Bunnies are closer to Bugs than Thumper. They are evil and cute. Had one who liked to mix it up with my cat. They would get into a bear hug and try to claw out each other’s innards. The cat could retract her claws but Unnatural Velvet went into it fully armed. It was horrifying to watch but they would have a riot.
Wow! I honestly had no clue that bunnies could learn to to that. Is the clicking a way to tell bunny what to do?
Not that it matters, Missy Fluff is not staying. *That’s not her name, its just what I’m calling her while talking about her to people. *
I thought the one from Monty Python was purely made up.
Good to see the bunny is getting better. Keep up with the hay. Fresh grass is also good and dandelions have been a particular favourite of all my buns.
Yep they can be trained (tricks no less) - I have always considered them to have the brains of a dog with the temperament of a cat.
This site can help you understand what the bun is saying http://language.rabbitspeak.com/.
Now as for looking at the tummy - pick bunny up with head level with shoulder with a **firm **grip on bum and shoulders (now sit down). Pivoting from the bum end with it still on your body bring the head forward and down. If bun starts to struggle - stop and let it settle for a while (treats would be appropriate) then try again. If the bun still freaks out then this technique probably wont work - some bunnies love it and some just don’t. Repeat the bringing the bun down until on it’s back and rest between you legs (still keeping up with the treats) while bun is chewing away have a quick and light look at the stitches - be wary of those back legs.
Just give bun a good amount of hay; they won’t overeat it, and having enough hay around will avoid issues with running out. It sounds like the amount you’re giving is good for now - if all the hay was gone (or close) that would be underfeeding. Not too much fruit - thy love it but too many treats can lead to runny stools. Buns will also eat (certain, very specific) stools to have a second chance at digesting the nutrients, so don’t discourage him/her from poking around the butt now and then. They look kind of like tiny, dark-colored jelly beans but with the texture of really soft gummy bears. An occasional missed one is OK, but more than one pile left behind could be a problem.
This is why the Bible prohibits the Jews from eating rabbit “because he cheweth the cud but divideth not the hoof, therefore he is unclean to you” (through strictly speaking the animal being referred to is probably the Egyptian Hyrax). Rabbits digest their food several times to get the maximum nutrient out of it but unlike cows they have to excrete it to do so. Most rabbit owners will never notice this going on, unless the rabbit is put in a straitjacket and prevented from doing so.
Fought with a lop-eared fuzzy bunny and barely escaped with his life. Way to make all the other cats think he’s a pussy.
They’re awesome and seriously underrated.
My name here is actually a reference to a rabbit…
I had no idea that bunnies eat their poop. I’m so glad I learned this, I probably would have been worried if I saw it. Does this mean I shouldn’t scoop her litterbox twice a day?
Ferret Herder, I live in the sticks. People are constantly bringing animals here and dumping them. I am starting to be concerned that is what happened to bunny. Nobody has called me, and I have posters on both of the community boards, and on every stop sign. There is a bunny rescue group here, but they are currently overwhelmed. Missy Fluff can stay here until they have room. She’s no bother at all, and shes really cute.
I found a place to get 5 lb bags of loose hay. I’ll donate all the leftovers to the rescue group when she leaves. Missy Fluff IS leaving, it just might take longer than I had hoped.
Today, I managed to get a look and feel at her stitches. They look good. Kitty is looking good as well.
Bozuit, kitty just had his balls cut off and is only 10 months old. His mama didn’t properly teach him how to hunt and he…
Yeah…all the other cats will probably think that he’s a pussy.:smack:
Someone needs to read Watership Down again…bunnies are *totally*badass!
Really, the only question now is whether your new bunny yes, you clearly have a new bunny, simply accept it and move on… is named General Woundwort, or the more intellectual but going to get him compared to electronics Blackberry.
Go to bunspace.com. All the bunny help you need. In particular most of the bunny people I know have a different litter set up. Also I assume you already know bare metal cage bottoms are bad for bunny feet.
They tend to eat it right away. Anything you see in the litter box has probably already been through twice, so it can go.
Yeah, I’ve seen mine do this - from what I’ve read, their little brains apparently get a signal that the important nutritious stuff is coming through, and they just poke their head down near their butt and quickly grab it.
