New from NC!

[juniper8209]

My name is Jen, and I am a new bunny owner. I've always been interested in rabbits, but was always nervous about having one because they seem so fragile. But I went to my local feed store last week to get dog food and chicken food and they had about six rabbits crammed into this itty bitty cage with no bedding, only a piece of cardboard to soak up the urine. My little Trumpet was the smallest one in there, they were all overheated (it was easily 100 degrees in there), and Trumpet was stressed and had a ball of poo stuck to his bum acting like a plug! The owner said he'd had some diarrhea.

I knew he was in trouble, so I bought him with every intention of taking him home, letting him cool off and calm down and then making an emergency trip to the vet. I put him in my bathroom which is very cool and quiet with some fresh water and food. I also gave him a bath and got the poo off of him. He just sat there and let me do it. I honestly think he knew I was helping him, and I'm pretty sure we bonded then because since then, he has let me pick him up and tote him around and loves to nuzzle up under my neck. He is just the sweetest thing!

After the bath and some time to dry off, cool off, and calm down, the diarrhea went away completely and he has been doing 100% awesome. I think he was just VERY stressed out from being too hot and too crowded. He shares a cage with my guinea pig Melody and they are inseparable. The only thing I wish is that I could have rescued the other rabbits that were crammed in there with him.

I have been doing TONS of reading about rabbits. They are so different than any other animal I have (and I have just about everything from dogs to parakeets to chickens!). I love this baby so much, and I know now that I'll never have a house without a rabbit!!

I do not know an age or breed for him. He's pretty small with little ears. The feed store said he is a dwarf, so if he is, he's probably an adult or very close to being an adult. Honestly, I don't care what he is...he's my sweetheart and he's safe!

 

[Must_Love_Pets]

Well welcome to RO!!! Can't wait to see pictures. So happy you saved him from those horrble conditions. You both sound very happy and he is luck to have you.

Poor other bun buns is there anyway you can call the owner on it and let him know that that is animal cruelty and he needs to provide space and cooling for them? Can you call the SPCA on him? Those bunnies sound like they will die VERY SOON if someone does not intervene. Bunnies do not take heat very well at all and can die from heatstroke or can cause perm. brain damage.

 

[SOOOSKA]

Congratulations on rescuing Trumpet. He sounds lovely.

I am under the impression that housing rabbits andguinea pigs together is not ideal. Their food should not be fed to the other, meaning GP food should not be fed to bunnies and vise versa. Hopefully someone who has more experience with GP and bunnies will come on and explain why it's not a good idea.

Maybe you should stat a blog in the nutrition section and ask about housing GP & Rabbits together, that way you will get the correct info.

Do you have pictures of Trumpet?

I look forward to hearing all about him.

Susan

 

[juniper8209]

Hi Susan! The housing arrangement is temporary until I can find a suitable cage for Trumpet. From what I've read, a lot of people don't like putting them together because rabbits tend to be MUCH bigger than GP's and kick when they play which could injure the GP. Trumpet doesn't play rough nor is he much bigger than the GP at this point. So, no worries there. As far as the food, I could have been misled, but many people have told me that rabbits can eat GP food, but not the other way around since GP's need the extra Vitamin C. Like I said, I could be mistaken...this is my first rabbit after all! And I want the best for him. But any and all recommendations are welcome!

As far as calling the ASPCA...we have no functional ASPCA. We have a SPCA, but the lady who runs it is looking to retire ASAP, and doesn't do anything except house the animals she currently has. But I did call Animal Control. They said they'd send an officer out to inform and enforce habitable living conditions. The next time I go up there, I'll check to see if they are in better conditions.

 

[Must_Love_Pets]

That is a HUGE relief and great call on you part!! I hope he can make better living arrangements for them all so they are all healthy, comfy and happy bunners. I am assuming he needs to educated so we will go easy on him.

I am excited to see pics.:biggrin2:

 

[juniper8209]

I know! I've got to quit procrastinating and hook my phone up to the computer! I haven't taken very many yet. But when I have more I'll be sure to bombard the forum with all of them!

Oh, and a question...is it normal for rabbits to have eyes of different color? And if so, does it mean that the chance for blindness is increased in one eye? Trumpet has one amber colored eye and one blue eye. Never seen a rabbit like that before.

 

[Must_Love_Pets]

On my phone I can email them to my email and then copy them from my email to my computer. Can you email photos from your phone?

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Hello and welcome to RO. We love our bunnies and our other animals too!

 

[Wabbitdad12]

Let me welcome you to Rabbits Online, my name is Dave and I am a moderator on the forum. So if I can be of any help please let me know. This is a terrific website for rabbits and their slaves, not only is it very active but also friendly. I am so glad you’re here and I know you will enjoy it.

Many bunny's recommend their slaves to this site so we may learn of others methods to keeping our furry masters happy.

If you everhave a sick bunny, please post in The Infirmary and include your rabbit's age, breed and health history as well diet and output details leading up to the problem.

I have listed some links I thought you might find interesting:

*For reference the Library section

*To brag or tell everyone about the antics of your bunny or just to talk about your day here is where to start a Bunny Blog, you can also look back at it later and remember when you had a life before your bunny.

*Now all the bunny’s like talk to each other when we mere slaves aren’t around in the Bunny Chat is the spot to be.

*Rabbits Online also has regional forums , this a good way to find a vet in your area that has experience with rabbits and to find out from other nearby of good sources of rabbit supplies.

The Let Your Hare Down section is for anything non-bunny related.

Here is a link tothat will help you and your bunny to connect, How To Bond With Your Bunny.

Now every forum has rules and ours can be found with this link Rabbits Online Forum Rules. This gives guidelines on what is acceptable, what is not and how we hope everyone will treat each other.

Everyone on this forum loves to see pictures of each other’s bunnies. So if you would like to post a picture this link will help you do that, Upload Photo's to Photo Gallery. Then in the post, you click on the "G" in the tool bar to insert your photo. Many people also use Photobucket. You just copy the img file and paste it into the post.

I am glad you have joined rabbits online and I look forward to seeing you around.