with have ever been 100% litter box users. Maybe 90% tops. I don’t think I could ever do it, but it looks so dreamy. It’s probably moot for me at this point since I’m rabbitless and I’m planning to make my next furry pet a dog.
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Dec 28, 2019 15:54
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My bun is free range at the weekends and evenings, she only ever goes in her litter tray. She'll be lying down asleep a room away then jump up like she's just remembered something, and sprint for the litter tray in her enclosure. She's a good bun, apart from clocking up a vet bill of 3,000 euro and ongoing medication requirements of 60 euro a month, and single-footedly destroying my entire house. The pee and poop are the least of the worries. Silverfish fucked around with this message at 16:21 on Dec 28, 2019 |
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Dec 28, 2019 16:16
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Electric Bugaloo posted:I’m actually really curious to hear from people who free range. How bad is the poop/pee situation? None of the rabbits I’ve lived with have ever been 100% litter box users. Maybe 90% tops. 100% pee, 90% poop, but rabbit poop is extremely inoffensive. You sweep it up with a broom and dustpan. Honestly, he would probably be even better about it if I wasn't executively dysfunctional as gently caress and would change/scoop his litter every day.
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Dec 28, 2019 21:02
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Remora posted:100% pee, 90% poop, but rabbit poop is extremely inoffensive. You sweep it up with a broom and dustpan. Honestly, he would probably be even better about it if I wasn't executively dysfunctional as gently caress and would change/scoop his litter every day. That makes sense- honestly even when they stay in the cage you still wind up with hair and dry poopies everywhere. If Spock could’ve been 100% about pee (and a lot of that was probably age) he would’ve made an awesome free range bun.
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Dec 29, 2019 02:15
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Our rabbits pee on things sometimes out of vengeance, but that behavior seems to have pretty much stopped since we got established in the new place.
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Dec 29, 2019 20:32
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NY is banning pet store rabbit sales (and puppies and cats). Shelters will be able to offer adoption through store partnerships though.
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Dec 29, 2019 21:04
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Got Ajax back from the vet today after boarding him for a week or so for a vacation. Apparently he's made friends with one vet tech and they let him run around the office without having to stay in his cage, as long as that vet is there. Apparently she's the only one he likes and no one else has managed to actually pet him. I think they're scared of him, despite him never having bitten anyone (or me, really). He got back to the apartment and ran in circles around it for like 30 minutes until he collapsed under the bed and took a nap. He's glad to be home. :3 Also, re: free roaming, I agree with 100% pee/90% poop. The bigger issue is really just waiting for him to get into something that I don't want him to get into, or trying to eat a cord or something. For the most part he's great, pee/poop is never the real issue. Plus rabbit poop is basically dirt and dust, it's like the least offensive poop of any animal.
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Dec 30, 2019 09:28
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Thumbtacks posted:Plus rabbit poop is basically dirt and dust, it's like the least offensive poop of any animal. It’s free fertilizer ! 
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Dec 30, 2019 14:05
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Dec 30, 2019 21:02
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Ludo died on Christmas Eve. We went out to eat and when we came back, he was gone. He'd been doing fine since his arthritis flareup a few weeks ago. It looked like it happened suddenly while he was eating his lettuce. Christmas was miserable but my parents were understanding. I just held it together as well as I could. The next day I called the shelter to let them know. I felt a lot better--I agonized over everything I could possibly have done wrong. She told me that he definitely had genetic issues and probably died from a heart attack or seizure. I used to worry about my pets all the time, especially Ludo, and think about how long I'd have them and if I'd be there when they died. I'm not going to worry about it anymore, because it doesn't prepare you or make it any easier. I got very attached to him in the nine months we had him. I'm glad he got to play under a Christmas tree. The shelter would gladly give me foster bunnies tomorrow, but I'm not ready for that yet. I went down to volunteer for a few hours, just feeding and cleaning up after the rabbits. It was good for me and I'm going to do it as often as I can. I wrapped Ludo in one of his old blankets and set him down on the fluffy top from his play box. I buried him in a corner of the yard by the raspberry bushes.
