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Tricknee Hacksaw posted:Last I heard, rabbits had been removed from stores...are they thinking about putting them back in?? Petco has sold rabbits in the past. PetSmart only sold "small" mammals and have never sold house rabbits. The link to Best Friends has some great info.
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Jul 29, 2007 08:09
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I was in Petco the other day (in Aurora, Colorado) and they had two adolescent rabbits for sale for $99 each (already neutered). Made me so sad.  There is a very active rabbit rescue in the Denver area and they could have easily had rabbits for adoption, and still made a profit selling the bunny accessories for them.Also, the two rabbits are probably bonded now (who knows how long they've been there?) and will now be split up.
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Jul 29, 2007 19:04
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I was really bummed to see that my local Petco is selling rabbits and ferrets. One of the rabbits was in a enclosure all by itself. They also had a guinea pig in a small enclosure all by itself too. Poor animals.
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Jul 29, 2007 19:36
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I work at a vaccine clinic that sets up in Petcos twice a month. I saw the same bunny there in the little glass cage for 3 months. The week I decided I was going to take him and find him a home myself, he was gone. Hopefully he found a good home.
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Jul 29, 2007 21:32
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So after looking at all your pictures of your rabbits (in their homes), I'm a bit confused. I have this bedding stuff that I put all over the floor of the cage, and I'm going to pick up a couple corner litter boxes this week (that's what the pet store owner called them -- they're little because my bunny's little). What goes in the litter box, the bedding? And more bedding on the floor of the cage? Or nothing? Because if it's nothing the plastic floor is slippery and she's not happy with sliding all over the place. If it's bedding what's to make her think litter box = peeing instead of bedding = peeing?
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Jul 30, 2007 01:52
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angelicism posted:So after looking at all your pictures of your rabbits (in their homes), I'm a bit confused. I have this bedding stuff that I put all over the floor of the cage, and I'm going to pick up a couple corner litter boxes this week (that's what the pet store owner called them -- they're little because my bunny's little). What goes in the litter box, the bedding? And more bedding on the floor of the cage? Or nothing? Because if it's nothing the plastic floor is slippery and she's not happy with sliding all over the place. If it's bedding what's to make her think litter box = peeing instead of bedding = peeing? First off, please don't get the corner litter boxes. I have never heard of a pet preferring these. Really there's no need for bedding in a cage. Just a piece of carpet. If you have the right size cage (at least 5 times bigger than the bunny) then it shouldn't be too hard. In the litter box put some litter (not cat litter, or any clumping/dusty litters) in the litter box. I use Purina's Yesterday's News. On top of that, put hay. Bunnies like to use the restroom while eating hay. Hope that helps!
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Jul 30, 2007 03:11
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Just echoing to avoid corner boxes. Most bunnies prefer to lounge or sit in their litter boxes, and a corner one just doesn't do the trick. There isn't a lot of room at all. Also, your bunny will not stay little forever. I admit that when my two were tiny, they used corner boxes to learn in until they were big enough to hop in and out of a larger litter box. Murphy actually uses a large ferret litter box with a low opening for easier entry/exit, and Debbie has a small cat box in her cage. You will find it easier and cheaper to avoid bedding on the floor of the cage all together. It's more difficult(in my opinion) to litter train a bunny with bedding on the cage floor - infinitely more difficult if you place the same or similar bedding in the litter pan as litter. I preferred Feline Pine over Yesterdays News because of the smell, but currently use untreated wood stove pellets for litter. I picked up 4 bags for under $3 each in late February, and with regular changes, I am just now on my second bag of the stuff. Before I was buying about 3 bags of Feline Pine every two months at $12 per bag.
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Jul 30, 2007 04:33
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Oh; I was told that since my bunny is a dwarf rabbit she's not going to get much bigger. Meanwhile, I'm pretty sure I haven't seen a litter box she can actually get into because usually the walls are too high. I don't have any carpet scraps lying around at the moment; will newspaper be okay for the floor for now?
