Today I wanted to shared some of the life enriching things I do for my bunny. I have noticed that rabbit are particularly sensitive animals. Every experience seems magnified in my bunnies perception. Some of these things I have read about other people doing and some I just stumbled upon. As limited as he is, I don't want him to feel depressed or discouraged. I am probably anthropomorphizing, but if I can help him, I am bound to do so as his guardian.
I give him ice cubes in his water. I like ice in my water, so why shouldn't Big Brown? I also want to encourage him to drink more because his urine is frequently a bit too dark in my opinion.
I burn a little incense. I have an excellent incense called Super Hit that I burn in moderation. Maybe 1/2 inch to an inch at a time. Bunnies have quite a musky smell and their cecotropes are as funky as they come. I am hyper sensitive to odors myself, and I can smell the animals all through the house, so the incense was mainly for my own benefit, but I have noticed Big Brown perk up when he smells the fragrance.
I help him with his grooming activities. Yes we all groom our pets from time to time, but it really is an important bonding opportunity. Big Brown enjoys his evening grooming session which consists of being misted with water from about 2 feet above him. Then I take a dry washcloth and buff him briskly. During this, he often helps by licking and attending to the parts he can reach. If I find a bit of poo matted in the fur, I spray it directly and keep buffing him until it works itself loose. Occasionally I do have to trim the fur away, but I find that preferable to giving a bath for every little thing.
I massage Big Brown both by hand and with a little handheld massager. He lays primarily on one side, so I try to stimulate the down side and also rub his feet. I'm sure he is stiff and sore at times, but he cannot convey his pain to me, so I give him gentle massages and he loves it. I use the battery operated massager on his back and hip and sometimes his shoulders and feet. I sit him up in his stanchion for as long as he likes and let the massager do it's work. When he is done, he climbs off the stanchion and then I move him back to his other enclosure.
Speaking of enclosures, I have it pretty much figured out. I use 2 separate spaces for him. He needs one area for feeding and eliminating waste and another area for resting and chilling out. I use the baby pool with a piece of carpet on the bottom, then a pee pad, then the feeding stanchion and sometimes a towel for the kitchen/bathroom. Then I move him back to his cage which has pee pads on the bottom, them a 1/2" wire mesh framed screen, then his puff quilt, then a pee pad, then a layer of Sherpa. Sherpa is a synthetic fabric that looks a bit like sheepskin. It somehow allows the urine to pass through to the pee pad, but the fabric itself stays pretty dry. It's quite a few layers and I probably don't need the bottom 2, I could put the quilt right on the floor of the cage, but the flexibility is there if I do need it. My goal is to feed and wait for him to potty in the pool before he goes back into his living quarters, but he does have to eliminate waste in his bed sometimes, but it is fairly easy to clean.
I take Big Brown outside. He loves the sunshine and the breeze on his face. I have a simple sling made from a 9" cut of rib knit fabric. It is soft and stretchy and I loop it beneath his loins and hold the ends up and let him wander where he pleases. He needs some amount of mobility and I can see that he really enjoys it. An added benefit is that going outside and moving around almost always inspires him to urinate. This way, there is no clean up needed as he is correctly postured so the urine flow goes out behind him. It's a win-win! Here is a video of him walking in his sling:
http://vid117.photobucket.com/albums/o56/fannymanson/DSCI3394_zpsfe526412.mp4
As I said earlier, Big Brown enjoys a nice breeze from time to time. I put the fan on low and point it in his general direction. He will position himself so that it's blowing right into his face, then he closes his eyes halfway and just relaxes.
I also play music, mainly for myself, but I like to think he enjoys it as well. Again I could be anthropomorphizing, but since he can't tell me any different, I would rather give him a lesson in music appreciation.
all I did with Cocos is put a strap going over her shoulders joined to each side of the cart and it worked wonders- I didn't need to pop her in a harness aswell as she felt really consumed by it all. I attached foam under the cart to support her belly and she was off! I will see if I can find a picture of it- I did about 4 different types of carts but ended with the simple type as she preferred that.
