Marbles & Mocha

[jordiwes]

Awww, sorry to hear of that tailof2rabbits. Those pics above are adorable by the way. Try searching theforum for diarreah and you might find lots of good advice that can help your bunnies without seeing the vet. But a good vet is always recommended if you can find one!

 

[nose_twitch]

Your bunnies are so cute!:bunnyheart And shame on Mocha for being such a meanie sometimes. I had a cat like that. She'd be happy and snuggling and then all of a sudden bite.

Where do you live?

 

[tailof2rabbits]

Thanks, jordiwes. What troubles me though is that when I research on it, so many people are saying so many different things. It's a bit confusing.

Thanks, nose_twitch. It freaks me out sometimes. She really goes out of her way to bite my finger... she'd twist her head just to reach it. ARGH. :? I honestly don't understand. It's so frustrating. I'm giving her everything and then some. Perfect diet. Perfect cage. Ample exercise. Maybe she just doesn't like humans? Or me? She's sending mixed signals because she plays with me and follows me around sometimes. She also lets me pet her and cuddle her. But at some point, she just bites. When she gets old, that bite will break skin. I don't want to give her up because I really do love her but I've no friggin' idea what to do. (I'm from the Philippines, btw.)

***

In other news, mommy did a good thing today! I used to get my rabbit supplies from this pet shop. Hay, wood chips, gnawing blocks... everything, really. The brand's Puik. They're the only shop that carries rabbit supplies so naturally, that's where I go. Recently though, they've started selling rabbits. They dumped these little 2-3 week old bunnies in a small, open top glass cage right next to a dozen crazy LOUD squawking birds. The high-pitched noises will ruin those babies' hearing. I mean, hell, those sounds annoy even me and I'm only there for minutes at a time. I've appealed twice with the salespeople but nothing happened. I talked to the owner. The b!tch told me, "They're fine. I've been raising rabbits since I was five." I wanted to slug her heavily made-up face. I swear to God, it took all my will power not to smash her face in with the compact hay.

So I decided to boycott the place. I emailed Puik Netherlands a complaint and an inquiry as to how I can acquire my supplies directly from them (yes, my rabbits are that spoiled). They forwarded my email to Singapore who then forwarded it to the importer/distributor here. Amazing. I had no idea there was one. I thought the shop got directly from Netherlands. Anyway, the CEO emailed me this morning and invited me to drop by. I took a cab and went to their office which is 3 cities/municipalities away from home. I told them everything and said I want to boycott the shop but I don't have anywhere else to get stuff. We made arrangements... I'll be buying directly from them from now on. They will deliver all my needs right to my doorstep. :bunnydance: Mommy rocks.

I went to their warehouse and went nuts looking at all the rabbit stuff. I was thinking, this must be how normal women feel when they're in a shoe store. I got a month and a half's worth of supplies and got some free stuff to boot. We don't have Oxbow or other American rabbit products here. All we have are Euro stuff like Puik and Sluis. They're pretty good. The babies were so happy when I got home. I had 5 big bags of hay. Must've smelled like heaven. :woohoo

As for that shop, I hope they go bankrupt. I'm telling all the local rabbit owners I know to eliminate the lousy middleman and buy directly from the importer. It's cheaper, they're nicer, and we're putting a-holes out of business. I hope they're not hoodlums though. My imagination's running wild. I might find myself chopped into itty bitty pieces on an empty lot somewhere. I've wrecked their credibility with the company and the importer (I really, really hope they get cut off) and I'm getting people to stop buying from them. Hehe.

I must be giving a bad impression of the country. It's actually nice here. We've got the best beaches. Metro Manila is busy, busy. We have McD's, Pizza Hut, and most other stuff you have. And we don't live in nipa huts. (Someone asked me that before. I didn't take offense. It was too funny.) Life's been pleasant for me, and I'm 23. (Crime rate here's even lower than some states, I remember reading.) There are just some bad eggs, and like all neurotics, I keep wondering when I'm going to come across one and how. I hope I don't die because of hay. :rofl:

 

[LuvaBun]

:great:Well done to you. And also kudos to the company for helping you out. Had to laugh at your thoughts aboutdying because of hay (I know, not funny really, but it was just the way you expressed it)!

