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angelicism posted:One of the handlers from the shelter I got Frith at is coming to visit tomorrow to help me with a bonding session with Frith and Zen! Crossing my fingers (they haven't had a session in a few days, she suggested giving them a break after the last two have resulted in casualties -- me included). At the very least hopefully she can make me less depressed about the poor progress. I'm glad to hear it. Good luck at the session and let us know how it goes!
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Sep 14, 2008 19:13
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| # ? May 14, 2024 07:35 |
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Double Post
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Sep 14, 2008 19:13
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Melicious posted:Yep, you've got it. From what I've heard, usually the teeth grinding is louder when it's pain related, and more clicking and licking when they're happy. Annie will go so far as to lick her lips and shut her eyes too, but sometimes it looks like shes licking the floor  . Also, in my new setup, they're in their cage a lot more (were free range before) and it seems like they're doing fine in their cage (keeping it neater), but when they come out, I just see binkies everywhere. Its great! Before, out of their cage was nothing special and I'd get maybe one binky while I was feeding them their morning vegetables. I'm going to try and get a video on youtube of them binking into things. Ben did one 3 ft high into a empty paper bag last night. Startled the hell out of him!
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Sep 14, 2008 19:39
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Bunway Airlines posted:I'm glad to hear it. Good luck at the session and let us know how it goes! So she came and supervised a ~15 minute 'date'... and they didn't fight! They were very tense still, but she assured me that ignoring each other is better than fighting. I think the conclusion is I should stick to several shorter sessions, instead of the 15-20 minutes once or twice a day I was doing now. Basically, to squeeze in a 2-5 minute session whenever I have a bit of time to spare. Zen still sulked afterwards, but at least there were no battle wounds this time, and she was significantly more relaxed in his presence than she's ever been before, so I have newfound hope.
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Sep 14, 2008 21:25
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Day three of medications. Mo's ears are clearing up, but I'm wondering how the hell I got these mites in the first place. The buns don't go outside, I only have the two, and the cat and dogs don't come into contact with them. So....where?
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Sep 14, 2008 22:15
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You Are posted:Does anyone know how to professionally trim a Lionhead? She's got MM genes. Massive Mane. It's like a bedskirt around her lower body, all over her butt, back legs, chest, face, and ears. And she drags shredded paper and hay every time she leaves her litter box. I own a giant puffball. I think you'll find this useful: http://home.pacbell.net/bettychu/grooming.html I tried using a blowdryer set to cold on Lewis a couple of times. It seems to stress him out more than simple brushing. But man does it fluff up a wooly rabbit. vvvv This is Betty Chu, the queen of angoras.
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Sep 15, 2008 01:01
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what I've decided to do is fence in part of my room (a relatively small part of my room that isn't used) and having the cage open into that area except for at night. That way they would be able to be free-ish and still have their cage. Their whole area would be carpeted with hideyholes and all that. I think its a good compromise to make with them.
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Sep 15, 2008 01:26
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Cowslips Warren posted:Day three of medications. Most animals have these mites naturally, but the animal's immune system is able to keep the population in check. In times of other illness or stress, this defense can fail and you get a population explosion.
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Sep 15, 2008 02:24
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For the first time ever, I've nipped the quick when trimming nails. I got the outer toe nail on Debbie's front paw and it was bleeding pretty bad for a small cut. All I had on hand was sweet rice flour. It works kind of like corn starch, but I can't find anything on google that states if it was actually safe or not to use. Does anyone know for sure? I'll run Debbie in as soon as I can if I've just done a bad thing.
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Sep 16, 2008 04:07
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angelicism posted:So she came and supervised a ~15 minute 'date'... and they didn't fight! They were very tense still, but she assured me that ignoring each other is better than fighting. I think the conclusion is I should stick to several shorter sessions, instead of the 15-20 minutes once or twice a day I was doing now. Basically, to squeeze in a 2-5 minute session whenever I have a bit of time to spare.  
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Sep 16, 2008 04:13
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Windy posted:sweet rice flour Should be fine; it's nontoxic. My only concern would have been reduced effectiveness as a clotting agent, but obviously it did the trick. I'd recommend picking up some actual styptic powder over cornstarch, but the latter IS more handy, since it can be used for dry baths and even cooking. 
