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My rabbit has still not eaten anything further than the half a yogurt drop since I got her home around 3PM. I picked up dill and pumpkin mush from the store and put that in there just now, but still no dice. I called the vet and they said there was nothing to worry about, and to wait until tomorrow to see if she eats. Is it syringe time? What is proper technique for this? edit: she ate a bit more yogurt treat. Shes also hopping with her back legs together, is this normal? blue_kameleon fucked around with this message at 02:43 on Jul 31, 2009 |
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Jul 31, 2009 01:51
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My vet recommended against getting my male rabbit neutered. She said it was an expensive process and only recommended it for female rabbits as they are prone to other problems if left unspayed. This vet was a recommendation through the House Rabbit society, so I have no reason not to trust her. Today, my rabbit tried to hump my arm when I was sitting on the floor. This is the first time I've noticed this behavior and now I'm a little worried. I guess I'd like to hear from anyone else with unfixed male rabbits. I only have the one rabbit, so I'm not afraid of having little bunnies all over the apartment... VVV - From what I've read, males aren't susceptible to the same problems as females if left intact. So what I'm trying to find out is what other effects or issues might I run in to? If there's nothing to worry about, or if the only downside is he's a bit more mischievous, then I'm not going to drop $350 on neutering him. The Shep fucked around with this message at 04:51 on Jul 31, 2009 |
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Jul 31, 2009 03:04
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Cmdr. Shepard posted:My vet recommended against getting my male rabbit neutered. She said it was an expensive process and only recommended it for female rabbits as they are prone to other problems if left unspayed. This vet was a recommendation through the House Rabbit society, so I have no reason not to trust her. You need a new vet.
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Jul 31, 2009 03:38
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alucinor posted:How much does each weigh now, and how bunny-savvy is your vet? A lot of vets' only exposure to rabbits is their 3rd year work with lab rabbits, so they expect all rabbits to be giant lardasses like NZ whites. I have seen a number of rabbits who were desperately obese and yet the vet was telling the owner that the rabbit was fine. I generally trust my vet- she's fairly young but has lived with rabbits all her life and she actually has a specialty in exotics (actually teaches exotics courses at the university here, I believe). I think mostly she was concerned with the fact that they've held the same weight for a long period and then lost that much over the course of a month after we took them off. With the extra veggies I was actually adding in more leafy so I'll keep that in mind. They much prefer parsley and cilantro over things like green leaf and romaine, anyway. Out of curiosity, how much pellets do you feed per bun? Even when I was feeding mine nightly I only gave them a small handful because I never really liked giving them. Once a week or so with a higher quality brand might not be too bad though. They haven't been weighed in a week or so but they were/still seem to be in the 4-4.5lbs-ish range. I think the main thing that bothers me a little is that when I pet them now I can feel the ridges of their spines, which is something I've never really encountered. EDIT: yeah, Ivermectic I think
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Jul 31, 2009 06:10
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Cmdr. Shepard posted:My vet recommended against getting my male rabbit neutered. She said it was an expensive process and only recommended it for female rabbits as they are prone to other problems if left unspayed. This vet was a recommendation through the House Rabbit society, so I have no reason not to trust her. Godewyn was three years old by the time he was neutered. After researching online and according to my very rabbit-savvy vet, there is no health concern with leaving a male unneutered... However, three reasons you'd want to neuter a male: (a) Territorial behavior is decreased when neutered (this includes marking--when neutered they are better about using a litter box etc), (b) Other sexual-type activity--i.e. humping your arm--will discontinue when neutered, and (c) if you ever want to adopt him a friend, he needs to be neutered so as to not make babies or be territorial as hell with her/him. Since I had Godewyn for nearly three years before the surgery, I can tell you the humping thing never stops and it gets old fast. I also have craptons of stains on my carpet because he refused to use his litter box. Since he's been neutered, he no longer attempts to hump my arm and he uses his box about 95% of the time. He also has a wife now and of course I couldn't have her if he was still fully functional, and having the second rabbit is more than worth it! ETA: Did I mention that the humping is *constant*? Anytime I'd gently push him away he'd immediately try again, again, and again...
