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Eifert Posting posted:Sucks that he went that way but it was back in the 90s before the internet told everyone how to be a perfect pet owner and his quality of life was probably way better from being an outdoor rabbit in the summer. I wouldn't take that as a given. It really depends on what your setup is (and people mean a lot of different things by "outdoor"), but rabbits housed outside in general often pick up internal and external parasites, and they almost invariably live notably shorter lives than if they'd been house rabbits. I've also heard the argument that living in an outdoor hutch, especially if the rabbit's housed alone and there's a lot of visual exposure (think like an open-screened side and no hiding spots), really stresses them out in a way that contributes to health problems. Local wildlife will constantly try to get at the rabbit or its food. Even if the enclosure is 100% safe, the rabbit won't understand that and is likely to feel trapped and unable to comfortably escape predators. I've heard it described like locking somebody in a room with a guy that pulls out a a loaded gun and screams threateningly and incoherently at random times, or like forcing somebody to watch a horror movie they really hate over and over. If the only space you can give a rabbit indoors is a small single-level/single-wide cage, then a more spacious outdoor setup is probably better from a mental health and enrichment perspective, if not necessarily a strictly physical health one. If you have the room/leeway/patience to have a big indoor cage/run or free-range a rabbit, it's definitely the best option. trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 15:01 on May 6, 2017 |
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May 6, 2017 14:59
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E4C85D38 posted:We've been working on trying to encourage her to get out a little more by placing her pellet bowl slightly outside the 'fence', and while it's cute to see her do this stretch act to try to get at it without leaving her carpet, I'm starting to wonder if she's ever going to wander outwards. Yeah, she'll probably eventually do it. It may take her a few hours, or days, and it may only be when she thinks there aren't any scary human "predators" around at first...or she may be that way long term, if you don't have the time and patience to truly acclimate her. Some rabbits take days to bond or get comfortable with an environment, others take weeks or months, and "success" means different things with different buns. If I had to guess, she feels insecure outside the "fence" when there are humans around, but she probably explores more than you think when you aren't around. Try putting the food dish several feet out farther than "slightly outside" the fence area and then just give her time. Maybe leave the area if you think she's stressed by you. Rabbits are simultaneously way smarter and way dumber than you think. But they're excellent foragers with a strong sense of smell. If you make her food and water accessible to her, she'll find them when she gets hungry/thirsty enough (if it's been, like, 12 hours and you're sure she hasn't eaten then go ahead and intervene). My partner and I have a bonded trio (that's a long-rear end story in and of itself) that we moved from an Ex-Pen setup into a semi-custom three floor cage a few months ago. For the first day or three, they could not handle the ramps. They were terrified, and would cower at the top of each 'landing,' glancing around for danger as they s-l-o-w-l-y and awkwardly slid, shambled, and even rolled their way down. They would miss their footing and plop off the side or miscalculate speed and face plant into the cage wall. But the litter box is on the bottom floor and food+water are up top, and all three made sure to neither starve nor poo poo all over the place, though the learning process was an adorable clusterfuck. For a few days after that, they'd get really nervous about moving up or down the ramps if people were in the room, but after about a week they were shooting up and down at top speed like it was nothing- sometimes with two or even three rabbits going different directions at a time. TLDR: give your bun some space and time, and she'll figure out her environment on her own terms. If you try to force it or hover over her, she'll get stressed and do the opposite of what you want.
