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Nthing the idea to try fostering before getting your own. Rabbits are just not affectionate in the way most dogs and cats are. Some rabbits will sit on the couch with their owners and all that, but I don't know that it's common. I love Gordon Freeman, but if I had known then what I know now, I probably would not have taken on a rabbit. e: ugh top of page
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Sep 23, 2012 06:26
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NancyPants posted:I love Gordon Freeman, but if I had known then what I know now, I probably would not have taken on a rabbit. Best out of context quote I've seen in a while  I would like to Nth the "rabbits not cuddly, not playful, require supervised outings" stuff. Ironically I've found that our rabbit gets less out-of-the-cage time now we live in a fully carpeted apartment; when we had a mix of hardwood + carpet, he limited himself to the stuff with traction, so we rabbitproofed just the room his cage was in and didn't have to watch him as closely. Now he requires eagle-eyed supervision because he can go absolutely anywhere. (The apartment is also a really lovely floorplan for this type of pet as it's got almost no doors and the stairs are not amenable to a gate.) Rabbits are basically the most first-world-problem-iest of pets.
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Sep 23, 2012 07:22
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[quote="Drei" post="407785308"] I've been skimming this thread, reading tips here and there (and getting warm fuzzies from all the pictures), but I was hoping to get some feedback/advice from the experts. My boyfriend and I have been talking about getting a pet for a while now and since our landlord won't allow cats or dogs we've been thinking a bunny or two might suit us. He had bunnies as a child and I had guinea pigs in high school so it's not a totally new concept but as our first pets as adults I want to make sure that 1) we have a setup and lifestyle that's suitable for bunnies and 2) we're as prepared as possible. I was thinking of you again and if fostering a rabbit doesn't work out, try a Teddy Bear Hamster. You maybe can get a rescue from the SPCA. If you do that, make sure it's young cuz they only live 2-4 years. (Our 3 year old just passed.) Make sure you are allowed to handle it and make sure it's a friendly one. Ours was an absolute sweetheart!!! They're nocturnal, but she was fine coming out late afternoon or early evening to cuddle and watch TV. This cute furry might satisfy your urges with a lot less work than a bunny requires. A hamster needs weekly cleaning, and you need a cage with bars for ventilation, not an aquarium or bubble thing. No temptation to get 2 because they hate other hamsters. I don't mean to put you off bunnies. We adore our Leo. He's just a lot more work than most people would imagine. Good luck!
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Sep 23, 2012 08:11
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Just a note. Since my diagnosis there seems to be a detene between Harriet and my bun hating roomie. Caught her feeding Harriet carrot peels and bananas earlier
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Sep 23, 2012 09:07
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bunnyofdoom posted:Just a note. Since my diagnosis there seems to be a detene between Harriet and my bun hating roomie. Caught her feeding Harriet carrot peels and bananas earlier Depending on the volume of said carrots and bananas, maybe she still does hate your bun 
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Sep 23, 2012 19:27
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bitprophet posted:Depending on the volume of said carrots and bananas, maybe she still does hate your bun It was a small amount. About 4 peels and a sliver of banana.
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Sep 23, 2012 19:59
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Moving to a new place, what's the best way to store a cube of hay in a humid environment?
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Sep 25, 2012 04:16
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Do you mean humid like Florida, or humid like inside a bathroom? Humidity of any sort is the death of hay. You'll almost certainly lose some to mold. Air circulation is your best bet - remove any plastic coverings and store very loosely in a cardboard box. If possible, store the box off the floor (on a wire shelf or pallet) for further air circulation. Toss the hay inside the box frequently and discard at the first sign of mold.
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Sep 25, 2012 14:10
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I swear they play dead to gently caress with me
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Sep 28, 2012 08:21
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niethan posted:I swear they play dead to gently caress with me My bun does that too. She also likes to pose for my camera only to run away right before I take the photo
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Sep 28, 2012 14:30
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Hey guys, I'm about to order one of these custom cages, the 1-level: http://wonderlandcages.com/Cages.html It's pretty affordable and would be a big step up from the gross old dog crate my bun is in now, without giving her less space. At a glance do you have any concerns before I take the plunge? As far as I know this is exactly what all those DIY tutorials describe but I thought I'd check with the experts first :] He's going to make the door on the side instead of the top because my beast doesn't like to be picked up. Honestly the idea of a 5 inch lip on the cage is making me giddy right now, I'm so sick of my crappy set up.
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Sep 30, 2012 16:23
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See how the coroplast is INSIDE the grids? That's a design meant for guinea pigs. For rabbits, you typically need to put the coro on the outside, otherwise they chew it down to the floor in no time flat. Personally I always go with a 2 grid high for rabbits, to allow them to stand up and bounce around a little, but if your rabbit is really small 1 grid high should be ok. You could make it yourself for about half the price, but sometimes DIY is just too much hassle. Other than that it's a fine choice, especially over a crate. They say they can customize, so I'd say ask them if they can make the coro slightly bigger to allow you drop the cage sides inside, and then leave off the grids underneath the coro, so you get something like this.
