New to indoor bunnies

[SilverBlaze]

Hey guys.

 

Long story short, one of the bunnies we got my sister several months ago is suddenly totally mine, not just in name. Ollie (short for Alasiri), started chasing and attacking her brother that she was housed with, ripping out his fur and generally harassing him. She freaked out, demanded that I move her. So I set up a new crate in my room today, and the bunny that totally froze and panted whenever anyone walked in the room is ‘rearranging’ her crate merrily. (I didn’t know bunnies did that…)

 

The only rabbits I’ve had before was Bunnicula, the outdoor-only bunny that I fed and watered and never really got involved with, and Hershey, the girl that would run up to you, love all over you, warning-thump you hard enough to leave bruises before she bit you and took off. Just to repeat it about five minutes later. She didn’t stay long. So this idea of having a rabbit indoors to play with is kinda…weird to me still. Especially since rabbits don’t really play like cats and dogs do.

 

I’ve been haunting the House Rabbit Society webpage brushing up on care and stuff, but are there any other sites/advice/warning, etc you’d like to share?

 

Oh, I guess a 411 would help, huh? ^_^ Ollie is a 9 month old female Netherland Dwarf, whom litter-box trained herself (didn’t know bunnies did that either until i started reading up), and loves to throw things. My sister bought her a set of plastic baby keys one day, and wound up taking them away that night because she kept throwing them all around the cage. What are some other good ‘throwing’ toys? I saw the HRS suggested cat toys, but how would she be able to grip it enough to throw it?

 

Anyway, I always appriciate any and all advice people are willing to share. ^_^

[Tate]

You’ll want to get her spayed right away, as females have an 80% chance of getting reproductive cancer by the age of 2 and because she’s displaying such aggressive tendencies.
Rabbit.org has a list of vets that specialize in rabbits so you can start there for finding a vet.
Good luck and welcome!

[SilverBlaze]

Really? *is not arguing, just explaining* We got her brother neutered, and the vet said that we wouldn’t have to spay her, since he was neutered. We called and inquired about her attacking him, and he said that sometimes, bonded bunnies just decide to not get along, and spaying her wouldn’t alter her behavior any. We neutered Frost (the boy) about 3 months ago, and he’s still the same as he was before. *is curious now*

[Stickerbunny]

Females may get aggressive if not spayed, which is probably what caused the chasing. As Tate said the risk of cancer is very high. The risk of her destroying things is also very high. My female destroyed my entire carpet in her room when her hormones kicked in, shredded it to pieces.
  One thing to remember when finding a rabbit vet (mine wasn’t listed on rabbit.org) is they should NEVER make you fast the rabbit before surgery, rabbits cannot vomit. If they say to take food/water up, they don’t know what they are doing and you should find a different vet.

Vine/wicker balls are a favorite of my female. She loves to throw them, chew them etc. If you get the kind without the bell inside (usually sold for birds) it won’t be that loud. Plastic cat balls, the plastic keys are fine sounds like she loved them, just take them away before bedtime so she doesn’t keep you awake.

Also, consider building her a run for exercise – a cage no matter how large is not enough exercise for a bun, they should get to come out and play. You can make hidey huts out of cardboard boxes, just cut a hole big enough for her to crawl through and voila, instant free house.

Otherwise, just basic care tips: Keep hay in her litterbox for her to avoid droppings outside the box, measure her pellets every day so you can make sure she’s eating what she should, always have hay available, introduce veggies slowly if you offer new ones to avoid upsetting her tummy. Oh and I would suggest picking up some white vinegar and nature’s miracle for accident clean ups, takes the smell away.

Edit: Just saw your post was done while I was replying. Spaying her WILL alter her behavior, females often get aggressive from hormones and getting her spayed is very good for her health. Is your vet a regular dog/cat vet that treats rabbits, or a rabbit-savvy vet? Sounds kind of like they don’t treat rabbits very often.

[SilverBlaze]

They said they had alot of experience with rabbits, but the more I’m researching, the more I doubt it. They had us fast Frost for 10 hours prior, and then kept him for six hours past the surgery before he could come home. They did send home antibiotics for him.