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May 22, 2017 01:54
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The337th posted:Is the rest of the place smooth flooring? Some bunnies will just always be extremely uncomfortable with slick surfaces, while others couldn't care less. E4C85D38 posted:In this case it's more carpet (it's already a known thing that she considers smooth flooring to be lava). It turns out the day after I posted that, she starts wandering over to the food and laying down on that carpet like nothing's ever happened. She still retreats off it when we're around, but I have a camera feed going to the rabbits so I can spy on them when I'm busy working in the other room. Getting a bun comfortable with smooth flooring/your presence is a lot like bonding. Sometimes you just have to put the rabbit(s) in an uncomfortable situation and let time work its magic. My fiancee and I will just put our three knuckleheads on the living room floor (in an ex-pen when we don't want to constantly watch them), bring out a litter box and some food/water/treats/hay/hides (a bankers' box or paper shopping bag clipped to the side of the Ex-Pen works great) and just let them do their thing for hours. We'll sit on the couch, grade, and watch TV. It may take them a while at first, but they will make progress if you're patient and consistent. It can be helpful to use cage furnishings or toys. One of the easiest ways to make a new environment feel more "familiar" is to plop the smelly cage litter box there. Also make sure that her nails are safely trimmed and feet can get traction.
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May 31, 2017 04:21
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Bob Wins posted:Fiancee and I have been talking about getting a rabbit for months and out of the blue a friend of hers hit us up and said that she had a friend that could no longer take care of it. Cue us taking in Sir Binklesworth, a lion head. He is 2 1/2 and full of energy and love, he loves to run around the apartment and to explore it when we take him out. He can get a little bit humpy, but I am assuming that this will fade away when he gets neutered, I have heard that rabbits are normally skiddish or shy, but he is all about us from day 1. He will run Figure 8s around our feet and never really strays more than a few feet from us if we walk around. He loves running back and forth down the hallway to my fiancee and I at either end. Get him to the vet, see if he needs to get fixed. I've heard some rabbits don't really need it if they aren't at risk of making babies, but all of ours have been from a rescue that neuters by policy so I don't really have any firsthand experience with ahem- intact rabbits. Then see about getting him a bondmate, if he's that social and active with you guys around he'd probably really thrive with one. trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 02:42 on Jun 2, 2017 |
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Jun 2, 2017 02:38
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The only real overt “hey check it out I’m in a bad way” signal that you might get from an ailing or seriously hurt rabbit is head shaking or “scanning” (two slightly different things reflecting different underlying causes) and those generally have pretty specific roots (and/or your bun is far gone enough that the End of the Line is probably imminent, depending on what’s wrong/how little they’ve eaten/GI stasis). For the most part, rabbits kind of evolved to be really good at hiding illnesses and injuries. My fiancée and I had a sick rabbit adventure this summer. I can post a longer take on it if people want but the TL;DR of it is that e-vet visits are trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 05:16 on Sep 27, 2017 |
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Sep 27, 2017 05:03
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FactsAreUseless posted:The rabbits still won't bond, but the Himalayan has discovered he can jump into the Harlequin's cage and eat the tastier juvenile rabbit pellets. Have you tried Sometimes even established pairs/trios/etc can benefit from reinforcement. Edit: also, sometimes inducing the rabbits to groom one-another by smushing some fruit on their heads can help. trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 03:41 on Nov 24, 2017 |
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Nov 24, 2017 02:09
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D34THROW posted:My wife refuses to try this with Avery and Subs no matter how often I suggest it. You've been wanting to bond them for almost a year, let's try to expedite it. Dude, loving do that and loving crate bond those fuckers. It’s totally fine, behavior experts recommend it all the time. Put ‘em in like a bankers box or hamper or bin (make sure they can breathe and aren’t smooshed but don’t give them too much space or visibility. Also try not to get spotted too much or they’ll hate you like the devil), and put it somewhere loud and scary like on top of a running washing machine/dryer, near a vacuum cleaner, in a living room where you’re playing music or games or whatever and just leave them there for a while (I don’t do longer than 30 minutes at a time because somebody inevitably has to use the litter box by then). Supervise them the entire time and separate them immediately if they fight. The point is to frighten them into huddling with each other, and as they huddle they forget their differences and come together as brothers. You know, “Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra” and all that.... Anyway- then you put them in a chill pen or shared cage with food, hay, water, a litter box, and ideally a hide or two and just let them hang. Supervise them the entire time and separate them immediately if they fight. Don’t house them together unsupervised at first- you’ll probably need to repeat both steps of the procedure several times over a few weeks. But it’s far and away the fastest way to bond rabbits and seems to work with animals that initially show aggression to each other too.