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Jul 31, 2009 06:40
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Cmdr. Shepard posted:From what I've read, males aren't susceptible to the same problems as females if left intact. So what I'm trying to find out is what other effects or issues might I run in to? If there's nothing to worry about, or if the only downside is he's a bit more mischievous, then I'm not going to drop $350 on neutering him. Well, for starters, he's not going to stop humping you. My female rabbit humped us so vigorously before she was spayed that she actually drew blood. Second, he's far less likely to use his litterbox. Even if he's a champ with poop, he'll be spraying. Third, he's far less likely to be very friendly (more aggressive, less cuddly) to you and will likely be more destructive. These things are all mentioned here: http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/spay-neuter.html Edit: Beaten
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Jul 31, 2009 06:42
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blue_kameleon posted:My rabbit has still not eaten anything further than the half a yogurt drop since I got her home around 3PM. Sorry, I crashed when I got home and didn't check the thread again. Any eating overnight? Yes, that syringe you posted is the correct one. I have a step-by-step guide to handfeeding here. GoodApollo posted:Out of curiosity, how much pellets do you feed per bun? Even when I was feeding mine nightly I only gave them a small handful because I never really liked giving them. Once a week or so with a higher quality brand might not be too bad though. About a 1/4 c per bun once a week or so; a small handful is perfectly adequate. The 12 year old gets a bit more, I usually sneak her a whole half cup twice a week. I'd say to trust your vet and your own instinct more than my internet-only advice.  Here is a doc that gives a rough guideline for body condition: the ribs are palpable through a thin fat layer. Meat rabbits are assessed using a 3 point system of muscle fullness so you could use that too. Being able to feel the spines more than before may be indicative of them reaching correct body condition (I can feel the spines on all but my lardass californian), but it'll be up to you and your vet to know whether it's protruding too much or just right. Mostly it's a matter of experience - you get in two rabbits who look and weigh the same, and when you feel them you realize one is lithe and muscular like a little racehorse, and the other is thin and fleshless with age and chronic illness. So if your fingers are telling you "starving african child" instead of "fitness guru", go with that and increase their calories.
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Jul 31, 2009 14:43
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She started eating dill yesterday evening, and seems to have been munching fairly consistently. I have the day off today too, so I'm going to stay here and try to keep an eye on her. She hasn't moved at all, she hopped a bit yesterday to get to the dill when she first started eating, but since then I'm pretty sure shes just been sitting in one corner of her cage. When she hopped, she was holding her back legs together, is this normal?
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Jul 31, 2009 16:02
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blue_kameleon posted:She started eating dill yesterday evening, and seems to have been munching fairly consistently. I have the day off today too, so I'm going to stay here and try to keep an eye on her. She hasn't moved at all, she hopped a bit yesterday to get to the dill when she first started eating, but since then I'm pretty sure shes just been sitting in one corner of her cage. Awesome. I actually have a t-shirt someone printed for me that says "never underestimate the healing power of dill". Even if all she loving eats is dill for the next couple days, it'll keep her guts moving. Yes, keeping the back legs together is normal, as is the tendency to be more stationary for 3-5 days post spay. Over it sounds like she's having a normal, uneventful recovery; just keep an eye on her and don't hesitate to ring the vet if you have concerns. 
