New bunny advice

[Lauraeli]

My friend was watching my bunny recently. He has a bunch of bunnies in his backyard. When I went to pick up my bunny I ended up coming home with two bunnies instead! She's an unspayed female, not sure about her age.

She was originally running in the outside pen with the other females but at some point started bullying them and was put in a cage in the shed. It was just a little wire cage with nothing in it.

Needless to say she is used to pooping and peeing wherever she is. I just got her yesterday so othats what she has been doing so far. I've just been wiping up the pee and putting the poops in the litterbox. Anything else I can do to help her litterbox train?

Right now she is in a 36inch dog kennel, the one I used to use for my bunny. Its bigger than what she had at least.

She loves to dig in her litterbox but I hope with time she will find other things to do. She seems to like to dig before laying down so I think besides just enjoying the activity, she is 'making her bed'. I set a plastic tote lid on the other side of her cage because she seems to like to lay on a bare surface.

She is also extremely chubby.

This morning I opened her cage so she could run around in a sectioned off portion of the kitchen. She is most comfortable in her cage right now bit that's understandable.

She did come out and circle my legs, thumping her foot a few times. What the heck does that mean? Any clue?

Overall she seems to have a reasonable disposition and if I decide she will probably work out (and get along with my bunny) then I will be getting her spayed, sooner rather than later.

So: litter training tips, and what does the circling/thumping behavior mean?

 

[Aki]

Litter training an unspayed bunny is not always easy, especially if there is another bunny in the house. Just pick up, wipe, and wash the smell with vinegar when she does things where she shouldn't. Put the hay over or behind the litterbox so that she's enticed to go inside to eat (the best is to put a pretty big litterbox against one of the cage's 'wall' and to put the hay rack on the outside of the cage just over the litterbox so she has to be in it to eat, there are also some kind of balls you can hang from the 'ceiling' and fill with hay). It worked for me everytime.

Circling your legs is a hormonal behavior, it shows excitation and rabbits tend to do it around potential sexual partners (or like anything that moves, it's not uncommon for them to do that with people). Thumping generally indicates that there is something bothering her or that unsettles her, it's really not surprising considering she's in a new environment and thus probably on alert for weird sounds / smells... Some rabbits are more sensitive than others, one of mine used to thump a lot when we lived in Paris (my flat was over an underground station and I think the vibrations from the trains bothered him), he seldom does it now that we moved in a quieter place.

 

[Lauraeli]

alright, I will keep on with the litter box as I have and hopefully she will get an idea of where to go.

I did introduce her to my bunny in the car and supervised them at home for maybe 45 mins, they seemed to do alright. I wouldn't call them fast friends, a little bit of scuffling but overall I think they could become friends if given time to bond.

I am planning on holding off on the bonding for now since she is unspayed but their cages are near eachother and I will be swapping their litterboxes so they get used to eachothers presence and smell.

Otherwise it would be nice if I could bond them before the spay so he could go with her to the vet for comfort, but the general consensus is that it is a bad idea?

 

[Lauraeli]

I dont think she likes me. :-( she thumps her foot at me when I'm near her cage. She let's me pet her head but she thumps her foot afterwards. Also she jumps into her litterbox, turns her back to me and starts digging furiously, pausing ocassionally to peek over her shoulder at me. So rude!

 

[Lauraeli]

Now I'm doing it back at her lol. See how she likes it!

 

[Blue eyes]

With the new girl unspayed, there is no way to predict potential bond-ability. They could be snuggling and best of friends right now and that still wouldn't mean they would get along once she's spayed. They could hate each other right now and then become inseparable after she's spayed.

Don't use their current interaction as even the slightest indication of how they will be in the future. Spaying changes everything.

Do not even attempt to bond them now. When she returns from the vet, both bunnies will see the other as brand new bunnies. She will need about a month after spaying for hormones to dissipate and settle. Then, and only then, should they be allowed to interact. After that, it will be up to the bunnies.

 

[Preitler]

Sounds like one of my does, a very bossy girl, but with patience they come around and in my opinion are great characters.

Just don't lose patience, be around her as much as possible, doing chores or whatnot, a little petting now and then if she allows it...

I like rabbits better that aren't exactly mellow

Also, I'm confident she'll find out what the litter box is for - maybe place a hay rack close to it - mine like to munch'n'poop

 

[Lauraeli]

She hasn't peed outside of her litterbox today but she could be holding it too. There is some pee in her box but not sure when it's from. I haven't seen her drink out of her water bottle at all, so I put a bowl in there today. She was thirsty and was she even the slightest bit grateful for the water? Nope! She took a couple drinks and then leapt into her litterbox in a huff. What a diva! Tap water in a plastic bowl?! Where's my fiji in crystal, you miserable peasant!
Excuse me while I go polish her crown lol

She doesn't know I'm queen around here...should I tell her?