I thought I had already replied to your post and told you how gorgeous I think your bunnies are, but it seems I didn't. I would persevere with Mocha (perhaps wearing armour at the same time)>. My Dutch doe, Pernod, can be a bit like that, but you kinda get to know when the cute bunny is going to disappear, and the were-rabbit take over

Jan

 

[tailof2rabbits]

Well done to you. And also kudos to the company for helping you out. Had to laugh at your thoughts about dying because of hay (I know, not funny really, but it was just the way you expressed it)!

I thought I had already replied to your post and told you how gorgeous I think your bunnies are, but it seems I didn't. I would persevere with Mocha (perhaps wearing armour at the same time)>. My Dutch doe, Pernod, can be a bit like that, but you kinda get to know when the cute bunny is going to disappear, and the were-rabbit take over

Thank you, Jan. It was a bit idiotic, really. I dissed the pet shop owner and mentioned the words "cruelty to animals" and "inhuman" before thinking where the heck I'm getting supplies if they ban me from the shop. :disgust: It's hard to boycott a place that has a monopoly.

The distributor's just having a hard time finding shops that will carry rabbit supplies since there aren't many rabbit owners around that care enough to buy the good stuff. Well, there aren't many rabbit owners, period. But they're trying to get into the big supermarkets which would be FANTASTIC because they're so far, my cab fare was half of the entire amount I spent on supplies.

It's funny, really. It's a preposterous idea. But if I stop posting for over a week, that's it, they got me. :rofl:

They're adowable. They like to snuggle wuggle. I swear, this baby talk thing? Can't stop. :help

I will persevere. I'm stubborn like that. Haha.

Your bunnies are snugglebunnies, too! Aren't they the cutest?! Every bunny I see is cuter than the next, it's driving me mad! :colorsost more pictures?

-Lisa

P.S. for anyone dropping by, consider this my introduction. I keep forgetting to introduce myself and I'll never remember to sign my name again, I'll bet. Hi! I'm Lisa. You can call me that. Although "tail" is slowly growing on me. :hug:

 

[nose_twitch]

I think it's wonderful that you boycotted that place.

:highfive:

 

[tailof2rabbits]

Thanks, nose_twitch.

I nearly cried from happiness earlier. Mocha licked me for the first time since she got constipation!!! :bunnydance:

Of course, 30 minutes later, she bit my knuckle. Hard.:banghead

How could something this cute be so spiteful?! :tears2:

 

[LuvaBun]

tailof2rabbits wrote:

Thanks, nose_twitch.

I nearly cried from happiness earlier. Mocha licked me for the first time since she got constipation!!! :bunnydance:

Of course, 30 minutes later, she bit my knuckle. Hard.:banghead

How could something this cute be so spiteful?! :tears2:

:no: No!!! Never!! Don't believe it! She is just way too cute and innocent looking to do anything so bad.

JK - I know Pernod can look cute sometimes - that's the time she is planning to do something she shouldn't

Jan

 

[Pet_Bunny]

tailof2rabbits wrote:

Of course, 30 minutes later, she bit my knuckle. Hard.:banghead

She is not being spiteful. Your knuckle was in the way. :whistling

Rainbows!

 

[doodle]

Your bunnies are absolutely adorable. What a set of ears Marbles has! I'm in love with his ears, hehe.

 

[tailof2rabbits]

Well, there's one way of looking at it. You've been talking to her, haven't you. :lookaround



Pet_Bunny wrote:

She is not being spiteful. Your knuckle was in the way. :whistling

Rainbows!