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Nov 24, 2017 23:23
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Fluffy Bunnies posted:That harlequin might never ever really "warm up" to anything. They're a pretty feisty breed outside of cuddling up to a human or two here and there. I raise them for ah. *looks up at thread title, looks back at post* well let's just say I raise them (and standard rex). Every one I've ever owned or bred has been a wild little party bunny with a huge "gently caress you this house is mine" attitude. Mine stomp constantly. Hell, they stomp at me. I stomp back and then they wildly run in a circle and stomp for more chase. Good times. If you raise them for food just say you raise them for food. This fools nobody.
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Nov 30, 2017 05:35
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FactsAreUseless posted:The Himalayan suddenly started grooming the other rabbit today, and the other rabbit didn't run away from him. Progress! they’ve probably been doing it for weeks but get spooked whenever you’re watching
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Dec 14, 2017 09:30
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FactsAreUseless posted:They have not. Trust me. These were not bonded rabbits. It was a joke. But also it’s worth noting that it took a certain member of our trio months to lose his aversion to grooming and being groomed if he knew he was being watched.
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Dec 15, 2017 07:43
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FactsAreUseless posted:That's adorable. Right now we're waiting to see if the Harlequin grooms back. We aren't convinced he's smart enough to understand the social cues. Smoosh a little yummy fruit (berry/banana) on the target bun’s head. Not super hard or anything and not too much- the goal is to induce cleaning, not stain a rabbit’s head purple/get a chunk of fruit in a rabbit’s eye/give a rabbit diarrhea/have the buns lose interest and the fruit dry into a crusty pompadour. Idk, none of that ever happened with us but I’m spitballing worst-case scenarios. We honestly never had much success with it. Jareth’s the pickiest eater to begin with while Spock’s a canister vacuum with ears- so Spock would just end up grooming himself and licking his hands for like an hour, and for about two weeks at one point he had the faintest pink dye job. But I hear it works well with other people’s rabbits. trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 08:17 on Dec 16, 2017 |
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Dec 16, 2017 08:02
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The Walrus posted:Gracie has been limping around the last couple of days - last night she was diagnosed with a mass of some sort under her left leg. They're doing a biopsy but it seems pretty likely that it's a cancerous mass. Grace is 11. Anyone got any experience in this sort of thing? She's still behaving happily enough but I'm worried about what the future holds for her. Play it by ear I suppose? 11’s pretty old for a rabbit under great circumstances so I’m not sure that she’d suffer for very long, or that she might even live to see the cancer progress that far. Alternatively, she may wind up living to 14 regardless, either happily or unhappily. I wouldn’t try to treat her at 11 beyond removing the mass if it’s impeding her movement, but if her behavior seems positive I wouldn’t be in a rush to euthanize her either. She sounds like she’s had a good long life so far.
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Dec 29, 2017 06:41
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BAE OF PIGS posted:So it's been almost a year and a half since I lost Chompsky, and this next Wednesday we're going to look at getting another rabbit. My girlfriend has fallen in love with one on the humane society website who is currently being fostored, his name is Carrots and he's a brown and white dutch that's 9 months old. He has a blocked tear duct, so his eyes need to be wiped twice daily, but I'm getting very excited about this. I've missed having a little bun around the house. For optimum bun time, get two and bond them! They really open up behaviorally in a way that you don’t really get to see with solo rabbits. But watch out if tear duct dude needs special care around grooming/etc.
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Dec 31, 2017 02:36
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BAE OF PIGS posted:He's 9 months old now, but already has 7 kids. Settle down, Carrots! Sounds like he would really thrive with a bondmate (and probably some sterilization first). He’s clearly sociable enough.