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Jul 31, 2009 16:17
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Awesome I'm so glad this is all working out. You guys have been a huge help, I'll be back here asking bonding questions soon I'm sure, we should be getting another (already spayed, thank god) rabbit from our friend soon and we're going to see if we can get them to be friends. Thanks again
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Jul 31, 2009 16:31
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Thanks for the neutering information. I'm going to hold off on it for now and see how things go. So far, he has been very good about using his litter box and hasn't been very destructive at all. Unfortunately I don't have time, space, money, or patience to adopt a second rabbit so that will be a non-issue. If those other behaviors get out of hand I will definitely pursue it, but I'll have to shop around. Can anyone recommend a vet or pet hospital anywhere in the greater Chicagoland area that won't cost me half a paycheck to neuter him? My vet will charge $350, which is honestly much more than I had even anticipated being on the high end from the research I did prior to getting the rabbit. At that price, I don't realistically see myself shelling out that cash. I hate to say it, but I'd consider having someone else take him if it came down to it.  Although he isn't destructive, and he's fun to pet and look at, he's definitely not the type of pet that pays you any attention at all. I could see paying that kind of money for a dog or a cat or something that's interactive, but as it is, my rabbit is just an expensive, smelly, piece of eye candy in the living room. I love him, don't get me wrong, it's just not the type of experience I was hoping for and what a lot of other people seem to have with their rabbits.
The Shep fucked around with this message at 23:55 on Jul 31, 2009 |
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Jul 31, 2009 23:52
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she died thanks for the advice anyways guys.
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Jul 31, 2009 23:56
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blue_kameleon posted:she died I'm so sorry Blue, what happened?
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Aug 1, 2009 02:25
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Here's our slightly-less-than-one-year-old Angora/Netherland dwarf mix rabbit, Charlie. I got this one when he was mid-scratch. We need to get him neutered but we can't afford $600+ for vet stuff. Is there anywhere cheaper to do this without compromising his health? We live in the Boston area and don't have a car so traveling far out of the MBTA's range is hard to do. blue_kameleon posted:she died
cmitch fucked around with this message at 02:46 on Aug 1, 2009 |
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Aug 1, 2009 02:42
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blue_kameleon posted:she died Oh god, I'm so sorry. Cmdr. Shepard posted:
I take Bowser to Chicago Exotics, which is actually in Skokie. http://www.exoticpetvet.com/ I had her spayed nearly a decade ago in Cleveland, so I don't know what they charge around here, but $350 does seem a bit high. Cleveland is a far cheaper state to live in, but it cost me $140 to do it out there. Others I know have paid more than $350, so it's hard to say.
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Aug 1, 2009 04:50
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alucinor posted:
I'm not really questioning your advice, I mostly just wanted to point out that she was concerned about the quick weight loss in general and not really his physical conditional. I was actually at the vet today for an emergency and they told us many of the same things you did. I was also happy to see his weight has held. Unfortunate incident earlier, just as I got out of class my girlfriend found Knowles in a highly lethargic state, wouldn't even move when she picked him up so we rushed him to our vet. He was having a bit of a problem with his digestive and was really dehydrated. They fixed him up and sent us home with a bunch of medicine but it scared the living poo poo out of both of us.
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Aug 1, 2009 05:06
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Bunway Airlines posted:I'm so sorry Blue, what happened? I thought everything was getting better, I had her eating banana and she was moving around a bit, then she started going crazy trying to hop out of her pen. I think she must have tore something inside of her, because after the first hop she started breathing really heavy. Then she ran into a corner, sat there for a sec, flopped over and that was it. It all happened so fast there was nothing I could do
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Aug 1, 2009 15:04
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blue_kameleon posted:I thought everything was getting better, I had her eating banana and she was moving around a bit, then she started going crazy trying to hop out of her pen. I think she must have tore something inside of her, because after the first hop she started breathing really heavy. Then she ran into a corner, sat there for a sec, flopped over and that was it. It all happened so fast there was nothing I could do Oh I'm so sorry for you. They're cute, and soft, and sometimes sweet, but holy crap they're stupid. That's definitely not anything you could have prevented.
