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After putting his food in the litter box, that cleared everything up - It's been 3 days and he hasn't peed anywhere except his litter box. Thanks for the help!
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Nov 9, 2007 16:54
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ritjet posted:I have a huge question. I wish I had an answer, but I don't. I'm moving next summer for grad school and it will be a minimum of a 3 and half hour drive. I have two bunnies and 2 sugar gliders. Sugar gliders will be fine, because as long as I'm moving in the day time, they'll be asleep in their pouch. It's the bunnies I'm concerned with. If I get accepted to other grad schools (and somehow magically make tuition appear), I could be moving as far as California or something (I'm in TN). Scary to think about! What kind of car do you drive? Are you going to be having a bunch of boxes and other things with you?
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Nov 9, 2007 16:57
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ritjet posted:I have a huge question. A carrier is actually fine, if it's large enough. I transported 10 bunnies from NC to WI (about 19 hours driving over 2 days). They seemed to like the enclosed feeling of a carrier (the one who was in a small cage ended up getting a towel draped over her halfway through the first morning). Make sure the cage or carrier is large enough for a small litterpan (even an 8"x6" pyrex baking pan is big enough) and for a folded towel next to it for bunny to lay on. You can also use grass mats; but I think a bare-floor carrier would make them anxious because they had no purchase on it. I attached a hay rack above each of the litter pans; you can also just throw the hay in the litterbox. My buns drink out of bowls, not bottles, so we stopped and I offered a bowl about every 2 hours for at least 10 minutes. However, I also had lots of moist veggies with me (romaine and green pepper) so nobody really drank except at night in the hotel. Not as much of a problem this time of year, but if you are driving anywhere hot (over 70), DO NOT leave the bunny unattended in the car for more than a moment. At that temperature, it can get to over 100 degrees in an hour. Even 10 minutes getting food is too long, if the car's internal temperature can get over 85 in that time. Remember, bunnies can deal with cold much better than with heat. If you have to be away from the car and are traveling alone, get a duplicate car key made, and lock the car with the engine running and the A/C on. And put a Club on the wheel if you don't have another security system. One thing that's an absolute must: figure out the cities you're passing through on your route, and then check the recommended vet page on rabbit.org. Record the names & numbers, and print directions, of all the vets on the route - if you're driving after hours, you might want to pick two or three cities and use google to find 24 hour vets, and call to make sure they see rabbits. You really don't want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere with a sick bun. When you get to your destination, let the bunny relax in a quiet environment (ie, don't fuss over her too much). Make sure you see poops, pees and eating within 4 hours of arrival. The very last thing to consider: pack extra food and supplies somewhere that you cannot lose them. One of my friends also made the NC-WI trip with her three elderly rabbits, about a year before I did. I got a frantic call one morning - she was somewhere in Ohio and her box of Oxbow blew out of her truck. She was terrified that if she couldn't find Oxbow, the bunnies would go into stasis from having unfamiliar food. She was lucky that I was able to find her a place not too far of her route, but pissed that she hadn't tied down her load better.
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Nov 9, 2007 18:06
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I drive a VW Jetta. The only things that are going to be in the car with me are my electronics because it'll be too cold for those to be in the moving truck. Those things can fit in the backseat.
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Nov 9, 2007 18:37
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I've posted in my other thread about this, but I currently have less than 24 hours to figure this out. Eddie is unable to stay with us, the apartment complex has a rule of one animal per apartment and even though we paid a pet deposit, a maintenance guy told management we had a 'ton' of rabbits and they decided his concern was enough to tell us to get them out of here. I had to negotiate with them to honor their agreement and not consider rabbits 'exotic pets', and they finally agreed but they are still saying one pet per apartment. We were given a deadline of Monday morning. Eddie cannot stay with us, and he needs a home. My wife and I have been searching all over and the only place in town is the not so Humane Society. Austin has a house rabbit society office, but their phone message claims that their foster homes are currently full. What other options do we have? Eddie is running out of time, I want to see him go to a good home. He is a really agreeable pet, the most relaxed rabbit I've ever met. He needs to be neutered ASAP as well, and we cannot afford to do this since we will be donating money to the adopter. We are in San Antonio, please post a message in this thread or PM me, we are running out of time.