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Dec 31, 2019 19:15
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I'm really sorry for your loss. It sounds like Ludo had a great home, and a good family. Take the time you need. I got another bunny right away after Tobias died, but not intentionally and I definitely wasn't ready.
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Jan 1, 2020 05:12
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Halloween Jack posted:Ludo died on Christmas Eve.
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Jan 1, 2020 23:44
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I'm sorry about Ludo. He sounds like a sweetheart. That pic of him with your parrot is amazing. Does anyone have experience with hormonal spayed juvenile buns? Cleo spent half of yesterday acting completely spooked, we were worried she had hurt herself it was such a personality change. But back to normal slowly over the day, by nighttime she was again just flopping mid ear scratch and being as chill as usual. Also, despite being basically 100% litter trained she will try to exhibit dominance by repeatedly hopping up on the couch and immediately bathrooming in the exact same spot. She hops up on the other couch and chair no issue, but this is the one we use so she's trying to be Boss Rabbit. Any just general advice would be appreciated. Right now our technique is to say NO firmly once and shoo her off. If she hops up three times in a row within 2 mins or so she gets put on time out. Is there a most effective length of time out? She's at least mostly stopped hopping up there while we are sitting there, but the second you turn your back she's there. She's sneaky and 100% knows what she's doing. little brat. looks innocent, plotting how to make the leap onto the pee couch 
The Walrus fucked around with this message at 23:05 on Jan 2, 2020 |
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Jan 2, 2020 22:58
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I'm not sure about the pee couch but do you live in a place with a lot of smells or vehicle noise that maybe Cleo can hear that you can't? Lil has acted spooked for a whole day before for reasons we couldn't figure out until we found out they had been doing major renovation on the apartment two doors over. We never noticed the noise but as soon as they were done for the day she chilled out. She also woke up my wife at 4 am by rhythmically thumping to warn us about the snowplow that was idling in our parking lot. My wife went down and patted her on the head and she laid down and went right to sleep.
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Jan 4, 2020 00:42
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The Walrus posted:couch pissing Based on my experience, I think banning her from the couch as completely as possible, including when you're not around until after her hormones have died down for a long while will help (on top of making certain you've killed off the piss smells). We got Nancy the day after she was spayed, and she pissed on our bed a few weeks in, around the same time frame as Cleo now. I reacted by banning her from the bed if she ever tried to hop on, or even looked like she was about to, with 'Nancy. NO.' She eventually gave up and would just hop up on the Ottoman directly across in wait for me to come over, but to be extra certain, the bed was covered with large cardboard (courtesy of Amazon Pantry deliveries) and some spare doggie mats - this was for whenever I was away at work. The cardboard helped to make it a slippery and unpleasant surface to jump onto. At night, she was caged. This went on for two months at which point she was reintroduced, much to her confusion, fear, and delight. She did piss on it again about a month in on top of the blanket (on top of my girlfriend who was sleeping at the time), so I grabbed her and she went straight into the cage. Two weeks of absolutely hating the nightly lockdown later (when I'd wake up, she'd start trying to flail her little pet bed around in... frustration?), she was reintroduced, and she has been well-behaved (and more affectionate than ever, even) since. In short I think showing her that her behavior resulted in very undesirable conditions (banned from comfy bed, no nightly freedom, being picked up without any say) got through to her candlebright rabbit brain (mostly - I won't be surprised if she tries again) that bed pissing means her very hated curfew. If at all possible, I'd also cover the couch every time you aren't there and she has the chance to hop on, or just ban her from that room completely. Once she has gotten used to/accepted she's banned for a while, I imagine she'll realize she's not calling the shots - though she might still push her luck. For time out, I would try to lengthen it based on the crime. Nancy got around 20-30 minutes when she'd push her luck with bed hopping, plus blocking her out visually along with the silent treatment, and that seemed to work. The one time she pissed the bed again after being reintroduced, she was blocked and ignored from my friend list until all the sheets were washed and I had time to think about rabbit stew (so several hours). That didn't register with her yet that she was banned again from the bed, but the nightly caging did.