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Aug 1, 2009 15:16
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DS at Night posted:Oh I'm so sorry for you. They're cute, and soft, and sometimes sweet, but holy crap they're stupid. That's definitely not anything you could have prevented. I know We buried her this morning, and I think I'm going to do my boyfriend the favor of cleaning out her cage. Unfortunately we don't have anywhere to put it, so it will have to stay in the living room where we'll see it every day. I still check to see her hopping around every time I walk by I still can't believe she's gone, I was so convinced everything was going to be okay, it was just a routine spay. I thought we were out of the woods when she started eating and pooping again. Does anyone know why she would have done this? She's never tried to jump out of her pen before, shes always loved it in there.here is a picture for you guys... I can't believe shes gone  Click here for the full 2048x1200 image. blue_kameleon fucked around with this message at 16:39 on Aug 1, 2009 |
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Aug 1, 2009 16:31
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blue_kameleon posted:I know I'm so sorry. It does sound like she tore something by being a nut. There are more experienced owners out there but it sounds like she had pent up energy and had to get it out, I've never heard of something like that before. I had a tiny little girl who was 3 months old spayed at that point and she was fine (the rescue okayed it, it looked as if she wasn't going to grow anymore but normally that's too young to have a female sayed). Again I'm so sorry for your loss.
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Aug 1, 2009 20:34
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Blue I'm so sorry for you, buns really aren't the brightest things... So I'm basically done moving and the buns have been in a temporary pen while I've gotten everything settled. Thankfully the dog and the buns get along great. Icarus (the dog) is so well behaved and he'll just sit still while they sniff all over him with his tail wagging like crazy.  You can almost see in his eyes "Control yourself Icarus, don't scare him, if you're nice he will play with you!"  "Why hello there new friend!"  Annie checks Icarus out.  "Oh it's just a dog, been there, done that" Honestly Annie just doesn't care about Icarus, and I theorize that it's because she was the only bun in a dog shelter(effectively constant dog smell and barking) for 2 months before I rescued her. Ben is surprisingly cool about it too. Their litter habits have degraded a bit since they're just on a blanket with the litterbox placed on it right now, but I should have their cage up and running, which will be 4 squares long, 3 squares wide and 3 squares tall (bigger=yay!) done in the next week or so. Ben seems to be nipping at Annie's fur more than usual, but I've checked them all and none are drawing blood, perhaps it's just reasserting dominance in the new location?
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Aug 2, 2009 01:53
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GoodApollo's girlfriend chiming in here. We had a problem with Knowles the other day; I came in around five that evening and fed them a salad, but when I sat it in their house he just ignored it. His breathing was really shallow and he wasn't moving, even when I petted and talked to him. I freaked out and called our vet, who was luckily in after hours. He set us up with some Critical Care, a couple of antibiotics to get his GI tract moving, and gave him subQ fluids. He was badly dehydrated... Fast forward a few hours, I managed to get him to swallow ~20mL of Critical Care, but he was really cold to the touch. He moved once, only about a foot away from his original spot, feet splayed. He was freezing. We wrapped him in towels with hot water bottles but it wasn't enough. He died at about three in the morning. I don't guess we really could have done anything else, it was just crazy. 24 hours before, we had just been talking about how healthy and happy they both seemed. Anyway. Here's a cheerful picture of him, sticking his nose up to my camera phone. 
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Aug 2, 2009 04:55
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GAH! That's awful! I'm so sorry to hear about knowles. I'm feeding my buns a huge helping of laxitone tonight just because. Ugh, bad week for buns, I'm so sorry for you guys. On a lighter note, where does one look for scrap carpeting/ altrnatives for the cube cage floors. Home depot was out
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Aug 2, 2009 05:38
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blue_kameleon posted:she died Sorry to hear as you gathered above I just lost one too. Seeing Milly in their house alone depresses me to no end. I'm feeling pretty protective and keeping her as close as possible while we're at home.On that note, does anyone have any personal advice about Milly? I know sometimes they can become very depressed when they lose a mate. It's been a little over a day and I think she's just now starting to get lonely but she seems to be in a pretty good mood.
