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The main thing I got from that post is that I'm really sad Lillian never licks me. She'll bunnyflop onto her side directly on my lap or next to me, and she will sometimes bite my beard, but no licking.
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Oct 4, 2019 04:06
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Thanks everyone  Glad to hear these are indications she's doing happy and well, and she's a good bun.Just to be sure it's all clear: - She is indeed spayed, and they only let us take her home the day after. She started coming onto the bed just 1 1/2 weeks after, which is why I assumed it might potentially be lack of boundaries early on/hormones. It's been 2 1/2 months now since the spaying, so as far as the hormones go, those should definitely be out of her system, but I read some rabbits could retain these sorts of territorial behaviors forever (she doesn't seem to have it afaik? - she doesn't even use her chin to mark things) - She jumps away when I try to pick her up, but it's not related to bedtime. I forgot to mention, but I put her to bed by putting romaine lettuce in different parts of her cage, and lettuce hunting >>> avoiding bed. I've even seen her in 'bedtime mode' one time in her cage when I came home late, and I hadn't even put her in for the night. - She surprisingly seems to like licking skin most. She licked the carpet once the first time she ever licked me, but always went for skin after (including my friends). The only other time she didn't was when she started loudly licking a paper bag after putting her to bed, but I haven't seen her lick anything else yet, other than herself. Maybe I need to figure out an object she can fall in love with. - Given that she isn't actually looking 'at' me whenever she comes up on the Ottoman when she wants attention, I still wonder why she doesn't actually just do that by turning her head slightly? Makes me wonder if she thinks of herself as a guard bunny or something. She also generally keeps that directional position as I come over from the side, only moving to go into loaf mode. Sassy Sasquatch posted:I've trained Broussette to hop my bedside when I wake up and call her in the morning, it's the cutest thing. This makes me think that if I am able to make her totally free-range again, there is a chance Nancy will dash onto the bed upon sensing I'm awake - although I think like with Broussette and parsley, currently it's more that she knows I'll let her free (and pet her?) more than out of total love, so my mornings might just end up with her mostly ignoring me instead! FactsAreUseless posted:Rabbits are generally more aggressive about peeing in beds and bathrooms This is the first I'm hearing about bathrooms. Is there a reason they are aggressive about peeing there (I'm guessing due to the residual smells make them perceive it as a human litter box)? RichterIX posted:The main thing I got from that post is that I'm really sad Lillian never licks me. She'll bunnyflop onto her side directly on my lap or next to me, and she will sometimes bite my beard, but no licking. That she bunnyflops on you sounds really nice though! Maybe you can get her starting by applying a bit of fruit residue in your beard and see if she tries to lick it clean? I am picturing a very thick and full beard of course.
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Oct 4, 2019 05:05
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(Yes, I know it's because I give her some parsley for it)
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Themata posted:This is the first I'm hearing about bathrooms. Is there a reason they are aggressive about peeing there (I'm guessing due to the residual smells make them perceive it as a human litter box)?
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Oct 4, 2019 20:34
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Oct 8, 2019 04:04
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I just submitted a request to the Vet to put my rabbit down. I feel terrible since this animal has legit been my only friend for the last 4 years. However, Utz has been bruxing a lot and unable to use his litterbox. He's losing fur rapidly and very much in pain. I don't know how how his bondmate is going to react, but i am very much going to miss him.
ChromaticLlama fucked around with this message at 03:21 on Oct 9, 2019 |
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Oct 9, 2019 03:16
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ChromaticLlama posted:I just submitted a request to the Vet to put my rabbit down. I feel terrible since this animal has legit been my only friend for the last 4 years. However, Utz has been bruxing a lot and unable to use his litterbox. He's losing fur rapidly and very much in pain. I don't know how how his bondmate is going to react, but i am very much going to miss him.
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Oct 9, 2019 04:22
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Alternatively, when presented with a new bondmate some buns move on with an immediacy and flipness that I wish I could muster sometimes. You did the right thing. My condolences.
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Oct 9, 2019 06:42
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I am a terrible foster. How does one bond a rabbit when your existing rabbit has free range over the entire house? Backyard? Switch out who gets to be in the cage and who gets to be free-roam? I already hosed up and a bunny tornado happened, so.
