How can I convince my parents Update: getting another bunny w/ questions

[The Rabbit]

My bunny needs a mate. He seems bored all the time (I made a htead about him being bored in the behavior section). I want to adopt another bunny.  The Closest Rabbit Rescue isn’t too far away, about an hours drive. They allow(and encourage) you to bring your bunny in so he/she can choose their mate. The problem: I still live with my parents. Back in december I tried to convince my mother to let me get another one. Nothing I said worked.  I’m about to turn  19 and I live with my parents, and brother when he isn’t at college.  I have a job(actually several). I work from home so i’m in and around the rabbit all day.  I have been paying for most of the rabbit food/supplies for the last few months, where as before I couldn’t afford to and my parents did.  This is an informed decision, I truly think it will be whats best for my bunny.  My mothers main argument is that she doesn’t want any more animals. At the time I first brought this up, we had two dogs a cat , a guinea pig and a turtle. One of my dogs died of very very old age at 18(almost nineteen) years old early last month. My guinea pig is about seven years old, and obviously they don’t live long. My turtle was given to me by a friend back in 06. She “rescued” him from china town, and i’ve been struggling to care for him ever since. I’ve been hunting for a home for him. I tried contacting the turtle and tortoise rescue, but they never got back to me. He definitely needs a home, I’m no good with turtles and his tank is too small for him. So, right now we have a dog, cat, turtle, guinea pig and rabbit. But the thing is, *I* deal with the bunny. She doesn’t. I provide for allof his care, save when she desides she wants to give him extra greens. He lives in my room. She only sees him when she comes to my room, or if I bring him out to see her. She only gets to enjoy the bunny. I do the hard work.  I rarely go anywhere for extended periods of time. I ahve gone a couple of times to visit my boyfriend, but he s preferring to come here now. If I did go there, it would be easier for her to take care of two rabbits then one. they keep each other company, and care for each other. She’d only have to check their water, pet them ocassionally, and make sure they have full bowls of food. How can I get her to see that I’m responsible, and enough so to get another rabbit?

[RabbitPam]

Hi, I haven’t checked your post in Behavior yet, but I would like to reply based on what you just wrote.
Clearly you are a responsible pet owner with good intentions and great care habits. However (uh, the dreaded “but”) it still is not your home. One of the reasons we advocate getting bunnies when you are an adult on your own is because it becomes solely your decision and responsibility. As long as someone else must be involved, in your case your parents and with others it’s their spouse, then you really must take their preferences into account. In fairness, you have a bunny so you are not deprived the great relationship with one. If something (God forbid) were to happen to your only bunny, then I would favor your getting a new bunny since you have shown them you are quite responsible. But it is a mutual choice, and while it seems that your Mom’s preference rules, which is upsetting to you, she does have the brunt of the decision regarding her home. Your bunny will be with you for about 10 years, so many changes can come about in that time.

That said, let me address your concerns for your bunny, which may help relieve your mind somewhat. bunnies are very social, but not limited to social pleasure with their own species. They adore human company, and can become adaptable to the right dogs or cats in the home as well. So if you are there much of the day, you are providing the company your bunny needs already.

Bunnies are what is called “crepuscular,” which means they are most active during the dawn and dusk hours. They sleep mostly in the dark of night or DURING THE DAY. Because of this, what may seem like loneliness or sadness in a bunny that you see during the mid-morning and afternoons is actually their natural time to get some rest. Ironically, my bunnies have always slept more deeply when I am there to see it because they feel even safer with me around. So rather than pining for a mate, they are happlily getting some very good zzzzz’s. I used to think I should have a mate for Spockie so he wouldn’t be lonely while I was at work, but a few weeks working at home showed me that he did what I described. A daytime work schedule is perfect for their natural rhythms, so even if you move out eventually and get a job, you will not be making your bunny more lonely.

A bunny can get a new friend at any age. You can introduce a possible mate in a year, or even two or three. Bunny dating is an excellent way to go about it. But since you already know that your bunny has a say in the decision, thus the date where bunny gets to help pick, your mom has a say as well.
And a second bunny is twice the expense – the need for pets and food is basic, but the potential for an unexpected need for vet care doubles.

I know this must all sound discouraging, but I hope it helps. Bunny love lasts a lifetime, so be certain that another bunny IS in your future. I would let it go for now.

[Beka27]

I have to agree with Pam. I think us humans always think our buns are more sad and lonely than they really are. The truth is, getting a second bun does not guarantee that they will bond immediately. So you’d have to have two separate cages and separate playtimes at the beginning. Bonding would have to be done somewhere else in the house since your room would not be considered “neutral”. Litter habits tend to go out the window during bonding, and marking with poop and pee may be a consistent thing even after they bond. I love having two buns, but it’s a lot of work initially, getting them to the point where they can be together. You sound very busy right now, so as much as I hate to discourage you, I think it would be better if you waited until you were officially on your own with more room. Your bun is still very young, right? They live a long time, so you can always look into getting a mate in a year or two.