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Aug 2, 2009 11:17
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  The bigger one is Apollo and the smaller one is Remmy. I got Apollo, lionhead, about 6 months ago, maybe a little more. I got Remmy, dwarf, about a month ago, if not sooner. I figured Apollo needed a friend besides my dog Nox and sure enough the very first night I brought Remmy home, Apollo loved him. It was adorable, he followed him around everywhere. To be honest, even though they're both adorable :3 Apollo is my favorite bunny. He's just so awesome! He's the chillest bunny ever. He doesn't frighten easily, he loves getting picked up, getting groomed, going for car rides...he even likes motorcycle rides! I would put him in my hoodie pocket and he'd stick his head out and look around. When I got Apollo I also built him a nice big cage. As you can see they lay on the loft a lot. Right below that is a den filled with cotton. From the loft they have a ramp leading out of the cage. Under the ramp is their hay, food, and litterbox (I use shredded news paper as litter). And the rest of the floor is covered in wood chips. That cage cost half as much as a cage half the size. Both bunnies are good about not overeating. I throw them scraps of apples every now and again and they always have pellets, hay, greens, and carrots to munch on. Apollo is really good about using the litterbox but Remmy seems use that half the time and my dog's bed the other half -_- Neither of them are neutered, but they're well behaved (especially Apollo, sometimes Remmy is a jerk), they're not aggressive at all, and they don't hump each other thankfully. Each bunny does something quirky too. Apollo drools whenever I take him for a car ride and Remmy walks instead of hopping sometimes. Has anyone else ever seen either of these behaviors? roxareinmyhead fucked around with this message at 10:47 on Aug 5, 2009 |
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Aug 2, 2009 13:27
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Holy crap, what a sad set of updates. I'm so sorry for both of you guys. blue_kameleon, all I can think is that something random could have startled her, she overreacted, and as you guessed it probably tore something inside. I know you probably don't want to second guess too much at this point but do let me know if you want to talk about it. I do hope this doesn't turn you or any other readers off of spaying; this really isn't that common. GoodApollo and CatholicSoulTrain, I've had a lot of buns lose their partners over the years, and there's definitely a grieving period. Fortunately, it usually manifests in demanding extra attention, which is easy enough to meet. Just give her extra cuddles and playtime and keep an eye on her weight and eating. My 12 year old also became very destructive when she lost her girlfriend, but that was easy enough to sublimate into cardboard box deconstruction. Poor guys, every one.
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Aug 2, 2009 14:52
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I'm very sad for everyone's loss in this thread recently. I wish you all the best
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Aug 2, 2009 19:22
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alucinor posted:Holy crap, what a sad set of updates. I'm so sorry for both of you guys. +1, what a sad page of updates.
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Aug 3, 2009 00:07
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alucinor posted:
On a bit of a happy note, she and the cat have gone to being better friends overnight- they played tag last night for like 2 hours straight. I was in the bath and they kept taking turns putting their paws up on the edge and begging for attention- until Milly accidentally jumped in. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard in my life, she just sat there staring at me in horror for about 15 seconds. What about rebonding? I'm horrified at the idea, but I know Milly is even more social than a normal bunny and it's going to have to happen eventually.
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Aug 3, 2009 01:37
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GoodApollo posted:What about rebonding? I'm horrified at the idea, but I know Milly is even more social than a normal bunny and it's going to have to happen eventually. It's usually no more difficult, often easier, than bonding a bun who hasn't ever had a partner before. But I think it's more due to the original rabbit's personality than to anything else - my big white NZ had four partners through his life, and took to all of them with no effort at all; while the 12 year old, who had never had another partner but her sister, has resisted all attempts at rebonding for 2+ years. I do find it easier to rebond sooner after the death than later, but I have no idea whether that's true for anyone else.
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Aug 3, 2009 14:57
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alucinor posted:so they expect all rabbits to be giant lardasses like NZ whites. I laughed so loud at this. Frith is definitely a lardass, and super lazy to boot.
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Aug 3, 2009 17:54
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Melicious posted:You need a new vet. Yeah, wow. Does your vet have much experience with rabbits? Un-spayed male rabbits can be super destructive and wild.
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Aug 3, 2009 19:02
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blue_kameleon posted:she died I'm so sorry for all of you guys. I got all teary just reading through your posts.