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Nov 11, 2007 18:27
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We brought Komugi and Tofu home on saturday, and they're settling in quite nicely. Other than a nip on the leg from Mugi (she was digging on my pants and decided that they were in the way...) there's been no issues at all. They're quite a fun pair to have around. They're also good at camwhoring.  Chillin' in my kitchen. They decided that the corner by the refrigerator door was the hip spot to use the restroom.   Tofu is an rear end. You can see it on that smug little bunnyface of his.  Bath time! Nothin' cuter than bunny baths.   Awwww....
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Nov 13, 2007 06:46
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So I'm tired of having to put new hay in the litter box twice a day and I ran across these cheap hay racks!   Okay really they're under shelf basket from walmart, but at $1.96? Heck yeah! I'm excited, just thought I'd share.
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Nov 14, 2007 00:41
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Dangit, in terms of simplicity, time spent, money spent, and user friendly-ness and bun-safety that thing completely trounces mine. Good find! I'm still a little worried about Ben and Annie. They don't fight at all, and I still see Annie groom Ben all the time, but I never see him groom her, and I see a tuft of her hair on the floor of the cage or room about once a day. If I see it happen, she just runs away. Is Ben an abusive husbun and Annie is just trying to pretend it's not a problem or is it really not a problem and males just do that?
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Nov 14, 2007 09:51
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Yay another question. Posted this in the Rat faq as well, but: My sister is going out of town for about 2 months and currently has 2 rats, both females. She would like me to take care of them and, since I've had about 10 rats total in my life not counting litters, that'd be fine except: I have two pet rabbits. I have heard issues about guinea pigs and rabbits fecal matter being poisonous to one another, or something along those lines and I was wondering if anyone knew of any specific rabbit to rat problems. They wouldn't be hanging out or anything, but the rabbits may bound near the cage (they essentially have free range of the house) Anything I need to be concerned about here?
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Nov 17, 2007 11:11
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Deceptor101 posted:I have heard issues about guinea pigs and rabbits fecal matter being poisonous to one another Really, what? I've never heard that...unless I missed some articles somewhere. Anyone care to chime in. I've been thinking of adopting a pig after Christmas for the bunnies to play with(on occasion)
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Nov 17, 2007 19:02
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Deceptor101 posted:I have heard issues about guinea pigs and rabbits fecal matter being poisonous to one another I haven't heard this. I was always told that pigs and rabbits shouldn't be housed together because their nutritional requirements aren't the same.
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Nov 17, 2007 20:12
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hrmm, maybe I'm thinking of something else? Ah well, only response I've gotten so far in the rat thread is "should be ok just clean up droppings near the cage" anyone have a more science based answer or is that pretty much the case? Those rats are vicious little creatures too. I've had so many rats and these are the only ones that have ever more than nipped at me, one siezed a hold of my finger and bit HARD. I heard a crunch and it bled FAST. Needless to say I'm not too excited about taking care of them, but maybe if they learn that I'm their primary caregiver they'll be nicer =/.