She’s been amazingly fussy with veggies…she likes kale. That’s it. We’ve tried offering a gamut of other choices: Herbs, fruits, veggies, dandelion leaves from our non-sprayed yard, all sorts of things. She turns her nose up at everything but kale, which she attacks with gusto. I do limit her to just a few leaves at a time…don’t wanna upset the tummy.

I will admit, I was a bad person: I didn’t check up on the bunnies when we got them for my sister. She’s 16, swore up and down she read all up on rabbits before she wanted one. Come to find out, she won’t play with Ollie (she’s just not as friendly), so she was getting Frost out and playing with him for hours, and ignoring Ollie. >.< I set up her new cage about 2 hours ago and put her in it; I kinda figured I'd leave her alone until I get home from work in the morning (I work thirds, so I'm home from work ~8 am), and then get her out to play for awhile if she's feeling up to it. Do I leave her alone in the cage until she decides to come out, or do I go ahead and reach in and 'force' her out of the cage? I grew up crate-training dogs, and was always told that their crate is their safe-zone; you don't mess with them when they're in there unless it's a very urgent need (I.E. they have something they shouldn't, they're hiding in there avoiding meds, that sorta deal). Same thing with bunnies?

Also, what are some good questions to ask a vet to see if they’re bunny-savvy? I’m starting to think ours isn’t. That may also explain why they kept arguing that Frost wasn’t big enough to neuter (they all said he was entirely too small for his age).

[Tate]

Posted By SilverBlaze on 06/22/2011 09:44 AM
Really? *is not arguing, just explaining* We got her brother neutered, and the vet said that we wouldn’t have to spay her, since he was neutered. We called and inquired about her attacking him, and he said that sometimes, bonded bunnies just decide to not get along, and spaying her wouldn’t alter her behavior any. We neutered Frost (the boy) about 3 months ago, and he’s still the same as he was before. *is curious now*

Lol at your comments!  

A lot of vets simply look at neutering and spaying as a way to prevent babies, and (oddly enough, considering their profession) don’t explain the actual health benefits of it. 

Spaying WILL alter her behavior! It does take about a month for the hormones to die down but she will be much more relaxed. Right now, she is trying to protect her area for when she does have babies. As soon as she stops thinking of that, she won’t be as aggressive. 

 

You have the perfect idea as far as her cage goes… it’s her space and try not to force her out. In fact, try not to force her in as well. If you can lure her in there when she’s done with playtime, it wil be much easier in the end to get her in the cage- just like with crate training. I did this  with my two rabbits and it’s so much easier to say “in your room”, rather than chase them around the apartment.

[Tate]

Here is a link to an article on rabbit.org about questions to ask your potential vet: http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/spay-neuter.html#good-questions

[LoveChaCha]

Spaying is so beneficial. She will chill out (hormones might still be high after a month), be more enjoyable, not have false pregnancies, and behave better… but it doesn’t stop the occasional brattitude (They are, after all, rabbits).

It is also not uncommon to drive 30 minutes to an hour to a vet. Exotic (as rabbits are called) vets can be difficult to find, but it is worth it for the care that they get. Rabbits are very complex.

I would give her back those baby keys She was having fun with em

[Stickerbunny]

Rabbit.org actually has a questionaire for vets ( http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/vet.html)to find out if they truly know about bunnies. Vets will always SAY they know about X animal, but a lot of times they don’t. First vet I called in town said they were great with rabbits – then they say fast for 12 hours … I explain rabbits cannot vomit and there is no need to fast them, they argue, I said “OK, well, thank you. Goodbye” And called another vet. I have a bird and have the same problem with vets – “Oh sure, we treat them all the time…” then ask them some basic questions and they prove to me they don’t even know the basics of their care.

I would just leave her cage open and let her come out on her own. You don’t want to spook her, eventually she’ll come out to explore. Until she is spayed you’ll have to watch her though, as I said, they can be very destructive with hormones. To give you a little example of before spay and after spay – my female would charge me and grunt, thump and bite before her spay, now she just comes over and flops at my feet for pets. My female would also constantly dig the carpet, now she uses her dig box and her cardboard hidey-hut for digging like she should. She used to leave droppings around her area to mark it, now all her droppings and urine go right in the litterbox. And it’s only been 2 1/2 weeks from her spay, so she still has some hormones left. She’s a LOT calmer of a bunny without the mating instincts driving her crazy.