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Sep 16, 2008 15:12
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What about Pedi Paws? Do these work well for bunnies?
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Sep 17, 2008 04:41
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Cowslips Warren posted:Score one for EAR MITES!!!!!! After consulting an American Rabbit Breeders Association Guide book... Drops of mineral oil in the ear kills mites within 3 days. With re-application after 10 days or monthly for P/M - The oil suffocates and kills them.
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Sep 17, 2008 22:27
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Ok so my bunnies love fresh apple branches, however I notice some lichen growing on them sometimes and so I avoid those. Is this reasonable or is it all just wonderful nature and would be fine for them? It'd make my life a lot easier not worrying about it. They LOVE the branches though. Got a 3 2 footers in the morning and when I came home they were gone. Must be delicious.
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Sep 20, 2008 03:35
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Yesterday I spent over four hours at the e-vet while they ran a barrage of tests on Debbie. She had stopped eating, pooping, hopping around and possibly drinking for over 24 hours so naturally I was worried. After 4 x-rays and a full blood panel, we still don't know why she wouldn't eat. Kidney and liver issues were ruled out. She had some short points on some back teeth that were filed down to rule that out as well. Possible small pocket of gas in the stomach, but it wasn't immediately indicative of GIS. At the vet I was shown how to feed her Oxbow Critical Care and administer some liquid medication. Debbie ate up the CC readily from the techs fingers which was very promising. However once we were back at home, she didn't want anything to do with it. According to the vet, Debbie needs to eat 21 tablespoons of the formula throughout the day. Since last night I've only been able to get her to eat maybe two tablespoons. She just doesn't want it. Half the time she just pushes it back out of her mouth. She's also getting quite stressed out, and frantically tries to run away from me when she sees the dish of food. When in the "bunny burrito", she will pull her head in, making it difficult to get the food into her mouth. I've followed all the tips in the pamphlet and rabbit.org to no avail. Anyone have any ideas on how to get her interested in taking the CC formula? Or perhaps a way to calm her down a little so that she may eat it? All three of my vets are out on the weekends, as is the e-vet. I figured I'd ask for opinions here first before bothering the doctors on the their days off.
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Sep 27, 2008 18:26
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Windy posted:Anyone have any ideas on how to get her interested in taking the CC formula? Are you using a spoon or a syringe? I've never had any luck with spoon feeding a rabbit, so if you aren't already, I'd recommend switching to a 10cc syringe. If you don't have one and don't have an open vet, you can try a pharmacist or dentist and ask for a 10cc oral irrigator, then cut about 1/4" off the tip to open it up more. I've posted a guide to syringe feeding somewhere around here before, a reprint of it can be found here. Mixing the formula with canned pumpkin, applesauce, or babyfood (especially carrot and banana) may help it be more palatable.
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Sep 27, 2008 18:43
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I've been using a syringe that the vet provided me with. Debbie will not eat from a spoon, dish or fingers. Ideally I'd like for her to eat it from a dish, so I'll try picking up a small jar of baby food and see if that helps at all. Right now I'm happy that she is eating some hay, so even if I can't get her to eat the 21 tablespoons of formula, she is getting some food through her system.
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Sep 27, 2008 19:27
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She just won't eat the Critical Care. The smell of it makes her run and hide, even when mixed with baby food. Debbie has been eating her hay, veggies, and some pellets. Should I just forget about forcing her to eat the CC formula? I know it's not a problem with having the syringe shoved in her gob, as she comes running up to me when I have the medicine ready for her. I'll be calling the vet on Monday to be certain, but I'd assume that since she is eating on her own(and the CC is more for rabbits who won't eat at all) that she should be ok without it as long as she isn't dropping any weight.
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Sep 28, 2008 19:58
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Yes. I'd weigh her twice a day, and as long as she is steady/moving upwards, allowing her to eat a variety of foods on her own is better than forced critical care. CC was never intended for long-term use and there is some evidence it can cause stasis (or at least, animals who are on it long-term seem to stasis more often). I'm glad to hear she's eating! Try fragrant herbs on her. Dill, especially, has always been a top winner for me in getting anorexic animals to eat. Basil, mints, and wheatgrass too, as much as she'll take. You can also offer alfalfa hay in small amounts or mixed with her grass hay. 