War Bunny fucked around with this message at 19:12 on Aug 3, 2009 |
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Aug 3, 2009 19:06
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We'll after all the help with the cage and getting everything together after making the cage, we realized it was huge for 1 bunny, so we decided to get her a friend! Name is still yet to be determined.   It cleans itself ALOT   Bella (old bunny) getting use to the new one!   We recently rescued this 8 year old pom, and she seems to enjoy the new lil guy  trying to litter train it young, but right now it thinks this is it's bed!
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Aug 4, 2009 17:12
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I'm taking both of our buns to the vet sometime in the next few weeks, since Dodger has never been checked by the vet and Sprout hasn't gone in about 4 months. I kind of suspect we're over feeding them, but I'm sure the vet can tell us for sure. For reference we feed them this every day: Morning: 1 cup fresh veggie mix (4-5 types) Afternoon: 1/8 cup timothy hay based pellets (Oxbow) Evening: 1 cup fresh veggie mix (4-5 types) They get unlimited oxbow timothy hay all day, and every other day we might give them a craisin each if they bond well and behave. Craisins are the one thing we've found they go ape-poo poo for. Also Dodger has learned how to hop up and down off the futon and couch, and now won't do anything else but sprint around them several times then hop up and down over and over. Sprout and him still don't get along so great but they can go 1 hour to 1.5 hours at a time every day, sometimes twice a day in the living room depending on who starts biting who's butt.
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Aug 4, 2009 17:14
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fyallm posted:
Are you using clay clumping litter?
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Aug 4, 2009 17:17
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fyallm posted:*adorable rabbit* Awww so cute. By ridiculous coincidence we're getting a new rabbit today. I feel like it's too soon, but we agreed to take her back before Taebek died. The girl whose rabbit it is has been putting off bringing her over to us for months. It figures that she finally gets around to it at the worst possible time...I think getting another rabbit would be beneficial to the healing process but I feel like it's still too soon. Her rabbit will be happier with us though, I don't think she gets played with very much or eats very well where she is now, so it's the right thing to do. I was so excited to try and bond them, seeing the new bunny is going to be pretty for the first little while.
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Aug 4, 2009 17:23
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Windy posted:Are you using clay clumping litter? I dunno, my girlfriend bought it. What litter should we be using? blue_kameleon posted:Thanks! Good luck with the new rabbit!
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Aug 4, 2009 17:34
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fyallm posted:I dunno, my girlfriend bought it. What litter should we be using? The most commonly recommended: 1) Yesterday's news or equivalent (newspaper recycled as pet litter, also has other brands) 2) Timothy hay, as rabbits like to eat and crap at the same time. Also, if they eat their bedding you don't have to worry whatsoever. 3) (what I use) straw, separate from it's timothy hay. The rabbit can eat some if it wants, straw is cheap as hell (we buy 1 bale of straw and that lasts us at least 8-12 months), you can find it at some farmer supply type stores (tractor supply co, etc). Just keep in mind that this is not a replacement for a supply of timothy hay, your rabbit still should minimally have access to unlimited timothy hay whether in his house or outside of it. Also keep in mind, unless you like pee marks shaped like rabbit paws, hay's are greater in that regard too as pee sinks to the bottom and the rabbit is standing above the pee. Folks here will recommend against the clumping litter because god knows what that litter could do to the rabbit, especially when it may decide to eat some. They have issues with for example some wood chip based litters, since they release an aromatic oil that damages their liver or kidneys, i forget which. Hawkeye fucked around with this message at 18:32 on Aug 4, 2009 |
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Aug 4, 2009 18:30
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Hawkeye posted:Also keep in mind, unless you like pee marks shaped like rabbit paws, hay's are greater in that regard too as pee sinks to the bottom and the rabbit is standing above the pee. One big negative for straw bedding is if your bunny likes to dig like crazy in their litter box... they'll dig right down and soak themselves in the puddle of urine collected at the bottom. We use Carefresh bedding (paper-based) for Pippin which is fine to eat (along with the timothy hay always in there), and absorbs pee quite well so she rarely leaves tracks outside the box. Also a random helpful tip! Remember to push your chairs in when you leave your bunny unattended:
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Aug 4, 2009 20:09
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well excuse me, princess!