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luscious posted:cutest thing ever + thumping  Bunbun recently learned to thump, whenever we are chopping veggies. The new rabbit room is right off the kitchen and Bunbun disapproves of loud knives chopping his dinner, he prefers his veggies to be carefully and quietly torn by hand. We have 10 rabbits in the rescue at the moment and when Bunbun starts, it sets them all off which is hilarious. Bunbun may be my favorite of all our sanctuary bunnies, not least because of what he went through before we got him. He was found in a decrepit wire-floor hutch outside a school, after a hurricane. He had been left there while the school was closed for 2 weeks, supposedly a neighbor kid of the teacher was looking after him. But when we got there, the roof was broken in, the pellet hopper was full of moldy mush, and he had chewed through the bungee cord holding the door shut so he couldn't reach his water bottle. There were dead chickens and MOUNDS of feces under the hutch. After the police surrendered him to us, I contacted the teacher, and she claimed he was 8 years old. That was September 2004 making him almost 11 years old. That seems unlikely, unless his care had been far better in the past, but he certainly acts like an old man. He'll go over into one corner of his pen and then cock his head like he can't remember why he went there, and then turn around and come back.
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Jul 13, 2007 15:38
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CalamityKate posted:Quick question, at the recommendation of the vet, I switched over to all veggies and hay rather than veggies + hay + occasional pellets, and Sean is drinking a lot less water than she used to. I figured that it's because she's getting water from the increased veggie intake, but wanted to see what you all think. She's going back to the vet soon too, so I'll make sure the vet ok's it also. Sean is very cute! Regarding water, that's exactly right, and typical. My new intakes who aren't used to veggies typically go through a bowl of water a day; when they start eating all their veggies they go down to a few sips a day. However, as Sean ages, I'd follow the recommendations here. Small, very active rabbits who have no tendency towards obesity, and older rabbits who start losing weight, can both safely have a small portion of high-quality pellets in the diet. I've seen it make a wonderful difference in very elderly rabbits or those with chronic illness. But be sure to choose pellets without alfalfa and with a high proportion of timothy hay to "filler" ingredients, and think of them as a calorie-dense supplement rather than as a food. And honestly, even before that, there's no harm in giving 4 or 5 pellets as a treat once in a while. They often have a sugary binder like molasses in them which is why some rabbits go nuts for them.
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Jul 13, 2007 16:40
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Foranzan posted:take off running whenever I get near them, they hate being touched, HATE being picked up, clipping their nails is a huge ordeal, but whenever I have food, they'll eat from my hands no problem. Hahaha, cute. That's just typical rabbit behavior. Trust me, they don't hate you. If they did they'd lunge and bite. This is just the same as the usual greeting I get at home: "OH NOEZ A PERDATOR IS AFTER MEEES oh wait you has food? HALLO!" Use their greed against them. Sit down on the floor and make them come up to you for greens and treats. Slowly and gently move your hands to stroke the forehead just in front of the ears while they eat, eventually they will allow it. Try to avoid the sides and haunches, these are the places a predator latches on. A bunny who is enjoying scritches will "bow" - they lean forward with their chin against the floor. Picking up will likely never be accepted. They just aren't smart enough to overcome their instincts that a hawk is swooping them into the air. I can pick up all my rabbits if I have to transport them, but NONE of them accept being picked up for cuddles. They'll growl and dig at me if I try to hold them on my lap. The larger rabbits are the worst for this - Roo actually cries when carried (a sound like wheh wheh wheh with every breath) which is a sign of great distress. The most loving demonstration you can get is when a rabbit who hates being touched comes up to where you're sitting, bows to demand petting, and then licks you while you're petting him. That's initiation of mutual grooming and means you are very loved indeed. If you don't feel like toweling your rabbits, trimming nails is easiest with two people, and harder when you try to hold him paws up in a lap. It's easier if you stand the rabbit on a towel on a low countertop. They don't struggle as much when they have all four feet secure. One person leans over him, holding him close to the body to restrain and comfort him, with one arm curled around him and the other holding the chest or gently covering his forehead so he can't leap away. Have the second person try to do each foot without pulling it away from the rabbit's body.
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Jul 18, 2007 15:34
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angelicism posted:I'm a bit perplexed by people's pictures and descriptions of litter boxes. Hay goes in the litter box? I thought hay was for eating? I have a little wire ball that hangs from the top of the cage that I stuff with hay so it doesn't get mushed up with the fruit in the bowl. I have some sort of bedding currently all over the floor of the cage, but I'm getting the impression the floor of the cage can just be the plastic bottom? Rabbits prefer to crap/pee on a soft surface so if you give them a litterbox on a bare floor, they will almost certainly start using the litterbox instead of the floor itself. A bare floor is boring and probably a touch uncomfortable, so many people also give their rabbits carpet, towels, or grass mats to lay on. But if your bunny is not yet littertrained, he may make mistakes, so go with a bare floor till he has the hang of the boxes. An easy way to littertrain is to fill the cage with boxes, leaving only a small open space for the rabbit to chill. Gradually remove the boxes in the middle, leaving only the ones in the corners. Most of my rabbits seem to prefer at least two boxes, yours may be different. Regarding the hay, rabbits also tend to pee and poop while they are eating, so you can help with training by placing the hay inside the litterbox, or in a rack hanging over the litterbox. You do need to take out the soiled hay and replace it with fresh a couple times a day. Rabbits will eat as much hay as they can, so many people find those little wire balls too small. I personally like to use converted kitchen storage items as hay mangers. They're large enough to hold a whole day's worth of hay for only about $3 each.
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Jul 18, 2007 21:51
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Deceptor101 posted:
HRS posted:There is research to suggest these items may contribute to fatal cases of enterotoxemia, a toxic overgrowth of "bad" bacteria in the intestinal tract. girlscoutdropout, a couple of notes on your site: *You have a photo of the cavy pellets under KayTee Timothy Complete. Try to replace this with a photo of the rabbit pellets. Rabbits should not eat cavy pellets and vice versa, and you may not be intending to imply that they should. *Purina rabbit chow is actually not a good recommendation for young adult rabbits. It contains alfalfa as a source of roughage rather than timothy. It's only recommended by HRS as a feed for adult rabbits who need the increased calories. Ingredient information here. *"Many times, if a female rabbit isn't spayed, and isn't able to have babies she will get cervical cancer." - this seems to imply that breeding a female will prevent cervical cancer. It won't. Breeding or not, an unspayed female is likely to get cancer, and breeding certainly isn't the solution. You may want to rephrase this if this is not your intended message. *"Rabbit's teeth continuously grow, they always need stuff to chew on!" - You may want to clarify this. Many rabbits won't use commercially available chew toys, and in fact these toys don't address the real problem, which are spurs and malocclusion on the rear molars. The best way to keep a rabbit's teeth worn down is to feed long strand hay as the primary component of the diet. The primary use of chew toys is to alleviate boredom, which you addressed elsewhere. All in all, very nice work.
