toyabrooke
Well-Known Member
Hi Everyone,
My partner and I just got a little friend for our apartment. His name is Napoleon (or Poe for short), and he is the second rabbit I have looked after, and one of many that have run in my family. He is a black opal, black and dark brown on the top, slowly fading into caramel and then white with caramel and black flecks on the bottom and a white puffy tail. My mum still looks after our Angora named Dudley at home, but because of his mass of hair he wasn't suited for small apartment life.
Poe has been a delight ever since we got him about a week ago. When he first came, we decided that he would live free range in our study because it was quite small and we had made it well suited for a bunny to roam around in. We of course have had a fair few trials since then - he was nervous and scared of such a big open area (which to us was small), and decided that his best chance at survival was to boss us around and bite and charge at us instead. My mum, who is an animal expert in Australia, quickly showed me how to stop that behaviour quick smart and I started picking him up under the shoulders so if he fought he wouldn't get dropped and also wouldn't hurt me in doing it.
Since then, he has been mostly fantastic. We also got him a big cage for all his food and his little cat house and his toilet tray so he can feel safe and protected, and now he is only allowed out when someone is in the room until he gets used to the space without having to feel dominant over it. He has shown a few signs of being too dominant over his own cage now, but that was also fixed with a few pick ups until he calmed down, being nursed while he cage is cleaned, and general love and attention.
Today there has been no dominant behaviour, and for the last few days there has been no tantrums when being picked up at all (he has learning that the giant pincers from above cannot be faught with
).
He loves to lay on my desk while I sit on the floor while he is out, but is still quite skiddish sometimes when I come too close until he is picked up when he is out in the room exploring. He loves to eat paper and I think he is very smart, so I have tried to make some toys for him that hang up in his cage.
At the moment, his toilet training is okay, he seems to go on the pads when he is in his cage, but anywhere he wants when out of it (we use puppy training pads just like we used with our other bunny Dudley or Mr Dudles as we call him. I think it will get better though when he is fixed on Thursday because he is already 4 months old so that may be playing a part both in sexual issues as well as being young and having a hard time controlling his needs.
We probably made the most mistakes in just assuming he would be as laid back and easy going as an Angora (which are scarily okay with huge dogs, birds, and everything you can imagine), but with our routine we have going now with being let out and being picked up and everything, he seems very comfortable and happy.
Anyway, we love Poe and can't wait to have him out all the time with us sitting on our laps while we watch TV!
:biggrin2:
Cheers,
Toya
My partner and I just got a little friend for our apartment. His name is Napoleon (or Poe for short), and he is the second rabbit I have looked after, and one of many that have run in my family. He is a black opal, black and dark brown on the top, slowly fading into caramel and then white with caramel and black flecks on the bottom and a white puffy tail. My mum still looks after our Angora named Dudley at home, but because of his mass of hair he wasn't suited for small apartment life.
Poe has been a delight ever since we got him about a week ago. When he first came, we decided that he would live free range in our study because it was quite small and we had made it well suited for a bunny to roam around in. We of course have had a fair few trials since then - he was nervous and scared of such a big open area (which to us was small), and decided that his best chance at survival was to boss us around and bite and charge at us instead. My mum, who is an animal expert in Australia, quickly showed me how to stop that behaviour quick smart and I started picking him up under the shoulders so if he fought he wouldn't get dropped and also wouldn't hurt me in doing it.
Since then, he has been mostly fantastic. We also got him a big cage for all his food and his little cat house and his toilet tray so he can feel safe and protected, and now he is only allowed out when someone is in the room until he gets used to the space without having to feel dominant over it. He has shown a few signs of being too dominant over his own cage now, but that was also fixed with a few pick ups until he calmed down, being nursed while he cage is cleaned, and general love and attention.
Today there has been no dominant behaviour, and for the last few days there has been no tantrums when being picked up at all (he has learning that the giant pincers from above cannot be faught with
). He loves to lay on my desk while I sit on the floor while he is out, but is still quite skiddish sometimes when I come too close until he is picked up when he is out in the room exploring. He loves to eat paper and I think he is very smart, so I have tried to make some toys for him that hang up in his cage.
At the moment, his toilet training is okay, he seems to go on the pads when he is in his cage, but anywhere he wants when out of it (we use puppy training pads just like we used with our other bunny Dudley or Mr Dudles as we call him. I think it will get better though when he is fixed on Thursday because he is already 4 months old so that may be playing a part both in sexual issues as well as being young and having a hard time controlling his needs.
We probably made the most mistakes in just assuming he would be as laid back and easy going as an Angora (which are scarily okay with huge dogs, birds, and everything you can imagine), but with our routine we have going now with being let out and being picked up and everything, he seems very comfortable and happy.
Anyway, we love Poe and can't wait to have him out all the time with us sitting on our laps while we watch TV!
:biggrin2:
Cheers,
Toya