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Sep 29, 2008 15:40
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I'm having a similar problem with one of my rabbits - we just had her in the vet's on Sunday getting a mass removed from her shoulder (it's being biopsied, they're pretty sure it isn't a tumor) and she hasn't eaten since, other than a little bit of lettuce that I saw. Well of course that's bad, so we took her in earlier today. The vet wanted to give us some Critical Care for her...yeah no. Burritoed or not, she fights us as soon as the syringe appears and simply won't take the stuff once we get it to her. She holds it in her mouth and as soon as she can, spits every bit of it right back out. The vet wants us to go back in tomorrow morning and I'm not sure what they're going to do about it. Rabbits. And this is AFTER the other one had to get a couple teeth pulled (he's doing just fine, but he's a little momma's boy and always tries to get on everyone's good side all the time) It's funny, we've never had a medical problem with the rabbits and now we get two in a month. Go figure.
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Sep 30, 2008 04:06
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when my rabbit got sick before we had to spend a lot of time learning how to force the rabbit into a position where he had to eat the syringe food. Keep in mind when handling any animal, if you are not confident about what you are doing, you are going to run into problems. The confidence really does make a difference in an animal accepting it or them struggling with you. I think i remember this coming up before and I mentioned my own way of holding the rabbit for this, which was very similar to the other one posted by alucinor but I positioned the rabbit on the floor between my bent legs to hold him more still. The left hand then was against his chest to keep him from running forward, and the right introduced the syringe from the right side. You can usually tell after a little while if they have had all they will accept that time. When he was in this syringe feeding phase we would try to get him still to eat timothy hay/cilantro/baby carrots. We ended up using cilantro as he liked it more than parsley/romaine etc. Also tried shredded (with a grater) baby carrots, which (while I know should be restricted usually) he does love, and would eat them only when shredded into smaller size pieces.
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Sep 30, 2008 04:11
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God, I'm annoyed. I've pretty much given up on getting my rabbit to be easy to handle, he never just snuggles and will scream and cry as if he's dying whenever you pick him up (no matter which way you try). It's not like he hates me or anything, he's plenty affectionate. I'm fine with him headbutting my ankle whenever he wants to be pet. The socialising has to be all his idea. But my friend got this 8 week old rabbit who is just adorable and likes being picked up and carried around, and will fall asleep on your lap. Which is nice, I just can't stand how smug she is about the whole thing. Like I did something wrong with my rabbit. I tell her she's in for a nasty surprise when her rabbit gets older, but of course she doesn't believe it and drat it's annoying. Not every rabbit's the same, I'm happy with my antisocial wuss 
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Sep 30, 2008 09:24
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DS at Night posted:I tell her she's in for a nasty surprise when her rabbit gets older, but of course she doesn't believe it and drat it's annoying. You're correct, and will get to be smug when the rabbit hits puberty and becomes a holy terror. An eight week old is snuggly because it HAS to be, otherwise its mom will kick its rear end. I just hope your friend is planning to spay/neuter. Probably one owner out of 10 just rehomes the rabbit when it hits puberty, rather than spending OMG LIEK A HUNDRED DOLLARS!! on a simple procedure that improves 99% of problem behaviors. Hawkeye posted:The confidence really does make a difference in an animal accepting it or them struggling with you. Nail on the head. Honest to god, you have to go in like you have every intention to hurt the rabbit if necessary. They must be able to smell fear, because if you are *afraid* of hurting them, you haven't a chance. Another attitude that seems to help is "this is going to take as long as it takes". I go in planning on a 30-60 minute feeding session for 5-10cc of mush. If you try to do it right before you have to leave for work and you only have 5 minutes to cram down 40cc, or if you are afraid that handling Bun for over 10 minutes will stress him out too much - good chance you'll give up just before he capitulates.