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Jul 24, 2007 20:35
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SpaceMonkey posted:Whats a good place to buy those Wire storage cubes from in Canada? I don't know what stores are both in the US in Canada, but http://www.guineapigcages.com/cubes.htm names lots of different stores that carry them, including some online locations, and they have some specific Canada locations mentioned in their forums.
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Jul 25, 2007 14:53
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girlscoutdropout posted:About the alfalfa hay, really? Wow, all I've heard is negative things up and down about it. http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/diet.html details the change in diet that is needed as a rabbit grows up and ages. It gives very specific time points for the switchover from alfalfa to timothy. This page explains the differences between various types of hays. The hard thing about providing this sort of educational information is that either you come up with a bullet point that 99% of people can understand, or you have to give a long-winded lecture on every subtopic. If you mention that alfalfa is OK in certain circumstances, many people fail to read anything but the first three words, and then wonder why their rabbit dies of bladder stones from too much calcium-rich alfalfa. You have to choose what audience you want to share this information with, and tailor your information to them. Think of it this way: Why should someone go to your site instead of direct to rabbit.org? Well, maybe because you provide simple bullet points instead of 300 pages of documentation, and that makes your visitors more likely to know the MOST important basics even if they can't tell you all the details. OK, in that case you may want to keep the timothy-only information and not mention alfalfa, instead saying "for information on feeding baby rabbits go here: rabbit.org". Don't confuse people who are easily confused, so to speak. On the other hand, you may want to focus on user-submitted information and less on information which is already available elsewhere. In that case, you can just list some really basic outlines, and make more links to the exhaustive resources. Then focus on details from users that rabbit.org doesn't really mention - like "my bunny really likes to tear up phone books" or "my bunny was sick and wouldn't eat, and the vet didn't know what to do, so I mixed some fresh dill with her hay and she started eating!" You could also divide up your information into Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced levels. So in Basic you say: Timothy only, alfalfa is bad. Intermediate says: Alfalfa for young rabbits under 1 year, and for older rabbits (6+) who need additional calories. Advanced you say: A diet of mixed timothy, bluegrass, orchard grass, and alfalfa is advisable, but the phosphorus to calcium ratio and fat/protein ratio levels in the diet should be constrained to the following proportions.... Etc. Once you decide what type of information you are trying to provide and to whom, you can also make a disclaimer page that you can point to whenever someone says "Why didn't you mention X". You may also consider bibliographies for each page, so people know where you got your information and where to go for more in depth information on each topic. If you want to see some other resources for more advanced topics, especially medical resouces, this and this both have some very good, very advanced articles. And don't overlook the value of the search box on rabbit.org, if you want to know what the "official" stance is on a particular subject. They have many more articles available for searching than are linked from their main menus.
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Jul 25, 2007 18:44
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angelicism posted:I think I'll get the corner litter box for now since she is still little and if/when she gets bigger, get a box. Where are you people seeing these ferret boxes with the lowered side? My local pet store didn't seem to have anything like that. Just use a standard cat litterbox, or get a rubbermaid container and cut down the sides like so:  You'd be surprised how high they can jump. One of my sanctuary dwarfs has no problem leaping 18" onto the shelf in her pen. Also, this picture gives you a good idea what a fully appointed cage should look like: no bedding at all on the floor, and bedding + hay in the litterboxes:  (The adopters called me the day after this to ask why he kept peeing NEXT to the corner box, even though he was using the other one just fine. I explained that rabbits are too dumb to know they have to turn around and face out of the box, so their butt hangs over the edge, and they promptly replaced it with another square box.) Tricknee Hacksaw posted:Last I heard, rabbits had been removed from stores...are they thinking about putting them back in?? Yes. They've already launched a "pilot program" in a limited number of stores, and are planning the universal launch of rabbit sales to coincide with the Christmas season. PetSmart Charities has been doing PetSmart's dirty work, emailing rabbit rescues to ask whether or not rabbit sales would impact our work. Of course they are getting an earful. But with the other hand they are claiming "PetSmart Charities is totally independant from PetSmart retail, we hope their rabbit sales won't affect our relationship with our rescue partners."  PLEASE write to PetSmart and tell them to go to hell if they don't cancel their plans, and please consider transferring your business to any pet supply store which does not sell live animals.
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Jul 30, 2007 15:06
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theboojum posted:Can we "fix" Loaf's personality or is it better for me to just call the local house rabbit society to find out if they can find a new place for him? You can fix him, but it will require a new housing setup and a new daily routine. By "pry Loaf out of the hutch" it sounds like he doesn't have a big pen which allows him to come and go without human assistance. A rabbit should never have to be REMOVED from their pen. They should have a setup with a door which can be propped open, allowing them to enter and exit on their own terms. That way, they don't learn to associate the presence of hands in their space with the trauma of being grabbed and swung through the air (normal gentle carrying to us, terror to them). Your dad would want to setup a pen with a swinging door, so that when he wants Loaf to come out, Loaf can come on his own. He'd want to encourage exploration with a rabbit-proofed room and treats such as craisins or fresh herbs for the brave explorer. A larger pen would also help - see previous comments upthread. The aggressiveness may indeed be a lack of socialization. Rabbits need social housing, because their need for interaction isn't going to be satisfied by a typical human schedule. That grunting and nipping is his way of scolding you for weeks and weeks of not petting him JUST RIGHT and JUST RIGHT NOW. This could probably be best remedied by getting him a bunny friend - they can groom and cuddle one another whenever they need it. My evil little dwarf Noelle was a biting demon after 6 years alone - no matter who I introduced her to, she'd try to eat them alive. Finally I put her in a divided cage where she has plenty of other bunnies who can kiss her through the bars, and after only about 4 months, she's a whole new rabbit. I'm still working on getting her and Flax to live together 24-7, because while she adores him as long as he kisses her, when he fails to groom her properly, she starts trying to eat him again. As long as someone is kissing her nose whenever SHE wants, she's fine. So for this, your dad would have to talk to the rabbit rescue, do introductions, and try to find a bunny whom Loaf would bond with. It's POSSIBLE (although very uncommon) to have a single rabbit who gets enough interaction just from his humans, but he'd need to be free-range about 15 hours a day, so that he can interact with his people for several hours in the morning, several at night, and a much as anyone is home during the day. Your dad would need to learn bunny body language and start responding to his demands for attention, but it may take time before Loaf even realizes he can ask for attention and get what he needs. If your folks aren't up to all that, definitely call the rescue that he came from, and ask them what to do. They will either offer to take him back right away, or will offer intervention to help you guys keep him. It's basically up to you and your dad to decide how much time you can put into repairing him.
