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luscious posted:oh my god I love my stupid rabbits Do you happen to know what breed the foreground-bunny is? I have a little guy who's the same color and has the same big cheeks. His ears are shaped the same too. All my buns were adopted so, except for my lop (which is kinda obvious), I don't know what breed they are. PS: He's absolutely adorable. I love my dumb bunnies. It's especially cute how they get really confused by any change in their environment. Closed doors absolutely puzzle them. If a normally-open door is suddenly closed, they'll gather in front of it and stand on their back legs, peering at the doorknob... "Is open door?" We've theorized that their behavior is actually just poorly implemented AI controlled entirely by While loops and If statements... e: We've been seriously considering getting some pet mice. I highly doubt the mice and the bunnies will come into contact with each other, and I haven't seen any mention of danger but I'll ask here to check: is there any danger in keeping both as pets? I think that as long as they don't come in contact with each other's food or droppings, they'll be fine, right? Bagleworm fucked around with this message at 02:17 on Oct 7, 2008 |
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Oct 6, 2008 21:40
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Bagleworm posted:Do you happen to know what breed the foreground-bunny is? I have a little guy who's the same color and has the same big cheeks. His ears are shaped the same too. I have no idea but she's super cute and even the vets have been like "is she a wild rabbit?!" She has the sweetest orange spot behind her head and I love it.
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Oct 8, 2008 04:36
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Question - How do I best weigh my rabbit using a kitchen scale. I think my rabbit is getting... fat. Diet is timothy hay, oxbow timothy hay pellets, a few leaves of romaine, a baby carrot, and another random vegetable from the approved list on rabbit.org per day. Pellets he seems to only eat if he ate all his greens, they are definitely not his favorite, and never seems to eat all that much of them. Also, how do I find out the target weight for a rabbit to know if he is fat? He is a mini-rex.
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Oct 9, 2008 16:58
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He should probably only weigh about 3-4 pounds. If he looks fat, then he is. I would stop the pellets and try to make him run around a bit more. I stopped feeding pellets entirely and I haven't noticed any declines in health or personality. My two get free choice hay and very generous servings of greens twice a day. Unfortunately Romaine isn't that nutritious, I would try kale, chard, collards, spinach or other dark greens. My two go nuts over kale.
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Oct 9, 2008 17:07
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Bunway's dead on about how to feed. Now as to this question:Hawkeye posted:Question - How do I best weigh my rabbit using a kitchen scale. A scale like this works best. Choose a scale that goes up to 5lbs or so, and the bowl should be big enough for her. If not, you can replace the bowl with a larger basket or rubbermaid container. You may also be able to find a baby scale like this at a yardsale, they work really well for larger rabbits and rabbits who don't like being in a bowl. Personally, I prefer digital scales to analog ones, but that's mostly just because I hate telling my vet "um, three and a bit" when I can be nerdly and report three decimal points of precision. Weigh at least weekly, and keep a piece of paper next to the scale to track the weights. A few grams difference up and down every week doesn't mean much, but a big gain/loss or a steady trend can be an early sign of illness. I don't have a picture of a rabbit in a scale but basically it ends up something like this.
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Oct 9, 2008 17:27
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Thanks for the suggestions, I'll talk em over with the misses and start some of these modifications
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Oct 9, 2008 17:48
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Bunway Airlines posted:Unfortunately Romaine isn't that nutritious, I would try kale, chard, collards, spinach or other dark greens. My two go nuts over kale. Be careful with feeding too much kale, it is high in oxalates. Here's a useful chart for feeding veggies.
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Oct 9, 2008 18:20
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candeh posted:Be careful with feeding too much kale, it is high in oxalates. Here's a useful chart for feeding veggies. You're totally right, I had forgotten about that. Thanks. According to that link you have to be careful only with bunnies who have urinary problems. The lady that ran the nonprofit where I got Ender was a vet and she said that if they're healthy it's not an issue.
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Oct 9, 2008 20:54
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candeh posted:Be careful with feeding too much kale, it is high in oxalates. Here's a useful chart for feeding veggies. Wow, they're really against giving rabbits corn of any kind. I've been giving mine corn as an occasional treat for like a year and he's just fine...