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Sep 30, 2008 14:54
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I've only had to deal with a rabbit not eating once - right after my first got neutered. I was lucky though, because he absolutely adored his pellets. We got a syringe from the vet, let the pellets soak in water 'till they were mush and mashed it together with carrot baby food and a bit of juice. I had help, so someone held him still while I gently squeezed mush into the corner of his mouth. In trying to push it out of his mouth he got a taste for what it was and started swallowing some of it. We only had to do that twice and then he started eating on his own again. Good luck! Bunnies not eating is worrisome.
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Sep 30, 2008 15:49
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alucinor posted:You're correct, and will get to be smug when the rabbit hits puberty and becomes a holy terror. An eight week old is snuggly because it HAS to be, otherwise its mom will kick its rear end. Oh yeah no worries there. Rabbit psychology aside, I'd kick her rear end if she didn't get her rabbit spayed, especially a female one.
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Sep 30, 2008 23:32
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Lewis is having a Pasteurella flare up and is now on $100+ worth of cipro. For being a $50 pet he has been expensive. Should I not be handling him for over ten minutes? I like to use the time after giving him his meds to brush him. He seems to passively put up with it 
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Oct 1, 2008 05:04
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Foaming Chicken posted:Should I not be handling him for over ten minutes? Hahah, no, handling longer than that is FINE. I was talking about people who are afraid of their rabbits and who use this as an excuse to fail at handfeeding. You hold him and cuddle him as long as you need to or want to, till his body language tells you he's done. He definitely needs your handling and brushing for reassurance while he's ill. Foaming Chicken posted:For being a $50 pet he has been expensive. This should be in the OP. The cheapest pets are always the most expensive, with the possible exception of horses.
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Oct 1, 2008 15:18
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Just found a website that might be helpful to some people: http://www.flickr.com/groups/bunnyloversunite/discuss/72157600299251247/ It's a picture guide to rabbit poop. Hey, to own a small animal is to be on constant watch for bizarre poop. It was helpful to me just now anyway.. The rabbit that we've been having feeding issues with likely is moving into stasis issues. When I took her in yesterday morning, the tech syringe-fed my rabbit and showed me some tricks, and between that feeding and the two I gave her later in the day, most of the food disappeared into the bunny. Well, now I see little, weird-looking dark poops in her cage and I know that's not a good thing. I'm going to call the vet again, but I'm worried they're just going to tell me to bring her in and keep syringe-feeding her. I'm not really confident that syringe-feeding is enough for her.
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Oct 1, 2008 17:59
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DS at Night posted:God, I'm annoyed. I've pretty much given up on getting my rabbit to be easy to handle, he never just snuggles and will scream and cry as if he's dying whenever you pick him up (no matter which way you try). It's not like he hates me or anything, he's plenty affectionate. I'm fine with him headbutting my ankle whenever he wants to be pet. The socialising has to be all his idea. If it helps, the bunny we got as a baby loved to be picked up/sit on our laps, but as she got older she was far less excited/accepting of it. If we do it now she deals with it (sometimes) but she clearly isn't thrilled with the idea. Our other freaks out but once you have him picked up he seems rather complacent about it. That is as long as you don't put him in a position where he can possibly bite you. Little bugger hurts.
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Oct 2, 2008 08:18
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GoodApollo posted:If it helps, the bunny we got as a baby loved to be picked up/sit on our laps, but as she got older she was far less excited/accepting of it. If we do it now she deals with it (sometimes) but she clearly isn't thrilled with the idea. quote:Our other freaks out but once you have him picked up he seems rather complacent about it. That is as long as you don't put him in a position where he can possibly bite you. Little bugger hurts. I've lost a favourite t-shirt to this. To me it seems they start biting when they get bored and it's not meant to hurt you but rather to get your attention. That explanation's all fine and well but of course it's still not a great experience when you sit down on the floor to tie shoelaces and your bunny bites your rear end. Those little teeth go right through pants.
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Oct 2, 2008 12:04
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If it's any consolation, Bowser hated being picked up when she was younger. When we adopted her, the vet said she was between 1 and 3 years old. She would kick and shred our arms to ribbons when we tried to move her or snuggle her. Nowadays, she loves being smothered in our arms. It took a lot of persistance, but it can happen. I think after about a year, she had completely stopped kicking us. Obviously, not ALL bunnies will warm to the idea of being held, but it isn't out of the question for a kicky ball of angst to become a cuddlebun.