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Jul 31, 2007 19:13
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theboojum posted:He generally completely ignores people when he's out of the cage and hopping around. I sat down and read with him for about three hours today. He hopped out of the hutch immediately when I moved far enough away from it. I sat pretty still and he eventually worked up the courage to come sit on me for a couple seconds while surveying the rest of the room. I also managed to get him to eat a carrot out of my hand. He was completely uninterested in being petted, though. Is he just standoffish or am I doing something wrong? I'm trying to give him interaction, but he doesn't seem too interested. The cage looks ok as far as allowing him to come out on his own, so that's good. It's small by HRS standards, but not bad, all things considered, and certainly better and nicer than most petstore cages. However, you won't be able to totally eliminate in-cage aggression until you have a pen big enough you aren't sticking parts of your body into the opening of his burrow (in his eyes) when you reach in. That's why I recommend pens, the whole wall of the "burrow" opens and the rabbit can't really react to you as an intruder. For some people, they achieve this merely by letting the rabbit out when they have to change the food or litter. See the discussion upthread about grids, you can make a big pen to go around this cage, and let him out in there when you need to get inside the cage. The "I fear you, I smell you, I eat your food, I ignore you" routine sounds about right. Rabbits just aren't typically demonstrative in the ways we expect from cats and dogs. Coming over and flopping down about 3' away is high praise, from a rabbit. A rabbit who wants to be touched will bow or crouch nearby, or push his forehead against you. You can very gently rub the forehead between the ears, or massage the base of the ears. Sometimes you can slowly and gently work them up to this point by gently trying to touch them when they're nose-deep in snacks. Do NOT try to touch the sides or back end (this is where a predator grabs) until the rabbit is seriously comfortable with you. You can encourage Loaf to approach you by offering healthy treats (dill, cilantro, parsley) whenever he comes near you. You can also engage him more directly with games. Toss a toilet paper roll his way. One of my bunnies loves to play Fetch, which is me throwing him the roll, and him flinging it in some random direction, and me Fetching it and throwing it back to him. Turn it into a foraging toy by wrapping a baby carrot in a handful of hay and stuffing the hay into the roll, so he has to tug and chew to get the carrot out. These things definitely take time - I tell people to plan on 6 weeks before a rabbit becomes accustomed to a new home. A new routine and a new understand absolutely counts as a new home, so just be patient. You may want to read some of the stories on rabbit.org about acclimation and acceptance, and keep thinking about talking your folks into a second bunny... girlscoutdropout posted:Okay, I've decided I need bonding help. I can't find your previous post on what your bonding strategy is, so I'll start from square one myself. Most of this is from here, especially the links on the righthand side, so be sure to read all of those. I definitely do NOT recommend trying to do bonding outdoors. You can't keep your eyes on them AND on predators. It doesn't even have to be a bunny-free area, but it should be a little bit away from their typical running area. I like to use a kitchen or big bathroom, because the slick floor means it's harder for them to latch on and bite deeply. Remember, rabbit bites can abscess easily, so you want to try to avoid that. Close off the area so they don't have a huge space - 10'x5' is pretty good. Make sure there are no dead ends or things for them to hide under, where they could lock jaws and you can't get to them. Step One: Bunnies in the mirror. Set up a divided pen or two pens, side by side. Mirror the contents of each - litterbox next to litterbox, water next to water. The goal is to let the rabbits become acclimated to one another, learn each others' rhythms. Two bonded rabbits behave very much like one rabbit - they eat together, crap together, sleep together. You're allowing that to happen without forcing direct interaction, yet. For out time, alternate who is out. Try to give equal times, and expect some fussing through the bars. Let this go on for about 4 weeks, possibly as long as 6. You want to see signs that they are no longer thinking death thoughts about the other. Step Two: First Date. When you see the bunnies tend to ignore or mirror one another's behaviors, you can let them interact outside of the cage. Use the kitchen or space described above. Get a squirt gun. Seriously. Throw down some hay in a litterbox, and dump the bunnies in the area one by one. Best case scenario: mutual grooming means love at first sight. You can let this go on as long as it will, but eventually break up the party and return the rabbits to their own cages. Typical case: there's some sniffing, maybe some tenative grooming, then lots of chasing and humping. This is fine, use the squirt gun to break it up if it gets too rough, but don't break it up too soon, either. Nipping at the flanks or back during mounting is ok, biting the face or rolling in an angry ball of fur is not. Wear kitchen mitts if you can't separate them with the water, because you WILL get bitten. If there's no serious confrontation, break it up after about 30 minutes and return the rabbits to their cages. Worst case: immediate killer rabbit impersonations, fur and blood flying. Do not pass go, skip directly to the advanced section on rabbit.org. No more help to be found here. Step 3: 50 MORE First Dates Once you know how it will go, I recommend doing 30 minute a day interactions, EVERY day until you see Twu Wuv. Plan on at least 4 weeks (this is not a process that can be rushed). You want to keep reinforcing the idea that Time Together is Good. Save their treats and let them eat veggies together. If they won't groom one another, settle them side by side and pet them both until their eyes close and they relax - you're trying to trick each into thinking the other is grooming. If they groom but not enough, smear banana on their foreheads - they will probably lick it off of one another. You also want to include some negative bonding experiences in your 50 First Dates. By this I mean, you want to put them in a slightly stressful situation, which forces them to take comfort from one another. Put them in a rubbermaid container or big litterbox, and put them on the dryer when you're drying a load of towels and jeans and maybe some shoes. The rumbling and bumping will make them nervous and you may see them trying to hide their noses under one another. Excellent sign here. Other people prefer to dump them in carrier and drive them around a parking lot full of speed bumps. This can work too, but I prefer to only do this if someone experienced can sit in the back seat with them and separate them if necessary. One of the key things with rabbit dating is that you want to try to end EVERY session on a good note. Rabbits have surprisingly long memories where danger is concerned, and if they go to their corners smarting from a fight, the next meeting will be worse, not better. Things go great for 40 minutes, then just as you stand up they start fussing? Settle them back down and pet them for another 5 minutes, THEN break it up. Don't ever put them to bed angry (just like people). Step 3: Ready for overnight? It's hard to express when you "know" that rabbits have started to bond. The best I can tell you is that you see them come together, move apart, come together, move apart, over and over. It's when NOT every time they come within a foot of one another, ends in a confrontation or chase. When they both lie down near one another, and one gets up and maybe the other does too, but maybe not. When they both get into the litterbox and start eating at the same time, not as competitors for food, but as partners moving in tandem, but still doing their own things. If you can safely leave the rabbits in the kitchen overnight, that's fine. If not, I usually like to use a totally new pen for the first few overnight sessions. It's not YOUR territory or MINE, it's OURS. I usually start this on a Saturday when I'm planning on being home all day and not too distracted that I can't keep one eye on the bunnies (Dirty Harry marathons are perfect for this). I put the buns into the new shared pen in the early afternoon, about 3pm, and just leave them. I feed them normally around 7pm, and watch them out of the corner of my eye until about 10pm. If by that time there have been no squabbles that needed breaking up, I'll leave them all night. If they're still ok by the next evening, I put them in their new pen or in the newly un-divided pen, totally vinegared and re-arranged to remove all sense of Mine vs Yours. rabbit.org has tons more tips, these are just the bare-bones basics. Given that you've already had them going ok, I would recommend putting them back in separate housing for a week, then starting with side-by-side petting and dryer rides. But the key word is PATIENCE. You CANNOT rush things. It's better to PLAN on a 3 month process and be pleasantly surprised, than to keep pushing them together too fast and end up with absolute hatred. If it's any comfort, I've been working on Flax and Noelle since MARCH and just a few nights ago got them to where they played nice for more than 30 minutes before they had words. Noelle just bites and bites if she can't get the kisses she thinks she deserves, and if she bites too much Flax just loses his patience and we're back to square one, just like Lucy & Jack. So just keep at it! Fake edit: Jesus that's a long post. Sorry for the WALL OF TEXT.