 

[Lauraeli]

Ok I just watched her pee in her box. maybe it won't be so much trouble after all.

 

[Lauraeli]

She's doing great with the litterbox but I'm a little concerned because on top of being overweight, she eats twice as much hay as my other bunny and empties her 32 ounce water bottle in 2 days. She has filled her litterbox with pee in 3 days. I change my other buns box every 2 weeks. This much urinating seems very excessive. Should I be concerned or might this be normal? I use the wood pellet litter

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Remember, cats have staff, dogs have masters, and rabbits have slaves--just so you know your place in the pecking order. Neuter and some time after to settle in to a routine should be your main goals. I used to keep a giant litter box full of shredded newspaper for mine to dig in--easy to pick up.

 

[JBun]

If the increase in water consumption is unusual and it's increased by a significant amount, then yes it can be a cause for concern. I'm dealing with this right now myself with a new rabbit. He's only 3.5lbs and is drinking more than 32 oz. a day. He started off only drinking about 4-6 oz. prior to his neuter, so a huge increase. Right now we(my vet and I) are trying antibiotics and I'm starting panacur for the possibility of e. cuniculi, but my biggest concern is possible kidney problems, which I'm praying it's not as there is no fixing that.

Possible causes for unusual increased drinking and urination: high environmental temperatures, behavioral response due to stress, boredom, dental problems causing mouth pain, infection, cystitis, e. cuniculi, liver disease, kidney disease, feed formulation issues(excess sodium content, vit. d toxicity). There are always other more random things that can also cause it, but these would be the more common possibilities.

 

[Lauraeli]

I don't know if the its an increase in water consumption. I've only had her a few days. But besides the extra weight she's roughly the same size as my other bunny and drinks 3 times the amount of water

 

[RavenousDragon]

If it were my rabbit, I'd be taking her to the vet for all the reasons Jbun mentioned. In fact, when we got Whiskey about a year ago, he was very similar. He'd go through so much water we had to add an extra bowl whilst we were gone for work or class. But it turns out he's a pyschotic polydypsia case (where animals who are bored drink excessively- which can cause some damage to kidneys; this is pretty rare). So we gave him WAY more toys, rotated them more often, began 30 minutes of 'obedience' training each day (yes, this is a rabbit), and he stopped drinking so much! But we had to rule out everything else first.

 

[Lauraeli]

Any other symptoms to look out for that are cause for concern? She goes througb a lot more hay than my other bun, but to her credit, at least she EATS all of it. He picks through and wastes half of it. She also poops less than he does which begs the question, where is it all going? If bunnies are anything like people, I think she might benefit from a probiotic.

 

[Lauraeli]

On a more positive note, Mr Bun is happy to have another bun in the house. Right now their cages are a few feet apart and he is just sprawled out gazing at her...

He has been much more energetic and excited since she came. He bounces around his pen and tries to show her how cool he is with his bunny antics, but alas, when he checks to see if she's paying any attention, she hardly ever is!

Of course he returns her negative sentiments when i move them closer together, but i think its all for show. He's much happier with miss attitude around, even if they aren't friends yet. Even if he can only gaze lovingly at her backside while she snubs him lol

 

[JBun]

Any other symptoms to look out for that are cause for concern? She goes througb a lot more hay than my other bun, but to her credit, at least she EATS all of it. He picks through and wastes half of it. She also poops less than he does which begs the question, where is it all going? If bunnies are anything like people, I think she might benefit from a probiotic.

Weight loss. If she is eating well but is losing weight, that can be another indication of an underlying health problem.

If she is maintaining a healthy weight, then the drinking could be a behavioral issue, such as boredom or stress, or just the change of environment from being in a new home.

You say she's chubby, but don't just go by her large dewlap as an indicator. Go by the back and hindquarters. If it is well fleshed out and not bony, then she is a good weight. If she also has saggy skin folds around her legs, rump, and/or neck, she may be overweight. If she is bony along her back and hindquarters, she is likely underweight. So if she is in the good to overweight category, then health issue isn't as likely.
http://www.pfma.org.uk/_assets/docs/weigh-in-wednesday/pet-size-o-meter-rabbit.pdf

 

[Lauraeli]

Trust me, her rolls have rolls. She has a bubble butt and more than one roll of fat under her chin. She will definitely be losing weight as I have her on a hay/water/salad greens diet. All she was fed at her previous home was pellets.

 

[stevesmum]

Lmao. What a cute little fatty.

 

[Blue eyes]

Do you know how much water she is drinking? I had one rabbit that easily would drink 20 oz per day while my current rabbit sometimes drinks just 5 oz in two days.