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Oct 10, 2008 08:42
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DS at Night posted:Wow, they're really against giving rabbits corn of any kind. I've been giving mine corn as an occasional treat for like a year and he's just fine... Any food which is high in starch is converted to sugars in the gut. The gut of a rabbit is filled with microorganisms which aid in digestion, most of which are not adapted to processing sugar. So the presence of sugars can allow non-helpful bacteria to proliferate, leading to GI upset (gas and loose stools) at best, or stasis/enterocolitis at worst. The amounts you feed may not be enough to cause problems, or maybe your rabbit has a cast-iron cecum, but it's still a risky proposition. We also have no idea what constitutes a "safe" amount of carbs/sugars in the diet, so in general we have to err on the side of caution and recommend against it.
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Oct 10, 2008 14:58
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Well either that or the massive amounts of cardboard he consumes really help speed his digestive system along. So far he poops like a champion but I guess I'll phase the corn out and replace it with something a little better for him.
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Oct 10, 2008 19:25
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Any recommendation on pellet brands? I ran out the other day and picked up some cheaper stuff since pellets aren't really readily available here. Bonus photo from the girlfriend: 
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Oct 11, 2008 01:48
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Bunny bonding breakthrough! On day like 7 million and something. (Zen is currently sulking at me from her pen because after the following incident her playtime was over and she was unceremoniously put back inside.) Zen has begun to condescend to be pet by me during bonding sessions, and as I'm petting Frith too, that means she has to be within a ~5 foot radius of him. Today Frith managed to inch close enough to get a good nuzzle in there -- his nose tucked oh so sweetly under her cheek. And then I paused petting for a moment to admire and she launched herself at the nearest moving thing; unfortunately for me, that was my hand.  If you ever wondered if rabbit bites make it through regular leather gloves (I was wearing them precisely for bite protection), they do. Need to up the ante to thicker gloves. Or my bunnies just have to get along.But a nuzzle! There was a nuzzle! I was so happy. *wipes tear* edit: ^^^^ Oh rub it in, will you? Everyone's bunnies love each other but mine.  (Your buns are adorable.)
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Oct 11, 2008 01:49
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angelicism posted:And then I paused petting for a moment to admire and she launched herself at the nearest moving thing; unfortunately for me, that was my hand. my rabbit and my roommate's rabbit got into a fight one day. For some reason in a panic I stuck my hands between them (so stupid I know) and hers latched onto my palm. I was literally shaking my hand with this stupid rabbit attached to it for a minute until my roommate hit him off of me with a pillow. The bite was very deep. I probably should have gotten stitches.
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Oct 11, 2008 02:36
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I should have taken photos of my bites from when Ender and Portia were bonding. You just never know with the little bastards, mine got sent to boot camp and decided that they would be friends.
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Oct 11, 2008 03:41
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angelicism posted:edit: ^^^^ Oh rub it in, will you? Everyone's bunnies love each other but mine. Don't worry, mine only get along through cage bars. Without that safety, I have no doubts that Debbie would kill Murphy. She's cute and sweet and lovable unless you're a white lop apparently.
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Oct 11, 2008 06:58
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GoodApollo posted:Any recommendation on pellet brands? I ran out the other day and picked up some cheaper stuff since pellets aren't really readily available here. Oxbow Bunny Basic T, bought online direct or even from Amazon so you can get a break on shipping. If you buy in bulk (a 50lb box), you can save a lot of money. Just buy a pet food container that can seal very tightly, and store it inside that. If you have to buy local, Kaytee Timothy Complete is one of the very few acceptable alternatives. If you're free feeding very good hay and 2+c per day of varied, highest quality veggies, you can probably skip the pellets altogether. Very cute buns!
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Oct 11, 2008 15:07
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I just noticed Frith's nose is yellowy dirty in a bit... is it possible to give him a bath and wash his face (and paws) or should I just let him do his thing?
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Oct 11, 2008 17:30
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alucinor posted:Oxbow Bunny Basic T, bought online direct or even from Amazon so you can get a break on shipping. If you buy in bulk (a 50lb box), you can save a lot of money. Just buy a pet food container that can seal very tightly, and store it inside that. They've started selling oxbow pellets at Petsmart now, so most people probably don't even need to ship them anymore.