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Nov 17, 2007 22:55
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  Yesterday, I adopted a six month old female shorthaired mix whose last name was Hopster. Still thinking of a new name. I live in a suite style dorm (three rooms around one common room). She lives in a cage, 24"x18"x21", and her litterbox is 12"x18". I've been noting her behavior habits since last night. I got a small metal dog bowl for water, and she doesn't seem to be drinking from it at all. I'm thinking I should get a guinea pig style bottle if this continues. When she eats hay from my hand, she does so by biting down on the food and flicking her head to one side, and ends up missing the food altogether. This is if it's perpendicular to her mouth, otherwise she eats the straw up like a vacuum. I let her out to play around my room and the common room today, and kept hiding under the 2 couches we have. She'd go out go explore once I sat still on the couch or I went to go back into my room, but always ended up going back to her safe couch area. When I tried giving her the litterbox to climb back into so I could put her back into the cage, she put the cardboard edge in her mouth and flicked it out of her space. She doesn't seem to eat pellets from my hand without biting my fingers. At first I thought she was blind because she wouldn't even turn her head when I moved my hand near her, but I guess the fact a bunny's eyes are on the sides of their heads explains that part. When I move my hand around her head really fast she backs off so she's definitely not blind. She will eat pellets from a spoon though, at first flicking it out of her space but then once she eats a few pellets she ignores the spoon and eats from it. She doesn't eat pellets from her litterbox. After the first few pellets she also turns around 360 degrees counter-clockwise before eating again. Maybe I should get a feeder/pellet dispenser. I was told to keep her in her cage for 1-2 weeks and not even take her out for exercise so she'll get used to the litterbox and do her business there. I think this is a bit cruel, but she shat on my shirt once and once more on my bed, in the same night. I can't blame her though, the cage is on my drawer and there's no accessible way to it other than by me placing her back in it. When I put her on my bed, she tries to burrow into the sheets, which is really cute. She does the same with her litterbox, she clears the hay out from under her and prefers to sit directly on the newspaper, with the hay surrounding her. Hopster is very adventurous, right now she's laid out lengthwise and falling asleep. She seems relaxed, but I hardly know anything about rabbit behavior other than what I've read in the thick packet the shelter gave me, what's rabbit.org, and what a few women truly fanatical about rabbits have told me. She loves vegetables and eats them up really quickly, especially carrots and Romano lettuce. I'm going to feed her extra veggies in case she really isn't drinking any water. I pinched her skin and it settled back down right away, that means that she's not dehydrated which is a good thing. the cage I bought - I will get big foldable pen soon so I can have it play around on the ground while I'm out of the dorm bottle/feeder combo that looks ideal - except I don't know if the bunny will learn to use it Please advise me goons. What am I doing wrong, what am I doing right? I want to start off on the right foot with Hopster. decaf.tihs fucked around with this message at 22:13 on Nov 18, 2007 |
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Nov 18, 2007 21:44
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decaf.tihs posted:I live in a suite style dorm (three rooms around one common room). She lives in a cage, 24"x18"x21", and her litterbox is 12"x18". I've been noting her behavior habits since last night. I got a small metal dog bowl for water, and she doesn't seem to be drinking from it at all. I'm thinking I should get a guinea pig style bottle if this continues. When she eats hay from my hand, she does so by biting down on the food and flicking her head to one side, and ends up missing the food altogether. This is if it's perpendicular to her mouth, otherwise she eats the straw up like a vacuum. The cage is wayyyyy to small, but I imagine in a dorm room you can't fit anything bigger, I can't imagine where this bunny is even fitting with a litter box, a food bowl, a water bowl, AND veggies. But anyways... I had issues with my buns drinking out of a metal bowl and someone told me something about how the metal freaks them out (I wish I could remember exactly what it was). I switched to a non-metal water bowl and she stopped flipping it over. Water bottles really aren't the best idea, because bunnies like to dip their paws in the water to clean their face, but if she won't drink out of the bowl, I would switch to the water bottle. I don't quite understand your description of the eating thing, but it sounds like it might being malloclusion of the teeth? I would probably take her to the vet and maker sure her teeth aren't too long. An intial check-up would be good anyways. decaf.tihs posted:She doesn't seem to eat pellets from my hand without biting my fingers. At first I thought she was blind because she wouldn't even turn her head when I moved my hand near her, but I guess the fact a bunny's eyes are on the sides of their heads explains that part. When I move my hand around her head really fast she backs off so she's definitely not blind. She will eat pellets from a spoon though, at first flicking it out of her space but then once she eats a few pellets she ignores the spoon and eats from it. She doesn't eat pellets from her litterbox. After the first few pellets she also turns around 360 degrees counter-clockwise before eating again. Maybe