 

[tailof2rabbits]

Jan, it's killing me. Everytime I look she's doing something unbelievably cute and adorable, and I just want to SQUISH her! Not evil squish, like make her stew or anything. Just SQUISH her, you know? Like hug her, and squeeze her, and shower her with kisses SQUISH. :happydanceWhich is the worst thing to feel when I'm supposed to be easing her back into the snuggling mommy bit.

Mocha disapproving Jeff and me.
Jeff's snuggling her and we're basically fussing over how adorable she is.
:whatevah It's such a tough thing, being cute.

 

[tailof2rabbits]

Thanks, doodle! I find all bunnies adorable beyond all reason, and I'm sure everyone feels the same way but that's always nice to hear. The back of his ears are veiny, and I was worried about that for a bit before, but I suppose it makes sense that bunnies here are less furry than their American / European counterparts. We are tropical, after all. :wiggle

***

They eskimo kiss whenever they pass each other. It's the sweetest thing. Well, sweetest after Marbles kissing mommy. I'm biased, of course. :hug:

Sometimes, to make my life easier, I put them both in Marbles' cage while I clean Mocha's. They're still not free roam bunnies. Marbles is coming close to being one but I'll probably wait till he's neutered. He's out most of the time we're home anyway.

They're so cute when they're snuggling, I have to resist the urge to jump in and join them.

 

[tailof2rabbits]

Mocha is responding. Slowly. But at least there's improvement. What I'm doing is repeating the words "Love-love, Mocha" whenever she's eating or whenever she melts into a puddle of blissful fur while I'm petting her... I say it everytime she's doing something pleasant and comforting. So far, it's working. She hasn't bitten me in over 24 hours. She even licked me, but it was more of a here-you-go-you-affection-starved-human-loser lick. And of course, I was happy with that already. Sigh.

Marbles has been out of sorts lately. He nipped me once (very, very lightly though- mostly just to let me know he's not liking me at the moment) when I moved him away from Mocha's water bottle (-the rubber lining of which he chews). If I'm not mistaken, I think he's feeling slightly neglected because I've been working on Mocha. This be bad. Marbles is my snugglebuns, my heart bunny.

When we had a fire at the condominium last January 8 and we had to evacuate, the only things I took with me were the clothes on my back, my cellphone, and Marbles inside a cardboard box. And I was crying not because of the idea that I could lose everything I own if the fire reaches our unit, but because Marbles was terrified and I was afraid he'd go into shock. I ran him down the hot,smoke-filled stairwell while sirens were wailing and glass was breaking everywhere. The serviced dormitory in front of the condo let me stay inside the empty hallway with my cardboard box.Jeff was outside, watching and trying to get information.

I sat on the floor watching the commotion outside through the glass doors, and I cried for Marbles. He was so tiny and fragile. Isangto him his favoritebeddy-bye song and wrappedmy hands around him.He flinched at my touch. It was heartbreaking. ButI also cried because I was happy. Because even if everything I've had for the last eight years of my life go up in flames, the three of us were safe and together. (This was naturally before Mocha moved in. Thankfully, our unit was spared. Window linings melted, the glass cracked and broke in different places, and our once white walls are now black, but all is well.)

I know he knows I love him no matter what, but I hope he also knows exactly how much.

 

[tailof2rabbits]

Apparently, I'm not the only one in the doghouse. Mocha nipped Marbles' left ear earlier. He jumped but went back to lounging andpretty much ignored her. Maybe that's how she shows affection? She licked me again earlier but sealed it with quite a nip. :?

Just before dinner, Mocha was on top of the big plastic container where I store their food and litter supplies, sniffing around. I was trying to pet her but she was fidgety so that didn't work out. Without thinking, I said, "Kiss mommy". That's something Marbles understands and does very often, but I've never tried it with Mocha before and didn't know even know she could understand.

SHE KISSED ME! :happydance

No licks, but she touched her nose and tiny little mouth to my lips for a full four or five seconds, while standing up! One minute later, I tried it again.