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Oct 11, 2008 18:04
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alucinor posted:Oxbow Bunny Basic T, bought online direct or even from Amazon so you can get a break on shipping. If you buy in bulk (a 50lb box), you can save a lot of money. Just buy a pet food container that can seal very tightly, and store it inside that. Thanks! I picked up some of the Kaytee Timothy at Petco. I had never been to one before and just happened to see it while doing some shopping. I had kind of an upsetting incident though. They sell animals at this one apparently... and several of the animals actually had information up about how to care for them. For whatever reason there was nothing like this for the rabbits or ferrets who were prominently displayed at the front of the store. I didn't really think a lot of it but as we were checking out a woman asked about them. They actually just handed her a key to their cages and left. This sort of upset me, especially since she had, to say the least, a lot of children with her. We basically stood in the checkout line and watched them... they first went for the ferrets, tormenting while they slept and just passed them around to the kids (surprised no one got bit). Then they went for the bunnies, who all, obviously, ran in their igloo to get away from all the snatchy fingers. The adult with them picked up their igloo and used it to trap them and pick them up in very dangerous way and then pass them around to the children... again, wondering how no one got bit, but they were babies and I suppose they tend to be a little more forgiving. It didn't so much bother me about the people, although it was stupid they probably didn't know any better. I was more upset about the employees just handing over the keys and not watching, maybe it's an overreaction but it seemed highly irresponsible. What do you guys think? My girlfriend also read earlier something about them being required to have up relevant care information about the animals.
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Oct 12, 2008 02:45
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I started going to Petsmart over Petco largely because seeing that stuff, especially with bunnies, is too upsetting to me. It's not even like I'm intentionally trying to support one chain over the other, I'm sure there are plenty of bad things to be said about Petsmart, but at least I can shop there without witnessing random assholes and their children attacking baby rabbits. And now they have Oxbow, which seems to be considered the gold standard in rabbit pellets, so even better. It's a bit of a drive for me, but I just stock up on a month or two of supplies each time.
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Oct 12, 2008 03:12
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GoodApollo posted:What do you guys think? My girlfriend also read earlier something about them being required to have up relevant care information about the animals. Their care information is only minimally correct, and some of it is downright wrong (like recommending that guinea pigs use roll-about-balls; a huge no-no). The BEST thing you can do is speak through your wallet - just don't buy from places that sell small animals. It costs a little more and maybe takes a little more planning and effort, but it's doable. I haven't shopped at a chain petstore since 2003, and I never will ever again. I buy 90% of my supplies online, and buy the rest of my stuff at rescue-friendly pet supply stores which do not sell animals. I pay out the rear end for shipping, I drive well out of my way to get to the good stores, and I've been caught low on supplies and had to buy small bags of product at vastly overinflated prices, but it's well worth not supporting the small-animal millers and the pets-as-merchandise mentality.
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Oct 12, 2008 20:55
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alucinor posted:Their care information is only minimally correct, and some of it is downright wrong (like recommending that guinea pigs use roll-about-balls; a huge no-no). Yeah, we actually discovered last night searching around that some of their information is incorrect; they had robo hamsters out and we were curious if what they had up was correct. We actually decided as we left last night we would never buy from a store like that again. We buy hay and liter both fairly cheap locally, and while we don't feed them many pellets they really like having them. With Milly especially it makes her feel like she's getting more (even though she actually isn't) and for whatever reason, it makes her less destructive. On a more positive note, another cute picture! 
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Oct 12, 2008 23:49
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alucinor posted:Their care information is only minimally correct, and some of it is downright wrong (like recommending that guinea pigs use roll-about-balls; a huge no-no). +100
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Oct 13, 2008 01:10
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We've been visiting the petstore a lot recently, we're going to be getting mice tonight. The bunnies they have there are so irresistibly cute, but I've sworn not to buy one because I don't want them to bring in MORE bunnies to replace the one I've bought. They have some young Lions heads though, they're about the size of a guinea pig, and absolutely adorable. They're also quite used to being handled (Gah! I can't imagine what the poor things have to deal with - it's a good thing that they're comfortable being handled, but it sucks how they got that way.) The thing that breaks my heart is that there are bonded rabbits, and I would bet that none of them are going to be adopted in pairs/triplets... so their bond is being broken AND they will probably be kept alone in one of those tiny little wire hutches... At least the store has a prominent display of timothy hay and a sign about how it's a very important part of their diet; I've never seen that anywhere else.
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Oct 14, 2008 22:01
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I'm posting to ask for any health advice. Let me preface this by saying I spent all day at the vet yesterday, so I'm not asking the internet in lieu of actual medical help. This weekend our rabbit began to show a bit of sluggishness, and then Monday he began drinking & eating less. By Tuesday night his energy level had returned and his eating had picked back up, but he had stopped drinking water almost entirely. He was urinating very little (and this is a bunny who usually turns his litterbox into a soggy mess in about 12 hours). He also had some sort of white secretion in his urine. So Wednesday morning I rushed him to the vet, where after $500 of tests they still don't know what's wrong. He has no calcium build-up in his bladder, no stones, no obstructions in his bladder, nothing on an X-Ray, no signs of any sort of infection. They gave him lots of fluids and sent him home with 10 days of anti-biotics & some pain meds (for his wing-dang-doodle, since they catheterized him). We're waiting on the results of a urinalysis and a urine culture. At home, he still seems to be ignoring water. We're giving him more lettuce than normal to try and keep him hydrated, but what other veggies would be good for hydrating him? I was also wondering if anyone had any other tricks to get your bunny to drink? We were thinking of spritzing him with a water bottle so that he has to clean it off of (and inevitably imbibe it). Or has anyone else had a situation like this, and what did it turn out to be? How did it resolve itself? I'm a nervous wreck right now, and I'm really hoping the urine tests reveal something because I already feel tapped out money-wise.