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Jul 30, 2007 04:39
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Well, the term dwarf can be misleading. They will stay on the smaller side of 6lbs or less, but they don't stay baby sized. Debbie is easily three times larger now than at two months of age, and Murphy is about twice as large as he was at 3 months old. Debbie is a dwarf mini-rex and Murphy is a dwarf mini-lop. Newspaper is fine, though your bun will likely tear it to shreds in no time. This is perfectly fine unless the cage is in your room. If the cage is in your room, don't expect to get any sleep tonight :p
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Jul 30, 2007 05:21
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angelicism posted:Oh; I was told that since my bunny is a dwarf rabbit she's not going to get much bigger. Meanwhile, I'm pretty sure I haven't seen a litter box she can actually get into because usually the walls are too high. Like Windy said, a ferret litter box that's square with a lowered side should work well. I've never used Feline Pine, but I don't have any smell problems with Yesterday's News (as long as I change the litter box every other day) so I guess I'll just stick with that. Either is fine though. Newspaper will be fine, but I can almost guarantee it will be shredded by morning. Dwarf rabbits can get pretty big! I've also heard of pet stores (not sure if that's where you got him/her) of mis-labeling rabbits as "dwarf" just because they're young and small. I know that's how some of the bunnies came about at the rescue I help with. People expect these little bunnies to stay 4 lbs and then they hit 7-8lbs and they don't want them anymore. Not saying this is the case with you, but just something to think about. Also, some bunnies are mixed breeds and you never know how big they'll get.
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Jul 30, 2007 06:16
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girlscoutdropout posted:Like Windy said, a ferret litter box that's square with a lowered side should work well. I've never used Feline Pine, but I don't have any smell problems with Yesterday's News (as long as I change the litter box every other day) so I guess I'll just stick with that. Either is fine though.
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Jul 30, 2007 06:17
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Quote does not mean Edit!! Sorry for the double-post.
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Jul 30, 2007 06:18
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girlscoutdropout posted:Like Windy said, a ferret litter box that's square with a lowered side should work well. I've never used Feline Pine, but I don't have any smell problems with Yesterday's News (as long as I change the litter box every other day) so I guess I'll just stick with that. Either is fine though. I'm sure I'll adore my bunny regardless of what size she is.  She already has me wrapped around her little... er... toe.Is it okay if there's shredded newspaper? Should I just leave the 'bedding' stuff I've been using? I'm afraid that will encourage her to pee/poop everywhere, though. 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.
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Jul 30, 2007 07:51
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angelicism posted:I'm sure I'll adore my bunny regardless of what size she is. Shredded newspaper is fine (unless you notice her ingesting it). I know you can find those litter boxes online, my pet store carries them though. Although I have two 9lb bunnies so I just use a standard cat litter box.
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Jul 30, 2007 14:14
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God rabbits are creepy-looking. I can't stand those loving things ever since Watership Down. I swear there's something just really wrong about them.
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Jul 30, 2007 14:25
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Corridor posted:God rabbits are creepy-looking. I can't stand those loving things ever since Watership Down. I swear there's something just really wrong about them. I think there's something wrong with you considering that much of the world considers rabbits an icon of cuteness.
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Jul 30, 2007 14:41
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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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Bigger bunny means more bunny to love! But whatever size she becomes, she is still guaranteed to be a bundle of cute. Shredded newspaper is cool, it's actually a free "toy" of sorts. Like boxes,old phone directories and used magazines. Bunnies like to rip things apart and better to have useless paper items shredded than your carpet or clothing. I used to have ferrets which is why I had leftover cage supplies that came in handy for my rabbits. The litter boxes can be found at most pet stores, I've even seen them at PetCo. It's basically a high-backed box with sloping sides, which comes in quite handy if you have a bunny that loves to launch itself from the litter box like a rocket. Here is a pic of the box I use for Murphy. It's a bit cut off, but you can see the majority of it and what I mean with the low opening. 
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Jul 30, 2007 15:18
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Tickle Me Emo posted:I think there's something wrong with you considering that much of the world considers rabbits an icon of cuteness. The rest of the world's opinion on cuteness is not exactly a comfort to me. For example, we've all been brought up alongside the idea that cats are sweet adorable cuteypies when they're basically manic and stupid gremlins whose favourite pasttime is torturing anything smaller than them. Even I own two cats and fuss over them like a retard. I'm amazed how society has been totally blinded to the basic evil nature of the housekitty. Look at their eyes, dude. These bunny things spend their lives in their natural habitat being hunted by just about everything. Any species that deals with that on a day to day basis has evolved purely through insanity.
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Jul 30, 2007 15:38
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alucinor posted:Just use a standard cat litterbox, or get a rubbermaid container and cut down the sides like so: Everything is clear now. I was going to do some shopping today. Going to get a corner box and a bigger box for her to 'learn' into. And a sheaf of newspapers or somesuch.