I should get a feeder/pellet dispenser. She has pellets in her litter box? These really should be in a bowl. decaf.tihs posted:I was told to keep her in her cage for 1-2 weeks and not even take her out for exercise so she'll get used to the litterbox and do her business there. I think this is a bit cruel, but she shat on my shirt once and once more on my bed, in the same night. I can't blame her though, the cage is on my drawer and there's no accessible way to it other than by me placing her back in it. decaf.tihs posted:When I put her on my bed, she tries to burrow into the sheets, which is really cute. She does the same with her litterbox, she clears the hay out from under her and prefers to sit directly on the newspaper, with the hay surrounding her. Hopster is very adventurous, right now she's laid out lengthwise and falling asleep. She seems relaxed, but I hardly know anything about rabbit behavior other than what I've read in the thick packet the shelter gave me, what's rabbit.org, and what a few women truly fanatical about rabbits have told me. decaf.tihs posted:She loves vegetables and eats them up really quickly, especially carrots and Romano lettuce. I'm going to feed her extra veggies in case she really isn't drinking any water. I pinched her skin and it settled back down right away, that means that she's not dehydrated which is a good thing. decaf.tihs posted:bottle/feeder combo that looks ideal - except I don't know if the bunny will learn to use it  Whew. girlscoutdropout fucked around with this message at 22:17 on Nov 18, 2007 |
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Nov 18, 2007 22:14
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Windy posted:Really, what? I've never heard that...unless I missed some articles somewhere. Anyone care to chime in. I've been thinking of adopting a pig after Christmas for the bunnies to play with(on occasion) No no please no! It's true. Rabbits have bordetella and other gram negative bacteria as part of their natural intestinal flora (the same way we have e coli). Guinea pigs have gram positive bacteria. A pig exposed to a rabbit's poops can end up with URIs (from the bordetella) or lethal GI tract infections as the gram negative bacteria wipes out the gram positive. This isn't to speak of the pigs who have suffered broken backs or abscessed bite wounds from overzealous rabbit playmates. Never never never place a guinea pig with a rabbit. It's just a bad idea all around.
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Nov 19, 2007 16:22
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decaf.tihs posted:Gah. Can you post a picture of the whole cage so we can see the layout? decaf.tihs posted:When I tried giving her the litterbox to climb back into so I could put her back into the cage, she put the cardboard edge in her mouth and flicked it out of her space. You're using a cardboard litterbox? decaf.tihs posted:the cage is on my drawer and there's no accessible way to it other than by me placing her back in it. decaf.tihs posted:She loves vegetables and eats them up really quickly, especially carrots and Romano lettuce. I'm going to feed her extra veggies in case she really isn't drinking any water. I pinched her skin and it settled back down right away, that means that she's not dehydrated which is a good thing. Rabbits don't drink as frequently as dogs and cats so it's no surprise that you aren't seeing any drinking. Romaine is good, but go easy on the carrots. Parsley, cilantro, green pepper, dill, kale, etc are all much better for her than carrots. I'd give no more than one baby carrot per day, or less. decaf.tihs posted:bottle/feeder combo that looks ideal - except I don't know if the bunny will learn to use it This waterer is a terrible idea. It's all plastic, and will get chewed on or thrown around. A better setup is a heavy ceramic dog bowl with a water bottle fixed over top of it, where it can drip into the bowl.
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Nov 19, 2007 16:38
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alucinor posted:Can you post a picture of the whole cage so we can see the layout? I also totally missed the cage being on the dresser thing. Bunnies NEED to be able to go in and out of their cage freely, it's their safe spot. alucinor posted:
Totally didn't think about it being plastic. Yeah, it's a bad idea.
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Nov 19, 2007 16:58
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girlscoutdropout posted:I also totally missed the cage being on the dresser thing. Bunnies NEED to be able to go in and out of their cage freely, it's their safe spot. I guess then I need to bunny proof the entire room and block off access to my roommate's stuff by way of some sort of fence (any ideas for a cheap 2-3 yard collapsible fence? I'm thinking a collapsible pen that can double as a divider). Putting a bigger cage/pen on my closet floor with the door open would be a lot more ideal for her, agreed. This is the layout of her cage (24"x18") 
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Nov 19, 2007 18:26
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decaf.tihs posted:I guess then I need to bunny proof the entire room and block off access to my roommate's stuff by way of some sort of fence (any ideas for a cheap 2-3 yard collapsible fence? I'm thinking a collapsible pen that can double as a divider). Putting a bigger cage/pen on my closet floor with the door open would be a lot more ideal for her, agreed. As has been mentioned a few times in this thread these grids plus some zipties makes a cheap, foldable pen or fence. Grids are available at Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, and sometimes Walmart. Can you post a photo of the cage? We're looking for information not provided by a schematic.
