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FactsAreUseless posted:*rabbits are fighting again* Personal space flare-ups like that can mean that somebody isn’t currently bought-into the bond/colony or, more likely, that some stressor beats out the warm fuzzy feelings. Low level environmental stress can be a big factor. Are you scrutinizing/hovering over them or walking in and out of the room a lot when you have them together? Peering around the door? Or cleaning the cages/grooming them/generally hassling them a bunch around shared time? I’d try to make myself as unthreatening as possible. Read a book/watch TV/play video games/eat/do computer poo poo for a few hours while you watch them. If they’re relaxed about what you’re doing they’ll often be less jumpy and aggressive with each other. Also- do they have easy access to neutral (unclaimed) food, water, hay, litter box, toys, and hides when they’re together? The last two can be biggies, and the cage that you pointed out might be key. Rabbits don’t like to share things with non-bondmates in general and they really don’t like to share their personal nests. If you just have an open space and their two cages as the only hides then you may be inadvertently stressing them out by putting them on their guard every time their cage is intruded upon/they enter a space that “belongs” to someone else. This can happen even though they might want to spend time together and huddle. Rabbits are weird like that. It can also trigger dominance jockeying when one rabbit goes ahead and tries to mark the other’s cage. Put a few cardboard boxes and tunnels and stuff in the space for them to use together and explore individually. Maybe consider having 2+ unclaimed hides in there at first and don’t put the cages in the shared space at all. Also, a distracted and safe-feeling rabbit is less likely to notice the other going into his cage if you decide to leave them open and accesible. It’s also probable that one rabbit is more bought-in than the other and his attempts at grooming and snuggling behavior are being met with resistance. Bonding rabbits frequently go through rough patches as they figure out each other’s grooming and personal space tolerances. Grooming too hard or too eagerly or for too long can often get a nip in response. It’s also not uncommon for bonded rabbits to establish some degree of dominance/submission with jockeying happening in the early days of the relationship. It’s important to make sure that it doesn’t cross over into bullying or that the relationship is too imbalanced, however. Other things worth trying: Try mixing a scoopful of each rabbit’s litter box contents into the other’s litter. Maybe add a little bit more every day between litter box cleanings so that they get increasingly used to the other’s scent. The same thing can be done with blankets and hides or toys- stick a blanket/hide in each cage and swap them every day or two. You’re doing a good job. trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 08:05 on Feb 3, 2018 |
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Feb 3, 2018 07:54
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Electric Bugaloo posted:*lots of good suggestions* Agreed. Don’t lose sight of the fact that rabbits may share many of the same characteristics but they are individuals with individual personalities. Just like friends may occasionally have an argument, buns can have to work out some poo poo, too.
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Feb 3, 2018 14:42
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Electric Bugaloo posted:Personal space flare-ups like that can mean that somebody isn’t currently bought-into the bond/colony or, more likely, that some stressor beats out the warm fuzzy feelings. What's so strange about it is that they were totally bonded. Zero conflicts. Then boom. My hope is that the younger one has decided to start proving his dominance and they'll work things out soon, but we'll see.
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Feb 3, 2018 21:12
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Honestly FAU it sounds like you know what is up and I didn’t even need to reply the first time. You got this, let us know how it works out.
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Feb 4, 2018 04:35
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ilovebeersooomuch posted:Honestly FAU it sounds like you know what is up and I didn’t even need to reply the first time. You got this, let us know how it works out. We're just going to keep observing them and try to figure things out. They fought during stress bonding today but that was our bad, we let it go too long.
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Feb 4, 2018 05:42
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My current hypothesis: the young one may be going through a late stage of puberty? Even neutered they do develop into adult rabbits.
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Feb 5, 2018 01:10
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It definitely sounds like social hierarchy bullshit to me. And when I say that you got this, I mean that you are clearly well informed and you are doing exactly what I would be doing, for whatever it's worth. I found that flareups can be managed in the short term by providing both rabbits with attention in the form of petting / social grooming. It typically deflates the situation. But if they occupy the same common space, I don't see how you can avoid fights without constant supervision.