It’s important to distinguish that it’s not the big dry round poop that they eat, but those special little “soft small jellybean” bits. You might never see those since they’re usually so good at going for them right away. The ones that are the size of small marbles are completely digested - and unlike dog/cat poop, can be used right in your garden or compost heap.
Do scoop/change out the box. Standing on wet litter can get their paws/butt wet, and this can lead to matted fur or foot sores. They can get these sores (sore hocks) from sitting on wire cage floors as well.
Again, thank you. I scoop all of my boxes twice a day, it would have been hard to not scoop Missie Fluff’s box with the others.
From what I’ve read about bunnies, they are pretty fragile. I didn’t know that. I thought that because they were all over, they were survivors.
Anyhow, Missie Fluff is chewing up the litter box. The litterbox has Feline Pine and an insert so that the sawdust will fall through holes and she won’t have to stand in her pee. Scooping her box is easy, all of the poop is on top. HOWEVER, she is chewing the plastic. I don’t think that’s good for her. I gave her a piece of wood to chew, but its not chewed. She also ripped up her bed. I don’t think that’s good for her either.
Is this a sign of stress? I know that she’s had a hard time recently, but I don’t want to nurse her through stitches to have her get blocked up because she is eating plastic and fabric.
The floor on the cage she is in is covered with vinyl and I can see some bite marks on the edge.
I’m guessing that she is chewing because that’s what bunnies do, not because she want’s to chew her way out of the cage.
I still haven’t heard from her owners. I really do want to get her into a rescue group because of my cats. She is NOT my bunny, gosh darnit.
On the good front, Houdini HAS gotten into a no kill rescue. He’s a nice cat who likes to sit on my lap and zone out. He even knows to not kneed me with his very sharp claws while we are cuddling. I hope he finds a good home and has a wonderful life.
Back to bunny. How can I stop her from chewing her litterboxes and beds?
No, they just enjoy a hot meal as much as anyone.
Bunnies love to chew and dig. I’m not sure if it needs to be specifically bunny safe, but you can give her some thick pieces of cardboard to play with. They also love to run around, so if you close off and bunny proof a room you can let her roam around.
Bunnies need exercise. And entertainment. They will often make their own entertainment by chewing the crap out of stuff and causing general destruction. Sometimes they will chew just for the hell of it.
How much time is she getting outside of the cage?
Tape down the vinyl edges -use something really really sticky coz buns don’t like to touch stickiness. Change to a paper litter. Give her stuff to chew (hay, apple wood, willow) My buns prefer the branches not dried out and with the bark on. Investigate making some bunny toys (loo tube stuffed with hay, pine cone stuffed with pellet mush, treat ball filled with pepitas/pellets, sea grass matting - no coloured though). Try a sturdier litter tray (thicker plastic).
Some bunnies like to destroy old phone books.
If you’re using a thin-ish litter box, switch to a thicker plastic to discourage easy chewing (or at least make it not so bad if it gets chewed on). Newspaper-based litter like Yesterday’s News is probably better, I agree. If he/she (it’s really hard to tell, trust me) is chewing up bedding, that should be removed to avoid the risk of stomach blockage.
Another toy that rabbits seem to like is those baby plastic car keys. It’s one of the few not-a-chew toy things that mine actually enjoy.
Does the bun have somewhere to hide? Having grown up mostly with dogs and cats, it’s hard to understand just how much of a prey animal these guys still are in instincts. Get a plain cardboard box, cut a big entry hole in one side, and put it in the pen.
Nope, they are all over because they do it like rabbits.
Does anyone know for sure about the issue with ink? Is it definitely not poisonous on newspapers etc.?
If you didn’t know, rabbits’ teeth grow continuously like rodents’ teeth do, so they do need to chew something.
Agreed about somewhere to hide and exercise. Rabbits don’t belong stuck in cages all day, despite what many owners might assume. Of course I know there are practical issues… you don’t want the rabbit to get into another fight and you can’t trust them the way you can cats. If you can give it exercise do try to, but in my experience rabbits are good at finding ways to jump over things.
Got pictures?
Just a thought but if you have a cat harness handy the bun could get some exercise. However they really really need space to run and binky (one of the most fabulous expressions of joy you can have the privilege to witness - trust me on this.