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Jan 5, 2018 02:12
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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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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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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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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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 Jareth, the Goblin King  Marfusha got an hourlong grooming yesterday but she still needs the fuzz around her eyes trimmed  Spock is 9-10 but you wouldn't know it by the way he eats, looks, or moves. He's been set in the behavior of treating the litter box more like a suggestion than a rule for years so it's really hard to tell if he's been having age-related issues there, but we're keeping a close eye on him. The other two are pretty fastidious about the litter box so it's usually ok unless Marfa decides she needs the box to be cleaner and digs it out.  fur friends  Spock is a goddamn hoover vac, the chubbiest bunno  treats  treeeeeeaaaats  This one's from a few days ago, hence the dirtier cage in the background. Marfa did not enjoy having her turd stick-on beauty mark removed.
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Mar 24, 2018 00:27
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Baloogan posted:hello What’s a trackter? I’m assuming it’s a run/cage? Depends on how many rabbits, but that sounds pretty good for 1-2 bunnos. Only consideration might be height- you want the enclosure to be tall enough to allow the rabbits to fully get up on their hind legs, and ideally to be able to hop/binky comfortably without hitting the ceiling. 2 feet is ok for most buns, 3 feet is better if you’re able to make it that tall.
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Apr 3, 2018 00:52
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Baloogan posted:im thinking like 10 :[ 8x3 is too small. Unless it’s super temporary and you plan on culling them all at once.
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Apr 3, 2018 02:20
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Baloogan posted:8 feet by 3 feet seems plenty to me anything bigger than that i can't really see fitting on my ATV they would all be adolesants (im building 2x tracktors, one for breeding pair subdivided into two apartments with some plywood and one for the little guys) Err on the side of giving them more room rather than less. Rabbits are super gregarious and they tend to do better in groups but they need space to do best and grow healthiest/develop good muscle for eatin’. Also, they reach sexual maturity right quick and you’ll want to separate the progeny by sex (or if there’s too much fighting between same-sex individuals) sooner than you probably expect so a third enclosure might not be a bad idea. Rabbits weaned together tend to avoid inbreeding on their own pretty well- as do most mammals- but sometimes wires get crossed and somebody may end up knocked up when you don’t really want them to/it isn’t healthy. Same goes for conflict. Littermates are usually fast bondmates without much human intervention but every once in a while some rabbits go through puberty and lose the ability to share an enclosure safely so it’s always good to have a spare on hand.
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Apr 3, 2018 05:04
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Here thread, have a erm...palate cleanser. so photogenic. so regal. he'd eat you right up if he could.
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Apr 3, 2018 05:31
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gamingCaffeinator posted:What breed is he? He's so pretty! Sassy Sasquatch got it, he’s a lionhead. And Marfusha is a fuzzy lop and Spock’s an english spot. Now we just need an angora and we’ll have probably the top four worst breeds for shedding. Initially my fiancée had Spock and his original bondmate, a brown rex (I think?) named Kirk, natch. Kirk unfortunately died in the summer of 2015 (same day as Robin Williams) and Spock was by himself for about a year. Eventually we decided that he needed a new bondmate and set about adopting one (House Rabbit Network in MA, if anyone is curious. They’re rabbit-specific and excellent and if you’re in New England and looking for buns they’re the first place I’d look). We didn’t intend to get a pair but when we saw Marfa and Jareth (originally Tenley and Panda) we couldn’t pass them up, because look at them. They were already quite bonded (seriously, their codependent rabbit marriage is heartbreakingly adorable) and getting them to live with Spock has been a learning experience for sure. If people are curious and interested, I’ll do a bigger effortpost about the three knuckleheads and what it’s been like bonding them and living with them over the past 2 years. RichterIX posted:I've grown up with dogs so I'm no stranger to animals acting like you haven't fed them in three years every single time you feed them, but does anyone else's rabbit get way too buck when it's feeding time? Our bun never escapes her cage EXCEPT if you walk within 5 feet of her with lettuce, at which point she either violently careens off the sides of her pen or leaps out of her 5ft tall pen in a single bound and then acts really confused about how she ended up locked out of her own house. This is totally normal. Of our three, Spock is the only one with any behavioral consistency that approaches “nice to people”, and that’s mostly probably because he’s a big chubby pushover who is always ready to eat. The other two are two-faced as poo poo when it comes to human attention. Jareth in particular is a super finicky eater who takes forever to acclimate to different foods and only takes treats if he’s hungry. Marfa eats like a Hoover vac and loves treats but will turn on you in a second with the slightest offense.
