Leaving rabbit alone.....

[willrobinson1229]

Hi folks,

I'm struggling these days with a fairly serious issue, I think. I own aholland lop rabbit, almost 3 years old. He's been my pal ever since hewas 2 months old. It is only he and I living in a one bedroom. I have afairly quiet life, but recently have been wanting to get away forovernighters, which would mean leaving Timmy alone for extendedperiods, 2 days at a stretch.

Has anyone here faced this problem, and maybe have a solution? I hateto leave him alone for longer than a full day, since he's all alonehere. He has the run of the apartment, by the way.

Cheers,
Will

 

[naturestee]

Do you have a friend who could come over to feed him and make sure he's okay?

 

[Just Jack]

While my buns are never left totally alone sincethe 4 of them keep each other company, my lifestyle does demand that ona weekly basis they are on their own for about 24-48 hours depending onwhether I can get home on Saturday or not. At their age theyare currently allowed a limitless amount of pellets so I have noproblem there making sure they have enough. They also have32oz of water for each pair of buns and an excessive amount of hay.

It is certainly not the optimal way but they do just fine and are always happy to see me when I return on Sunday night.

 

[Greta]

You could give them a little more food thanusual, and ask a neighbor or friend to check on them once of twice.That's what I do when I'm away for longer thannormal...

Welcome to the forum! :welcome

 

[willrobinson1229]

Do you own a single rabbit, Greta, or are thereothers? If he's single, then it's great to hear that he's ok being leftalone longer than usual. I do know somebody who would check up on him,but that's not the same as being with him, of course.

 

[lucylocket]

welcome to the board will and bunny

hope to see many photos of your bunny in the bunny blog

varna xxxx this is my 1st namexxxx and not forgetten lucy therabbit xxxx

 

[willrobinson1229]

Thanks, lucylocket. So nice to be welcomed sowarmly. Do you have a suggestions or ideas regarding my posting aboutleaving my rabbit alone for 2 days at a stretch? Any thoughts or ideasare greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Will

 

[lucylocket]

i would try your local pet shop and see if they can take

your bunnys in for a couple of days

if you use them quite often they might give you a discount

varna xxxx

 

[BACI]

Look online or even ask your vet because by myhouse there are pet sitters who actually come to your home 2 times aday and spend a few hours with your pet. For example, when we were outof town ours came to the house in the am fed and walked the dog andthen came back in the evening did the same and then stayed for 2hrswatched tv played with the dog and cat. These sitters will sometimessleep in your home if you want or take the pet to their home. I thinkit depends on the sitter. They are insured and bonded so if anythinghappened in your home you are covered.

oh, one other idea. I am not sure if it is harmful to the bun so maybeone of the longterm owners can pipe in after me, but we feed Delilah 2times a day so when we need to go out of town for just a night or twowe pack her up and take her with. She is litter trained and spends onlynights in a cage. She does fine and we just bring her stuff with.
edited: to add last paragraph

 

[mskoala]

we have a boarding place around here that willboard rabbits. But we never do. Please don't jumpall over for me for this, but we usually leave Grace by herself when weare gone. We've left her for up to a week with a huge supplyof hay, food, veggies and water and she's always been ok.

We've also left her with someone else once, and that turned out wonderfully, but it's not always convenient for us.

-Lisa

 

[willrobinson1229]

Lisa,

I'm glad to hear that your single rabbit is ok alone for a week. I betif I had a friend come in to just check in on him, Timmy would bealright. Maybe I'm just being a nervous "mother", though always hate tothink that Timmy might feel abandoned. I can't put my life on holdthough for my pet, if I should need to go away for two days now andthen.

 

[mskoala]

i think she can sense when we're gone for longerthan work hours. She tends to conserve her food. Itworks well.

 

[bunnybunchof4]

We have our yearly week trip usually toDisneyland, and then we go away on weekends here and there during thesummer. They do fine as long as my Mom comes and checks on them daily.She makes sure they all have food and water, and plays with them for afew minutes. So as long as someone checks on them I think he'd be fine!(btw, I do have 4 bunnies, but they are not bonded so they are inseparate cages)

 

[BACI]

Please take no offense, I justwonder how well the veggies keep being out for that long. Does yourrabbit stay in a room or a cage? Don't laugh; do you leave music or atv on so he/she does not get lonely. I was under theimpression you could not leave them alone due to their grazing needs(constant intake).mskoala wrote:

We've left her for up to a week with a huge supply ofhay, food, veggies and water and she's always been ok.



We've also left her with someone else once, and that turned out wonderfully, but it's not always convenient for us.



-Lisa

 

[mskoala]

BACI wrote:

Please take no offense, I just wonder howwell the veggies keep being out for that long. Does your rabbit stay ina room or a cage? Don't laugh; do you leave music or a tv on so he/shedoes not get lonely. I was under the impression youcould not leave them alone due to their grazing needs (constantintake).

Actually they do fine. We leave her frozenbroccoli, which she loves! And carrots and some otherstuff. She probably eats the veggies first and then grazes onthe hay and pellets after that. She is in our spare bedroom(for now) but is in a playpen area in the room. We keep thewindow shade down so she doesn't get too warm. We dont' leave music ortv on, I think mostly b/c I get too nervous leaving stuff on when weare out of town.

 

[Bassetluv]

I know of some people who will leave their petsalone for a few days at a time with no problems. However, I do findthat when it comes to my rabbits, I personally cannot leave them alone.Maybe part of it has to do with the fact that they are in cages,confined...and I did have a bad experience with the very first rabbit Iever owned, waaaay back when I was around 15. My family went to ourcottage for the weekend and I wasn't allowed to bring my rabbit, alittle blue Dutch whom I'd only owned for a month or so. We were gonefor two days and I left her in my bedroom (loose, not in a cage) withplenty to eat and drink. When we came back two days later I found herpassed away in the middle of the floor, and I was devastated. We tookher to the vet's and found out that she'd had internal parasites, sometype that were only prevalent in certain parts of the United States (Ilived on the east coast of Canada), and it was determined she must havehad them when I bought her from the pet shop. So her death would havehappened anyway, it wasn't a result of leaving her alone...but it leftme feeling so guilty that I blamed myself for herdeath.Because of this trauma from my youth,wheneverI go away I make sure someone is there daily to check on the animals. Ialso hate the fact that they might be left wondering, 'Did they forgetabout me? Are they coming back?' (Probably also a result of owning adog who suffered from severe separation anxiety when I first got her.)

So I guess it's more for my own peace of mind than anything...but I doarrange for someone to take care of the animals, even if I am onlygoing away for a day and a bit.