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Oct 3, 2008 15:30
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Debbie loves sitting in my lap, but it's almost always on her terms. If I'm on the floor or sofa, she will hop up to me and settle in my lap, usually to lick my arm raw or to chew on my clothes. But she will tolerate being held for a short time; she sort of goes into a panic mode if I try to carry her around though. Murphy hates being held and freaks out whenever he is picked up. I think Debbie warmed up to it more because I used to give her treats if she hopped onto my knee and sat still for more than a few seconds. She'll do anything for craisins.
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Oct 3, 2008 16:27
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Zen used to hate being picked up and would try to wriggle out immediately. Now she very much tolerates, and makes it clear it's just tolerance. She won't wriggle out, but if I need to carry her she's constantly looking over my shoulder and around and trying to figure out if we've gotten 'there' yet. Frith raises holy hell if you touch his midsection in preparation to pick him up... but once he's picked up, he's more docile. Mostly out of sheer fear. When I get to putting him down (this is usually me picking them up and moving them from their pen to the date area, or my room) he sees ground, he leaps. My arms and chest have so many scrape marks. 
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Oct 4, 2008 16:00
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Haha yeah when I first got Billy I got comments at work where people thought I was a cutter or something. Fortunately he hasn't left any permanent marks. Maybe he'll mellow out a bit in a year or maybe two. I guess I can hope.
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Oct 4, 2008 21:54
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DS at Night posted:Haha yeah when I first got Billy I got comments at work where people thought I was a cutter or something. Fortunately he hasn't left any permanent marks. My favorite one: "Do... are you in an abusive relationship?"
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Oct 5, 2008 00:26
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I have a question I just got a bunny a couple days ago and he does the weird hop thing when he's running around. It's sort of like hes running and then he kicks his backs legs to the side. Is there something wrong with him? Is there something wrong with his spine? I hope not.
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Oct 5, 2008 03:45
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I'm Tricknee Hacksaw's fiancée and I wanted to give a small update on our bunny. Kiwi ended up going back to vet and having a slight fever. They think the surgical spot got a secondary infection. I can't imagine why, since she wasn't on any medications after the surgery (sorry I'm a little sarcastic right now). Anyways, she had stitches, which she pulled out by the time we got the vet to agree to see her (this was Wednesday), so they put in staples and we insisted that they keep her for observation - mainly we were concerned since she was refusing to take any food for nearly three days. They actually didn't find out she had a fever till they had a chance to examine her later that day, after we had left. They decided she could go home today and took out the staples. Earlier this evening, we noticed that the wound was opening back up a bit, so we put some wound dressing stuff on it from one of our vet tech friends. She decided to wriggle around so much that the wound opened up even more, and some of her fat was sticking out. Lovely. We just got back from the e-vet and had her cleaned and bandaged up. She's going back to the vet tomorrow first thing to get it all re-stapled. Fortunately, it seems like she wasn't eating just because of the infection/pain because she's eating at least some foods now. We gave her some greens earlier and they're all gone, and she's taking raisins occasionally. She should be alright till tomorrow at least when the vet can patch her up properly. TheCheddarCat posted:I have a question I just got a bunny a couple days ago and he does the weird hop thing when he's running around. It's sort of like hes running and then he kicks his backs legs to the side. Is there something wrong with him? Is there something wrong with his spine? I hope not. That usually means he's a very happy bunny.
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Oct 5, 2008 06:33
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TheCheddarCat posted:I have a question I just got a bunny a couple days ago and he does the weird hop thing when he's running around. It's sort of like hes running and then he kicks his backs legs to the side. Is there something wrong with him? Is there something wrong with his spine? I hope not. Happy bunny hop!
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Oct 6, 2008 15:10
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oh my god I love my stupid rabbits they're at my parent's house right now because we have mice and are trying to get rid of them and the mice freak them the gently caress out. I can't wait to go see them today.
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Oct 6, 2008 17:16
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You need to submit that to Disapproving Rabbits.
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Oct 6, 2008 17:19
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