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Aug 1, 2007 03:23
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girlscoutdropout posted:Okay, I have re-done the layout of my site. Let's hope it's better. I'd ditch the whole frames layout if possible. It's very hard to get it to function correctly. For example, when I click "Bunny Garden page is up!" the Bunny Garden page opens INSIDE that tiny 1"x3" box. You also have a broken banner on the links page. I really like the green/gray scheme and general layout. I have a free, 3-column css layout that I found somewhere which would function very similarly to this, without the frames. Let me know if you are interested. It's very easy to install and modify!
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Aug 1, 2007 17:39
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Hanpan posted:Pickle was ill today Oh god that sounds like E.C. (E. cuniculi). HRS has an article on it here. Recovery is possible but requires intensive therapy and usually the rabbit is not ever "right" again. If you haven't already, You should create a small sick pen for her. The best thing is half of a dog-sized travel crate (like 2'x3' or smaller) with thick doubled-up towels draped all over the walls. Put her hay, pellets, and water low on the ground (add a very heavy but shallow bowl if you currently use a bottle for water). Offer lots of very fragrant herbs (cilantro, parsley, and dill) as she may not be able to see or smell her way to her hay and pellets quite as easily. I'm really sorry for you and Pickle, E.C. is really hard to deal with. HRS has lots of information and stories from other people who have been through it.
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Aug 2, 2007 15:16
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Hanpan posted:Thanks for the information. I feel kind of daft getting emotional over a rabbit but it is definitely heart breaking to see her suffer like she is. Please don't hate me for suggesting this, but do you think it's better if I put her out of her misery? It's not daft. You'd be daft if you could see an animal stumbling around helplessly and NOT have an emotional reaction. If you are not able to provide the supportive and palliative therapy necessary to bring her through this, euthanasia is a completely valid option. It would be far, far kinder than to let her grow more confused and unable to function as the disease pretty much continues to eat her brain. She may starve herself to death before the disease itself kills her. That said, you don't have to make the decision immediately. I'd read up on what it takes to diagnose, treat, and support a rabbit with EC. Some come through it easily with little more than a funny walk. Others take months of SubCu fluids, antibiotic injections, syringe feeding, and butt cleaning, only to end up paraplegic (I knew one person whose bunny survived to use a little two-wheel scooter to get around). But if you decide that euthanasia is best, don't beat yourself up about it. The bad news is that EC is shed in the urine, and it can remain in the environment for a month or more. So the people you got Pickle from need to know, in case their other rabbits are infected. They should all be quarantined and possibly tested. And if you plan on getting another rabbit, you should wait a while, during which time everything Pickle touched (with urine or with urine-y paws) should be disinfected.
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Aug 2, 2007 18:35
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Head tilt. Read all about it. If she can eat, drink, and eat her cecals, you just need to protect her from injury, and she could live a long and happy life despite this. She's flipping out when you hold her because has no sense of balance, so without all 4 feet on the floor she can't tell which way is up. Instead of picking her up (unless needed for therapy or treatment), interact by holding her next to you on the floor.
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Aug 7, 2007 21:54
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Yes, she absolutely needs extra attention. You need to weigh her frequently to be sure she's eating enough, and monitor her cecal production to be sure she's getting them too and not leaving them uneaten. She may not be able to groom herself so you'll need to make sure her butt stays clean. You'd need to modify her hutch so she can't injure herself (many people talk about putting blankets everywhere on the walls), and be prepared to check her frequently for signs of injury. Some head tilt bunnies end up scratching the lower eye, for example, and this would need to be checked daily and treated if she injures it. Did you actually get a definitive diagnosis of EC? (If so, did you notify the place where you got her?) Or was it just "this might be the problem"? If it's an inner ear infection, a little antibiotic could clear her totally up. But if you can't take care of her, I recommend just putting her down. You MIGHT be able to find a rescuer who wants to take her as a project, but it's unlikely. Check the HRS ally page for local rescues if you want to try to go that route. However, if you do put her down, DON'T plan on getting another rabbit any time soon. If you never find out for sure what the problem is, you have no way of knowing whether it's something in the environment that will kill the next rabbit too. Also rabbits are HIGHLY prone to labor-intensive illnesses - even simple to fix ones like stasis take a lot of effort during the crisis - and if you don't have the time for this, the next illness won't be any easier either. Try a cat instead, their illnesses are a lot less time-consuming (in my personal experience).
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Aug 7, 2007 22:53
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My bunnies nibble on me to indicate that they've had enough and don't want to be held anymore. Can you let her run around (supervised!) in a small room like a bathroom? Even that might be enough to get her to be less antsy.
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Aug 8, 2007 15:01
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TheDeadKnow posted:Got a new problem with Momo, guys. DON'T put him outside. His lifespan will go from 12 years to 5 or less. It's far crueler to subject him to heat, flystrike, cold, predators, and lonliness outside, than it would be to simply confine him inside with you. I'm not fond of the zoo idea either because you have no idea and no say in what they may decide to do with him. They could decide to cull their rabbit herd by euthanizing them for tiger food...  Why not build the multi-story cage that you have in mind, and then just get a couple of big sheets of coroplast, and build a pen that he can run around on? I've known several people with pens in excess of 10'x10' and their rabbits seem perfectly happy despite not being truly "free range". This worked well to protect my hardwood from my guys frantic digging habits.