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Oct 11, 2019 22:00
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Remora posted:I am a terrible foster. How does one bond a rabbit when your existing rabbit has free range over the entire house? Backyard? Switch out who gets to be in the cage and who gets to be free-roam? You mean they fought? There are like a jillion things rabbits do that could be labeled “bunny tornado” so you gotta be more specific. Swapping their enclosures and scented accoutrements each night (blankets, floor coverings, putting a few scoopfuls of the other rabbit’s used litter and poopies in a rabbit’s litter box) and swapping who gets to be in the cage and out are good tricks. Also the Laundry Hamper of Brainwashing and Forced Friendship Through Shared Trauma helps but don’t overdo it. Some degree of minor fighting is normal in lots of bonding rabbits (esp same sex, regardless of neuter/spay status) as they size each other up and establish who the alpha is. Obviously if it looks like blood will be drawn or like one rabbit is being actively antagonized or prevented from using the space/litter/food then that’s an immediate separation. And they should never be unsupervised, but you knew that already. Are you intending to bond them permanently? Do you plan to keep the foster bun? I think it’s cruel to go through the trouble of seriously bonding two rabbits only to separate them after a short time. But also some rabbits are just naturally friendlier and can hang in a shared space with other buns temporarily (ie if you’ve ever gone to an adoption/outreach/bunny yoga event where they just let like a whole bunch of rabbits roam around in the same space) while others can’t.
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Oct 11, 2019 23:23
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It's been awhile since I posted about my coworker's bunnies, but she put up a post on reddit with this picture. Nutmeg and Bart are both speutered, and Amber is beginning the bonding process! Both are Holland Lops. Bart is on the left, Nutmeg on the right.
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Oct 12, 2019 15:51
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Applesauce got in a bought of stasis overnight. I took him to the vet and he got an IV, painkillers, and degassers administered. After we came home he ate some fresh spinach and drank water but now he's back to being lethargic (except when it comes to running away from me when I'm trying to give him a pill). It's scary. I hope he will be okay.
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Oct 12, 2019 16:44
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goblin week posted:Applesauce got in a bought of stasis overnight. I took him to the vet and he got an IV, painkillers, and degassers administered. After we came home he ate some fresh spinach and drank water but now he's back to being lethargic (except when it comes to running away from me when I'm trying to give him a pill). Poor Applesauce  I have a frequent gut-stasis rabbit ( I posted about her a while back, her heart is too big ) and spinach is one of her super gas foods, we have to avoid it permanently.
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Oct 12, 2019 16:55
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 Harriet enjoys this blanket that is fluffier than her
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Oct 12, 2019 17:22
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We have with some caution, reintroduced Nancy to the bed since the days of her coming down from her post-spay pissing. I started by picking her up and putting her on the bed. She was so confused upon being put there, she looked quite nervous and jumped off. Eventually, she picked up that she was allowed there again and seems to have taken happily to it, even doing a little oink (sounds more like a bee buzz though) before hopping up and coming to me. This evening, she ran over to my side and even flopped twice, and often greets me with licks. I'm not sure what's going through her little bunny brain exactly, but she's been behaving so far, though I have yet to let her on unless supervised, so she might do a surprise pee for all I know. She seems very comfortable when on the bed. Here she is after one of her flops, sitting back up:  A sign of impending trouble?
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Oct 15, 2019 01:43
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The bumble bee noise is the best. Lil only does it while barreling straight at me so I don't know what it means but I like it.
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Oct 15, 2019 01:50
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Appy unclogged himself Now to slowly rebuild the trust lost from him being grabbed multiple times a day to syringe-feed him medicine.
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Oct 15, 2019 09:51
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Ludo's at the vet and I've been on edge all morning, to the point that I've only calmed down because I'm exhausted. He didn't eat his dinner last night, and still hadn't touched it in the morning, so I rushed him in. They're treating him for stasis right now. One thing this has taught me is that, as with birds, it's not enough to have contact info for one or two vets. You need a list of every vet that sees rabbits in a 200-mile radius because there's a very high chance that any given vet is off that day, out of town, has an emergency, or just doesn't do the procedures you need. I wasn't able to book an appointment until 4pm, so I did a walk-in-and-wait. They were stuck in surgery, so they referred me to a place 10 minutes up the road that could see him right away. (It's weird that I wasn't aware of this emergency place; they're partnered with the avian vet that saved my lovebird.) I had to contact three different hospitals to see who could do the follow-up appointment; fortunately, it's the one 45 minutes away and not 2.5 hours away. So in between figuring out the problem I've been calling around all day. The vet noticed one side of his mouth was swollen--I never noticed because there's no inflammation--and he has some malocclusion (upper and lower teeth don't meet correctly). A full-body x-ray revealed he definitely has stasis, and probably a spine/hip dysplasia issue like you see in dogs. That's why his back feels thin and bony even though he's a healthy weight, probably why he gets sore hocks on his right foot, and probably explains the times he doesn't use his litter box. I'm going to need to replace his box or cut down and sand the front of it so he can get in and out more easily. AFAIK these issues aren't common in a rabbit less than 4 years old. I keep freaking out about what I hosed up. I went over with the vet everything that could have caused these issues from improper feeding to improper bedding to improper flooring to improper handling and she said it's a thousand potential causes and you just don't know. I don't expect a vet to honestly tell me "Your rabbit's gonna die because you hosed up" anyway, but if it's something I did then I want to know. I wanted to bring him home, but they can give him better care; I can syringe-feed him but I can't give him fluids subcutaneously. So I'm letting them keep him, and if they can get his bowels moving this evening then they'll call me to pick him up. I can wait until Monday morning to get the dental issues taken care of, but if they can save him from the GI stasis I can come down off the high-wire I've been on since I woke up.