SHE KISSED ME AGAIN! :happydance

arty:

 

[LuvaBun]

WooHoo!! Maybe she is coming around to you at last . Just shows what patience can do.

That was so touching about saving Marbles when you had the fire. Perhaps he is feeling a little left out at the minute - it's hard to keep two bunnies happy at the same time :?

Jan

 

[tailof2rabbits]

She kissed me a total of 6 times yesterday! SIX! :jumpforjoy:

Anyway, everytime I move in to pet her or pick her up, I say "Love-love" and I think she gets it. She's been licking me more than the usual (which is no licking at all), and nudging my feet. I also saw her binkie at least three times over the last two days. I'm so happy. I'm still not quite optimistic about eliminating her little biting habit completely, but I'm sure gonna try.

Earlier this morning, they were both roaming.They werescrounging for hay when Mocha suddenly started running. She was doing a bunny 500, circling the room and then headbutted Marbles (literally butted Marbles' tushy with her head) as she breaked. Marbles jumped and binkied away.

My bunnies are strange.

 

[tailof2rabbits]

LuvaBun wrote:

WooHoo!! Maybe she is coming around to you at last . Just shows what patience can do.

That was so touching about saving Marbles when you had the fire. Perhaps he is feeling a little left out at the minute - it's hard to keep two bunnies happy at the same time :?

Jan

I should certainly hope so. Sometimes I involuntarily cringe and draw my hand back when her mouth approaches, which is sad because there are times I'm almost sure she was going in for a lick or two. She lets me snuggle her longer now, though.

I didn't really "save" him. I was there when it happened, Ijust took him with me when I evacuated. :rofl:When people say "save", I think "heroic". I don't thinkwhat I didcounts. Haha.

Is that really the way it is? Is it the same with your bunnies? I want them both happy but I don't have enough arms. :cry1I try snuggling them both at the same time and sometimes it works but more often than not, one of them leaves to scrounge for food. (It sounds like I don't give them enough food, doesn't it? Hehe. They have abundant supply of hay in their cages, always, but they still likelooking for hay outside -the hay I drop from the plastic bag on the way to their cages.)

 

[tailof2rabbits]

 

[tailof2rabbits]

Doing fantastic progress with Mocha... much better than I expected. She licks me enthusiastically now and follows me around sometimes. She melts when I pet her. She lets me cuddle her longer. :hug:

And she really kisses mommy!:kiss1It's not a fluke! :happydanceAnd when I try to stick my fingers inside her cage in an attempt to pet her, she'll stick her chubby little face through the bars, out as far as it'll go and lap it up.

BUT she still bites in between licks. She does it less but she does it while being affectionate. I yelp whenever she bites me but she doesn't seem to get that it hurts me. I don't know what to do to eliminate the biting.

Marbles still digs and bites at the door of his cage, which is an awful racket. I can live with that but I'm worried it'll damage his nails and teeth in the long run. They get one to three hours exercise daily. Lately, Marbles has been spending up to four hours outside his cage per day. We can't let them free roam. Mocha has never learned to use her litter box, and Marbles untrained himself somehow when she moved in.

Also, we're not the best housekeepers. When they manage to get through barricades and get underneath our bed, they emerge as live dust bunnies.:embarrassed:

To top it all off,hegnaws on Mocha's water bottle and pees around her cage. When their cages are next toeach other,the puddle shows it was projectile pee aimed at her cage.I'm afraid he'll get on top of Mocha's cage and pee on her. :disgust:

(Interestingly though, I think she peed on him once. A part of his fur near his butt discolored somehow.:nono)

He's back to being angsty. He's still sweet - I doubt he could stop being sweet even if he tried. But I seem to be getting the:bunnybutt: a lot from his lately. And he deliberately disobeys me. When I pick him up though, he'll lick me and hide his head under my palm. :foreheadsmack:

I don't know what it's going to take to make them both happy at the same time.