I wonder, did your vet mention to you that the male would still be fertile for a month after his neuter? The fasting is something you do with dogs/cats, because once under they will vomit and that can cause issues during the surgery/after during healing time. Your vet should not have fasted your rabbit, because 1) they can’t vomit, so there is no risk and 2) rabbits often don’t eat after surgery due to pain and you want to limit the amount of time they aren’t eating as much as possible. The keeping them after surgery is normal, because they want to make sure the anesthetic is off and the animal is doing well before sending them home. My vet kept my female for about 5 hours after surgery, called us up to let us know as soon as the surgery was over and how she was doing and sent her home with two doses of pain meds with strict instructions to only use the second if we needed to, as he didn’t want the drugs in her system longer than they needed to be if she was eating.

[Beka27]

Welcome here! It sounds like you’ve gotten some good advice so far. This is one of the frustrating things about seeking care for rabbits. So many professionals are behind the times when it comes to rabbit care. If you continue to look for a new vet, I bet you will find one (or maybe several?) that are more experienced and recognize the health benefits of spaying.

Pregnancy risks aside, boys can sometimes be left unneutered b/c they don’t tend to become aggressive and they don’t have the high risk of cancer. Girls are so territorial and aggressive due to their nesting instinct, that spaying really is a necessity for most people to be able to interact with them at all. AND of course to prevent cancer.

[SilverBlaze]

Tate:

*gryns* Sometimes people online seem to think I’m being ‘snotty’, because I ‘argue’. I’m just one of those people that’s constantly curious. My favorite word is still ‘why’. ^_^ Since online you can’t really catch inflection, I always like to make a note that I’m not really arguing, I’m just trying to learn a bit more. ^_^ I opened her door tonight when I got up (while I was getting dressed), and she poked her head out curiously, but made -no- move to come out-out. I can’t believe your bunnies actually listen when you say ‘go to your room’. XD That’s too cool!!!

LoveChaCha: Oh, I got her a whole new set of keys. And she tossed and threw them for about five minutes after the lights went off, and then I heard a ‘rustle-rustle’, and it all went quiet. When I got up, she had stashed them under her edible ‘couch’. I think she wanted to make sure they weren’t going to get taken away! She’s got an amazing amount of personality for such a little critter. I thought bunnies just sat there and ate. O.o

I used to have turtles, and yeah…finding a turtle-savvy vet took hours on the phone, and the closest was about an hour and a half drive away. We found one alot closer for emergencies, knew just enough in case of a crisis, but their regular doc was two counties away.

Good news though!! I found a bunny-doc in town: She answered the questions great, said that she won’t operate unless the bunny is on a good diet for a few months, suggested (can’t spell the word, but the good bacteria stuff) for about two weeks prior, and continue it until after the bunny has resumed eating. She also said that she asks every bunny owner to bring in some of the bunny food, so they can try to get them to start eating again asap, and all bunnies recover in the ‘Bun-Bun’ room, where it’s quiet and soundproofed from the rest of the clinic. She grilled me about what diet she was on, what bedding, how old, where we got her. Good, yeah??

[LoveChaCha]

Oh yes, bunnies do always eat.. my dad was amazed! He said “Koucha (my bunny’s real given name, her nickname is Chacha) eats SO MUCH!!!!!!” I said “Yes, if they didn’t eat, there would be a very big problem..” lol!

I’m so happy to hear that she is playing It takes some bunnies sometime to get used to their new surroundings.

Did the vet say benebac?
I’m glad you found a good vet I’m glad that there is a bunny room Some rabbits are scared easily, so its good to know

PICTURES PLEASE *poke poke*

[SilverBlaze]

*gryns* Yeah, she’s having a blast. Mom keeps worrying that she’ll be lonely, but she’s doing more now than she did in the cage with Frost. I’m a little lost. She -completely- rearranged her cage, and shoved her couch under the hay hanger. She now sits on the couch and nibbles at the hay. XD Lazy bugger! And she was insanely curious about the empty (and completely-utterly-absolutely-scrubbed clean) detergent cap I was ‘playing’ with in front of her. I’d roll it around, ‘toss’ it a little, scritch my nail on the ridges, and she was just like “OMG! What is THAT???