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Jan 4, 2020 02:23
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Thanks for the advice! We're trying to be really consistent but it's tough because she sometimes just wants to be pet, not to poo. but once on the couch it quickly turns into trying to be dominant and pooping. Good news we've convinced her to make the adjacent chair her own, so now she hops up there whenever she wants pets. Which is... often. I'm really not used to having such a sweetheart rabbit. https://i.imgur.com/rrvLzaO.mp4 https://i.imgur.com/A9pJP8L.mp4
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Jan 4, 2020 21:53
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The Walrus posted:Thanks for the advice! We're trying to be really consistent but it's tough because she sometimes just wants to be pet, not to poo. but once on the couch it quickly turns into trying to be dominant and pooping. Good news we've convinced her to make the adjacent chair her own, so now she hops up there whenever she wants pets. Which is... often. I'm really not used to having such a sweetheart rabbit.
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Jan 5, 2020 01:18
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I hate to be the constant bringer of doom and gloom to the thread, but I encountered a weird situation that I'm not sure I can or should do anything about. In our county there's a specialty grocery store that also has a petting zoo with domestic farm animals--goats, exotic chicken breeds, pheasants, guinea fowl, a couple rheas, stuff like that. I go there often. I stopped by on Sunday, when the store is closed and no one is there, but the petting zoo is open. They have rabbits now. Two of them live in the enclosure with a turkey, a few pheasants, a few pigeons, and a few quail. But then I saw another one just...hopping around outside. At first I thought it escaped, but then I saw that they'd put up a couple "Rabbit Xing" signs. Apparently this is just the outdoor bunny. This just seems unsafe and irresponsible. I know that this is basically a farm, and there are different rules for livestock--for all I know, they keep them as meat rabbits. Chickens are also prey animals, and I sometimes let my chickens out for a few hours while I'm not at home. But I put them away before dark! There's a lot next to the petting zoo where they store all their outdoor furniture for sale (mostly Adirondack chairs) and the bunny spent most of its time hiding in the maze of chairs. (I thought about trying to catch it, but it was impossible anyway.) I feel ridiculous telling a farmer how to raise livestock, but I feel like I ought to say something.
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Jan 7, 2020 17:15
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Anyway here are some shelter buns Cute girls, don't remember their names.  Angel and Jareth, who inspired Ludo's name. Moose is an enormous Flemish Giant.  Not my photos. I did not get the chance to take a good photo of Shadow. The pictures really do not convey how painfully cute she is. Have you ever seen an animal so cute you wanted to cry? Shadow is that rabbit.  
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Jan 8, 2020 16:59
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i don't want to mow my lawn and i've got like a quarter acre, can i put up a fence and have welsh giants instead? and at night cuddle them in my bed with their soft fur and huge warm softness?
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Jan 12, 2020 04:47
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Only if you’re down with checking them for parasites every night.
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Jan 12, 2020 07:21
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| # ? May 20, 2024 12:00 |
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This one is especially great!  Nancy has had a bit of an odd behavior change lately. She normally showers me with non-stop licks and cuddles in the mornings, and whether or not my girlfriend was there didn't make a difference. After two weeks of holiday where we were both around all day (she goes to med school during the weekdays so normally she was only around on weekends) and then she left, Nancy's overall affection dropped a lot... at least until my girlfriend returns, at which point it resumes like normal. Any idea what is going through her rabbit head? It's not even like she licks my girlfriend other than a couple times after being petted or cuddles with her (yet), is it just that she feels when one of us is missing, her family isn't complete? The holiday also coincided with her finally starting to do more care for Nancy (salad feeding, pellet scavenger hunts, litterbox cleaning), so maybe she has started to bond with her more? I just don't get why Nancy has now seemingly decided that presence of girlfriend is co-related with affection to me - all her other behaviors seem unchanged.
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Jan 16, 2020 23:35
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