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Nov 19, 2007 18:35
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girlscoutdropout posted:
Wow really? I've been giving mine like two carrots a day. He was kind of emaciated after that GI problem a few weeks ago so I figure he can use it. (He's very healthy and strong now!) I'm going to cut down now though, wouldn't want to end up with a tubby little dough ball of a rabbit. Oh and he goes absolutely hog wild over corn. I know it's a type of grain (which rabbits aren't supposed to have really?) but two or three kernels a day couldn't hurt I assume... alucinor posted:You're going to end up with a very cage aggressive rabbit. They HATE being picked up and swooped through the air. They can't understand that you're trying to do them a favor. And when I put him down or let him out of the cage he'll do the "I'm going to have sex with your feet" dance while humming but never actually humps anything. I think I have a sexually inept rabbit. (By the way, do rabbits belch? I could have sworn I just heard him let out a good one.)
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Nov 19, 2007 19:11
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alucinor posted:No no please no! It's true. Rabbits have bordetella and other gram negative bacteria as part of their natural intestinal flora (the same way we have e coli). Guinea pigs have gram positive bacteria. A pig exposed to a rabbit's poops can end up with URIs (from the bordetella) or lethal GI tract infections as the gram negative bacteria wipes out the gram positive. Yikes, that all just sounds evil :/ They weren't going to live together but they'd come in contact with one another. I was just looking to fill the space of my hamster, and all the crap I have for my rabbits is on par with what guinea pigs require(though I'm aware of the nutritional differences). I'm confused why even rabbit.org would have articles suggesting pairing rabbits with pigs(or other species - last resort mind you) if it's a bad idea.
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Nov 19, 2007 19:14
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Windy posted:I'm confused why even rabbit.org would have articles suggesting pairing rabbits with pigs(or other species - last resort mind you) if it's a bad idea. Two reasons: foremost because they aren't GP experts. Some view their GPs as toys for the rabbits rather than as living things in their own right, and many rabbit people insist that pigs are little more than rabbits with shorter ears. Some of us from Guinea Lynx have actually contacted the people who wrote those articles, asking them to modify or remove them, and we've either been met with "but we've always done it that way" or "gosh I never knew, I'll pull the page immediately" followed by no action. Secondly, the problems caused by the difference in intestinal flora was only recognized about 10 years ago. All this probiotic stuff that's in the news now, and the recent development of the two yogurts that are supposed to have beneficial bacteria? All trickle down from the original studies which are now over a decade old; it takes that long for research to gain public awareness. Any webpage written before about 2005 will probably be based on information older than the discoveries talking about these issues. Many vets aren't even aware of this issue, unless they're up to date on current research.
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Nov 19, 2007 19:38
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 I gave her a few slices of apple and she loved them. Finally started giving her giant leaves of fresh green lettuce too from our deli. The workers there don't mind helping out a bunny lover. She keeps burrowing into the newspaper and it gets sort of disgusting if she urinates on it first and then starts digging. Usually her claws can't rip it up, but once she's on wet newspaper she just digs and digs, and rips strips off...
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Nov 19, 2007 21:08
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Ok, first of all, she's got to be bored out of her mind in there. Digging is something rabbits do for entertainment, and right now she has NOTHING else to do except dig. Where are the baby keys? Where is the willow ball? Where is the phone book to rip up? Go here and spend $30 on stuff to stave off boredom. Second, that cardboard box isn't gonna last very long. Go get a small cat litterbox or rubbermaid container (like 9"x12") and fill it with paper-based, rabbit-safe litter like Yesterday's News or Carefresh (NOT any sort of clay, mineral, "magic absorbant", or clumping litter). This will allow her to work out some her frustration by digging in a nice, noisy, yielding substrate. There's a very good chance you're going to have litterbox problems because that cage is too small for her to get away from her litterbox, she'll regard the whole cage as her toilet. Once you have a slightly smaller litterbox, she'll have a bit more room to stretch out next to it which might delay the onset of this problem. You can also then give her a sideways cardboard box which will help entertain her even further. The box that a case of copy paper comes in is perfect. Slide the litterbox inside it. She can eat the sides, climb on top, etc. This will also give her a place to hide - rabbits don't feel secure without a burrow. Third, put a LOT more hay in there with her. About two large handfulls, twice a day, You can put it right in her litterbox or you can get a little wire thing like this from the hardware store. Hay should be about 80% of her diet. Sure, apples are tasty, but they are high in sugar and acids. Don't feed too many of them. Fourth, get a couple of ceramic bowls, one for the water, one for the pellets. Poor thing should not have to eat her food off the floor. They don't have to be huge, about 4" diameter should be plenty. She won't be able to tip them and she'll have a little more room in there. Fifth, you actually have enough room vertically to give her a jumping platform inside that cage, which will help a little bit. Get some grids and some cardboard and zipties; and make a platform of the grids, cover it with cardboard held down by zipties, ziptie the whole thing to the wall. Make it as big as you can so she can actually stretch out up there, maybe 12"x18". Use 1" wooden dowels for structural support as needed, and if you can put a carpet square up there for her to flop on that would be even better. Use binder clips to secure it in place.