I keep trying to post pictures: I go into the ‘album’, and select my pics. I press ‘upload’, and they all fully load. I then click ‘save’ like it tells me to, and it pops up a page saying that everything has been saved. I go back into the album…nada. I wasn’t sure if there was a glitch, or if I have to post X number of times, or what. *will try again*

She said acidophilus (sp?), said I could probably find it at any health-food store, or some pet shops had it.

I really liked her. She sounded very competent, and now I feel bad that we took Frost to a sub-par vet. I’m just uber-thankful that we didn’t give the antibiotics that they sent home with him! O.O (8 cats and 2 current dogs, and a whole slew of other animals prior, and we’ve gotten good at the wait-and-see approach to antibiotics. Most of the critters never needed it, and the one dog we gave them to prior to the wait-and-see got sick every time we dosed her with it. :/ )

[LoveChaCha]

I googled the acidophilus, and it looks like it is a probiotic.

I’ve got a single bun, and she has been by herself since she was 7 weeks. She is a joy to have.

Hahah, yep! Some bunnies like to rearrange their things! Most bunnies love to do their business and.. eat at the same time Maybe your bunny likes to sit in a nice spot and munch away

Rabbit Slavedom is very different from other animals. It is a great thing to experience I’m forever a rabbit slave My life is no longer mine!

As for more toy ideas, toilet paper rolls, cardboard boxes (without tape and glue), flannel blankets (make sure bunny won’t ingest it!), and wilow balls. My bunny loves willow balls.. hehe

[SilverBlaze]

Oh, I tried a toilet-paper roll. O.O She took that thing and was growling, bashing it against the cage walls, throwing it and chasing it and throwing it again….I’d say it took her 20 minutes before the thing was a few little scraps of cardboard, and she flopped on her side panting. I was like, wtf??

Since she’s litter-box trained, her crate now has a hospital blanket that was folded up in the majority of the cage, and then bare plastic under the couch/hay hanger, and her litterbox. I watched to make sure she wasn’t chewing before I left her alone, but she has arranged that blanket into quite the little nest in the corner. Kinda looks like some bunny-pastry!

Man, we’ve owned dogs, cats, ferrets, skunks, foxes, pigs, hamsters of every size, guinea pigs, deer, turtles, chinchillas, gerbils, mice, rats, and a revolving door of fosters and fish. The bunnies before, like I said, were either outdoor, or Hershey, whom we gave away due to the sheer aggression she had (now I think it was because she was unspayed). Ollie is….interesting. I kinda figured she’d be like the skunk/mice/hamsters….okay to watch and handle, but nothing overtly fun and exciting. I can’t wait to get home now to say hi to her!

Mom is one of those that all animals must have another friend. She wants me to spay Ollie and put her back in ASAP. The fact that she’s having as much fun as she is makes me think that right now, she’s okay by herself. And considering the fact that my sister isn’t inclined to play with Ollie at all, I’m thinking she may be better off in my room, with playtimes with Frost as they want. Or is that being mean? (Poor Frost is kinda petrified in his cage without Ollie in there. >.< )

[LoveChaCha]

Is Frost your other bunny?

If you intend to have her play with Frost, they should be bonded (after both being spayed and neutered). I did the mistake of having my rabbit meet my friend’s bunny and my bunny was scared to death. Never again T_______T .. unless I intend to get a friend for Chacha.

I would say, enjoy having your bunny They will teach you things, make you laugh, AND they are a nice stress reliever from the world

My bunny loves her pink princess crown blanket. She will dig in it, and binky dance in it XD

[LBJ10]

So did the first vet say to fast your bunny or was it the receptionist? I didn’t think anything of it when the receptionist told me to take my bun’s food away the night before (I had dogs and cats before and that was what they normally told you to do), but then everyone told me on here that it wasn’t necessary. Anyway, I wasn’t told this because the vet wasn’t rabbit-savvy. It was actually the receptionist that wasn’t. When I took him in for his appointment, I did ask them about it. The receptionist looked unsure, but a vet tech was standing right there and said that it was okay he had had something to eat all night (I just left some hay in with him). Anyway, I was just curious because sometimes even good vets have misinformed people taking the appointments.