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Apr 3, 2018 18:45
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clear eyes full farts posted:we know she needs the critical care but hate stressing her out when hand feeding, is there a good balance? Just do it when the vet says to. Her stress is second to ensuring she stays fed/hydrated. If she’s tough to handle when syringe feeding, burrito-ing her in a towel works well. Eventually she’ll stop fighting it as much and if she’s anything like our buns she’ll start licking her lips when she smells the fruity critical care smell. Also see about getting antistasis/laxative meds and potentially painkillers for her if you don’t have them already. They’re usually strongly fruit flavored and your rabbit will come to see them like treats, which can make the whole feeding affair much easier as they start to associate it positively with rewards. When Jareth got a serious ear infection this past summer and didn’t eat for a week we had to feed critical care 4x per day, and syringes of antibiotics, antistasis, and painkillers at various intervals for 3 weeks. He’s usually the world’s most combative rear end in a top hat but he was downright cooperative by like day 4 and would eagerly slurp up his meds without too much issue. He’d still eventually get tired and start nipping at the towel, but after enough practice you get quick at syringe feeding (5-10 minutes) and that helps keep everyone chill. But you also gotta be like ‘gently caress your feelings, bun, you will eat this food and get better because I love you.’
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May 5, 2018 20:02
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Trabisnikof posted:Unfortunately, she never really stopped fighting and as she got healthier, she actually fought it harder and harder. But I got my strategy down to where I had a specific couch I would burrito her on, then straddle the burrito (so she couldn't back up out of it) and use the overhang on the couch to give me better access to the bottom of the mouth for syringing. You don’t put a back on your burrito?
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May 6, 2018 01:35
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bitchymcjones posted:Bun+dogs I totally respect the desire to want to have the bunny and dogs comfortably hanging out together but I can’t really advise it given the behavior you describe. As well as you might be able to train the dogs (and at 12, the older one seems like he may be more trouble than it’s worth) it sounds like they’re currently displaying at least some degree of play nipping at best and prey drive at worst. Even if you can get that behavior solidly dialed in 99.9% of the time, there’s still a tremendous likelihood that somebody eventually acts on instinct and chases or bites too hard and somebody gets badly hurt. There are unfortunately tons of cases out there of pets that are “fine” for days or months or years until the day when they just aren’t and one of them becomes lunch. It could even be something as simple as the rabbit injuring itself while trying to flee from a situation it doesn’t like (seriously- panicking rabbits are like dressage horses, they’ll break their limbs and lacerate their eyes on sharp edges and injure their spines before they stop flailing). Buns are prey animals and for all that there is a ton of range and diversity to their personalities, their social behaviors and communication are largely quite different from those of dogs and cats. Rabbits don’t play the way that dogs and cats do. If you want to see social behavior, you’re way better off getting another rabbit and bonding them, but that’s just my 2c. Edit: missed the part about both dogs being dachshunds- those things were basically bred to chase rabbits down holes and retrieve them. That’s gonna be really hard to train out, imo, you might have been better off with some bigger dogs, ironically. 
trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 16:01 on May 6, 2018 |
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May 6, 2018 15:46
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That sounds like it would work. I wasn’t suggesting that you get rid of the dogs, I apologize if that’s what it looked like. As long as the animals are only together when supervised by a human and not given free reign of the place when home alone (or as long as the rabbit is caged while that’s happening) then things are probably gonna be fine. More enclosed space for Buntolo to run around in is also a good safe bet. If you’re building a run to attach to his cage, my suggestion is to get an adequately tall puppy ex-pen (make sure it’s high enough that he can’t hop out, always size up in that regard and assume that a determined bun will jump higher than you expect/find a way to climb on top of something and leap off of it. Depending on the bun and what’s in the pen 36” of height may or may not be adequate, and I know people with big rabbits who need 48”) on Craigslist. In my experience people are always getting rid of them in good shape, and for a fraction of what they cost new. I like using multiple butterfly clips or cheap carabiners to attach the pen and cage for easy removal/placement. You’ll also want a floor covering of some kind (rabbits don’t really get good traction on wood floors and the slipperiness stresses them out and can greatly increase the chance of self-injury) like a carpet or stretched fleece blanket or something. Again, Craigslist has been my friend here and I usually pick up an inexpensive used area rug from somebody local and then toss it when it gets gross. Obviously don’t line your rabbit enclosure with a fancy heirloom Persian rug. I’ve also used interlocking rubber tiles (like the kind you put in a garage or workout space) but the seams can collect moisture. You may want to put something plastic or rubber underneath the enclosure floor like a tarp or painter’s plastic to catch wet gross stuff. Buntolo will pee and poop in his run and you don’t want that stuff soaking down and ruining your floor.
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May 7, 2018 03:00
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bitchymcjones posted:Buntolo has started humping my arm when I reach inside his cage, though. He’s getting neutered soon. Sounds like he’d make a good bondmate one day.
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May 9, 2018 03:20
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bitchymcjones posted:I got Buntolo‘s playpen set up, but he hasn’t quite grasped the concept of the litter box. I’m hoping it will work out with a new hay rack. Does anyone just throw the hay into the litter box? I’ve seen people do it, but that just seems gross to me. If that’s what works for him, that’s what I’ll have to do. He has been giving a lot of approving thumps to the setup though. We like to toss a bit of hay in the litter box for them to chew on while in there (rabbit GI tracts seem to work better if they can eat a bit while pooping) but the bulk of it gets put into two hang-on mangers, one of which hangs by the litter box (partially because of the design of their cage, partially as a backup in case their “main access” one runs out, and partially because you can never have enough toilet hay when you have three rabbits). If they’re in a pen/outside their cage I tend to put the hay in their “outside” litter box that we use for that purpose. The trick is to not spread the hay around in the litter box (if the rabbit chooses to do so, that’s his/her call)- just put a generous clump of it in like the corner third of the box and it should stay both easily accessible and clean. Rabbits eat their poop but any hay that gets urine on it probably won’t be eaten, in my experience. If you think Buntolo needs more hay feel free to just pile it into his enclosure. You can never really have enough hay.
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May 14, 2018 11:31
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BAE OF PIGS posted:Carrots is such a con man. lol, they do that- but try to give him hay if he doesn’t have it. Too many pellets are gonna make him obese and that ain’t good on rabbit legs, although it’s adorable as all hell. If he’s begging, give him (1-2) treats at a time or fruit/vegetable chunks, and maybe try feeding him pellets/veg twice per day and/or readdressing how much he’s getting now- especially if he still has some growing to do.
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May 20, 2018 19:06
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clear eyes full farts posted:netherland dwarf update, the rabbit is now well and full of energy, happy and unaware of the $700 in vets bills. thank you all for your help nice rabbit room you dork
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May 20, 2018 19:09
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BAE OF PIGS posted:Yeah, he has access to hay all the time. We give him 1/8th of a cup of pellets in the morning and another 1/8th at night. He was just double dipping today. We also give him about 2 cups of leafy green veggies each time we feed him. Vet says he's at a healthy weight (~4.5 lbs) and to keep doing what we've been doing food-wise. 
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May 20, 2018 20:34
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Hey guys. Just a quick heads up. My partner and I split and she took the rabbits (at least for now, I may get 1-2 of them a bit in the future). Rabbits are great and I enjoy keeping them/sharing advice about them and I’ll definitely be back in this thread again down the road, but for now I’m gonna peace out for a spell. It’s been real, have a buntime funtime.