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Nov 19, 2007 21:32
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alucinor posted:Thanks for all that great advice. I just got her Saturday and am trying my best to be a good rabbit owner. I'll start with making a pen out of those grid boxes so she can get exercise for more than half an hour a day each day. I'll make sure to do everything you've mentioned!
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Nov 19, 2007 21:38
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decaf.tihs posted:Thanks for all that great advice. I just got her Saturday and am trying my best to be a good rabbit owner. I'll start with making a pen out of those grid boxes so she can get exercise for more than half an hour a day each day. I'll make sure to do everything you've mentioned! You're not going to be able to do everything she REALLY needs with the situation you've described. 1) I have that same cage; I use it as a night cage for my bird. The pan has a 1" lip and indentation all around, making the actual usable floor space more like 16"x22" That's about 2.4 square feet of space. MINIMUM recommended is about 8 square feet (2'x4'). She desperately needs a bigger cage. 2) HRS guidelines call for 4 hours per day or 30 hours per week of free run time outside the cage. 3) Is she spayed? If not, prepare for misery and/or cancer unless you have $300 laying around. 4) Rabbits are highly social creatures and need a same-species friend, but of course, you can't do that unless you can make all the other changes needed. At best my advice is only going to put off the inevitable. I won't lie, I'm very disappointed that you got a rabbit, and I think that despite your best intentions, it's going to end badly because you just cannot give her what she needs at this stage in your life. I had to go hug one of my bunnies and throw them all some more toys when I saw that tiny, boring cage Hopster's in. Poor baby.
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Nov 19, 2007 22:14
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Oy, this bunny bonding is tricky business. About a month and a half ago, we got a lady friend for Hazel, who is a male despite the emasculating name. The bonding was going well and after about three weeks, we felt comfortable putting them together in Hazel's cage. This was fine for a while, until I noticed a large bald spot on Hazel. After questioning some houseguests who were home during the day when we were not, it turns out that "oh yeah, they were kinda noisy the other day..." Fine, so we separated them. We have a split-level cage and we just closed off the opening so that Hazel was stuck up top and Kiwi was stuck below. So they've still been able to smell each other, they're not completely separated. We gave that a little time (about a week) and today I put them together in a large playpen. Neutral territory. But it was so weird. Hazel would burrow his nose beneath Kiwi, who would proceed to hump him, but she would climb over him, kicking him in the process. I think this is where the bald spots came from as a large puff of fur came off Hazel as we watched this happen. I know bunnies hump for dominance reasons, but it's weird that he...it's like he encouraged her to do it. He also nipped at her during their encounter. So what do you guys think went wrong? They had been cuddling/laying nose-to-nose/grooming/licking, all that stuff...but now there's a huge increase in dominance behavior. Do you think we rushed the move into the new cage? All the right signs seemed to be there at the time but obviously something happened. Mostly we got the second rabbit for Hazel's sake. I'm wondering now if it was really the best idea  Sorry if this doesn't make a lot of sense, I'm a bit frazzled, I guess.
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Nov 20, 2007 01:13
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alucinor posted:You're not going to be able to do everything she REALLY needs with the situation you've described. I'm seconding all of this. Only thing is my bunny only cost $100 to get spayed, not $300.