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Oct 18, 2019 18:15
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So. I took Ludo in to get dental x-rays, but their exotic vet said he was very cooperative, she was able to get a good look in his mouth, and she doesn't see any sign of serious malocclusion nor an abscess. She figures his mouth is lopsided because of some injury suffered long ago, like a deviated septum or something. So they just sent him back home with my wife yesterday. He had already regained his normal appetite by Sunday afternoon. No one is sure why he stopped eating. The only takeaway with regard to diet is that I should give him less non-lettuce vegetables. The significant long-term issue is his back problem. I cut down the front of his litter box and sanded the edges, so he can walk in and out of it. He's still getting used to it, but providing a lot of hay directly in the litter box seems to encourage him to use it. He also has a prescription for Metacam now. She told me to give it every other day, or every day if he seems uncomfortable. Unlike most rabbits (or so I'm told) he won't take it from the syringe. He'll eat it with dry food, but he really likes it if I put it in a little coconut water.
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Oct 22, 2019 16:30
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 Nanners has arm hostage. Send help. I don't know if it's the combination of weather cooling down, allowing her on the bed again, and allowing her to be fully free range, but she seems very happy now. I hear her oink (bee buzz) more frequently, especially when on the bed, and she's been binkying a lot more - sometimes racing around the room, dashing onto the bed, then coming over to me in a licking frenzy. She has been behaved about not pissing, although she does scratch at the bed/blanket sometimes, and seems to have taken a liking to licking my pillow. Once she became fully free range again and realized she didn't have to stay in her cage anymore (the first night or so, she did seemingly out of habit), she has taken to hopping onto the bed, usually from around 4-6 AM (waking me up when I feel her feet hit the bed) to lick me wherever my body is exposed out of the blanket (so mainly the face). I wish she wouldn't wake me up earlier than 6, but if it's to come shower me with licks, I guess it's not so bad. 
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Oct 26, 2019 04:19
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   This is Pepper. She has been here for a few hours, and she has already chosen her throne and has been issuing edicts. The edicts call for bananas and greens.
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Oct 27, 2019 02:08
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A new noble in your fortress? Be sure to import all the exotic greens lest she enter a mood. 
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Oct 27, 2019 03:36
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So, I have some cage-shui questions. This is the setup currently: If you're playing Find The Bun, she is hiding behind the crate door; she found her way under there this morning. She's urinating in the litter pan, but not defecating, so much. The foster told me that she doesn't seem to like eating hay direct from the litterbox (I guess she prefers it clean!), so I put a bowl of pellet in there. She's defecating mostly in the crate, which is great, and I was told she is still pretty young (< 6 months) so her toilet habits are probably still forming, but I want to make sure I set up an environment that will be conducive to forming good habits. I'm definitely not using the crate space very well, so I'm trying to think of some ways to improve that. I think I might go get a bigger litter pan today to fill in more of the crate space, and I think I'm going to push the crate all the way back against the wall. I'm also gonna make another cereal box feeder for her near the litter pan, as well as move the lixit over there so she has full food access in the box without getting hey hay mixed with the litter. Any suggestions on arrangement issues that could help me get a better experience here?
