# newest family member...not a hedgie, but still cute



## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

so my landlord made me feel bad about 70+ rabbits being abandoned on the side of the road so although i couldn't adopt one of those since they all have red eyes and that freaks me out, I adopted one of their other rabbits instead  

any advice from rabbit owners would be greatly appreciated (it's been 16 years since i've had a rabbit)

other than some food aggression which i found out about rather quickly :lol: he seems like a really laid back, nice guy so far anyway :lol:


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## pearlthehedgie (Feb 15, 2011)

Welcome to the world of rabbits.

We found ourselves adopting our first one this fall when my niece went to college and had a rabbit that was not going to college!! We are still learning a lot about rabbits too but have done lots of research. Not sure what kind of info you are looking for...?

Our bunny, Bailey, is about 1 1/2 years old and she's a female. She was eating a diet of 2 cups fresh greens with a small amount of veggies or fruits in the morning and again in the evening. Also gets about 1/4 cup pellets at bedtime. This seems like a lot of fresh food to me, but it was working for her so we've kept it up. (I see in your picture you are feeding tomatoes--we have those on the "do not feed" list). We give Baily the "spring Mix" which includes assorted greens and then top it with either some carrots, cilantro, basil, parsley, pears, apples, raspberries, watermelon, bell peppers, celery, dandelion greens, radish tops, banana, bok choy, etc. For pellets, timothy pellets are better than alfalfa pellets for an adult rabbit (less calcium and phosphorus in the timothy pellets which is what you want to prevent kidney/bladder stones).

Looks like your bunny is living inside? Ours was in an outdoor hutch before we got her but now in a two-level indoor cage with a ramp between the levels and solid carpeted floors. We've trained her to use a litter box inside her cage. Mostly successful . If you can clip a hedgehog's toenails, you can do a rabbit :lol: .

I know they are supposed to have timothy hay available all the time and need a box or some kind of house for their privacy/security. As for the food aggression, we get a little bit of that with Bailey too. Seems a bit better if we move our hands slowly when we reach in for the bowl, but she is territorial over even an empty dish. I've read spaying/neutering decreases the aggressive behaviors, but we decided against it right now because our vet said rabbits are very sensitive to anesthesia and there is a higher risk for that reason. Is yours a male? We did talk to our vet about the high % of uterine/ovarian cancer in female rabbits if you need info on that....

Definitley they are different than hedgehogs, but fun. !! Hope this helps.


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## pearlthehedgie (Feb 15, 2011)

Here's Bailey, our bunny:


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

yup he's a male (seems to be the thing in my house, we are all males here including all the animals). from what i was told he is an approx 8 mth old rex, but like i said i know nothing about them since i was a kid when i had them last so i wouldn't know. 

he was neutered about 2 weeks ago (the no kill shelter i got him from had that done) so i'm wondering if maybe it's just cause he doesn't know me yet, but i guess we will see. he actually has a whole bedroom to himself so i moved the bowls outside of his cage so hopefully i can trick him and get to it quicker than him when i go to change out the food  

the tomato...seems to be conflicting information on this one so i'll be sure to run it by the vet next week when we go for a health check on him, but he didn't touch it anyway lol 

he is an inside only rabbit (as are all my animals) and just because the vet suggested i won't be feeding him any pellets only veggies, fruits, and of course his timothy hay available at all times

any info is helpful (i'm reading a lot to learn all i can, but it's always nice to get advice from other owners)

oh and the nails....yeah i'm kinda worried about that one, but for me all hedgie nails are a somewhat easy doing so maybe it will be okay if he's not a biter lol


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## pearlthehedgie (Feb 15, 2011)

Sounds like he's found himself an awesome home!!!

One thing I forgot to mention...have you read about how to pick him up properly? Be sure to do that--there are even videos on utube that show you how. Apparently, a rabbit can break their back from squirming while you are holding them or are attempting to pick them up. So you always have to have your hands under the back end too so they can't wiggle/twist away too much and get hurt :roll: 

Our bunny was kinda uptight the first week or so we had her here and was more aggressive. She'd even lunge at my hand and make kinda a hissing sound, but she settled down a lot once she got used to things. I bet yours will too. 

As for the nails, we have one person hold the bunny tightly and the other clip the nails. Seems like if you put a towel over her face, she thinks no one can see her and doesn't squirm as much. :lol:


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

lol i'll try the towel over the face thing my first time doing his nails since i don't have anyone to help out...

i was actually aware of them breaking their backs when being picked up. i pick him up in kind of a cradle form with one hand under his chest and other under his rear (in the crook of the back two legs on the stomach). I then lift him up immediately to my chest and then usually slowly, but fast if he's kicking move my back hand under his back legs to support his back end that way while i'm holding him so he can not only be prevented from squirming too much or a fall, but also he can feel safe and secure. the lady at the no kill shelter was actually like "i love how you pick him up" :lol:


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## pearlthehedgie (Feb 15, 2011)

Hey--here's a link to a neat website with all kinds of rabbit products! http://www.petwerks.com/

They have some neat mazes that would be fun since your bunny has the entire room to play!


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

thanks i was just wondering what i was gonna get him for christmas :lol:


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## shetland (Sep 2, 2008)

Your new bunny is precious! Bailey is stunning also!!!!!!!


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

well for those who don't know Tucker ended up passing away 4 days after i got him. turns out he was actually very sick with a lower abdomen infection (caused by the shelters vet having unsterile operating conditions when he got neutered) and this got into his blood stream and caused his stomach to rupture. he was rushed to the vet the 2 days prior to his death, but there was just nothing we could do. his death was definitely a shock. 

today ended up getting a handsome 5 month old mini rex from a 4H girl who is no longer breeding for 4H (she bred his mom not him) and took him right to the vet for a checkup to ensure he is healthy to get neutered (and he is, only minor problems like some possible ear mites that were treated and luxating patella which he hopefully will outgrow). 

i'll get a pic up of the new baby


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## shawnwk1 (Jul 8, 2011)

here's a picture of Chance


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## pearlthehedgie (Feb 15, 2011)

Ooooooohh. He's beautiful. That fur looks as soft as velvet!! And BIG ears--even for a rabbit! :lol: 

Hope you have many happy, healthy years with him.


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## cylaura (Jan 13, 2011)

Oh, I'm so sorry to hear about your first adopted baby! I'm sure you did all you could. Your new little guy, Chance, looks like a sweetheart! Pretty color.  

I got a dwarf rabbit from a farm for my 7th or 8th birthday (can't remember which) and he lived a long, happy life with us - 8 or 9 years. He was a wonderful pet. He took to litter training very easily, and was always very neat and clean, except for maybe the last year of his life. He had a cage in a spare bedroom (to this day my parents still call it "the bunny room") but we'd let him roam the house during the day. He used to love to sit in my Dad's studio and listen to him play the clarinet! I can't remember much of what he used to eat (and I'm sure there is a lot more info out there now), but I know he had Timothy hay only because I was so allergic to the Alfalfa. He almost never had any health issues, and passed away quietly after a short decline. 

Anyways, your story just brought back some good memories of my "bunbun".  Thanks for sharing and I'd love to hear more about Chance!


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