New "rescue" Bunny..many questions

[VegasHalo618]

Wegot a newbun just before Christmas. He is about 18 months old and was returned to the pet store because of what they called "cage aggression." They said he bit people that tried to stick their hand in his cage or pick him up. It seems that is cage was too small and he was never let out.

Since we got him we have done much research on how to handle and care for rabbits and we are having great luck with his progress.He has a cage but the door stays open most all day (my husband and I both work from home most of the time) He lets us pet him now but he doesn't seem to like to be picked up at all so we just haven't pushed it.

I have a couple of questions in particular...

I am having him neutered on Tuesday and would like to know if there is any post op care or info that I need to be aware of. Oreo is our first bun and we have not been through this before.

Also, we are having what seems to be a typical problem with digging/biting the carpet and pulling out the fibers. He doesn&#39;t seem to be eating them and we have put a big spare piece of carpet over "his area" where we see him dig most. I would like any advice on how to reduce the behavior.For now we clap and say "no bunny"but he seems to just wait until he thinks we are not looking andgo at it again. He has lots of chew toys and cardboard boxes and grass mats and grass tunnels. He just seems to like the carpet fibers better. I have read that neutering him may help but any other tips would be great.<WBR>

Thanks,

Haley

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

Digging is natural and it&#39;s hard to stop but sometimes it tunes down with age. If it&#39;s in specific areas, try placing something like a tile over the spot or filling a box with shredded paper and placing it on the same spotto let him dig in it instead.

As for the neuter, there isn&#39;t a lot of special care. The cage needs to be clean to make sure no infection starts but a neuter is pretty basic. Most boys are back to themselves if not within a few hours then by the next day.

It&#39;s sounds like you&#39;re doing a great job with him! Oh, and most bunnies don&#39;t like to be picked up, some just learn to tolerate it. A lot of members here avoid picking them up and train them to go to their cages on their own.

 

[Haley]

Hi Haley, nice name

Thats so great of you to take in this little guy that others didnt want. Some people just dont know what it means to actually care for an animal. It makes me sick how many bunnies are let loose or surrendered to shelters because their owners wont take the time to figure out whats wrong.

Its great that youre getting him neutered. Did you first make sure its a vet who is very familiar with rabbits? Not all dog/cat vets know a lot about bunnies. If they tell you to withold food the night before the surgery, I probably wouldnt go there (ask to speak to the vet to ask why, sometimes the secretaries just say it out of habit). But bunnies need to eat right up until the surgery to avoid having GI problems. Also, rabbits cant vomit so theres no need to withhold, as their is with other pets.

Male bunnies usually recover pretty fast after a neuter. Just make sure he has somewhere warm and quiet to lay down after you pick him up. I would keep him in his cage for a day or so to avoid him jumping or exerting himself too much. Other than that, it should be things as usual. You want to be sure he&#39;s eating by the next morning at the very latest.

For the digging, hopefully it will lessen after the neuter. Sounds like youre doing everything else right (yelling NO, clapping hands, giving him other things to chew on). Sometimes if theres a spot my bunny likes to dig, I will place something there that he can dig on, like a straw mat.

Hope that helps! Congrats on your new bunny and welcome to RO!

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

:yeahthat Haley-I don&#39;t think anyone could&#39;ve said that better! You hit it all. Are you taking multi-vitamins?

 

[Haley]

:laugh:
Snuffles wrote:

Are you taking multi-vitamins?

Maybe its the OCD..theres a mental checklist that runs through my head all day... :juggle

 

[cheryl]

And also to add to the greatinfo,here is a link on spaying and neutering that you can also have a read through http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12040&forum_id=10[/url"]http://rabbitsonline.net/view<WBR>_topic.php?id=12040&forum<WBR>_id=10]http://rabbits-forums<WBR>.com/view_topic.php?id=12040<WBR>&forum_id=10[/url]

cheryl

 

[VegasHalo618]

Thanks for the quick reply. I have gotten great responses to my questions. This site is wonderful for 1st time bunny moms. Tomorrow is the big day at the vet for him. Hope all goes well. Thanks for the advice. Also, as far as picking him up, I just tried it a couple of times and saw that he was really not excited about the idea. We are able to get him in his cage at night by walking behind him and clapping gently and saying "time for bed bunny." He is pretty good to just go on in at about 11 or so. He also will go into his pet carrier if I put a carrot or something in there. I really have no real need to pick him up, just thought it would be cool to hold him. He obvoiusly didn&#39;t see the coolness in it. hahah. He did, however, jump on the couch this morning and nudge me to be petted on the nose. A proud first for us. I am really enjoying this.

 

[VegasHalo618]

Thanks for the quick reply. I got the name of the vet from the House Rabbit Society website and they are right down the street. I took him in for a "bunny check up" just to check things out. As it turns out, the vet has 2 bunnies of her own and is a wildlife rehabilator in her spare time. She seems to really know her stuff when it comes to bunnies. Shedid tell meNOT to with hold food before surgery. Also, if I ever had to take him to an ER Vet for any sort of emergency after hours to call her on her cell because she said most vets don&#39;t know enough about rabbits and she wanted to be there or at least talk to the Vet. Hopefully, he will be in good hands tomorrow.

He is really starting to come out of his shell. Today, he jumped on the couch with me and nudged me to pet him. This is really great progress from how skiddish he was even just a week ago.

 

[VegasHalo618]

No, not giving him multi vitamins. Should I be? He gets some variety of fresh spinach, cilantro, parsley, carrots and carrottops, & broccoli twice a day.Some small amounts of fruit occasionallly. a couple of blueberries or small apple chunks or a grape here and there. He also has an unlimited Timothy Hay supply and"vita vittles"pellet food (small amount each day). If I need to also have him on vitamins, can you give me a brand name or if it goes in his food or water bottle, etc. This is a new one for me.

 

[Haley]

VegasHalo618[<WBR>/user] wrote: [/b][quote]No, not giving him multi vitamins. Should I be? He gets some variety of fresh spinach, cilantro, parsley, carrots and carrottops, & broccoli twice a day.Some small amounts of fruit occasionallly. a couple of blueberries or small apple chunks or a grape here and there. He also has an unlimited Timothy Hay supply and"vita vittles"pellet food (small amount each day). If I need to also have him on vitamins, can you give me a brand name or if it goes in his food or water bottle, etc. This is a new one for me.[/quote]
oh, sorry about that..misunderstanding! Snuffles was complimenting me on covering everything in my post to you, so she jokingly asked if I was taking vitamins (because my brain was working so well ;)). hehe. Get it?

You sound like you are doing a great job with him. And Im so jealous of how great your vet sounds! His diet sounds wonderful. I think you are definitely already a perfect bunny slave!

So is the nueter tomorrow or just a check up? Good Luck!