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Aug 11, 2007 01:02
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girlscoutdropout posted:Bunnies and cavies can bond, but you're right that it's really not recommended. Mainly because their diets are so different. Also because rabbits can easily kill guinea pigs, either through unintended roughhousing, or through the bacteria that's in their GI tract. Bordetella is a natural organism in rabbit intestines (just like we have E. coli) and it can cause severe respiratory problems in guinea pigs. It's not recommended that pigs be allowed to play or eat where rabbits have pooped, and many people (myself included) keep them totally separated in different rooms. TheDeadKnow posted:when I go to build said cage, what exactly do I call these wire parts and bits? I already will look like a fool to whatever employee I run into trying to explain the parts. Coroplast is found at sign supply shops. Wholesale places are cheaper. You should be able to get a 4'x8' sheet for around $10. The grids are modular wire shelves, often sold at places like Target and Bed Bath & Beyond for around $12 for 20+ grids. The zip ties are used to bind wire together, also called cable ties, and are found at hardware stores, about $3 for 50. Pictures of all three items, along with different brand names and names of stores that sell them, can be found here.
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Aug 13, 2007 14:23
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Ring of Light posted:My only other idea is getting her two litter boxes, one for using and one for lounging. You nailed it. This is the perfect solution and works like a charm. Almost all of my bunnies have two (or more!) boxes. Ring of Light posted:Should I just put litter all over the bottom of her cage and let her go where she wants? Don't do this, she'll break any semblance of litter training and no carpet will be safe. 
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Aug 13, 2007 20:58
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Moraine Sedai posted:I would be concerned about a vet that can't distinguish between penises and vulvas. I'd be taking my pet elsewhere. Rabbits aren't like birds where sex is difficult to determine. If the bunny is actually very young, so young that the testicles haven't descended, it *could* be possible to make this mistake. Most people think "if it pops out it's a boy, if it doesn't it's a girl", but in bunnies BOTH have something that pops out. But a vet should know this and be able to distinguish by shape, I would think.  This page has links to fairly high-res pictures showing the difference. I've had techs and staff at both vet clinics and at shelters tell me "these rabbits are all boys" (because all of them had something that looked like a tiny penis) despite the CLEAR difference between the ones who had GIANT BALLS and the ones who didn't. Similarly, they've told me "all these guinea pigs are girls" because NONE of them have an obvious penis, again discounting the GIANT BALLS on half of them.  But I've never had a vet not be able to tell the difference.
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Aug 21, 2007 21:27
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CDOR Gemini posted:she can't fit a bigger cage in her room You can't count on bunnies being friendly right off the bat. You have to do introductions which, worst-case, may require several weeks of side-by-side living, necessitating dual cages with duplicate litter boxes, hiding boxes, food bowls, the works. See my post upthread about the bonding technique, including the requirement for alternating free-run time if you have fighters. Once she DOES have them living together, or if she gets lucky and has love at first sight, yes, most pairs do require more space than one. I've NEVER successfully bonded a pair that didn't require a second or at least a larger litterbox. Otherwise, the second rabbit usually sits next to the single box and pees while the first is using it. A "roomy" cage would be about 4'x4'. An "adequate" cage for that very nice amount of out time would be about 2'x4'. Anything smaller than that is absolutely too small for two rabbits unless they are really out 24-7 and the cage is just where the potty is located. If she can fit a 28"x42" C&C grid cage in her room, she can build upwards and provide plenty of space for two rabbits. I have done a bonding with a divided 28"x42" with a shelf added, and it was cramped but they survived the experience. Once it was expanded to have 3 stories it was a very good sized cage despite the small footprint. It may require some rearrangements on your sister's part but it's well worth it. And dear god buy your sister some cord covers before that poor bunny electrocutes himself.
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Sep 4, 2007 23:12
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sgocity posted:I'm really hoping that spaying her won't be too expensive, and that it will help the chewing. Spaying her will run around $200, most likely. IF you are lucky, you might find a place that does it for $75, but that's uncommon. I pay nearly $200 and that's WITH a rescue discount. Where are you located? I can find you the local HRS branch and you can contact them and see if they have a low-cost S/N program. They might also be able to send a mentor to visit you and to give you some one-on-one coaching and advice. As crucial as spaying is (for the 80% cancer reason if none other), and as likely as it will be to reduce the people-chewing, unfortunately you can't be assured that it will curb the carpet-chewing. These are animals who live on grass, a sea of food. They instinctively reach down to bite at their substrate. I have a 7 year old spayed female who has been fine on carpet for the two years that I've had her - this year she decided that carpet is yum and has gone through 1-2 carpets a month. Plus, she hates to walk on the tile underneath because it makes her slide, so she tears her carpet to shreds and then sits in the corner waiting to be rescued. One family I adopted to was able to figure out the exact places where their bunny liked to chew, and placed seagrass mats (from World Market) on top of the carpet. This helped a lot, although it required daily vacuuming and bi-monthly replacement of the torn squares. You can also try that clear plastic rug protector that they sell at hardware stores - most bunnies prefer to hover around the edges of the room, so you could run lengths along the walls. Is there a kitchen or other large tiled area you could let her have her out time in? She doesn't need the run of the WHOLE house, a 4'x8' space is plenty big for some laps and some binkies. You could use gates to confine her although you may need to run a wall of grids along the baseboards to prevent her from tasting the cupboards. I'm not going to yell at you for not doing more research, but I'll use this as an opportunity to yell at all the lurkers who are being overwhelmed by the fuzzy pictures and are thinking about a rabbit of their own. Rabbits are DIFFICULT pets. They ALWAYS cause problems - behavioral, financial, hygenic, medical, or social. Turn images off, read this drat thread top to bottom and pay attention to the horror stories. Then find a rescue who will tell you the truth about living with a rabbit, will provide ongoing mentoring and support, and will provide a promise to take her back and rehome her if it doesn't work out.