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Nov 20, 2007 03:35
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I'm making all of the closet floor her play area, and maybe installing a second floor with carpeted ramps as well. Her pen will be open to most of the room, with a ramp into the cage. She's spayed - all animals that leave the shelter are altered. Nevertheless, I'm not going to bring another rabbit into the picture, that's taking it too far. I want to provide the best home for it as I can, but I'm not going to obsess over it like some of you may. It's way better here in my loving companionship than back in the shelter or as cat food. If I didn't care about her I certainly wouldn't be asking for help, you guys are making it sound like I'm abusing her. That doesn't make me feel very happy about the whole prospect of raising her after getting the impression that all I'll be doing is giving her a crappy life.
decaf.tihs fucked around with this message at 07:06 on Nov 20, 2007 |
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Nov 20, 2007 06:38
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decaf.tihs posted:I'm not going to obsess over it like some of you may. I obsess because I do this for a living. My job and most of my free time revolves around picking up the broken pieces when someone who has been ill-prepared for an animal ends up dumping it. If I was a mechanic I'd be just as obsessed by anyone who didn't get their oil changed regularly. decaf.tihs posted:It's way better here in my loving companionship than back in the shelter or as cat food. No, it's not. Love and good intentions are not enough to prevent illness or behavioral issues due to improper (but well-intentioned) care. And if you ever have to rehome her, she's not going to be as desirable to future adopters as a well-adjusted, pair-bonded animal who has enjoyed maximally optimal levels of care. Undesirable animals who need to be rehomed end up in a downward spiral until they're alone in a backyard hutch. THAT is what I'm trying to help you avoid. My house is filled with animals who were loved, and who are now completely unadoptable because love is not enough. They have physical disabilities or chronic illnesses because they didn't get vet care on time, or had improper nutrition. They have behavioral issues because they were deprived of social interaction and enriching environmental stimulation. By all rights, all of these animals would have been better off euthanized. decaf.tihs posted:That doesn't make me feel very happy about the whole prospect of raising her after getting the impression that all I'll be doing is giving her a crappy life. You're not abusing her and I'm not saying that. But you were told "here are 10 things you need to be able to do before getting a rabbit." You managed about 3 of those. You seem to be aiming for another 2-3, which is certainly to your credit. I will also give you all due credit for asking for help, but you have to understand why I'm being skeptical: You asked for advice before you got her, and didn't listen to the advice when it said "don't get a rabbit". Forgive me for fearing you won't listen this time either, and PLEASE prove me wrong. I'm not trying to make you feel bad, I'm trying to make sure you know realistically what her deficiencies are and what challenges you're going to face, so that you can compensate for them. You CAN do that, but not if you don't know what it is that you need to compensate for. If I just say "oh well, you did the best you could" you're going to walk blindly into situations that you could have avoided if someone had bothered to tell you the truth. It's like seeing someone about to fall over the edge of a cliff. I'm going to throw you all the ropes you need, but I'm also going to ask why the hell you were playing there in the first place. Keep updating, here or in your other thread, and we will all keep providing as much support as we can. Again, please prove me wrong, I will be ecstatic. If you still have this rabbit a year and she's healthy and happy, PM me or email me through my rescue and I will send you a box of hay or a bunny toy basket, your choice.
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Nov 20, 2007 16:59
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I was doing some homework tonight when I looked over and saw my bun in lounge mode against the wall. He was al spread out just kind of puckered out from running around. However, I noticed that even when he is resting, his heart rate sames to be really high. He kind of shakes when he's laying here. I mean not like seizure shake, but kind of shake. Is it normal for their heart rate to be up like that?
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Nov 22, 2007 09:50
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I mean, did he just sprint around the room or something? Did his heartrate go back to normal? If not, I'd get him to a vet. My bunny does that if he moves too much, but he's also obese (previous owner's fault, not mine).
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Nov 22, 2007 16:57
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I'm worried about Mo. Well, mostly because of paranoia. A coworker of mine had a male, fixed rabbit named (how original) Thumper. Thumper was an outdoor rabbit. Thumper got all the exercise in the world tearing around a fenced in yard, all the grass he could want, and a lot of brushings daily. Yesterday, at a prime two years of age, Thumper didn't leave his hole/burrow, and was found dying, his chest hard and upper body swollen. I work at a zoo. The vet of our zoo, who admittedly knows not much about rabbits, in her own words, asked my coworker if she had had Thumper neutered. Yes to that. "Well," says the vet, "that's probably why." Bacterial infections over a year old was what she listed as the cause, despite not seeing Thumper at all. So I know the diagnosis is poo poo overall, but I am wondering if anyone has had complications up to a year after fixing their rabbit that show up and kill within a day.