Do you ever allow the bun and pig to play together? With supervision, they may be able to interact. They can’t be housed together, but that doesn’t mean they must always be kept separate.

[The Rabbit]

I sat my parents down, and gave them a presentation. They really liked it, and can’t stop saying how impressed they were. I really think I might have a chance. They said they will discuss it, and that they were really proud of my presentation. I covered everything from how my behavior has changed since I got my rabbit, and to the care and feeding of a bunny, and bunny bonding. I feel really good about this.

Beka27—My bun and my Pig do *not* get along. When my bun was a baby I had them meet, I had two pigs at that time. They all got along. I didn’t really push it after that, and he’s quite a bit bigger than my pig. One time, I had him in the room where the guinea pigs cage is. I was holding him, and I leaned down to hand my guinea pig to carrots. Her cage opens from the top, and even though I had a good grasp on my bun, he jumped into the cage and promptly boxed her across the face! It was horrible.

[Beka27]

In another thread, you mentioned how small your room is. Do you have room for a second cage set-up? And is there neutral space elsewhere in your house that you can use for bunny bonding?

[The Rabbit]

Yes. Yes, and Yes. I’m Making a bigger bunny cage. I’m using the cubes and they will go upward, so it’ll be big enough for both bunnies, hopefully. I guess my room isn’t quite as small as I put it. It’s the biggest room in the house, and bigger than any room i’ve had. It’s actually bigger than any of my friends rooms, so i’m going to say it isn’t that small. I do have another space. We have an extra room in the house. It’s a bedroom, and we mostly have craft supplies and odds and ends in there. It’s small, but it’s meant to be a bedroom, so there is more than enough room to keep the bun in there. It would be wrong to force them together right away, and I’d love to do this properly.  She’d have her own set up. I’d probably fashion a small “cage” out of the cubes and have it in there for her. i’d get her her own litter box, and I already have food bowls and a water bottle she can use. The food bowls were my cats many years ago, and havent ben in use since, so they shouldn’t have any offensive odors on them.

 

I’m actually pretty positive my mother is going to say yes. We have several major family things happening in may, so it couldn’t be then. She said it would have to be after that so that I could devote my time to the new bunny, and I completely agree.

She even just went and ordered him a set of stacking cups. She absolutely loves this little bun, she said that She’s his as good as his Grandma so she should get to spoil him. I guess every bunny needs a little spoiling.

[Beka27]

Oh good! That sounds good then! It’s always a concern when bonding bunnies b/c they can get territorial… Would you be adopting an adult rabbit who is already spayed/neutered? If you do, then you can move along much quicker with the bonding process, and you save a lot of money over doing the surgery yourself.

[The Rabbit]

Of course. I’ve looked into a bunch of different Rabbit rescues in my area. I started getting a little confused, because one I was pretty sure I wanted to go with. But then I found another rescue that has some of the same rabbits (name and everything) listed on their page, they have a blog, and a facebook, but no contact information. Then, I saw some of the same rabbits on a craigslist ad for a bunny adoption day, but with *another* rescue name. Maybe all three of these places are working with these bunnies? I’m also looking into shelters. There is a shelter nearby that does *not* take care of the bunnies properly. I was in there a couple times last year when I was doing vounteer work to help place dogs in good homes. The cages were small, and cramped. The buns looked absolutely miserable waiting for death. There was feces and pee everywhere, and several very heavy food bowels were upsidedown. I mentioned the bowls to the shelter people and they claimed that the rabbit did it. a tiny warf rabbit couldn’t lift a huge heavy ceramic bowel. Or even push it over. The only problem with going that route is i’d feel extremely guilty for not rescuing the other buns. Plus it would be harder to find a spayed female. I also have another bun I’m thinking about.. I don’t know much information yet, but once a week I take horse riding lessons. My teacher is a newly wed, and she has a chinchilla. She somehow came into this rabbit, and she’s mentioned a couple of times that she can’t take care of her. Thats another bunny to look into, I suppose but she probably isn’t spayed.

 

A lot of Rabbit adoption places require a home check. I’m pretty worried about that. I’m certain that the majority of my house (The non rabbit lived sections) would not pass.  The bedroom should pass inspection, as all cords are wrapped (except for the computer cords. my computer is actually in a sliding closet. my chair sits just on the outsode, and the door is clsoed when it isn’t in use).