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Sep 5, 2007 15:06
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sgocity posted:I suppose I could keep her cage in my living room and then when I'm not using the washer/dryer I could try to herd her into the kitchen and then put up a baby gate or something. But that doesn't sound like that good of a plan. She's not all that easy to herd (I've tried), and like most rabbits she hates being picked up. No, you're right, don't put her cage there, and don't force her to be picked up, but DO herd her over there for free time. You can use grids and zipties to constrict a little highway for her to run in, which folds up nicely for storage once she's out of the way. You can also try to train her that if she runs right into the kitchen she will find a plate of greens waiting, and if she runs right back to her cage she will find some pellets or a craisin. I have a pair I'm working on who are very handshy and we have to use the same setup because they can't play nice with my other rabbits. Only with these two, they have a huge rubbermaid container of a litterbox, and they've learned that if they jump in the litterbox when I come over to the cage, the litterbox magically flies up and transports them to the wonderful kitchen playpen.  Getting them to go back in the cage is more of a challenge so far.sgocity posted:...I have had rabbits before, so I knew to an extent what I was getting myself into... Exactly why you didn't get yelled at. You did the right thing and someone took it as an opportunity to foist their problem off on you. sgocity posted:I guess it would have been better to rely on the humane society as a supplementary source of knowledge - to do research on my own as well as talking to them. *sigh* Live and learn. Again, it's hard for me to fault you here. Seriously, who expects the Humane Society to lie to them about animal care? Who the gently caress expects to have to spend 6 months learning about an animal which is available on every drat corner for $5? NOBODY. That's what makes my job so drat hard. The minimum amount of research and preparation required, is *completely* and *justifiably* unreasonable to the average person. It's only the pain of experience that teaches the crucial message: rabbits are BAD pets unless you have a lot of free time and extra money and are looking for ways to rid yourself of both. You did okay and it's just a shame you had to be one of the ones who gets the hard learning curve. The only thing that could possibly have been a red flag here was them saying "take her even though you don't have any supplies". That sounds a bit like "it fell of the back of a truck and I need to get it out of my garage before my dad comes home." But as you say, live and learn.
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Sep 5, 2007 21:37
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Chiken n' Waffles posted:My bunny likes to sleep in his first litter box so I bought him a second and put it where he's stacking up his poo's. Should I put some poos and pee'd on chips in the 2nd box to let him know that's where he's supposed to do his business? If he's not using either box, sure. But it's perfectly normal to have one clean box for snoozing/hay munching and one box which is used as the "dirty" box. luscious posted:I'm so pissed about this and heartbroken every time more pee shows up. They may NEVER get the hang of this. You may have to either confine them to a non-bed area, or use fences to block access to the bed. I had one rabbit whose problem was chewing rather than peeing - she would chew the sheets right down to and through the mattress any time she could. She never did learn that it was not ok, so I basically had to use a an exercise pen to block off that half of the room if I was not in there. And even then, if I forgot and walked out of the room without putting the fence back up, I'd come back in to find her on the bed. If you don't like the look of the fence-across-the-room, maybe you could get a canopy bed and keep the curtains down...
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Sep 13, 2007 21:42
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TheDeadKnow posted:So now Momo is neutered! And it only cost me $70 at a low-cost spay-neuter place. Don't forget that it will take at least 30 days for Momo's hormones to die down. Don't try ANY intros prior to that time, or you're likely to have to start over. If you take one of these girls, I'd recommend that you use the 30 day period to quarantine her (perfect time for a spay too). You don't want to risk her having any bugs, internal or external, and transmitting that to Momo. Kitten Revolution is a good choice because it kills almost all internal as well as external parasites, and 30 days should show you if she has any URIs or similar.
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Sep 17, 2007 15:21
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angelicism posted:I need to pop by the pet store in a couple days anyway since I'm getting low on hay/food/litter so I'll see what else I can pick up that would remotely amuse her. Plastic bird toys? What are those? Actually the best toys are things you make at home. They like digging and chewing. The favorite toys in my rescue are old phone books for digging and tearing, cardboard boxes for chewing holes in, and small paper bags filled with hay and folded closed. Many (but not all) also like those plastic baby keys you can get in the baby aisle at the grocery store - they just like throwing them. Bird toys have never been a huge hit with anyone. Here's a nice list of toy ideas. Here's some links to online sources for great toys - you can check those sites for other ideas. Busy Bunny has one of the BEST selections, all of these are hands down winners every time. NMR posted:
http://www.rabbit.org is the DEFINITIVE source. Anything that contradicts that is just plain wrong.
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Sep 24, 2007 14:34
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Yokohead posted:I've always wanted to bond a baby bunny and a kitten and have read online some success stories; has anyone here done that? I wouldn't want to deprive a rabbit of proper social happiness, Cats and rabbits can get along and can even become "friends" but they can't bond as a substitute for same-species companionship. See all the reasons given here.
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Sep 25, 2007 16:14
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sunburnt_aphid posted:How much do bunnies cost? How does a person go about finding a bunny breeder or humane society to adopt them? Or is it still good to get one from PetSmart? I've been thinking about a bunny for awhile, but I want to be sure I know all about how to care for them first. I don't even know if they are supposed to get shots or how long they live! What is the official name for bunnies, is it Domesticated Rabbit? https://www.rabbit.org will answer all of these questions. You literally need to read every single link in the FAQ until you have it memorized: If you are totally unfamiliar with rabbits, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do about *six months* of research before adopting one. Do NOT buy from a breeder or petstore. Tell me your zip code and I will tell you the nearest rescue or shelter, they will help you with your education.
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Sep 28, 2007 15:04
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sunburnt_aphid posted:I live in North Seattle, zip 98125. I'm not adopting a bunny until after I've moved, so I have many months to prepare. I think it would be a good idea to visit the shelter before the trip to adopt one, to get as much information as possible. I will start with an older rabbit, one who needs a home and love very much. I got the idea from my friend Kelly, who has a little black bunny. He's adorable, and I've raised mice and dwarf hamsters before, I have a liking for small animals, even though I know a rabbit is much different than a mouse. This sounds like a good plan. One of the best things you can do is offer to *foster* bunnies for a while before you adopt. The rescue will provide supplies and guidance every step of the way. It also lets you meet lots of different bunnies so you can get a sense of which personality works best for you: for example, you may initially want a dwarf but after some fostering you find that they're too high-energy, and a lazy ol New Zealand is really what you want.  You have an HRS chapter right near you: Seattle HRS. I'd start with them. Go ahead and make contact now - let them know you're starting your search early with lots of background reading, that impresses them. They may invite you to come meet some bunnies at events and just talk about what you're looking for. The Seattle Shelter also does rabbit adoptions and they seem to do it well. You have to be more wary of shelters than rescues, as county shelters are really hit-and-miss for knowledge, as several people in this thread have seen. But these folks do spay and neuter and are familiar enough with intros to know that not all re-intros work out. They'd be a good second choice.NMR posted:The faqs were a lot of help but the stories written from the rabbit's perspective were kind of weirding me out. Yeah I actually hate that, both because it's just annoying, and because it gives people the false sense that these are little humans in fur coats. NMR posted:The kind of questions I have aren't really in a FAQ anywhere though. I find it very difficult to tell what a rabbit is thinking. Is he enjoying sitting in my lap, is he scared of me when he bolts, am I playing with him or annoying him... I know the basic things: if he relaxes and closes his eyes when I pet him he's probably liking it, clicking his teeth I'm assuming is a sign of being content, licking my face is affection. It's very hard to learn this, basically it takes time and observation. There are a few guides that are about 50% humor and 50% accurate. The dancing (I always interpreted that noise as "whuh whuh whuh") is PAY ATTENTION TO ME. In an intact male it may mean "I am getting ready to rape your feet". Nose nudging - a (neutered) rabbit only ever wants two things - food and petting. Nudging is probably for petting, nipping for food. Interestingly, the licking isn't affection so much as an attempt to get you to engage in allogrooming: I lick you, now you lick (pet) me. A rabbit who licks is more submissive than one who just lowers his head until he gets petted - typically in a bonded pair, the sub does most of the grooming and the dom just sits there and enjoys it. a gaylord faget: Rexes can be prone to hair loss if their diet isn't perfectly balanced, nutrientwise. You may need to change the diet and supplement with something (depending on which deficiency is found). For one of my minirexes it was amino acid drops; she had been on a sugar and fat diet for about 6 years. Looked like a bowling ball with a head. Definitely check with the vet.