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Feb 5, 2018 18:45
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FactsAreUseless posted:My current hypothesis: the young one may be going through a late stage of puberty? Even neutered they do develop into adult rabbits. Yup. They're also still "neurologically male" for all that the bulk of their testosterone supply's been cut, and some never stop acting like it. You probably wouldn't know Jareth was neutered from his behavior. A lot of sex-specific brain patterning happens in the womb and before they're of altering age, and they'll have circulating hormones and their downstream effects for a while post-surgery. Rabbits that get neutered older also tend to keep more of their "wild type" behaviors. I'm curious about the young rabbit's dental predicament. Do you know the reason behind his operation and if there are any specific care issues that you need to worry about? It's possible that he might need his face looked at (infection/abscess/sore/opened suture/food or splinter in the tooth socket/dry socket/irritated nerve ending/etc) or that he just has a really sensitive lip/cheek because of the surgery. My other thought is that he may just be extra high-strung and prone to being stressed because he's handicapped. Rabbits use their incisors for eating and digging, and also for grooming, communication, defense, and dominance behavior. It's not uncommon for injured or handicapped animals to use threat posturing and aggression to compensate for a perceived physical disadvantage (or maybe because of trauma, who knows). He may also be acting out to get the other's attention and set boundaries or communicate discomfort during things like grooming- something that nips with the front teeth are really important for. And you can't really expect the other bun to modify his expectations or understanding too much, he has a lagomorph brain. It's unfortunately not uncommon for rabbits with various handicaps to be difficult bonding partners, and some people will recommend keeping them alone full-stop or with other special care buns. As you continue the bonding journey, I would work towards keeping them in the same cage and using the same litter/food/etc. That should be the end goal and you should definitely still be aggressive with it. I wonder if in some counterintuitive way, you may be destabilizing their budding courtship (for lack of a better term) by separating them at night and housing them mostly separately. They may jockey occasionally for the first few weeks in a shared den, but they won't properly bond if you separate them every night and keep them in separate cages when you aren't letting them out. Not all rabbits bond super closely, and everyone's an individual, and yada yada, but to illustrate- if I were to separate the dominant pair in our trio for more than a few hours they'd legit starve themselves to death. Bonding is like rabbit marriage and keeping them apart for a long time can interfere with that process. But if it's really not working then that may just be how the deal goes down. Handicapped buns need special care and special considerations, and that may mean no bondmate for this particular guy. trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 02:05 on Feb 7, 2018 |
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Feb 7, 2018 02:00
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Electric Bugaloo posted:I'm curious about the young rabbit's dental predicament. Do you know the reason behind his operation and if there are any specific care issues that you need to worry about? Electric Bugaloo posted:As you continue the bonding journey, I would work towards keeping them in the same cage and using the same litter/food/etc. That should be the end goal and you should definitely still be aggressive with it. I wonder if in some counterintuitive way, you may be destabilizing their budding courtship (for lack of a better term) by separating them at night and housing them mostly separately.
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Feb 7, 2018 13:51
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FactsAreUseless posted:You may be right about the trauma, but he bonded to the other rabbit quickly after he recovered from the second surgery. I just can't figure out what could have changed his behavior so quickly. That's really what makes it strange. Not that we had trouble bonding them, but that they bonded instantly and just as quickly started fighting. As I mentioned, it could be something the other rabbit did after the fact- like failing to read this guy’s boundaries or irritating his sensitive face. Like you said, puberty and hormones may be playing a role, as could the young bun becoming an adult. Rabbits jockey for status and getting a bit bigger and older may be driving this guy to act out more. That type of behavior usually drops as the relationship stabilizes. FactsAreUseless posted:The reason we hadn't combined their cages was mostly logistics - we don't have a single cage big enough, and we're not sure how to attach the two cages securely. In my years of rabbit keeping I’ve used various dirt cheap means to temporarily/semi-permanently attach exercise pens to cages/combine ex-pens into giant ex-pens/secure litter boxes in cages where the rabbit has an interior design plan that simply cannot fly/etc. Twist ties are the most readily available, and you probably have a bunch in your kitchen right now. They work well enough, usually on the weaker end (a determined rabbit will snap them so double/triple up), but I personally don’t like using them anywhere a rabbit might be or easily access. If they’re brightly colored and plasticky they can draw chewing attention, and they’re full of sharp wire that’s relatively easy to break or bite off a piece of. Also sharp edges and protruding rabbit eyes and all that. Works in a pinch but there are better options. If you want something mostly permanent, zip ties work quite well but you’ll have to cut them to disassemble your work. Also make sure you cut down the ends to prevent chewing/swallowing. BY FAR the best method I’ve found for combining cage/fence/pen material is the humble office butterfly clip. I tend to use the medium ones or bigger, depends on what I have handy and what fits/what the use is. They’re dead easy to take on/off, they’re reusable, and you can get a bag of them for like $1.50 at Staples. Or you can get them for free at work like we did. Small cheap carabiners and key rings are also good. trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 20:06 on Feb 7, 2018 |
