2 Questions About Bunnies

[froggers3]

Hi,

I own a 3 year old nuetered holland lop and my cousin just recentlybought a new lop from the pet store we introduced my rabbit to hersbetween the new rabbits cage and they just kinda sniffed eachother (weleft the new one in the cage just in case one would fight with theother)

my question is can they be "friends" as in can she bring him over and they be put in the same room?



my second question is my 3 year old lop is getting obese and has neverbeen the active type he sits there when we take him outside the cageany suggestions on how to give him excersise? ive been feeding himmodertly but id rather him get some excersise

help?

 

[maherwoman]

Hello! Welcome to the forum!

I don't know much about bonding bunnies, but I wanted to saywelcome! I'm sure someone will be along soon to answer yourquestions. We have loads of members, so it won't belong!

Welcome to the site!

Rosie*

 

[Haley]

Hi there and Welcome!

Feel free to have a look around the site (theres loads of info) andintroduce yourself and your bunnies here:http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=11671&forum_id=1

With regards to bonding, is the other rabbit a male or female, and is it altered?

A male and a female (both altered) are typically the easiest tobond. If her rabbit is a male, you will probably havedifficulties getting them to be friends, but its notimpossible. If you check out our Bunny 101, theres loads ofinfo on bonding and how to go about it here:http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12072&forum_id=17.My personal favorite site is the House Rabbit Society..they have loadsof bonding info, heres their link:http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/introductions.html

With regards to exersize, does he have run of the house when he's out,or just an area? Is it carpeted (many bunnies wont run on tile orwood)?

Hope this helps!

-haley

 

[froggers3]

i usually try putinh him outside where he hopsaround but its getting cold and rainy now so thats not really an optionanymore ill try putting him on carpet and let you know how that worksthanks



and the rabbit im not entirely sure what it is cuz he's really new andi dont want to stress hi out by picking him up and poking around lolbut they seemed friendly when my bunny was outside his or her cage,what should i try next? put them together in a room but keep an eye onboth of em and just see how they respond to eachother?

 

[naturestee]

If the other rabbit is really new, I'd waituntil he settles in. If he's stressed he's more likely tofight. It would also be best if you could wait till the otherrabbit is spayed/neutered. When he's settled in a bit more,you can put them in a small room where you'll always be able to reachthem easily (no small hidey-holes) where neither has ever beenbefore. That way they can focus on each other and not ondefending territory.

BTW, this is my personal fav site on bonding:
http://www.mybunnies.com/bonding.htm

What do you have for your bun to play with inside the house?My rabbits always get excited about new cardboard boxes to playwith. Big ones with two+ rabbit-sized holes cut inthem. They're more fun when they're stuffed with hay andnewspaper. They have all sorts of other toys too which Isometimes switch around to make them seem "new."

Also, how and what are you feeding him? It's probably time tocut back on pellets, and switching to a timothy-based pellet like OxbowBunny Basics/T or Kaytee Timothy Complete might help him tobviously you'll need to cut back on treats, fruit, and sugary veggieslike carrots too.

 

[hotchocolatewithsmarties!!!!!]

the less pellets you feed him the better, that way it will encourage him to eat more hay and grass

ediexxxxx

 

[naturestee]

hotchocolatewithsmarties!!!!!wrote:

the less pellets you feed him the better, that way itwill encourage him to eat more hay and grass

ediexxxxx

Um, depends on the age of the rabbit. Rabbits that are youngand still growing should be getting unlimited pellets as long as theyaren't seriously overeating. They need the nutrients to grow.

 

[froggers3]

he has been running more on the carpet thanks for the suggestion

and how much should i be feeding him (pellets)

 

[naturestee]

For a holland lop, you should feed about 1/4 cup of pellets a day and all the grass, not alfalfa, hay he can eat.

 

[froggers3]

thank you