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Hermelin

Well-Known Member
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I’m just going to post about my bunnies and their life. I will post when I have the energy, which will be quite random 😂

As a few already know I’ve gotten my new bunny Embla. She’s 4.5month old and a tan belgian hare. I just want to hug and cuddle her but she’s still new and need time to settle down.

Today she discovered a garbage bag which was a really scary thing. She ran and hid in the small hide house but I waited until she came out. It just took a few seconds and Embla went forward to investigate the scary garbage bag. I later moved the bag and made sounds, to let her get use to it a little and she reacted very well.

So it’s truly a brave little girl that’s really curious and forward. While the dust pan and brush was something fun to tip and chew.

Embla stomach have gotten better during the day but it still not there yet. But at least she’s not giving me the scare as Odin did as a kit and she have a great appetite.

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I haven’t seen any urine spot anywhere in the cage which is a total suprise because she’s not litter trained. But she’s using the litter box perfectly except spreading her droppings everywhere. It’s more droppings outside the litter box than in it.

While Today I cleaned Toste ears, I noticed he have gotten a wax build up again. So I will need to clean it tomorrow and I also need to trim Odins nails but also Embla nails need to be trimmed 🤣

Maybe I will wait trimming Embla until my little brother comes back home. She will struggle and I would rather I hold her while another person trim until she get used to be handled.

Baby girl Embla, she will grow a bit more 💕
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I have the trouble with Embla stepping into the water bowl, dipping her bum into it and also her putting toys into the bowl. She’s not used using a water bowl but maybe she will learn to not put the paws into the bowl. She don’t even care her paws get wet, if Odin get his paw wet he will act like he have touched something disgusting 😂
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At least I have found a bunny that will like the chewing toys I have 💕
 
She’s just gorgeous! Got great colours 🥺

I also love her colour, Embla aren’t show quality because of a few white hair. Her sister was also beautiful but she had a small white spot on the nose.

I’m going to try take daytime picture of her but it will be later when she accepts being handled a bit. Because my picture don’t truly capture her beauty ☺️
 
THOSE EARS! I love her arch and lines, she gives me a kind of old world feeling (does that make sense?). She is gorgeous!

She look like a egyptian goddess, if you think how they portray the god that look like a cat (Bastet) with the black sleek body and colouration 🤣

But she truly give a different feeling when you look at her compare with my other bunnies. So it was worth driving so far to get her, there is less than a handful breeders in sweden that focus on the tan colouration of belgian hare.

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Beautiful bunnies. I would take the cage door off (or cover it with a mat). Bunnies have been known to break limbs from getting trapped in those doors.
 
Beautiful bunnies. I would take the cage door off (or cover it with a mat). Bunnies have been known to break limbs from getting trapped in those doors.

I often cover it with a blanket now when it’s open. Embla will start to free roam supervised tomorrow. Right now she’s still restricted to the cage but she seem to have settled down good.

I have noticed she allow me to pet her body while she eat from my hand, but I can’t touch the ears. It’s really good she accept being touched a little. I’ve noticed I need to trim her claws a bit but don’t know if I should wait for my little brother, do it alone or go to the pet shop to get her nails trimmed. She’s still not used to be handled and I just got her, it’s her second day with me. So it feel a bit rush for me to pick her up and try to trim her nails. I know she will struggle because she’s not used with it yet 😂

Her claws is really sharp, just having my sweater on and I can feel her claws go trough and poke me. So she can easily break skin with her sharp claws, they feel like a cats sharp claws.
 
I often cover it with a blanket now when it’s open. Embla will start to free roam supervised tomorrow. Right now she’s still restricted to the cage but she seem to have settled down good.

I have noticed she allow me to pet her body while she eat from my hand, but I can’t touch the ears. It’s really good she accept being touched a little. I’ve noticed I need to trim her claws a bit but don’t know if I should wait for my little brother, do it alone or go to the pet shop to get her nails trimmed. She’s still not used to be handled and I just got her, it’s her second day with me. So it feel a bit rush for me to pick her up and try to trim her nails. I know she will struggle because she’s not used with it yet 😂

Her claws is really sharp, just having my sweater on and I can feel her claws go trough and poke me. So she can easily break skin with her sharp claws, they feel like a cats sharp claws.
I think I would chicken out and get the pet shop to do it at this stage. Good luck with her!
 
I often cover it with a blanket now when it’s open. Embla will start to free roam supervised tomorrow. Right now she’s still restricted to the cage but she seem to have settled down good.

I have noticed she allow me to pet her body while she eat from my hand, but I can’t touch the ears. It’s really good she accept being touched a little. I’ve noticed I need to trim her claws a bit but don’t know if I should wait for my little brother, do it alone or go to the pet shop to get her nails trimmed. She’s still not used to be handled and I just got her, it’s her second day with me. So it feel a bit rush for me to pick her up and try to trim her nails. I know she will struggle because she’s not used with it yet 😂

Her claws is really sharp, just having my sweater on and I can feel her claws go trough and poke me. So she can easily break skin with her sharp claws, they feel like a cats sharp claws.
Ugggh nail trimming dilemmas. I’m quite new to doing my bunnies’ nails myself. There never seems to be a right time to do it. I get nervous, they get frustrated, I’ve not quite nailed it yet (pardon the pun) 😉. I have to put mine on the kitchen counter and take them there in their carrier, as they hate being picked up.