 

I found one rescue that looks promising, but they do something that worries me. They have a rabbit bonding specialist, and she would take my bunny, and his new friend to her home for a week, maybe more to bond them. I’m sure she takes good care of them and known what she’s doing, but I don’t want my bunny to be confused and alone without me. It said that the unfamiliar territory will force the bunnies together for comfort. But I don’t want him so comfortable that he no longer needs me!

[BinkyBunny]

 It’s not uncommon for rabbit rescues to work together.  For example SaveABunny.org works with many bay area shelters and will post photos of bunnies from many of them.  

As far as the home inspection goes, it’s not a bad idea to think of all the things that they may consider as it just makes a safer place for your bunnies anyway.  You can ask them what they are looking for in a home inspection so you can make the improvements necessary before they arrive.  There’s nothing wrong with that and if anything it shows you’re responsible which would be in your favor.  Check out our Bunny Proofing section to help you with wiring and areas you cannot have bunnies get into.

I’m sorry to hear that one of the shelters didn’t have proper care for their bunny section.     

The other rescue  does sound promising and though the bonding specialist thing worries you — though it sounds like HEAVEN to me (just because I know how stressful bonding can be if bunnies don’t get along), does the rescue REQUIRE you to leave your bunny with the specialist, or if you so decide can you try bonding yourself and  just get some tips from their specialist?    I wouldn’t worry though that your bunny would no longer need you.   A bunny knows what love and care feels like, and we know you will be giving that….and so you will always be needed by your bunny. (or bunnies!)  So don’t worry, it’s like if you had to go on vacation for a week,  your bunny will still love you when you return. 

As far as your  teacher’s bunny, would she be willing to get her spayed first? 

[The Rabbit]

The shelter wasn’t a rescue—it was a pound. I sent out a *ton* of emails yesterday to various groups. a lot of them wrote back, pretty fast actually. I wrote one about 11:00 at night and the woman wrote back around 12:00. She said to fill out the adoption form, and gave me her number. She’d like me to call her tomorrow. I guess when I call her I’ll find out how the adoption process with them works, they have a *lot* of bunnies.

I have an interesting question: The house rabbit societies article on introducing rabbits( http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/introductions.html) says

“Try to bring your current rabbit with you to pick up your new rabbit, so that they can share that first car ride together.”

Does that mean they should go in the same carrier? I’m feeling a bit tentative about that.

[mocha200]

i would put them in a basket. but bring the carrier just encase and if you have two bring two.

[usagi]

I saw someone at the shelter in bring their bun in inside one of those big plastic containers (without the top on, of course). It seemed to work quite well. I would probably bring something extra in the case that the buns need to be separate on the ride home. A big box could work, too.

[Barbie]

When I got Jeannie, I of course brought Leroy so he could pick his new girlfriend. However, I had two separate carriers for them to ride home in. I was driving and didn’t have a helper with me, so I didn’t want to run the risk. If someone will be coming with you, then putting them both in something like a laundry basket (soemthing w an open top so you can reach in quickly and break them up if anything happens) would probably be ok. (Though I still contend that all rabbits should be in a hard plastic carrier in the car in case of an accident.) The theory is that a car ride stresses them out and that the two bunnies will snuggle up together, seeking comfort from each other.

[The Rabbit]

Thanks guys. I will have helpers, two I think.  My mom, and hopefully my boyfriend. I have another question: When the buns come home, what do I do? do I put the girl bun in her new set up, or do I keep them together for awhile? (in the basket or neutral territory)

 

Better yet—is there a full how to somehwere out there? I’m finding info on what to do in the days after, but i’m unsure what to do when they come home. also, whats a good way to get them water in the car?

[Beka27]

Read the Bonding info section. There are personal accounts from members of how their bonding experiences went. Once you read a few, you will quickly realize that every rabbit, and every situation, is different. But there are “guidelines” that you should follow. My favorite article about bonding is from the House Rabbit Network, It is long and through, but very helpful and it takes you through step by step, as well as a “troubleshooting” section. I’ll post the link. I recommend you actually print it out so you can read it here, there, and everywhere and make notes on it.

http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/articles/bond.shtml

Edited to add: I don’t think I would begin bonding immediately.  You may also want to take your rabbit back a couple times to meet with the other bunnies.  The first meeting may go well but the second time they may decide they hate each other.  So take your time and don’t just adopt the first bunny you see.  Following his cues will help make the bonding a much simpler preocess.  When you do bring a bun home, I’d let him/her check out the place and get acclimated for a day or two.  Then you can start switching pens and doing bonding sessions in neutral space.

[The Rabbit]

Thanks. So I’d keep the new bun in her new cage for a few days, and then reintroduce them? This article will really come in handy, it’s printing as we speak.

[Author]

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