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Oct 1, 2007 15:14
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girlscoutdropout posted:Thanks, I really needed to hear that. I guess in the scheme of things, 6-8 months of bondning is nothing compared to the 10+ years I will have them. I just don't understand what Lucy's deal is, Jack tries to be sweet, he grooms her an everything. She's just my little attack bunny. We've been trying to bond Noelle to Flax - on and off - since Summer of 2006. This February I finally got them both back from foster and decided to do it myself. They bonded in mid-August. So don't give up!
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Oct 2, 2007 15:24
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Deceptor101 posted:Also, anyone have any real luck with name recognition? Ben doesn't respond at all, and sometimes Annie seems to, but other times there's nothing, so I'm not sure. Is it worth trying for or do they lack that cognitive ability? They lack the cognitive ability to learn their names, as they don't have a sense of self the way humans do. However, they *do* have an amazing ability to learn almost ANYTHING if food is involved, so you just need to associate a sound with food. So if you call "Ben & Annie" EVERY time you have food - using the SAME tone and SAME phrases - you'll eventually get a response. My 7 year old New Zealand, Roo, ignores any variant of his name except "Rooooooooster!" because that's how I greeted him for about 2 years when I brought him his dinner. So if he's sleeping in his hay box and I want to wake him up, we can play this game: Roo! (no response) Roooo! (one ear goes up) Rooooo-roooooo! (eyes half open) Rooooooooooster! (leaps into a joyful dinner dance, followed by pouting when he realizes there's no food)
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Oct 4, 2007 15:06
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Rrail posted:
Four is not too late to littertrain. I trained a 10 year old who was outside on wire his whole life. He's still not perfect but it's an improvement over his first few months with me. You'll want to buy large, shallow rubbermaid storage bins to use as litterboxes (like 4"x12"x18") and you'll need several. One in each corner at least. Gradually you use smaller or less boxes until accidents only happen in the corner with a box. Remember: The bigger the cage, the easier it will be to litter train him. Rabbits like to have a sense of being able to get away from their toilets, even if they paradoxically spend lots of time chilling in the box. A cage which forces the rabbit to be within 1' of his urine at all times, is almost always too small for litter training to be effective. The whole cage feels like a litterbox to him. If you use coroplast as a cage base, any accidents clean up with paper towels and white vinegar. If you don't have access to coro, a scrap of linoleum works well. You can even use those floor protectors designed to go under office chairs. Coro just has the benefit of being made into a box so any urine accidents don't run off the edge. The cat box makes me nervous: if you are using clay or clumping litter for the cat, the rabbit should NOT have access to it. If they ingest it, it will cause blockage and death. Use Carefresh, Yesterday's News, or Feline Pine for the rabbit boxes.
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Oct 10, 2007 15:09
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Queen of Roses posted:
Goddamn. I just left the Triangle and am still running ACR&S down there, remotely. We don't have any rescue buns right now because I don't have any bunny foster homes, but I can connect you with my NC adoption coordinator and she can help you out. Post your email, or look at any the URLs of my posted photos, and contact me through the email on my site. Do NOT go to Bunny Matters. I have serious problems with them. Among other things, they don't spay and neuter prior to placement, which is crucial. They also don't always provide pre-adoption vet care, preferring to rely on "aura adjustment".  Best bets would be Triad Rabbit Rescue, Cape Fear Rabbit Rescue, or the SPCA in Garner. I can give you the low-down on what to expect from all of them, as well as help you decide what pair would be best for you given your situation.
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Oct 19, 2007 17:47
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Queen of Roses posted:Yeah, we were thinking of constructing the wire cube/zip tie habitat OR getting one of those puppy circle pens, are they called X-pens? It looks kind of like a playpen for babies. Thanks for the heads-up, will definitely check with rescues before investing money on anything. When my family bought our Sheltie, our breeder did much of the same procedure, minus the house call, so that kind of intensity about pets is normal for me. You can also make your own X-pen out of leftover grids. Much cheaper than the puppy pens! My NC coordinator makes grid cages and can help you with this, or just show you where to get materials. Queen of Roses posted:I was looking at this site: http://www.raleighrodentrescue.org but there's this big disclaimer about how they don't keep rabbits. But there's rabbits featured. 3R is a good rescue, but they don't have much rabbit experience. She doesn't have any rabbit-friendly foster homes, but she has one or two herself that she got stuck with from local shelters, and it's a problem because she has terriers who are very prey driven. She doesn't spay or neuter and doesn't litter train, but otherwise her animals are well cared for. So as long as you don't mind doing that stuff yourself, she'd be a good choice. She needs those bunnies gone before her terriers go nuts.
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Oct 19, 2007 18:05
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I should lob them an email and ask what's up with that.
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Queen of Roses posted:Oh really? Do tell. Most of my rescue buns are in open-topped pens, 2 grids high by 2.5 grids wide by 6 grids long. Get some zip ties at the hardware store and you build it pretty much like sewing - it also folds up into an accordion shape for storage when you're done. Queen of Roses posted:Oh. It can be a slight pain, but mostly they *want* to use a litterbox so you just have to go slow about giving them access to more and more space, until you are sure that they "get it". Most failures come from "I gave my bunny one litterbox and then let her have the run of the entire house and she doesn't seem to know where the box is!" Read up on the litterbox page on rabbit.org; or I can give you some tips from personal experience. Queen of Roses posted:Yeah, and spay/neutering is a given. That's another question, vets. Are all vets trained to deal with rabbits, or will we need to find a specialist of sorts? Any leads on that if so? No, they are NOT all trained to deal with rabbits, so yes, you absolutely need a specialist, and be prepared to travel to find one. Here is my list of recommended vets. Actually I need to take Dr Ward off that list, he's retired. Frankly you should go to A&E regardless of cost and distance. I think they are moved/are moving into Briar Creek just off 540, so that should be pretty convenient from almost anywhere. They are the people I took my personal pets to as well as the most difficult rescue cases. They cost more but they are absolutely worth it. I'd strongly suggest getting a rabbit who is *already* spayed or neutered. It just makes your life so much harder to deal with either intact rabbit pee-marking, or post-op care (stasis etc) right after getting a first bun. I'll email you links to the folks you should talk to.