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May 28, 2018 21:18
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Rabbits are all different. Jareth would only take certain snacks in certain quantities on certain occasions and from certain people. And he HATED anything new or that he didn’t understand. New treat? Nope. Unknown vegetable? You disgrace me. It took two months to switch him from one brand of pellets to another, and then another month to switch him back later on. The other two- just a couple of furry Hoover vacs. You could put a cheeseburger in front of them and they’d probably eat it.
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Jun 19, 2018 02:30
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Sassy Sasquatch posted:Glad you're back by the way Electric Bugaloo, you're a good poster. Thanks. I had a particularly poo poo morning today and reading that honestly meant a lot. I’m still in a pretty dark and lonely place but I’m trying to keep connecting with my hobbies and interests through all of it, even the ones that I picked up through the ex or that made up a big part of my dead relationship. She doesn’t own rabbit keeping or sailing or any of the other things I came to love doing with her and I intend to one day share these things with somebody else. At this point I don’t think I’ll be seeing the three knuckleheads ever again, but I wouldn’t really have the time or clarity of mind to take care of them right now. I don’t think I’m going to fight for them come August either. My lease is up next month and I still don’t know where I’ll end up moving. Maybe in six months to a year I’ll be able to adopt a bonded pair or bond two solo buns myself. Until then, I’ll drop in here on occasion to chat and live vicariously through you guys. Post lots of pics please!
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Jun 19, 2018 18:01
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I had to stagger pellets and refilling the hay manger because Jareth would go straight for the hay while the other two gobbled up all of the pellets. He ended up losing a bunch of weight over time while Spock developed mild obesity from eating more than his share of pellets. It’s hard to balance diet for multiple animals that can’t conceptualize things like portion control.
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Jun 21, 2018 15:47
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bitchymcjones posted:Buntolo is way more interested in hay if I put it in a toilet paper roll like Amy Sedaris does here. https://youtu.be/Z-1faBh7DIs Yeah buns love enrichment puzzles. Anybody whose rabbit is boring, or alternatively, destructive should do well to get/make puzzles, “rabbit castles”, and bondmates. Pretty much the same rule as with cats: if your cat’s a turd, get it toys or another cat.
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Jun 21, 2018 22:01
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Remora posted:Tobias is in the vet's overnight, and he's probably not going to make it. He was fine Friday (or so I thought), and kind of lethargic Saturday, and Sunday night when I came home he was acting really weird (I've never seen him faced *into* a corner before), so I thought - okay, vet tomorrow after work. (This is the part where I start loving kicking myself - why not do e-vet that night?) I came home and he was huddled in a puddle of his own urine, nasal discharge, fresh poops stuck to his fur, completely unaware of anything that was happening. Called the vet, stuffed him in the car, vet thinks he's had some kind of chronic issue that he's been hiding and now it's severe enough that he can't hide it anymore - her guess is renal failure, he's 7 years old this month. His temperature on admission was *94*. Pretty difficult actually- I know you’re hurting and I’m so terribly sorry for your loss but please don’t beat yourself up over this. It sounds like you’ve been a dedicated and diligent owner for seven years and the fact that you’re so willing to spend money on the e-vet without concern shows how much he means to you and how great of a home he’s had. Lots of people get terminal illnesses in their 30s-50s and lots of rabbits go south when they’re 4-8. Because their health outcomes often balance on a matter of hours- and as prey animals they’re instinctively wired to act normal and hide their health issues until they absolutely can’t- it’s really not uncommon to see that happen even to the best keepers. Just be there for him/yourself, and when you’re ready give that love, attention, and knowledge to another bun.
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Jul 3, 2018 00:25
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CaptainApathyUK posted:I'd stop thinking about bringing home the Australian terrier. Ditto. Prey drive is a “blink and you’ll miss it” type of behavior. You can’t really train it out, and even if you think you have and the dog’s totally cool with the buns it’s not really that kind of an issue. One day the dog will catch the movement in the corner of their eye, the rabbit will bolt, and the dog will react like it’s a tossed ball. Choose one or the others.
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Jul 25, 2018 23:07
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