The new bunny–Questions with a side of Questions

[OhMommaButterGrits]

Okay soo I just brought home a new rabbit less than a week ago, Mugs is his name and the plan is to eventually bond him with my little girl BunBuns. So her is the thing… I have come to realize that my two rabbits are worlds apart. I just wanted to make sure that some of these differences are normal or if there are any other I should expect

The woman who fostered him said that he seemed to be a minirex or at least some sort of rex in him? I’m not really sure what that all means, but he has like very short ears and very densley packed fur and he is pretty small in stature although I know he is a little overweight. She had him on a diet apparently you could barely see his front feet when he was walking.  My other rabbit is much bigger than him just in stature but kind of lankier if that makes since…she looks more althletic and her fur is pretty thin still good to pet, but definitely not dense in the least.  I figured this info might help you guys answer my questions.

Okay so first off Mugs is shedding like a crazy person! I mean like clumps are falling off of him…I’ve heard of that happening, but I’ve never experienced it and actually I don’t really think I’ve every really noticed BunBuns shedding….is this a rex thing or just depends?

Also I ‘ve noticed that Mugs eats a lot less than BunBuns which of couse I’m thinking makes since since he is much smaller, but I’m concerned if I just assume that something could be wrong and I’d never know. So I guess what I’m asking is diet wise how much should I expect for him to eat…should I give out different portion sizes to each bun?

Also Mugs is not drinking much water could this be due to stress is there any way for me to make his water more appealing? He wasn’t eating any hay today all of a sudden and only sort of touching his greens, but I went out and got him orchard grass and he suddenly was eating again it was odd…but I don’t know if this is all a stress thing or if I should be concerned? He is eating good now…not as much as BunBuns, but he won’t drink his water?

The other question I was wondering is if there is anything personality wise that seems to be common with the smaller breeds? And is there any other special care they generally require?

 

The last question I have I’m not sure if it fits in this forum section, but Mugs is still pretty skittish around me I feel as if we are in a constant came of tag and he does NOT like to be picked up, so I want him to trust me so I want to pick him up little as possible, but I have this problem with him not going in his cage. I can’t let the two rabbits out at the same time so when one comes out the other goes in, but he just seems to not want to go in his cage when he is out and not want to come out of his cage when he is in it…Anything you guys can suggest? I was originally using treats to lure him in but food doesn’t seem to work on him anymore

Thanks everyone!

 

[Stickerbunny]

First off – dense fur and small size probably means mini-rex yes. I have a minirex girl and her fur feels like velvet, so soft to pet! Funky whiskers (short and weird looking) is another rex trait.

As for food – pellets should be by weight (how much depends on age, but my girl gets a little under 1/4 a cup at 4.2lbs) and hay should be unlimited. My minirex does NOT like timothy hay – she refuses, nope, can’t eat it. She prefers softer grasses and hays it seems (which orchard is supposed to be a soft hay). Drinking should be normal though… my girl drains her water bowl every day. Are you using a bowl or a water bottle? Some buns prefer one or the other, so try offering both.

Shedding.. my girl has never shed clumps, so no it isn’t a rex thing that I am aware of. I’ve heard stress can make them shed a lot though, but was he vet checked before he was adopted out?

My rex is very skittish and hates being picked up as well, but it just depends on the bun for that. My girl was an adoptee from a neglectful home, so has had some bad experiences. She’s getting better all the time though so just keep working with your new guy and i’m sure you’ll get him to come around. What I do to make her go home after play time is I feed them at night, so they both go in their night-night areas when I pour their pellets. No stressing them and me out trying to pick up Ms. Speedster running around like a lunatic because she hates being picked up / approached.

[OhMommaButterGrits]

He was vet checked and fixed before being adopted out…and he also got revolution so I’m guessing he doesn’t have mites which I know can also cause fur coming out in clumps.
My boy was dumped in a dumpster so I’m guessing he probably didn’t have too much of a good life before either. (Bleh it makes me so mad!)

He absolutely will not drink it out of a water bottle and when I put it in a bowl he goes up to it and maybe will sort of drink a little but then turn around and be like, “Nope!”…Ive been trying all different sizes too…but I just found a tupperware that seems like it could be a perfect size for him. So I’m crossing my fingers.

I had a lot of things in his cage and I took a lot of them out last night and today he seems much happier so maybe that was adding to his stress ?

[Stickerbunny]

Aww, poor baby! why would anyone dump an animal in a dumpster gr

I have a little soup ceramic soup bowl, the kind with the handle on it, for my minirex and she likes that. It’s small so I have to fill it up often but she loves it, doesn’t get her nose wet.

Perhaps – when I add something new to my girls area she regards it as an evil monster for a bit before she finds out “hey that is really fun!” lol

[LoveChaCha]

My girl likes drinking out of a bowl, and it is such a cute experience watching them drink from it
I would use a heavy, small bowl for water. Some rabbits like to tip things over.

[brittbritt]

Mine both drink from a bowl. I have a plastic one and the bottom is made where they can’t tip it over. It’s probably a cat or small dog sized one.

[Monkeybun]

All 4 of mine prefer bowls.

Being skittish is normal, especially for a rescue. It will take him time to settle in and realize you aren’t going to eat him

[OhMommaButterGrits]

Thanks everyone…my little girl BunBuns is so relaxed when it comes to water…doesn’t matter if it’s in a bottle or in a bowl so I’ve never had this problem. I finally found one that he liked though! It’s little and square and it’s the only one he will drink out of….I’m just glad I finally found one.

I swear he was like goldilocks or something. He has been being much more lovey then he was as of late and I think he just needed time. It’s the best, the only time he wants attention is when I ignore him…he’ll come up to me when I’m on the ground and climb on top of me and as soon as I try to pet him…he runs off. It’s not what I’m used to with BunBuns but he has his own personality and I love it!

[Elrohwen]

Congrats on your new bunny!

The shedding sounds normal and it does sound like he’s a mini rex with soft dense fur like that. Pellets are generally 1/4c per 5lbs of weight – as a mini rex he’s probably somewhere in the 4-6lb range. As others said, hay should be unlimited – you can feed timothy or other grass varieties if he likes those better.

Seems like he just needs some time to come around, but his personality is already coming out!

[Stickerbunny]

Hehe he sounds like my girl rex, she will walk all over you if you’re laying on the floor but reach out to pet her and … she runs like your hand is a snake trying to eat her! Though sometimes she lets me walk up and pet her, just depends on her mood. lol

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