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About ten years ago, when I was still in high school, Fitz, my awesome bunny got accidently stepped on when my dad fell off a stepladder. He broke his front leg, so he had a big purple cast on it for a month. he wasn't happy. He was also 10 years old at that point. Actually closer to twelve because he lived to 14.
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Jul 15, 2013 20:07
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| # ? May 25, 2024 08:16 |
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I'm so, so sorry to hear that your bunny is hurt like that 
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Jul 15, 2013 20:08
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I'm sorry for posting a bunch of times in a row, but I figured I should post the conclusion. The vet called back with word from the interns and told us there is little success in treating rabbits with double breaks in their back legs. The splints are difficult, and the surgery is painful and rarely successful. Even if the legs healed, the nerve damage is not fixable, so the rabbit still has pain and often ends up chewing its own legs. Overall, we decided that such a minimal chance of recovery was not worth the suffering, and the vet agreed. I trust their judgement. The euthanasia was very quick and seemed painless to George. I was glad to be there to say goodbye, which is an opportunity many people don't get. However, I'm upset that this had to happen. I'm sure that whoever mishandled him did so accidentally, and I'm not angry at them for it. I am angry that they didn't bother to tell any member of my family what happened. Anyways, we've put George back into the bunny pen to allow Penny time to understand that he's dead. This sounds sort of weird, but HRS recommends doing it. It's supposed to help the bonded partner overcome the grieving process, because they won't spend time wondering and waiting for their friend to come back. She's a tough rabbit and I think she'll be okay in the long run. Four years wasn't enough, but he had a good life and made many people smile.  And I appreciated the condolences, so thank you.e: Here's a picture, it's a couple of years old but it's my favourite. George is the brown bun and Penny is the black. 
Huge Liability fucked around with this message at 21:46 on Jul 15, 2013 |
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Jul 15, 2013 21:41
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Huge Liability posted:I'm sorry for posting a bunch of times in a row, but I figured I should post the conclusion. The vet called back with word from the interns and told us there is little success in treating rabbits with double breaks in their back legs. The splints are difficult, and the surgery is painful and rarely successful. Even if the legs healed, the nerve damage is not fixable, so the rabbit still has pain and often ends up chewing its own legs. Overall, we decided that such a minimal chance of recovery was not worth the suffering, and the vet agreed. I trust their judgement. Having just lost our first house rabbit a few months back(although to illness, not accident), I can very much sympathize with how you must feel right now. I know my wife and I were heartbroken over her passing, so you sincerely have my sympathies.
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Jul 15, 2013 21:46
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I'm so sorry for your loss. Not even two months ago, Paterson died very suddenly and unexpectedly. Like you, I brought him home and placed him in the bunny room near their favourite tunnel. I left him there overnight so Bitsy could spend some time with him and realize that he was gone. I believe that it helped her get over his death. After the fact, I didn't see Bitsy searching for him and didn't notice her being specifically sad. I did give her extra attention that I let her instigate. I wish you and Penny all the best.
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Jul 15, 2013 22:38
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Aww, that's terrible. I'm sorry to hear it went so bad so quickly. Now I really miss my bunnies.
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Jul 15, 2013 22:39
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This is so sad. Hoping for the best for you and your Penny.
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Jul 15, 2013 22:53
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Huge Liability posted:
Holy poo poo man. I am so sorry Hope you and the other bunny do ok
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Jul 17, 2013 00:23
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Bitsy is now all hay and herbs. No more pellets 
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Jul 17, 2013 10:16
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Thanks for the kind words, everyone. Here's something positive. One of the rabbit rescues I follow has the coolest-looking bunny right now.    I've heard lionheads are terrors, but this makes me want one.
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Jul 19, 2013 02:08
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Huge Liability posted:Thanks for the kind words, everyone. Harriet isn't as bad as I make her out to be. She's a full bore doublemaned lion head. She's fairly friendly, doesn't chew on anything unless I show her it's something she can chew one (I've had her for a year and change and she has not once chewed on a cable or piece of furniture). She's a little mischevious, but I wouldn't call her a terror.