For all their grumpiness with me, it’s still way less stressful for them than me taking them somewhere. They flick their heels off, sulk for a bit and then it’s forgotten about within 15 mins.

I also sometimes put them on the counter with just treats and cuddles, so they don’t always associate being up there with me fumbling about with clippers.
 
Ugggh nail trimming dilemmas. I’m quite new to doing my bunnies’ nails myself. There never seems to be a right time to do it. I get nervous, they get frustrated, I’ve not quite nailed it yet (pardon the pun) 😉. I have to put mine on the kitchen counter and take them there in their carrier, as they hate being picked up.

For all their grumpiness with me, it’s still way less stressful for them than me taking them somewhere. They flick their heels off, sulk for a bit and then it’s forgotten about within 15 mins.

I also sometimes put them on the counter with just treats and cuddles, so they don’t always associate being up there with me fumbling about with clippers.
I agree, we also do it at home but as the bunny has only just arrived I'm not sure I would. Depends how far the pet shop is I guess. Shame it wasn't done when the bunny was picked up.
 
I agree, we also do it at home but as the bunny has only just arrived I'm not sure I would. Depends how far the pet shop is I guess. Shame it wasn't done when the bunny was picked up.

I also do it at home but I often just need to trim a new bunnies nail after a month. But Embla even though she got them a little trimmed they are still quite long.

The one that often struggles is my bunny Odin but it’s just trying to hide his paws and jumping into my arms to avoid the clipper. He can also try to find the treats, so he get overexcited.

While Toste he’s just like a ragdoll, I can move and change his position. He will be still and relaxed and wait. Sometimes I think I trance him when I’m going to get his dew claws, but he will start to move his paws and lick around the mouth when he see his treats 😂

I make sure he have normal bent back and head over heart level. The days he don’t want any nail trimming he will flip around or when he had enough. I hold him around when I trim back claws and dew claws. Because Toste have a trigger point on the back area, so it go faster with flipping him around and he can always flip back to normal position if he’s not up for it. Toste is the only bunny I flip around.

But Embla is still new and not used to be handled. She’s still vary towards me and I just want her nail trimming to go fast 🤣

Maybe I should wait until the pet shop have nail trim day. I can take her to the petshop which is only a 3 min drive. I can call them and tell them before that I’m brining a bunny that’s not used to be handled. I know how to hold a bunny that struggles and I’ve held Embla once. Which weren’t that hard compared with my other bunnies first time to be held.

But I can try a bit today and trim her nails, just to see if I manage to trim them alone.
 
That was a fail trying to trim a few of her claws, I only got 3 claws but I could see the breeder had trimmed a few of the claws but not all of them. At least she had taken the dew claws but the back claws will need a bit of trimming. I will go to the petshop to fix the nails on her 😂

I’ll just let them handle her instead, just kidding. I will hold her while they trim the claws, she’s quite hard holding steady and not drop or let her come loose without hurting her. Even being fully clothed she managed to break skin. At least I will fix it next week and she will just have to go through it again at the end of next month. So I will be a regular at the petshop until, she accepts being handled more.

At least Odin and Toste have both gotten their nails trimmed for this month.
 
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I thought she would shy away after the fail of trimming her claws but she still come up and boinks me and I can pet her body.

Because she accept eating from the hands, I will make sure all her food ratio will come from my hands. My breeder recommended to give her a cup of pellets every day. But I cut it down to a 1/2 cup with pellets. Because her food have 17,5% protein which is quite high but it will work for a kit and have a low value of fiber (13,5%) .

But I will change her food slowly to a better one.
 
She is beautiful- can I ask what technique do you use to get them use to being held? My little boy loves pats and head rubs but there’s no way he will let me hold him to do his nails so I have to take him to the vets each time 🙄
 
She is beautiful- can I ask what technique do you use to get them use to being held? My little boy loves pats and head rubs but there’s no way he will let me hold him to do his nails so I have to take him to the vets each time 🙄

I focus on postive reinforcment with my bunnies. But I also always used the vet/ pet shop with my bunnies from the start until they got used to be handled.

So I just carry my pockets with pellets and train them slowly with their own tempo. For example with Embla while I handfeed her I will touch her paws, lift one front paw up and if she back down I let her be. When she comes back again and search for contact I give her food again as a reward for coming back. This way will let her know nothing will happen to her while I touch her and she can get yummy treats. I will also touch the stomach, tail and so on ligthly but I’m not forcing it onto her, she can back away whenever she wants and I will stay at my spot.

I do the same with my other bunnies but it works best with food motivated bunnies. You just try to make it a positive experience to be handled.

If I should be honest my larger bunnies have been better trained than my smallest (Odin) because I let him get away with more things. If Toste behaved the same way as Odin during nail trimming, it would be really hard 🤣
 
Egyptian! Yes! I just love her! The three of them couldn't be more different!

They are truly different and I just want to hug her. But it will have to wait until she have bonded with me and if she accept to be held. I’ll just hug my boys and get their kisses instead 🤣

You will also soon know how it is to own bunnies when you get your lovely Thrianta girl 💕
 

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