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Sep 30, 2012 19:13
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Alucinor, you're so helpful. I bet she would destroy all that coro pretty quickly. I know making it myself would be cheaper, I just doubted my ability to get the materials offline, but it looks like Home Deport sells coroplast. Maybe I'll hold off on ordering since you mentioned it should be 2 grids high... my rabbit is definitely used to a lot of head room since she's in a huge dog crate.
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Sep 30, 2012 19:55
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alucinor posted:Do you mean humid like Florida, or humid like inside a bathroom? Humid like Florida, which can be a lot like inside a bathroom. My air conditioner had taken a poo poo at the time of my post but it's back in working order now. I think I'm going to pick up this metal mesh hamper thing to store hay in the future. Thanks for the answer.
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Sep 30, 2012 23:48
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For everyone following my cage issues with bated breath, I came to an awesome solution today! I realized I had a set of the cubes I wasn't using. I went out and bought some supplies for ~$30. My roomies kindly helped me construct this awesome home She's so happy. I almost wish I had a Before photo of the gross crate she was in previously. Hooray! I highly suggest this method. If I can do it, anyone can. Edit: I'm leaving the top open for now since she's not a jumper, but I have more sections I can put up there if she has a drastic personality change.
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Oct 1, 2012 00:36
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Harriet doesn't seem to eat her hay anymore. I want to give her enough food but i don't want to overfeed her on pellets. is there anything I can do to get her to eat more hay?
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Oct 1, 2012 03:18
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bunnyofdoom posted:Harriet doesn't seem to eat her hay anymore. I want to give her enough food but i don't want to overfeed her on pellets. is there anything I can do to get her to eat more hay? Has she been seen by a vet since she stopped eating hay? Sometimes that is a sign of tooth problems, making it difficult for them to chew.
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Oct 1, 2012 04:26
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Dr. Chaco posted:Has she been seen by a vet since she stopped eating hay? Sometimes that is a sign of tooth problems, making it difficult for them to chew. She still chews. That's the thing. It's just the hay.
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Oct 1, 2012 06:11
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Trying different hay yet? And giving less pellets or no pellets.
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Oct 1, 2012 14:26
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Very nice job! Congrats! For those wanting to try this themselves, note the grids are not all the same. Target's grids used to have 9x9 openings, now some are 8x8 and the rest are 5x5. You can still get the 9x9 but only through Walmart.com. Guinea pigs MUST have the 9x9 grids, there have been multiple reports of pigs getting their heads stuck in the 8x8. We also recommend not using the 5x5 for smaller rabbits, since they can also get stuck, but using them on the top level for larger rabbits, as done here, is a good intermediate solution. More details on grid differences here. bunnyofdoom posted:She still chews. That's the thing. It's just the hay. Vet check time to look at her molars. Chewing pellets is easier than chewing hay if she's got spurs or malocclusions. Dropping off hay while still eating other foods is a good sign of molar trouble. If that ends up not being the cause, yeah the solution is trying multiple types of hay and reducing or eliminating pellets. Some of my old guys simply refuse to eat hay if there's pellets available; hence, they get no pellets except as occasional treats.
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Oct 1, 2012 15:04
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My wife found a Netherland Dwarf rabbit on Craiglist this weekend for $70, cage and all included. We want to get her, but our daughter's got a level 3 cat allergy. Is it likely that the bunny would set off her allergies, or is it going to be a complete toss-up that we can't predict until she's around the bunny? Also, do we need to have a litterbox in the cage or would it be all right to just let her poop and pee wherever like our guinea pigs do?
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Oct 1, 2012 19:51
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ManiacClown posted:My wife found a Netherland Dwarf rabbit on Craiglist this weekend for $70, cage and all included. We want to get her, but our daughter's got a level 3 cat allergy. Is it likely that the bunny would set off her allergies, or is it going to be a complete toss-up that we can't predict until she's around the bunny? The two allergies are unrelated going by any information I've seen. For a personal anecdote I'm mildly cat allergic but I've never gotten the first sneeze/sniffle from my bunnies. A litterbox or some other form of poop/pee containment is pretty well necessary. Bunny poop is pretty innofensive but the pee is nasty stuff you'd want kept to a litterbox or something else that can absorb/contain it. I'm gonna make the go to recommendation to study up on having a house bunny before you make the move as well. Check out Rabbit.org, there are a lot of potential issues of bunny ownership that are much better to understand before you bring one home.
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Oct 1, 2012 20:50
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Welp, our oldest bunny got another ear infection and started doing the head tick thing last week with horizontal nystagmus. We took her to the vet the next day and she got on antibiotics and ear drops (she does not like ear drops) she never lost her appetite and has gained weight since her EC bout, so the vet wasnt too concerned. The antibiotics have run their course and the bunny seems to be fine but she maintained a little bit of head tilt, so now the fun thing to do is watch her get moving and veer to the right and smash into stuff. Stupid rabbits.
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Oct 4, 2012 21:35
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Oct 5, 2012 00:20
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Haha this and the "because it is a rabbit" chart are the best Rabbit Ownership images.