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Jul 19, 2013 02:11
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So sorry about George. Why must bunnies be so fragile? I hope his pal recovers soon.
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Jul 19, 2013 09:45
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So sorry to hear about george, you did the right thing putting him back in the cage. Its huge for their grieving. Still wait at least week or so before testing a new bun, but if you do speed dating it will be obvious whether the bun is ready or not. I just towed my race car 13 hours from home and my girlfriend calls me "hey Ben won't open his left eye and when I open it its really red" crap. So she's going to send me a pic of how it looks in the morning, he may have just poked himself on some hay. Arya has apparently been spending a lot of time cleaning it, so that's good. So stressed because I can't do anything so far away.
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Jul 19, 2013 10:07
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My roomie is moving out and taking her cats with her, so my bun is moving up from room-bunny to real house-bunny! She's currently living in a coroplast and wire-cube-organizer-thing cage I posted about earlier in the thread, but time to take it to the next level. One possibility is to convert our breakfast nook into bun house. The nook is a pretty large area, but the entrance is narrow enough to be blocked by a baby gate. My plan is to baby gate it off, and cover the bottom of the nook with some sort of soft plastic to protect it. My question is: what the heck should I use? Does anyone have experience with some sort of plastic thing that is cheap (ish), flexible (the nook is a weird shape), and tough (she uses her box well, but really want to make sure the hardwood floors are safe since I rent)? The coroplast is too stiff and not flexible, since I would want to line about six inches up the wall as well. My google searching hasn't been super successful... so far I've read about lino but not sure if it will work? Is it flexible enough to bend where the wall meets the floor and go up? Not sure if it's clear what I mean here... I could just go to Home Depot and wander around like the lost and confused child I am, but hoped someone here might be able to help. The other possibility is just buying a dog pen (http://www.petsupplies.com/item/midwest-pet-exercise-pen/110310%20024%20BLK/?srccode=GPPETSUP&gclid=CKLujP3UvLgCFYmk4AodWU4A1w) and sticking it in the living room, I guess lino would work for that, with coroplast around the edges as a lip?
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Jul 20, 2013 00:04
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If she uses her box well why not get a cheap mat or two (so you still have something to put there while you wash one)? Poor Lily has to put up with me squishing her: 
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Jul 20, 2013 11:08
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Bunny uses the box most of the time but he's not always super cool about it. Actually he's kind of a messy dude inside his cage. He regularly leaves a few poops on my rug when he's out and has peed on the bed like 3 times in 3 years (could be worse!). After reading the thread lately I want to get him fixed but not having a car and no rabbit vets nearby throws a wrench in the plan. Can I expect ~$100 for a neuter? I also plan to make the new cage floor covered in soft mats, but I want a plastic base or whatever to placate my landlord. Moving bunny out of my room might have some growing pains for him so want to make sure I'm being very considerate. Is lino flexible/bendy?
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Jul 21, 2013 22:37
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comets! posted:I also plan to make the new cage floor covered in soft mats, but I want a plastic base or whatever to placate my landlord. Moving bunny out of my room might have some growing pains for him so want to make sure I'm being very considerate. Is lino flexible/bendy? What I did is get a gigantic tarp sheet or painting sheet from some hardware store and put that down first, and then carpet on top.
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Jul 21, 2013 22:58
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I recently moved into a new place again (and didn't have internet for a month, grr) and I have linoleum on the floor in my living room. It's really good for piss "accidents", my demon dwarf girl has already had three of those. But you can wipe it right off and it won't stain, at least not if you don't leave it on there for weeks. I put some serious effort into bunnyproofing the new place so I should maybe post some pictures soon. By the way now the weather is hot I'm doing that whole put a tile or a brick in the fridge routine but my super hairy lop fella is not having any of it. The other one gets it and she'll happily take naps on the cold tile but he'll ignore it. So maybe he's not as warm as I thought or he's just a really special kind of stupid.