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Oct 16, 2008 15:55
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When Kiwi was having her issues post surgery, when I rinsed her lettuce I didn't shake all the water off. That way she was ingesting water with the lettuce. Kiwi's doing better by the way - her poops are really pale though, which is weird. They're the right size though!
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Oct 16, 2008 16:38
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StrangersInTheNight posted:Or has anyone else had a situation like this, and what did it turn out to be? How did it resolve itself? I'm a nervous wreck right now, and I'm really hoping the urine tests reveal something because I already feel tapped out money-wise. Did they take bloodwork to look at kidney function? Even without stones or sludge it could be a kidney problem, and bloodwork would show a different set of values than the UA. It sounds similar to what happened with one of my girls who was in renal failure. A few suggestions: 1. Offer a bowl of water, if you currently only offer a bottle (but keep the bottle so he has both). 2. If you have been using tap water, use bottled water instead (simple drinking water is fine). 3. Offer bowls of both water and pedialyte (in the baby section, it's a slightly flavored thing for babies with diarrhea). You'll want to throw it out every few hours so it can be a small bowl. 4. Get a 3, 6, or 10 cc syringe and force-feed him water and/or pedialyte. Some rabbits will drink it willingly, some will fuss and most of it runs over their chin. Only put 1-2cc at a time into his mouth unless he's actively sucking at the syringe. Watch his jaws, if they work like he's swallowing, then you give another 1-2cc. 5. Offer melon, especially watermelon, and cucumber. Poor nutritionally, but nice and watery. Good luck, and definitely update us with the UA results.
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Oct 16, 2008 17:16
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I wouldn't spray your rabbit with water. The fur takes forever to dry if he doesn't clean it all off. Does your little guy use a bottle or a dish to drink out of? If he has a bottle, try offering a small dish of water to see if he'll drink out of that. You could also try some fruit juices or baby food, just make sure it's pure fruit with no added sweeteners.As for waterlogged vegetables, celery, cucumber and green peppers are quite juicy.
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Oct 16, 2008 17:22
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alucinor posted:Did they take bloodwork to look at kidney function? Even without stones or sludge it could be a kidney problem, and bloodwork would show a different set of values than the UA. It sounds similar to what happened with one of my girls who was in renal failure. They gave us the option of doing bloodwork, but we decided to wait to see what was going on with the urine testing first, then to move on from there. My feeling was that we could bring him back in to have his blood drawn, but he had endured a pretty tough day and I just wanted to get him home. In retrospect I'm feeling kind of guilty we didn't just go ahead with it. It should be noted that the rabbit had no urine scalding anywhere, which I know is a common symptom of many rabbit renal problems...this is what led the vet to be less worried about the possibility of total renal failure. Will they be able to tell if he's having renal failure from the urine tests? If not, sounds like I may be heading back over to the vet. EDIT: Oh yeah, what did they do to treat your rabbit for renal failure? What would be the next step if that's what it is? Windy posted:I wouldn't spray your rabbit with water. The fur takes forever to dry if he doesn't clean it all off. Does your little guy use a bottle or a dish to drink out of? If he has a bottle, try offering a small dish of water to see if he'll drink out of that. He drinks from a bowl, he's refused to use bottles from day 1. Thanks for the options with how to hydrate him, guys! He's been eagerly slurping up his fruit-flavoured anti-biotics, so I think I'll do the pedialyte option. How many times a day should this be done? Also, the point about his fur is duly noted. StrangersInTheNight fucked around with this message at 18:55 on Oct 16, 2008 |
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Oct 16, 2008 18:09
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So I called my vet to ask her about the possibility of renal failure (and if that could be detected in the urine), and she gave me some bad news - the lab she sent his urine to lost the sample (as well as several others). Since he's on anti-biotics now, it would render any new urine samples (and bloodwork) useless, so we have to finish his run of them (10 days) and then come in 5-7 days after that last dose. She's giving us a fluid drip that we can inject under his skin (she taught us how to do it yesterday), this will hydrate him more efficiently than anything orally, and we're just going to keep a close eye on him until we can see her again. She doubts that it's renal failure due to his youth (he's under 2 years old) and the lack of urine scalding. We're just gonna have to wait and see. Aaaagh. StrangersInTheNight fucked around with this message at 19:58 on Oct 16, 2008 |
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Oct 16, 2008 19:29