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Nov 29, 2007 05:03
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TheDeadKnow posted:So I know the diagnosis is poo poo overall, but I am wondering if anyone has had complications up to a year after fixing their rabbit that show up and kill within a day. Neutering doesn't kill rabbits. Living outdoor does. I've had over 50 rabbits spayed and neutered since 2003, with no post-surgical complications apart from one doe who had a large ovarian tumor at the time of spay. The cancer had already metastasized but she lived another 4 years. 2-3 years is an average lifespan for an outdoor rabbit. It's 8-12 for an indoor rabbit. If the rabbit was indoors, the owner could have seen that he wasn't eating, drinking, or pooping normally, and could have gotten vetcare that would probably have saved him. That's not to go into all of the outdoor hazards that it could have been, which he would never have been exposed to indoors. Please go slap that vet for me. Slap Thumper's owner, too, while you're at it. God, this is why I hate people.
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Nov 29, 2007 16:02
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alucinor posted:Neutering doesn't kill rabbits. Living outdoor does. That's what I was thinking. The best part? I work at the zoo, my coworker is one of the ladies who works with such animals like the giraffes, zebras, kangaroos. The vet is in charge of such animals like baby tigers. I was suspicious of what she said overall, knowing that Thumper lived outdoors, but the fact the vet said this made me wonder.
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Nov 30, 2007 00:38
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TheDeadknow, how does Thumper's backyard look? Are there weeds he might have eaten? Some plants could be poisonous...dehydration...snake bites...insect bites...overheated...
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Nov 30, 2007 01:21
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TheDeadKnow posted:The vet is in charge of such animals like baby tigers. I was suspicious of what she said overall, knowing that Thumper lived outdoors, but the fact the vet said this made me wonder. Specialists are specialists. I'm not casting aspersions on her vet knowledge; in all probability she's a very good vet able to provide sound, accurate care to tigers and lions and bears oh my. But tigers aren't rabbits, and specialists need to recognize that their knowledge is limited to their own area of expertise. You don't trust your proctologist to treat your heart murmur, either. My favorite vet of all time is a guy near Raleigh who is not an exotics specialist. He KNOWS that he's not an expert, and his ego isn't tied up in it. He hasn't always provided the best care - it took him several tries to learn to do cavy neuters without causing abscesses - but he admits his mistakes and is completely up front when he knows he's out of his league. He's said several times "I haven't read about that since I was in school which was 10 years ago, so my knowledge is too out of date to be useful" and then he goes and does the research and learns what's current practice on that topic. He's about a year away from his exotics certification now and I'm so proud of him. I'd still take my animals to him over any other vet in the area even if he never got certified.
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Nov 30, 2007 16:21
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This is Toastie. Never meant to be a house rabbit, but in the house move he came inside "temporarily" while we sorted boxes etc out and were using the outbuilding as storage. So we let him run around the kitchen. And then he was on the first step of the stairs. And then all the way upstairs. And then under the bed. And so on, so we never got around to putting him outside. He seemed to housetrain himself and likes to follow us around, sit under chairs near us, fall asleep under the radiator so it turned out OK. Another picture.  Chilling in front of the TV. If you kneel on the floor he rests his head on your legs so you can rub him. He'll also force his head under any hands he sees so they can give him rubs. I sometimes wonder if it's really a dog.
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Nov 30, 2007 22:11
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shmee posted:This is Toastie. This is Toast.  Somewhat similar, right?
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Dec 1, 2007 01:44
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I have to admit, though my new rabbit Cowslip drives me crazy (she gets a hold of ANYTHING that I have tied up and far from the floor, dive-bombs the cat from the couch, and likes to be out of the rabbit area of the house), she has been great for bringing Mo out of his shell. He's actually turning into a love sponge, wanting me to pet and scratch around his head, while Cowslip watches. She's interested in whatever Momiji is getting that she isn't, but when I try to pet her, she darts off. When I bribe her with food, she stays. I'm still amazed they hit it off so well. Momiji doesn't even blink when she mounts him and does whatever dominance dance rabbits do.
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Dec 1, 2007 04:49
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