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Jul 22, 2013 14:22
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angelicism posted:What I did is get a gigantic tarp sheet or painting sheet from some hardware store and put that down first, and then carpet on top. This is exactly what I do and it has worked out pretty well. I have tile floors so I'm not TOO worried, but the nice part is that my bunnies actually enjoy the carpet and like to lay on it. Just be proactive if water or pee gets on the carpet and make sure it stays dry, otherwise that poo poo will stink.
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Jul 22, 2013 21:59
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kells posted:If she uses her box well why not get a cheap mat or two (so you still have something to put there while you wash one)? Ahahaha that's amazing <3 If I even tried that with my rabbit, I'd have no hands to squish with very quickly. Also need to try an ice pack wrapped in a t-shirt or towel for her cos she's outside a lot now and it's relatively hot for England. She's also black, so I assume she's even hotter than me (practically swan-like) or lighter coloured bunnies. She's also incredibly stupid so it probably won't work but we'll see. At least she has a lot of shade.
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Jul 22, 2013 22:24
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happyflurple posted:it's relatively hot for England. If you live within, like, a 500 mile radius of London can I come snorgle your bun? I miss mine.
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Jul 23, 2013 02:11
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angelicism posted:If you live within, like, a 500 mile radius of London can I come snorgle your bun? I miss mine. poo poo, that puts a good chunk of France in your radius too.
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Jul 23, 2013 02:42
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pseudonordic posted:poo poo, that puts a good chunk of France in your radius too. I'm really okay with that.
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Jul 23, 2013 04:20
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So after having Lola for the past 3 years, it's become increasingly clear that I'm not giving her enough out time. She seems like she's really lonely and bored - and she's gotten a bit destructive as a result. So I found her a new home, with someone that had 4 other rabbits. I made it clear that I was happy to keep Lola while we did gradual introductions, but the woman told me to just bring her over. I arrived and it was rabbit heaven - they were all healthy, happy and spayed/neutered, with free run of the house and a really sweet set-up. But then the woman just had me plop Lola down with everyone else straight away - no smooth introductions, no neutral territory, nothing. There was a bit of fighting, some grooming and humping, and the woman told us that she thought it was fine. That was 3 days ago. Now I have to go pick Lola up at 5pm tonight, as one of the female rabbits has started fighting Lola and her other friends and the woman is really upset. I guess I should've known better than to let her do introductions like that. I thought she knew what she was doing, but now I know that the only reason she has 4 bonded rabbits is because they're a family. She bought a male and a female that she didn't neuter fast enough, then after their pups were born she kept 2 and got everyone fixed. She never had to introduce a foreign rabbit to the group. I'm really nervous about where to place her next. I knew she'd be in a better situation with that woman, but now I don't know what to do. Everyone else that's interested hasn't mentioned having other rabbits, and only one person has mentioned that they've raised rabbits before. I know that she'd be better off if she could live with someone who would give her more time out of her cage. And she'd be way better off if she could be bonded to another rabbit. But unless I find the perfect situation I'm afraid I'll just be making things worse for her. I'm not sure if I can trust the humane society, I don't know if she'll just be left in a cage all day until she's adopted, I'm not sure how well they educate potential adopters. So if I don't do that, I guess the options are to keep her and try harder, or to just put her to sleep. A crazy part of me thinks I should just keep her and get her a friend. But that's just going to make things worse. Go ahead and tell me I'm a bad rabbit owner, but also let me know if there's option I'm not seeing here.
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Jul 23, 2013 18:36
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How is getting her a friend making things worse? A rabbit that has a friend is a more easily entertained and less stressed rabbit. A pair is not all that much more difficult to care for than a single rabbit. If their living space is roomy enough and they have toys you'd feel a lot better about not letting them out as much as you think they should be let out. The main drawback is they won't be as interested in socializing with their human anymore.