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Feb 7, 2018 18:16
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I have a question that might seem a bit strange so let me give this post some context. I've been reducing my household waste dramatically over the past year (we're somewhere in the 50 to 60% reduction range) which is great but has lead to an unexpected issue: our garbage bin is now 50% bunny litter and since we empty it less frequently it smells more. The obvious answer here would be to have a smaller bin and empty it more frequently but as you can imagine I'm looking for a better solution, reducing my waste and all. Broussette has to do her part.  The most obvious way to deal with it would be to compost it all but unfortunately that's not an option at the moment. (I live in a big city, the residents in my building don't want a common compost and all public composts in the neighborhood have a waiting list longer than the queue at a Bieber concert) So here's what I have to work with: - A vermicompost: probably not a solution here, my fuzzy poop factory produces way more waste than the worms could absorb and the smell would be even worse. - Potted plants: ??? - Potty training  Seriously I'm out of ideas. This is the litter we use by the way Pictured below: the problem.  
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Feb 10, 2018 11:21
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If the issue with a smaller bin is the garbage bags (which I'm assuming it is) just have a smaller waste bin for your rabbit rubbish, and when it's full take it out to the trash and flip it upside down into the dumpster or whatever, and leave the same bag in there. It's what the cleaners at work do and the same bag ends up staying in the trash can for weeks sometimes as long as the bags integrity isn't compromised or something gross got all over the bag. Also, your bun is beautiful.
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Feb 10, 2018 15:16
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BAE OF PIGS posted:If the issue with a smaller bin is the garbage bags (which I'm assuming it is) just have a smaller waste bin for your rabbit rubbish, and when it's full take it out to the trash and flip it upside down into the dumpster or whatever, and leave the same bag in there. It's what the cleaners at work do and the same bag ends up staying in the trash can for weeks sometimes as long as the bags integrity isn't compromised or something gross got all over the bag. Thanks ! It's a good idea, I actually already reuse the bag for my recycle bin (cardboard, aluminum...) so I could do the same here. Ideally the idea would be to not throw any of that in the landfill but I don't think it's realistic without an actual compost. 
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Feb 10, 2018 16:40
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Could you dump it in a giant Rubbermaid bin that seals tight so the smell doesn't get out, and keep it outside or somewhere out of the way, and then take it somewhere to dump once it gets full? Somewhere you're legally allowed to dump it that isn't a landfill and it will be allowed to breakdown? Do places like CSAs let people do that? Or farms that want free fertilizer? He'll, maybe even make a post on Craigslist or something stating it's all ecologically friendly stuff that could be added to their own composting bin.
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Feb 10, 2018 18:06
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A friend is very experienced with bunnies. Her family has had pet bunnies and they all live forever. And she adopts bunnies that nobody really wants. The issue is that one of the two bunnies will not use her litter box and hasn't since she was adopted a few years ago. Different apartments, cities, techniques, etc... No dice. The bunnies have their own wood platform (like a pallet with a solid, not slotted top) in her living room. The pee and poop will go over the edge of the platform and get into her hardwood floors. Yuck. Any solutions? Off the top of my head, I was thinking to create a plastic bottom tray for the platform and she can wipe it down daily and give it a good clean every so often. But I would need to know what type of plastic to use, the right adhesive to create a lip to the tray, and the right filler to fill in those joints/pieces to the tray. If anybody has experience in building something like this, the buns would be eternally grateful. It's the bunny's birthday in a few weeks and this would make a great birthday gift for her 
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Feb 12, 2018 07:59
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BAE OF PIGS posted:Do places like CSAs let people do that? Or farms that want free fertilizer? He'll, maybe even make a post on Craigslist or something stating it's all ecologically friendly stuff that could be added to their own composting bin. That could actually be viable, I regularly buy products from an organic farm not too far away that might be interested in free fertilizer. I'll check with them
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Feb 12, 2018 15:12
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gracie is starting to have trouble. she had fallen over at some point in the night and couldn't get up. when I tried to right her, she just fell right back over, I guess her legs were asleep maybe. she fell over a couple more times this morning. but she still seems happy. eating kale and moving around on her own. this is tough, you guys.