[SilverBlaze]

LBJ10: No, it was the actual vet. The Tech took one look at him and said “Wait here while I get the vet, I think he’s too little….”. I was like, um…I told ya’ll he was a dwarf when I made the appointment! (Our family vet will do spay/neuters on full-size, but doesn’t on dwarves). He even argued that Frost was entirely too young, and i said that he had been humping his sister for a week now, and the testicles had fully descended, and was 6 months old. :/

LoveChaCha: I thought Frost and Ollie were bonded, since they were littermates, and hadn’t ever been separated. But then she started humping him, and then he humped her, and we got him fixed. And then she started like, out-and-out attacking him. He’s got bite marks all over his face, and patches of fur missing and shaved off. My sister says that Ollie would chase him around the cage, biting and shoving at him, and she said enough was enough when Ollie cornered Frost and he was screaming.

I separated them, and Ollie is pleased as a clam. Frost is just huddled in the back of his cage, like he’s afraid or something. Mom jokes that he’s afraid I’m going to come in after him next, since I plucked Ollie out and she ‘disappeared’. XD

[LoveChaCha]

Littermates don’t necessarly get along at all. Their personalities can be as different as day and night.

Bonding can be an easy or difficult process, and this board is here to help if you decide to do so : ) It is best to begin with a neutral territory. Male and females of the same litter can have children

I find that very unusual that your vet will not do spays and neuters on dwarf rabbits. Monkeybun has a 1.5 pound Nethie and she was spayed successfully. I have a nethie also. I don’t understand that Boys should be neutered around 4 months.

If that is the case, I would find a vet that does regular spays and neuters on all rabbits, even dwarfs It does not sit well with me

[SilverBlaze]

My Ollie-girl

 

And Frost!

 

Tharp said something about not being comfortable spaying that tiny. Which now that I think about it, we’ve taken in cats that were smaller than that for a spay, you know? 

[LoveChaCha]

It is very unusual

Dwarfs are very small rabbits, but very capable of being spayed and neutered. 😮 Do you know of any vets in your area that would be willing to spay your girl?

Daw, Ollie girl is a silver marten Netherland dwarf My Chacha is a black otter.

Oh, I’m not sure if you knew but xD there should only be bedding in the litter box Otherwise, it will confuse the bunbun where to poop and pee.

Now, I’m off to steal your bunny * loves silver martens / black otters* XD

[Monkeybun]

Hello my nethie was less than 1.5lbs when she was spayed. The vet waited an extra month with her to see if she’d get any bigger, which she didn’t, so he went ahead and spayed her at about 7ish months old. Totally worth spaying!

Bonding can be rough, some bunnies will not bond no matter what you try. And litter mates don’t always bond either. They would need a ton of sessions, dialy, to rebond, if they will at all. Wait at least a month after spaying to try. That’s if you do want them to be able to play with each other. Keep in mind, if you DO rebond them, you can’t separate them again after. They would have to live together, separating a bonded pair can cause grief tot he buns, and they can get very depressed. Not fun

If you don’t plan to rebond, do not let them play together. Bunnies can get very territorial and aggressive. Injuries can and will occur, resulting in expensive vet bills and very unhappy wabbits.

I hope your new vet works out for you!

Oh, and yes. Acidophilus is bun safe, my vet gave me some for when my boy Moose went into stasis. I’m surprised this new vet wouldn’t give you any. It was a prescription from my vet…

[SilverBlaze]

Posted By LoveChaCha on 06/22/2011 11:04 PM
Daw, Ollie girl is a silver marten Netherland dwarf My Chacha is a black otter.

 

Okay, I have got to ask. What is the difference between a silver martin, and a black otter?? I have searched and searched, but I can’t really find anything that explains the difference.

