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Hand Knit
Oct 24, 2005

Beer Loses more than a game Sunday ...
We lost our Captain, our Teammate, our Friend Kelly Calabro...
Rest in Peace my friend you will be greatly missed..
For the next two months I am taking care of an absolutely gigantic rabbit. A Flemish Giant. Bigger than any cat I've ever had.

Of course the owner gave me a guide and walked me through how to take care of her, but I was wondering if there were, like, general rabbit tips. Things to be smart about with a rabbit. Stuff like that.

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Hand Knit
Oct 24, 2005

Beer Loses more than a game Sunday ...
We lost our Captain, our Teammate, our Friend Kelly Calabro...
Rest in Peace my friend you will be greatly missed..

Halloween Jack posted:

If you can tell me her weight, I can help you with nutrition. You can be pretty liberal with greens, but it's important not to overfeed sugary stuff like carrots and fruit.

What's your setup for litter and hay?

That is entirely prescribed by the owners, don't worry. She gets hay and greens but neither carrots nor fruit. I think I read somewhere that carrots aren't really a rabbit thing. Rather, it's a myth from Bugs Bunny, who was eating the carrot because that was a Clark Gable thing.

Ok Comboomer posted:

be careful about how you lift them. Make sure to always support their hindquarters and do your best to always scoop them up but also be very careful that you don’t hyper-extend their spine or put all of their weight on their lower backs when you do so.

Rabbits are not as flexible or malleable as cats and they have big heavy swingy hindlimbs that they will flail about if scared or upset or angry enough. A lot of the ways that you can easily or awkwardly hold a cat will simply not work for any bun, especially a large one. If your rabbit is kicking madly and you can’t restrain them correctly it’s best to just let them go as quickly as you can and chill out before retrying. Understandably, that may not be 100% possible at times. Be smart and plan your interactions accordingly (ie probably don’t give your rabbit meds in the car).

One of the most common ways in which rabbits are injured and killed, often unknowingly, is by owners manhandling them and/or lifting them improperly and causing spinal injury. It can paralyze their hindquarters and greatly limit their mobility and sensation. A lot of rabbits that “can’t/won’t litter train” are actually incontinent from secret spinal injuries that nobody knows they sustained at one point.

Thanks a ton. I haven't had to handle her yet but I was worried about having to move her around to clean places. I'll definitely be careful about how I pick up and hold her.

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