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Feb 12, 2018 18:55
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A small (equal) amount of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and a splash of your favorite scented mouthwash mixed together and added when you clean out the bin can help reduce the odor. Also helps with bunny "onion pee" when marking territory.
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Feb 12, 2018 20:03
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The Walrus posted:gracie is starting to have trouble. she had fallen over at some point in the night and couldn't get up. when I tried to right her, she just fell right back over, I guess her legs were asleep maybe. she fell over a couple more times this morning. but she still seems happy. eating kale and moving around on her own. I truly feel for you. Maybe just spending some quiet time together would make you feel a little better? I'm sure Gracie would appreciate your company.
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Feb 12, 2018 20:06
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ilovebeersooomuch posted:I truly feel for you. Maybe just spending some quiet time together would make you feel a little better? I'm sure Gracie would appreciate your company. that's the plan. we haven't been sitting on the couch at all, just being on the ground with her. shes been such a good little bun. and shes still so dang brave. she must be in a ton of pain but she still gets around as best she can.
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Feb 12, 2018 20:42
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Portrait Of A Rabbit
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Feb 15, 2018 16:27
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What an absolute cutie! Here's Harriet scrambling over my girlfriend (who refers to Harriet as her step bunny).  Also, Harriet is getting smarter. She has been using a paper towel roll as a battering ram against the gate of her enclosure......
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Feb 15, 2018 19:41
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Avery chews on the door to his cage like it's made out of rosemary-and-alfalfa-encrusted carrots. Even if he literally JUST hopped back in after hours out and we shut his cage to give one of the other buns time out, he starts chewing on it. He also likes to bat at his water bottle like it's trying to fight him. Him and his one floppy fuckin' ear I can't even take seriously.
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Feb 15, 2018 23:06
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After losing Mrs Bun and Mr Bun, I have a solo bunny called Lola. She's a havana rabbit, about 3 years old. She's nuts and loves destruction and mayhem, like most rabbits. In December, she stopped eating and pooping, so I brought her to a local vet who said he had experience with rabbits. They kept her for a week, saying it was her teeth causing issues, and had an ulcer as a result. She came back and was happy and crazy as normal for a while, but New Years Day went downhill again. She went back to the vet again who kept her for a few days, and said I needed to include fruit and veg in her diet. I explained she already gets lots of veg, and he said 'Well I don;t know then. She can go home now, she's fine' The next day, she still hadn't passed anything, so I brought her the 100km to the exotics vet, who did blood tests, xrays, and an ultrasound, all showing nothing. They suspected it might be e.cunniculi, so she came home a few days later with zantac and panacur. She improved a bit, but then a week later, stopped eating and pooping again. Back to the vet again, they couldn't see anything, so ran all the tests again, but this time they noticed she had an enlarged heart. So she was sent home again on baytril ( just in case) cardisure, zantac, pain relief, diuretics and critical care ( still not eating). She's been on the heart medications now for 2 weeks, and she's back eating, pooping, obliterating cardboard boxes, and binkying. It was two months of vet visits, sleepless nights, tears, and a vet bill of over a thousand euro, but I'm so relieved to have her back to what passes for normal for Lola. But! Does anyone have any experience of a bunny with an enlarged heart? Occasionally she'll be running about, and she'll stop and grind her teeth once quickly, then she'll run off doing bun stuff again. Does this mean she's in constant pain, or just a once off? I don't know if I'm doing the best for her, she's still binkying and honking and looking for headrubs and snuggles. Silverfish fucked around with this message at 00:01 on Feb 16, 2018 |
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Feb 15, 2018 23:59
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I'm sorry I can't help, but pics please
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Feb 16, 2018 20:47
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Oh okay yes pics of Lola Havana Helping me vote on the Eurovision  Falsely accused of something or other  NOSERUBSNOSERUBS 
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Feb 16, 2018 21:11
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Harriet was determined to show the vet she is her perfect self tosay and feeling great. She did so by doing a jumping headbutt from the scale to my throat then landing on the floor and making s break for it.