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Oct 27, 2019 14:05
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JerikTelorian posted:Any suggestions on arrangement issues that could help me get a better experience here? The biggest problem I see here is that you’re using the back wall as a boundary and you’re discussing pushing the cage/crate against the wall to maximize space. That’s a problem for two reasons- at least with a new bun: 1) that baseboard looks imminently chewable, and if it were literally any rabbit that I have personally known it would become a chew toy in short order, probably overnight, and probably with enough lead time on me catching it for the wall to sustain serious damage and the rabbit to ingest a potentially dangerous amount of wood sealant. I wouldn’t put the enclosure right up against a wall like that, I’d leave maybe a 2-3 inch gap. Enough where the rabbit couldn’t push their face up between the bars and reach said chewable target. It may turn out that she’s not a chewing bun and you can walk that sort of stuff back but I personally wouldn’t want to test it with my baseboards. 2) right now she appears to only be peeing in the litter box. That’s good but not a forever guarantee. Sometimes even well-meaning rabbits miss or position themselves weird or you fill the litter box higher enough than usual that it changes the ergonomics, a piece of hay is disturbed in such a way where pee dribbles down it and collects on the floor, etc. What you seriously don’t want is for the rabbit to hit the wall or floor behind the crate, for the pee (or spilled/dripped water, for that matter) to go underneath the crate or between the crate and the wall, and for you not to catch it until months later when you’re breaking down that enclosure for some random reason and there’s all this massive, disgusting wood damage. If you leave a space between the crate/run and the wall you can easily catch spills or unwanted material and get a paper towel in there before damage happens. Aside from those things: 1. You might want to get a small hay manger for the litter area. They hang on the side of the cage and they’re cheap and they keep the hay away from pee and maybe she’ll like that more. 2. You may find that you want a floor covering of some sort and she may find it more comfortable and less scary to move on. Fleece blankets are decent but they look like rear end and rabbits eat them. I’d recommend old area rugs or cut-to-size carpeting. Watch for abnormal injestion of fibers (some digging and chewing is normal) and put some kind of protective liner (even a cheap plastic painting tarp) underneath so you don’t ruin the floor with pee.
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Oct 27, 2019 14:34
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Thanks for the advice! I ended up taking a chance on the wall because the foster said that she didn't chew during the three-ish weeks she was with her. I do think I'll get a second expen to run around the back just in case, though. Ultimately, my hope is to allow her to free roam within that room, so I'll be keeping a close eye on her. I also backed the crate away from one of the walls to get some more space in there, but clearance along the other wall is going to need to wait till the second expen arrives. I might also run out to Walmart today to see if I can find a rugged 3' runner rug I can run under the whole playspace, as well as a bigger litter box. I'll take a look at the hay feeders they have but I'm always a bit worried about the grid ones giving enough space for the bun to actually pull hay out easily, which is why I made the cereal box one.
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Oct 27, 2019 15:26
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Like every rabbit I've ever had, the Harlequin hates being put back in his cage. Fortunately, he's dumb as a rock, and his favorite place to hide from us so we can't get him is in his cage.
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Oct 30, 2019 00:50
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my dumb idiot broke his leg (probably) tripping while trying to jump out of a box yesterday. he doesn't seem to be in much pain although it's hard to tell with rabbits. he'll put pressure on the leg while he's standing still or bending odown to drink/eat but otherwise he's keeping it up off the ground. i'm trying to take him to the vet but he refuses to let us put him in a carrier. it's hard normally, it's IMPOSSIBLE with him hurt like this do you think a vet would be annoyed if i show up with him in his litter box and the whole thing is inside a laundry basket like a russian stacking doll of rabbit accessories it might not be broken, he had his nails clipped yesterday so it could be anything from the nails being clipped too short to a sprain or a break or anything in between Thumbtacks fucked around with this message at 21:41 on Nov 6, 2019 |
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Nov 6, 2019 21:30
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Thumbtacks posted:my dumb idiot broke his leg (probably) tripping while trying to jump out of a box yesterday. he doesn't seem to be in much pain although it's hard to tell with rabbits. he'll put pressure on the leg while he's standing still or bending odown to drink/eat but otherwise he's keeping it up off the ground. i'm trying to take him to the vet but he refuses to let us put him in a carrier. it's hard normally, it's IMPOSSIBLE with him hurt like this Even putting him butt first in the carrier doesn't work ? At this point I'd say whatever lets you bring him to the vet flies. A matriochka of bunny accessories sounds pretty cute tbh.
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Nov 6, 2019 21:41
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he's uh...weird. can't really pick him up, even the vet needs like three techs.