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Jul 30, 2007 17:15
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Corridor posted:The rest of the world's opinion on cuteness is not exactly a comfort to me. Of course you are entitled to your opinion, but why come to a thread on house bunnies and their fanatical devotees and state your opinion here? Obviously nothing is going to change your mind and you'll have a hard time changing ours. Go threadshit elsewhere.
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Jul 30, 2007 17:32
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My Hazel uses a corner litterbox, seems rather fond of it too. Though I don't suppose he's ever had anything else, so how would he know any better? I'm still trying to figure out what kind of rabbit he is. He looks a lot like the bunny pictured in alucinor's first photo, but a dusty grey. His fur is very soft and about as long as that of a short-haired cat. He also has longer tanner fur between his ears. It's his toupee.  Looks a little more blue than he really is in this picture. He gets to be neutered soon. Yippie for everyone!
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Jul 30, 2007 21:29
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Tricknee Hacksaw posted:He gets to be neutered soon. Yippie for everyone! Yay for people getting their pets neutered!
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Jul 30, 2007 23:34
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alucinor posted:Just use a standard cat litterbox, or get a rubbermaid container and cut down the sides like so: That's a great idea! Yeah, bunnies can jump high. Mine is just inches short of making it onto my bed (which stands about 4 feet off the ground) it's pretty impressive.
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Jul 30, 2007 23:36
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Tricknee Hacksaw posted:My Hazel uses a corner litterbox, seems rather fond of it too. Though I don't suppose he's ever had anything else, so how would he know any better? He might be part Lionhead if he has a fluff on his pate.
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Jul 30, 2007 23:54
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FrenchyPoo Fagnasty posted:Of course you are entitled to your opinion, but why come to a thread on house bunnies and their fanatical devotees and state your opinion here? Obviously nothing is going to change your mind and you'll have a hard time changing ours. ...how is this remotely threadshitting? It's a discussion about bunnies. I don't give two shits whether your opinions change or not, I don't even care that much about mine on this subject. It's just, you know, conversation. It wasn't unfriendly. I can't say I honestly expected anyone to take offense at my random statement that bunnies look kinda creepy unless they had some kind of connection to a scary bunnygod. Anyway, I ventured into this forum to get advice on my sick kitty, and yeah, now I'm going to leave again, because a lot of you people on here are extremely goddamn weird, and in all honesty creep me out more than the bunnies did.
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Jul 31, 2007 00:47
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Solar Jetman fucked around with this message at 15:27 on Mar 30, 2011 |
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Jul 31, 2007 01:35
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So I got a small corner litter for now and... uh, my bunny is just chilling in her toilet. I guess she doesn't dislike it, at least. We'll see if she manages to actually use it as a bathroom. On another note: sometimes she just sits there and, for lack of a better word, trembles for like 5 minutes at a time. I don't think I'm doing anything threatening - usually just watching her - and it's not too cold or anything. Could she be sick? I thought I heard a sneeze once too but I might have just been hallucinating. Or maybe she just hates me and wants me to go away.
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Jul 31, 2007 02:06
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angelicism posted:So I got a small corner litter for now and... uh, my bunny is just chilling in her toilet. I guess she doesn't dislike it, at least. We'll see if she manages to actually use it as a bathroom. It's normal for a rabbit to just chill in the litter box. I've never had one that didn't spend some quality time sitting in the crapper. For trembling, it may be a fear issue, or just being overall uncomfortable with the surroundings still. Don't get discouraged, but continue to spend time observing her from a short distance. I don't think it signifies that your rabbit is ill, however, if you do schedule a visit a vet for a routine checkup anyway(as posted earlier) you can bring it up as a concern. I've heard my rabbits make a sneeze noise before, but it was just fur or dust in their noses while grooming.