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Jul 23, 2013 21:37
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I sympathise with your plight with Lola ... I had Bun by herself and she was a real people-bunny, but when left alone she could be destructive or else withdrawn. I was getting so worried that she was lonely and forgetting how to be a rabbit, that I adopted Mr Bun. Two buns are just as easy to keep as one, and while they have their little arguments over bun-stuff, they snuggle up together and sleep together and groom each other. In fact I think they use less space than bun did by herself, since they're too busy being bun-buddies instead of her roaming about searching for people or other rabbits. I honestly think you should try a second bun and see how it goes. EDIT: yeah, Bun has no time for snuggles with her human anymore. Mr Bun came from a Bad Home so he has no time for humans full stop, though at least he's stopped biting me. Silverfish fucked around with this message at 21:54 on Jul 23, 2013 |
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Jul 23, 2013 21:51
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I got her home yesterday afternoon. I started crying as soon as I picked her up. I felt so bad about putting her through all of that. After we got home I started thinking about ways to make it work better. We ended up putting her in the office and setting up a baby gate, so she can have 24/7 run of the room. The office is the most bunny-proofed room in the house, no wires are within reach, I just need to make sure she doesn't destroy the carpet. We also bought her some new toys - a big 3-pronged tunnel and a smaller edible tunnel. I spent some time in there with her, and she came over and snuggled me for a solid hour. That was a surprise - she's been ignoring me for a very long time. We're joking that the other rabbits at "summer camp" taught her to love. I think we're going to try again with her, at least for now. But someone also just emailed me about introducing her to his neutered male, so I'm not sure if I should try to rehome her again. I don't know what's in her best interest.
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Jul 24, 2013 15:17
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dopaMEAN posted:I got her home yesterday afternoon. I started crying as soon as I picked her up. I felt so bad about putting her through all of that. Cilantro has free run of our office when we're not home, but she's a special case as she has no incisors and can't chew on anything. She digs occasionally but it's pretty rare. She has desks to lounge under, a door to hide behind, and a small space in her closet where I store extra hay for her to chew on if she wants to be in a tight space. That said, when we are home, she's more than happy to run straight to the living room and sit next to the coffee table or in her giant Amazon box-turned-house.
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Jul 24, 2013 16:35
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Harriet has the run of my apartment living room. Theoretically the bathroom and kitchen too, but she doesn't like tiles under her paws. However, she's atypically well behaved. Doesn't chew on wires, or furniture. Rarely ever pees on the upholstry anymore, and she repeatedly comes up to nuzzle my feet.
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Jul 24, 2013 17:27
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Well, we're 2 days into this experiment. She hasn't destroyed anything yet, our cats are getting over the baby gate, and Lola has been incredibly snuggly. I don't know what happened, she's usually so antisocial. Now if I go in there for a few minutes she's all over me for pets. Maybe it's the change in environment - smaller room, no couches to hide under? Edit: She's not eating her pellets. We bought a new brand last time, and it just so happened that I had to open the bag of the new stuff (ZuPreem) when she got home. She's pooping/peeing normally and eating everything else. I'm going to return the pellets tonight and get the good stuff (Oxbow). I didn't expect her to be so picky! dopaMEAN fucked around with this message at 18:37 on Jul 25, 2013 |
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Jul 25, 2013 18:32
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dopaMEAN posted:Well, we're 2 days into this experiment. She hasn't destroyed anything yet, our cats are getting over the baby gate, and Lola has been incredibly snuggly. Any reason why you wouldn't try socializing your cats and your rabbit? As long as they're all adults they generally get along pretty well. Of course you do sometimes get in to situations of furry peer pressure Suspect Bucket posted:I swear none of this is animal abuse.
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Jul 25, 2013 18:50
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grack posted:Any reason why you wouldn't try socializing your cats and your rabbit? As long as they're all adults they generally get along pretty well. Oh, she has quite a bit of interaction with the cats. She thinks our big Maine Coon is her boyfriend and chases him around. We needed to make sure the cats could get over the baby gate so they could use their litter boxes.