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I recently aquired two bunnies, they were going to be tossed into the woods and I decided that my apartment was a much better home for them. Now they appear to be bonded, both showing great interest in each other and I know they had been allowed to play previously but they are currently unaltered. One is male and one is female. I have them in separate cages right now, close together so they don't get lonely. I am getting them both altered as soon as possible, with at least one being done in the next week. I was curious though that if I neutered the male, would I be able to keep them together before I alter the female? I will be moving in a few months and I will be moving in with my aunt who is a vet that sees rabbits regularily and I'd rather wait for her to spay the female just because if someone is cutting open my baby I'd rather it be her. I've had buns before but never a pair, I keep their cages clean with lots of toys and things to munch on. Let them out separarely to play with me and investigate my room while hoping they don't hump my wii like my old bun (fluffers mc fluff fluff) used to do to my game cube. Is there anything else I should be doing? I'll post pics of them once I get my camera sent up to me! Edit: I forgot to post their names! Rousseau is the male and Vonn is the female. Vonn is a little nervous around me in her cage, she grunts when I poke my head in and jumps at my hand but never bites and is alright once I talk to her and Rousseau just wants to explore and be petted. Fat Lazy Unicorn fucked around with this message at 17:20 on Oct 17, 2008 |
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Oct 17, 2008 17:15
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Males can keep sperm in their repoductive tracks for a month after being nuetered. Don't take any chances until you have the female spayed as well. If you have any questions about food or care https://www.rabbit.org is a good resource.
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Oct 17, 2008 19:12
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I wouldn't let them near a wii if I were you. The cord of the sensor bar can be bitten through in one swift chomp.
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Oct 18, 2008 16:45
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DS at Night posted:I wouldn't let them near a wii if I were you. The cord of the sensor bar can be bitten through in one swift chomp. As can a DS charger, a laptop charger, an ipod usb charger... In replacing electronics alone my bunnies have cost me hundreds; I wouldn't risk letting the buns near a wii, that would suck. Is there a site where I can buy bunny toys or something? My buns very quickly lose interest in everything -- all they seem to want to do is eat, sleep (Frith; Zen doesn't sleep), meatloaf, and run around. And cuddle my foot. <3
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Oct 18, 2008 18:02
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angelicism posted:Is there a site where I can buy bunny toys or something? The Busy Bunny is great.
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Oct 19, 2008 02:24
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Not a bun owner, but an animal lover so this pissed me off to no end. A friend of a friend owns a rabbit. Apparently she "used" to love the rabbit. That is until it started acting like a normal bun and chewing on things and pooping everywhere.  I immediately sent her to https://www.rabbit.org because after reading this thread, I pretty much knew that it was because of the owner not being a proper owner instead of the bun being "bad". Blar. I'm hoping that they get it all situated...
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Oct 19, 2008 04:08
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angelicism posted:Is there a site where I can buy bunny toys or something? My buns very quickly lose interest in everything -- all they seem to want to do is eat, sleep (Frith; Zen doesn't sleep), meatloaf, and run around. And cuddle my foot. <3 My bunny loves his brick. Seriously. He cuddles it and plays on it and sleeps on it. I don't think he'd know what he would do without his brick.
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Oct 19, 2008 19:12
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angelicism posted:As can a DS charger, a laptop charger, an ipod usb charger... I highly recommend learning how to splice back together chomped wires. In most cases(unless it's been thoroughally savaged all along it's length) it's fairly simple. Cut out the bad areas, cut back the insulation, reattach each cord with electrical tape, then rewrap. I've spent about 2 hours splicing things back together, but I've saved hundreds.
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Oct 20, 2008 01:31
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Deceptor101 posted:I highly recommend learning how to splice back together chomped wires. In most cases(unless it's been thoroughally savaged all along it's length) it's fairly simple. Cut out the bad areas, cut back the insulation, reattach each cord with electrical tape, then rewrap. I've spent about 2 hours splicing things back together, but I've saved hundreds. yeah seriously, learning how to splice wires has saved me so many times.
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Oct 20, 2008 03:02
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