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Oct 5, 2012 00:44
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Kerfuffle posted:Haha this and the "because it is a rabbit" chart are the best Rabbit Ownership images. What chart?
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Oct 5, 2012 01:06
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bunnyofdoom posted:What chart? I had to do a lot of digging for this <  >
pseudonordic fucked around with this message at 06:52 on Jan 20, 2013 |
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Oct 5, 2012 01:21
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pseudonordic posted:I had to do a lot of digging for this < This is awesome yet so painfully true.
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Oct 5, 2012 02:38
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When a new bunny thread comes around, all the original post needs in it is that cartoon and the chart.
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Oct 5, 2012 14:06
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So the rescue finally called me back, and I'm taking Ben in today to see if he's ready for a new buddy! I clipped his nails a few days ago, and brushed him today to pretty him up. I'd officially be fostering the other rabbit, not adopting him. So when Ben's uh, time is up, the bunny goes back to the rescue. Ben could have 5 years though. We'll see how it goes. I know I'm going to get some guilt/judgement on how I handled Annie. She even said on the phone "You had the money for a vacation, but not for vet bills?" It's hard to explain that my life has other things in it to someone who's dedicated their entire life to rabbits as pets. I'll update tonight though!
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Oct 7, 2012 20:38
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Deceptor101 posted:"You had the money for a vacation, but not for vet bills?" It's hard to explain that my life has other things in it to someone who's dedicated their entire life to rabbits as pets. poo poo like this is why a lot of people give on up dealing with rescues/shelters and just buy animals instead. There is absolutely no reason to judge someone for not spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on treatment, especially when you've done it before. You took drat good care of your rabbit and went above and beyond, and you have nothing to justify to them. I hope you find a good buddy for Ben.
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Oct 7, 2012 23:28
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edit: wrong thread.
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Oct 8, 2012 00:14
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Oh Harriet. Spreading the tops of Brocolli around the carpet isn't going to make it grow into a patch. I assume that's why she only atre tgr stems and spred the flowers all over the apartment. She used to eat it all
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Oct 8, 2012 01:17
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Nothing like looking over to see two rabbits taking an extremely relaxed nap in the middle of endive that's been thrown across half the room. This is of course the correct way to enjoy their food. This is wonderful. The cloud of hair really makes it.
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Oct 8, 2012 01:23
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So I went away for the weekend and my boyfriend let Hass have free range of the apartment. One thing he discovered is that Hass will bite the crap out of the blanket that he is in contact with until he realizes that it is being shared by another human being and then he realizes he needs to snuggle. Do I have a really aware bunny?
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Oct 8, 2012 01:43
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Serella posted:I hope you find a good buddy for Ben. Thanks for the kind words, and.... I did! First a couple pics of funny bunnies: This is an enormous Flemish Giant, who weighs 11 lbs:  And this guy with the longest ears ever named Dobby:  He really liked to hump things, like everything. He had a stuffed bunny who he would work off his energy on. He'd only been fixed a couple weeks. All the while, after a couple not so great meets, Ben meets this lady named Liberty:  They hit it off really well, so a few hours of supervised bonding later and she's coming home! She even got relaxed in the carrier:  And relaxed in their neutral space very quickly!:   I'm changing her name to Arya, I wasn't a big fan of Liberty. Ben's being a little pushing demanding grooming, but he's only mounted her twice, and she's put up with it well. I've also learned Ben is quite fat, so he's cut off from cranberries. He should only be *slighty* larger than she is... All in all a good day  !
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Oct 8, 2012 04:56
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Those ears on Dobby are amazing. You're great for doing this for Ben. I didn't know rabbits could bond that quickly after seeing so many stories from different people in this thread about bonding being a dragging series of small successes and lots of failures. Also that rescue lady is horrible for talking to you like that.
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Oct 8, 2012 06:28
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I have to keep them separated when they're unsupervised, as he is a bit pushy with her sometimes, but it's going really well. That's the HUGE bonus to taking him to a rescue that knows about bonding rabbits. He literally goes speed dating and can go through all the various personalities until you find one that goes really well. There were a couple that really DIDN'T go well and I'm glad they weren't the only options. The owner is a little over-opinionated, but really knowledgeable and just wants the best for the bunnies. She also softened up on me once we talked things over and she saw how much I know about bunnies. I do need to learn how to give fluids through the uh, back-end. Home treatments can help me out if I get into a situation like I did with Annie again. Thankfully also she didn't focus on all the things I did wrong there. All in all it was a great experience.
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Oct 8, 2012 07:48
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Deceptor101 posted:Thanks for the kind words, and.... I did! goddamnit there's nothing better than a big ol' mellow bun
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Oct 11, 2012 03:30
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 Meet Lily. Her previous owners are moving to Queensland where rabbits are illegal (seriously). She was a house bunny at her old place and is very comfortable with people. Within about five minutes of opening her cage she was out exploring our apartment. We've had a few binkies so far and Lily seems pretty happy and comfortable. My boyfriend has never had a house rabbit before but is pretty in love, he spent 10 minutes straight patting Lily last night. 
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Oct 16, 2012 00:28
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