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Jul 25, 2013 21:44
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If you're careful with the introductions (and the bunny chasing the cats is pretty normal) you can socialize the bunny with your cats. As long as bunnies have some sort of companionship they're happy, it doesn't necessarily need to be another bunny. http://www.rabbit.org/journal/2-11/cats-and-rabbits.html
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Jul 25, 2013 23:09
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angelicism posted:If you live within, like, a 500 mile radius of London can I come snorgle your bun? I miss mine. About 250 miles? Feel free if you're ever oop north, she loves anyone and everything more than me  Pisses me off a bit, whenever I go outside to see her she's just sat in one corner of her run, and then when my parents are out in the garden she's all hopping and cuddles and bunny love. Can't wait to get my own place sorted so she can come inside again. I argued for it for ages but it's really not an option while I'm with my parents cos...well it isn't. Too much to chew and ruin. Felt so bad about it but Dad has at least built her a huge run and they bought her a massive hutch as well, should only be here for another month and Dad has rather taken to her She probably gets more attention now than she did being a house bunny to be honest. Can often hear my Dad talking to her on a morning when he goes to work, Mum retired at 40 so all she does is chill in the garden after housework and I go see her on an early morning and evening when it's cooler. I took some 5-MeO-DALT the other day and spent a nice hour or so just sat appreciating how rabbity she is, and watching her fur move and stroking her paws when she came up to see me. Rabbits are the best drug buddies. I know better than to try directly interact though, fortunately. happyflurple fucked around with this message at 17:27 on Jul 27, 2013 |
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Jul 27, 2013 17:24
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happyflurple posted:I took some 5-MeO-DALT the other day and spent a nice hour or so just sat appreciating how rabbity she is, and watching her fur move and stroking her paws when she came up to see me. Rabbits are the best drug buddies. I know better than to try directly interact though, fortunately. My last housemate and our friends would like to pet my buns when stoned or tripping. They were always supervised (by me or by my housemate, who took almost as good care of them as I did). Apparently petting bunny fur when you're out of your mind is just awesome. :3
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Jul 27, 2013 21:52
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angelicism posted:My last housemate and our friends would like to pet my buns when stoned or tripping. They were always supervised (by me or by my housemate, who took almost as good care of them as I did). Apparently petting bunny fur when you're out of your mind is just awesome. :3 I can also attest it's great when one is piss drunk. All you have to worry about is said rabbit trying to steal your beer.
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Jul 28, 2013 00:15
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angelicism posted:My last housemate and our friends would like to pet my buns when stoned or tripping. They were always supervised (by me or by my housemate, who took almost as good care of them as I did). Apparently petting bunny fur when you're out of your mind is just awesome. :3 Haha yeah it's great, you get this weird connection with them, it's like they just 'get' you, for fear of sounding like an ageing hippy. My parents' chinchillas were similarly great for it And when drunk yeah, she used to love hiding in beer crates and leaping out at people. Cider was my thing though and obviously that's sweet as hell so I had to guard it with my life. Just spent a half hour or so sat in the run with her, instead of next to the run like I usually do; she's a lot friendlier and was coming up to me and putting her paws on my knees. Guess I never spent much time on her level when I lived away, I was always sat on my bed. Gonna try spend at least half an hour a day sat in there with her and then when I buy my house she's getting a bunny friend. I wish I could rename her so I could have buns called Hip and Hop but that's life. happyflurple fucked around with this message at 13:44 on Jul 28, 2013 |
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Jul 28, 2013 13:42
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I'm going to take a roadtrip in a week and since Bitsy now requires a lot more attention, my friend and I have decided to just take her with us. She has the Sleepypod Atom now but I'm wondering if I should bring the regular SP and just clean it out extremely well if we're taking a long-ish journey? She might not care at all and tbh, the Atom is a bit smaller which I think will be good since she won't go flying all over the place but I am still concerned.
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Jul 28, 2013 22:18
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Hey guys! Finally managed to sex Thumper. Female dwarf. Please don't think any less of me 
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Jul 29, 2013 12:16
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| # ? May 25, 2024 08:16 |
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Mr Confetti posted:Hey guys! Finally managed to sex Thumper. Female dwarf. Please don't think any less of me Say goodbye to any possessions less than a foot off the ground
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Jul 29, 2013 18:34
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