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Jul 31, 2007 02:34
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Corridor posted:...how is this remotely threadshitting? It's a discussion about bunnies. I don't give two shits whether your opinions change or not, I don't even care that much about mine on this subject. It's just, you know, conversation. It wasn't unfriendly. I can't say I honestly expected anyone to take offense at my random statement that bunnies look kinda creepy unless they had some kind of connection to a scary bunnygod. I got your point and it does make me sound like I was overreacting. Fine, I'll shut up. My apologies to everyone. Now make with the cute bunnahs! Like this one:
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Jul 31, 2007 14:35
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Guys, I messed up pretty bad. I studied abroad for six months and left my bunny, Loaf, at my parents' place. I thought it'd be all right because we've had rabbits before, but when I got back, I discovered the poor thing had gone slightly feral. He's always had a pretty strong personality and would charge me when I put my hands in his cage to change the litter or food. He never bit, though. Now he charges everyone while grunting and bites whenever he can. He's always been independent, but now he's downright antisocial. The only family member he tolerates is my dad, and he still gets bitten. I'm guessing the main problem is that he's stressed out by my parents' dogs, even though he's kept in the least-doggy area of the house. I'd assume he's just undersocialized, but my dad adores him. He tries several times a week to pry Loaf out of the hutch to play outside or hop around while my dad watches action movies. I'd just take him out of the dog atmosphere, but I got kind of screwed by my roommates when I got back to the US. I had to find a last minute room in a building that doesn't accept pets. I thought I could just keep the little dude with my parents, but he's obviously pretty unhappy there. There's also a big chance that I'm going to be going to grad school outside the country. 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? I feel awful doing it. I really did think I could take care of him when I bought him, but a lot of things have changed since then.
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Jul 31, 2007 17:52
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Is Loaf neutered?
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Jul 31, 2007 17:57
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Tickle Me Emo posted:Is Loaf neutered?
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Jul 31, 2007 18:08
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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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Windy posted:It's normal for a rabbit to just chill in the litter box. I've never had one that didn't spend some quality time sitting in the crapper. When the rabbit is sitting there trembling, does he look content? Eyes part closed? Can you hear a chittering motion, or does it look like the mouth is moving? Rabbits do purr. But instead of like the purring of cats, it's a grinding of the teeth called toothpurring. When I had a pet bunny she would toothpurr being held on our laps and petted, or sitting on my Dad's shoulder. (She loved climbing up behind my Dads head and sitting on his shoulders. He'd even use her as a fuzzy pillow and she'd be perfectly content to sit up there for hours if he let her.
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Jul 31, 2007 19:55
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alucinor posted:words! I think his hutch is ok. Here's what it looks like:  (toys pictured: wire hanging thing to put hay and treats in, two wooden chewtoys, a Ramune bottle, a Mountain Dew box, and a stuffed Dutch bunny I played with as a kid) My dad built it, of course. Loaf is generally good about his litter box but sometimes overshoots a bit, so we have a tray under the litter box end of the hutch. The top part is on hinges, so the whole thing can lift up and sit propped on the lower roof. There's also a smaller exit cut into the wire on the side. 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. I had initially planned on getting another rabbit to bond with Loaf, but hung back because I wasn't sure I could handle two. Is one more a lot of extra work? My mom had hysterics when I suggested finding a friend for him, which is fair enough as she's the one that's been doing the cleaning while I've been away. 15 hours a day is probably farther out of the question. I'll give the house rabbit people a call and see what they say. Thanks a lot! This was really helpful. theboojum fucked around with this message at 22:20 on Jul 31, 2007 |
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Jul 31, 2007 22:16
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Elevenbane posted:When the rabbit is sitting there trembling, does he look content? Eyes part closed? Can you hear a chittering motion, or does it look like the mouth is moving? Not really; I think I'm just going to have to settle for 'she's scared'. She just moved (to my new apartment) so the new surroundings and new people must still be at best uncomfortable and at worst terrifying. Whenever I come play with her she does like bouncing in and out of my lap, though, which is adorable.
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Jul 31, 2007 22:20
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Okay, I've decided I need bonding help. Bonding was going swell between Lucy and Jack (see OP) and they were grooming each other and hanging out fine. Then one day they had words under the coffee table and an all out brawl started. Now I feel like I'm back to square one and I'm just frustrated. I've been told to do bonding outside, then there are no previous bunny smells. Help! Any tips or tricks are welcomed.
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Jul 31, 2007 22:59
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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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angelicism posted:Not really; I think I'm just going to have to settle for 'she's scared'. She just moved (to my new apartment) so the new surroundings and new people must still be at best uncomfortable and at worst terrifying. Whenever I come play with her she does like bouncing in and out of my lap, though, which is adorable. Yeah, that's understandable. When I first got my rabbit she'd hop around the house really nervously, hiding under a chair before hopping out and exploring a few steps before running back to the 'safe spot'. Good luck getting her acclimated! Maybe you can salvage something from the old apartment to make her more comfortable. Fabric or something with her scent on it.
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Aug 1, 2007 04:07
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