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Oct 19, 2007 18:30
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Master_Jay posted:Since I can't get the bunny fixed when it's pregnate, what the hell am I going to do with a billion baby rabbits? Actually you can spay a pregnant rabbit quite safely, unless she's very near full term. Get to a specialist vet ASAP so they can determine how far along she is and schedule the surgery quickly if they still can. If you post your zip code I can help you find a good vet for her.
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Oct 22, 2007 14:31
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pauliesyllabic posted:have tried my hand at rebonding them, but nothing is taking so far. What exactly are you trying? I have a post upthread detailing the bonding process, basically a summary of the information here (be sure to read the links on the right too). Let me know what your process is and maybe I can give you some pointers that might improve matters. However, two weeks post-neuter also isn't long enough for the hormones to get out of his system, it needs at least a month. I'd leave them in side-by-side enclosures with NO interaction attempts, for at least another 4 weeks, THEN start the bonding process, with focus on dryer rides and side-by-side petting rather than free interaction. It may take a while; it took me nearly 8 months to bond my latest pair. They really do benefit just from being near one another (although definitely not as much as from being together) so it's not cruel to delay that long, as long as they can see and smell and preferably sniff noses through the grids. If that doesn't work out, I'd recommend contacting a rabbit rescue rather than trying the shelter again. Explain the situation - most rescues would be happy to do a trade, especially since your rabbit is already neutered (the biggest cost to intake).
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Oct 23, 2007 14:47
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pauliesyllabic posted:Thanks for the reply. I guess I'm a little weirded out because this came on after months of happy cohabitation. I've spent some time on rabbit.org, and the one thing that worries me is the mention that male bonded pairs just do this every now and then. Hopefully that won't be the case with mine. I've never had that problem with my bonded males, although admittedly we're talking 2 pairs, both rabbits neutered long before bonding started. One thing to remember is that once you start bonding, any disruption to the process basically means "start over". So side-by-side cages will do wonders, and you won't see any progress until they are in sight and nose of each other 24-7. An excellent bonding cage is made using those shelf grids from Target or Bed Bath & Beyond. Grab some zip ties from the hardware store and make a grid wall which is 2 grids wide by 12 grids long. Set it upright and fold into a box, making a cage 2 grids deep by 4 grids wide, with the opening in the center of the front long wall. Make another wall 2 grids by 2 grids, and use it to divide the cage down the middle from front to back. Use caribiners or binder clips to secure each door to the center divider. You now have a joined pair of 2x2 cages, each with it's own door:  When they finally do bond, you just take out the divider and you have a 2x4, perfect for two rabbits. Note: the grids are 14" long, so a 2x4 is actually 28"x56".
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Oct 25, 2007 16:06
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Deceptor101 posted:I have a question for those of you with a bonded pair: Sounds about normal. Yes, once they've established a pecking order, most dominance displays end. However, they may start up again if one of the pair is not doing their duty, ie, not grooming when the other wants it, sitting where the other wants to sit, etc. You're doing perfectly by continuing to break it up. DOOM Rabbit posted:I recently got a letter from Avian and Exotic about their moving. I need to take my buns in for vet appointments in November so I've gotta give them a call. Since I got the moving letter, I assume they've already moved. Yep, they moved - their new setup is unbelievable. I haven't seen the office itself but I saw the blueprints - wet and dry lab space, five times as many exam rooms, quarantine rooms, surgery rooms, etc. For all that their prices are usurious I'm happy they've put it back into the clinic rather than into buying gold plated rolexes for Dr Dan!Queen of Roses posted:So, I showed my fiance Sugar and Spice and his only comment was, "So when do you want them?" AWESOME. Lindsay said they were sweet buns, I can't wait to see them go to a good home. You might want to go ahead and contact SPCA and let them know you're interested; maybe even fill out an app. If they are already placed when you get back from your honeymoon, I've had three surrender offers in the last three days, including an almost bonded pair in Charlotte who'll be going up on Petfinder soon. So we can definitely hook you up either way. Queen of Roses posted:Question on cage placement: Where should it go? We spend a lot of time in our second bedroom, as we've made it an office with our computers and a second TV. I'd love to put the buns in there but my guy is ADAMANT that there's too many cables for us to cover them all. So I'm measuring and brainstorming about a better spot. Where do you all put your rabbits? You could probably wrap all those cables but it would take lots of money and time, and it may not be worth the chance that they'll still find something to nibble on. You can make a small gate of grids so that while you are in that room, they can run up and down the hall and peek in to see you. Living room or close to the kitchen (like a dining nook if you have one) would probably be best. I'd say do not put them in your bedroom unless you're a really deep sleeper. They start to get active about 4am which is not fun on a work night. Queen of Roses posted:You rabbit goons are so nice. I'm already thanking you for all of the help and I don't even have rabbits yet! We live to serve. Both for you and DOOM Rabbit, if you shop at Phydeaux and need any special attention, talk to the highly-pierced guy named Mo. He was one of my foster parents (and adopted two of my piggies!) and has helped several people with their bunnies.
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Oct 26, 2007 15:02
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NMR posted:It's some pretty high quality wool carpet that my parents had lying around and I don't think he chews on it or anything but the vet said newspapers would be better. And also that I should stop giving him hay for a while. DON'T stop feeding him hay. That's a sure-fire route to stasis or malloclusion. Instead, switch brands. If you are feeding store-bought, try some bought online or from a equine hay supplier. You can also try switching types - I assume you are feeding timothy? Do you have access to bluegrass, orchard grass, or bermudagrass there? For my first few months up here in Wisconsin, the Oxbow was VERY dusty - I felt a lot of it (like 10lbs per 50lb box) was being wasted, and my vet friend felt her rabbit was sneezing overly-much because of it. Both of us switched to KM's Hayloft. She went with a timothy-bluegrass mix, and her bunny's sneezing seemed to reduce dramatically. I went to all bluegrass and I think we're wasting less than a pound per 40lb box. NMR posted:I don't think it's very common in the Netherlands to fuss this much over a rabbit. Kudos to you for going above and beyond, then. girlscoutdropout posted:The cubes sold at Bed Bath and Beyond or more like wise mesh rather than the 1 x 1 inch squares like I use for pens. I got those and zip tied them to make a barrier for all the wires under my desk. That is an EXCELLENT idea.
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Oct 26, 2007 18:59
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