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Nov 6, 2019 22:17
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due to some trauma before we adopted him he is extremely angry if his freedom is restricted, so like a carrier or blocking off a room. he's gotten better about the latter but it's hard to get him into a carrier. he doesn't like being picked up either, and with his leg weird i don't want to accidentally hurt him that being said he's also extremely affectionate which is a weird combo with anger. he's basically a dog, he'll come up to us and ram our legs if he wants us to pet him, he'll curl up between us on the couch if we're watching stuff, he runs circles around me in the kitchen when i'm preparing his dinner. right now he's under our bed and hasn't moved for a few hours, he'll move eventually but until then i just have to wait him out.
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Nov 6, 2019 22:31
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Nancy has been good for weeks now about being clean on the bed (other than all her fur shedding) but today, I noticed small wet spots left where she was sitting, presumably from her scent glands? It didn't smell like pee, it smelled more... musky? She's spayed, and I'm not clear reading up if this means they need to be cleaned, she's marking territory, or what, nor has her diet changed (she seems to be pooping normally). For now, I put her in time out after seeing it a second time and will ban her from the bed. Is this a medical problem, or is she just trying to sneak in trouble?
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Nov 7, 2019 19:13
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Thumbtacks posted:due to some trauma before we adopted him he is extremely angry if his freedom is restricted, so like a carrier or blocking off a room. he's gotten better about the latter but it's hard to get him into a carrier. he doesn't like being picked up either, and with his leg weird i don't want to accidentally hurt him
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Nov 7, 2019 21:08
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Ended up taking my bed apart and slowly getting him into his litter box, which i then put in my laundry basket and put a blanket over it before whisking him off to the vet. twelve hours and $600 later: Rabbit update: leg isn’t broken, a LOT of soft tissue and muscle swelling. They’re not 100% sure why. He has some painkillers and anti-inflammatory stuff to take. Very sluggish in general which isn’t surprising. Had to mix in his medicine with apple sauce and even with the apple sauce he’s not eating a ton of it immediately like he always does, which is my clue that he REALLY doesn’t feel good. He’s better today though, luckily. This was a good lesson in why pet insurance is important, I’ve spent like 1100+ on him for the last two days. He’s still very drowsy and exhausted. but as cute as always, look at his dumb ears.  i also built him a dig box which should make him happier and will make him stop destroying my carpet but i'll have to wait until he's feeling better for him to really enjoy it.
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Nov 7, 2019 21:18
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Themata posted:Nancy has been good for weeks now about being clean on the bed (other than all her fur shedding) but today, I noticed small wet spots left where she was sitting, presumably from her scent glands? It didn't smell like pee, it smelled more... musky? She's spayed, and I'm not clear reading up if this means they need to be cleaned, she's marking territory, or what, nor has her diet changed (she seems to be pooping normally). For now, I put her in time out after seeing it a second time and will ban her from the bed. Is this a medical problem, or is she just trying to sneak in trouble?
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Nov 7, 2019 21:18
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FactsAreUseless posted:She's marking. Thanks! I'll continue to ban her from the bed for now.
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Nov 7, 2019 21:24
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Thumbtacks posted:Ended up taking my bed apart and slowly getting him into his litter box, which i then put in my laundry basket and put a blanket over it before whisking him off to the vet. twelve hours and $600 later:
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Nov 7, 2019 21:24
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I realized I haven't posted a pic of my chonky disabled son since his recovery. I put the Metacam on the banana.
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Nov 7, 2019 21:26
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he's doing significantly better today than he was yesterday although he's annoyed that he can't jump on the couch or bed or anything right now. i'm just glad it's not something like arthritis or anything, he's very independent and a loss of control like that would probably depress him. if he's still angry about the bed in a day or two i'll probably get a ramp for him, we had one for our dog when she started getting older for the same reason, it would probably help him out. i'm glad it's his front leg, his back would be a lot worse.
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Nov 7, 2019 21:27
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Can he still do steps with his foot the way it is? If so, you might want to consider building steps. My rabbit goes down ramps in a way that can only be described as "barely controlled falling" and I can't imagine that wouldn't hurt him more. I think it's something to do with their front legs being so much shorter.
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Nov 8, 2019 01:23
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Normally he has a two level cage but I rearranged it down to a single story for him now so he doesn't hurt himself going up and down, so I can always use THAT ramp to get him up onto the couch. Ideally I'd like to just discourage him getting up there entirely. Apparently the "getting up" isn't the problem so much as "getting down" because he'll just hurt his foot going down and landing on it.
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Nov 8, 2019 01:32
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| # ? Apr 28, 2024 21:43 |
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I ended up getting my old rabbit a lower-sided litter box and occasionally lifting him up and down from the top of his house where he liked to sit.
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Nov 8, 2019 02:21
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