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Feb 16, 2018 21:40
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Carrots has found a new favorite spot to lounge during the day.  He was also not very happy to be at the vet the other day. He ran all over the counter and knocked everything over. The vet tech was able to hold him for a minute while they got his temp.  "You're going to put that thermometer WHERE?" BAE OF PIGS fucked around with this message at 17:54 on Feb 25, 2018 |
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Feb 25, 2018 17:51
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Imagine my absolute loving HORROR when I find Zuba's coat to be scraggly-looking and her cage full of hair. Thank you, Zubias, for allowing Daddy to panic over your winter molt! Scared the poo poo out of me when I pulled chunks of fur out like they were just sitting on your skin.
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Feb 26, 2018 16:36
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We're reaching critical mass cuteness for this page.  D34THROW posted:Imagine my absolute loving HORROR when I find Zuba's coat to be scraggly-looking and her cage full of hair. I can imagine the panic, mine sheds something crazy as well. (Lionhead, aka: failed angora) I use a brush to expedite the process but she doesn't seem to like it. I could seriously craft a second bunny out of that extra hair, stick some googly eyes on it for good measure...
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Feb 26, 2018 18:27
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Lmao you guys. We have a lionhead, an English spot, and a fuzzy lop sharing the same space and enclosure. We got an air purifier for that room just to suck up all of the free-floating hairs. Every time we clean their cage, we vacuum-brush the carpeting for like 20 solid minutes. Every time they start a molt, we can fill a medium trash bag with all of the loose hair we groom off of them. I could go on.
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Feb 26, 2018 21:18
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grace loves pain meds
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Feb 28, 2018 13:14
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Carrots has discovered that making an incredibly loud ruckus at 6 am will get him breakfast. We try not to give in, but holy gently caress dude stop throwing poo poo around in your cage and digging. If we leave him with extra food, I'm sure he'll just eat it all right away at night. We also leave with with plenty of hay, which he will devour, but he doesn't want that for breakfast. That's for snacking throughout the day I guess.
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Mar 11, 2018 15:57
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BAE OF PIGS posted:Carrots has discovered that making an incredibly loud ruckus at 6 am will get him breakfast. We try not to give in, but holy gently caress dude stop throwing poo poo around in your cage and digging. If he's locked in his cage during the night try covering it with a blanket. Works with most rabbits in my experience. Especially when they chew the bars loudly. Won't prevent him from throwing stuff around but it should really help. edit: not to cover the sound but to darken the inside of the cage. Appeases them for some reason.
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Mar 11, 2018 21:04
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We cover him each night. He's fine until about 6 am, and then he turns into a monster until he gets breakfast. I think it's due to the fact that that's usually when I get up during the week, and he's expecting it, so on weekends when we sleep in a little more, he gets pissed that he hasn't been fed.
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Mar 11, 2018 21:07
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Harriet seems to know that 15 minutes after she hears movement from the bedroom in the morning to get to the bars and stand on her back legs. Then she gets treats. And then when she hears me cutting things in the kitchen, she knows she's getting leafy greens and veggie scraps for dinner. Of course, she somehow has gotten bored of pepper tops, so she needs a new veggie treat. Any thoughts?
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Mar 11, 2018 21:21
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BAE OF PIGS posted:We cover him each night. He's fine until about 6 am, and then he turns into a monster until he gets breakfast. We ended up getting auto feeders for ours (for pellets) for an overnight trip and have kept using them. It significantly cuts down the morning ruckus and means we don’t have to rush home to feed them. They’re still happy to see us because we are still the source of greens and treats. How big is Carrots? For the feeders we have, the big disadvantage is that the smallest increment of food is 1/4 cup. We have 3 flemmies who are all around 12 lb so it’s not an issue, but it might not work for small buns.
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Mar 11, 2018 21:45
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An auto feeder isn't a bad idea, but carrots is pretty tiny, 4.2 lbs. You would think he was a lot more by the way he ravishes any food placed in front of him. We usually give him 1/8th of a cup of pellets in the morning and another 1/8th at night. That's usually followed with a bunch of lettuce and with some of whatever other veggies we happen to have on hand.
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Mar 11, 2018 21:57
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grace is gone. we had a vet come to our apartment and she passed after hours of ear scritches and kale eating. she was the best bun anyone could ask for. this is tough you guys
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Mar 11, 2018 22:47
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The Walrus posted:grace is gone. we had a vet come to our apartment and she passed after hours of ear scritches and kale eating. she was the best bun anyone could ask for. this is tough you guys Condolences man, I know how you must feel rn. 
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Mar 11, 2018 23:03
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