 

Monkeybun: See, what bit of research I did said that rabbits are social, and need another rabbit. Which is why we bought 2, instead of just Frost, like we were orignally planning. I’ll see how Frost is doing today, but Ollie seems to be perfectly content without him. And given how little my sister gave Ollie attention, I’m leaning more towards just keeping them seperate now. She’s certainly thrilled with her own digs! 

The new vet (Lista) DID say that if I couldn’t find it, pop in and she’d hook me up, but we have 4 different healthfood stores in town, not including the different pharmacies that are sure to have it, 6 pet stores, and 3 feed stores. She said any one of those would likely have it. I’ll be honest: Our usual family vet is a farm-vet. I love him, I really do, I trust him with my cats and with my dogs, but….he’s a farm vet. When we found Pryor in the parking lot and took him in, he was only a day old, and had been outside for heaven’s knows how long. Tharp said he was healthy enough, considering, but to not be surprised if he didn’t make it. That was that. It was later by searching that I found out about bene-bac (which did WONDERS for the little guy). Tharp is a good vet, but he’s not….I dunno. I want to say compassionate, but I don’t know if that’s the right word, you know? This Lista seems to be really up-and-up on bunnies! 

 

Oh! And someone commented that keeping the bunnies for several hours after surgery is normal. Not arguing, just explaining…Tharp always sends the animals home (at least to us) within an hour of them coming out of surgery, so keeping Frost for so long was really surprising to us.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Just want to comment that Ollie is super cute! Frost too.

[Beka27]

Some vets will even keep rabbits overnight. It’s so important that they wait til the bun is nibbling something. Dogs and cats are more resilient than bunnies.

The hesitation your first vet expressed when neutering Frost (since he is a dwarf) would have concerned me. In my experience, the vets who try to downplay the importance of spay/neuter, or come up with other reasons why it can’t/shouldn’t be done, those are the vets who are not comfortable operating on rabbits. BUT, rather than saying “I am not comfortable operating on rabbits”, they twist it around to make it seem like it’s not THEM who has the issue, it’s just the way things are there.

The new vet sounds great! It is important that you get pain meds for her at the house, they’ll usually give enough for a few days. She is having major abdominal surgery and she will need them. A rabbit in pain will not eat, and that will cause more problems with recovery. I would also recommend you give any antibiotics as prescribed.

[Emmie]

Firstly a HUGE welcome to the site! I was completely clueless about having an indoor bunny until I found the forums here and now they really have enriched my bunny life! I’ve had Thane for three months and he has been an absolute gem. I couldn’t imagine not having him in my life!

 

Thane is also a Nethie Dwarf! They’re so sweet! Thane(Whom I originally thought was female… until one day.. lol!) He ABSOLUTELY loves this cardboard box with a hole either end for him to crawl through. I have pics actually:

 

                             

 

I filled the box with just bits of newspaper, some tissue and some chewy sticks. He spends pretty much ALL his time in the box digging. On the box chewing. And now he drags the box if he needs a boost to climb on something! Clever bunny!

Also, as was said toilet rolls! I cut them up into smaller rings and Thane likes to throw them about.

Anyways, congrats on the new bunny! I’m sure you’ll really grow to love having her around! If you’ve any questions, no matter how silly they seem, ask away! ^_^

[LoveChaCha]

Silver martens will have white behind their ears, and a completely white belly.

Otters will have a brown/tan behind their ears, and a mostly white belly with a hint of brown on it

[Stickerbunny]

Your new vet sounds great

When my girl had her spay the vet gave us one dose of pain meds, at request he gave us a second dose to take home but he said to only use it if she really needed it (wasn’t eating) because the drugs were strong and he didn’t want them in her system longer than she needed them. He also gave her antibiotics injections while at the vet, so we didn’t have to dose her with those. Sounds like your new vet will discuss your buns post-surgery care with you without issue, so make sure you ask all the questions you have. Also, when you get her spayed, my girl would not eat or drink unless I held her bowl up to her nose for the first few days, she was just too sore. It’s important they start nibbling something by the next day though.

A farm vet will not be as understanding as a pet-vet, I can’t really blame them… if they work with farm animals they are working with a lot of animals that are going to die for food and they have to keep a certain emotional distance or go insane.

As Beka said, rabbits are a lot more prone to complications than dogs/cats. My dogs would be back on their feet and scarfing food as soon as we got them home (though, our vet usually kept our dogs over night or at least until closing) and we’d have to watch them to make sure the stitches weren’t pulled from all the activity. My rabbit just laid on the A/C vent and looked pitiful for three days. Oh, that is something… they like cool/hard areas when they come back from surgery. A frozen water bottle, some nice cool tile as an option would probably be nice for her if you could manage it. My hand froze hand feeding her over the A/C vent it was so cold but it made her feel better.

She’s really cute! And so tiny!

Rabbits don’t _need_ another rabbit, though sometimes they do enjoy it. Since they already have been fighting, likely it would be a hard bond. And if your sister doesn’t really like Ollie, probably better for her to be in your room. Especially if she takes away the poor baby’s toys! Some bunnies are mellow, some prefer to play and it sounds like Ollie is much happier being solo with lots of toys and her own space. If Frost is being mopey without her, give your sister a stunt double for him (a stuffed rabbit toy) and it might cheer him up a little bit. It wouldn’t be safe for him to be caged with her again until they are rebonded and you couldn’t start that until a month after her spay, she would likely just beat him up some more. And by that time, Frost will likely be back to normal and settled into being a solo rabbit.

[Lani]

Eek! I have a silver marten nethie too! I happen to think they’re the most adorable of all bunnies, but I’m a little biased My girl, Oreo, is a big ball of attitude and I love every second of it. Ollie sounds like she’s developing quite a personality too. Trust me, she’ll have you wrapped around her litte paw, if she doesn’t already.  Might have to come bun-nap Ollie girl, if I can beat LoveChaCha there

 

This is my bunny, Oreo

<img alt=" _fcksavedurl=" src="

 

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[Monkeybun]

Rabbits are social animals, yes. But, they don’t always bond well with others. My 2 girls are bonded, but before I bonded them, I was bonding Monkey to my boy Moose. Moose did NOT like her. So… no more bonding for them. it got scary. I thought Monkey’s little heart would burst with how scared she was of him chasing her. He just would not stop. poor baby

Moose so far seems happy on his own, but we will test this when I try to bond him with my other boy, Squirrel. Sometimes it just takes a different bunny. And sometimes, they are more content ont heir own. Weirdo critters.

[LoveChaCha]

Small bunny = Big behaviors

*goes off to steal both silver martens*

[HoneybunnySara]

I think I might be addicted to bunnies! They are the most adorable of all the animals I think. *sigh *

[SilverBlaze]

Sorry guys! >..<

Ollie is like a whole ‘nother bunny already. She’s usually standing on the door when I get home, and is quite anxious to get out and run around the floor all crazy-like. She has a whole mountain of toys (I think I’m spoiling her….). The toilet paper tube is still awesome, but even BETTER with a jingly-cat-ball in there. Apparently, it’s either awesome or evilly-possessed….she ‘thrashes’ it in the corner for awhile. O.o And I got this raffia and corn-leaf shreddable triangle…thing?

Yeah. I gave it to her, went to bed, and woke up to what appeared to be a massive explosion of said toy. I think she enjoyed it.

She gives a really wide berth to the boxes, but watches ’em keenly. I don’t think it’ll be long before she’ll be playing with those!

I don’t think I’m going to try rebonding them. Given the fact that 1) Colleen doesn’t like her, and 2) they were fighting that hard, and 3) Colleen decided to put Frost in my room for them to ‘play’ while I was at work, and Ollie went kung-fu-ninja-killer on his butt….I think it best to just let Ollie be single for awhile. She doesn’t seem to mind any.

‘Nother quick question: I put -all- her toys on the floor when she has run-around time, and then give her 2 ‘quiet’ toys to play with while I’m in bed for the night. It’s a different 2 every night, and when I get up she gets 2 noisy toys to play with as well while I’m at work. Is that bad, to take away her others? I’m trying to cycle them so she doesn’t get bored, but she hides a jingle ball sometimes under the blanket. ??

[RabbitPam]

On the contrary, it keeps her from being bored because she get different toys at different times or days, so never knows what’s coming.

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