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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Possible, accidental fostering

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    • Jaedan's Slave
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        Hi everyone,

        Currently, I am at a house that I am pet sitting for, trying to figure things out and thought I would hop on here for some insight. The husband of the couple that I am working for brought home a rabbit three years ago after his friend found it wandering around outside. They have rescued horses and dogs in the past and so they took the rabbit. I don’t really know what I was expecting when I was talking to the wife on the phone and once she found out that I had a rabbit, she asked if I would like theirs. The first night I was there I went to go say hello and was shocked at the state of the cage and worse off, the poor rabbit’s claws. Some must have snapped after they got too long, but there were a few that were an inch or so long! The cage smell was horrendous, he’s not litter box trained, doesn’t have any toys, is being free fed alfalfa pellets and hay, and is not neutered (yikes). I am here for 10 days and have spent a lot of time trying to track down a rescue that might help me place him in a forever home, but I haven’t had much luck yet (which I totally understand). The shelter is out of the question; if it came straight down to it I would buckle in and keep him long term, but I would rather not if I can find him a great home. I have been trying to interact with him and I brought him a litter box and some chew toys, but he doesn’t seem too sure about anything yet. Right now, he acts like the public’s stereotypical view of the caged rabbit, other than being very laid back, I haven’t seen much of a personality yet.

        Today, I took Simon (my name for him) to the vet for a nail trim and a physical. The vet says they were the worst nails he’s ever seen on a rabbit. Simon did surprisingly well for being in a new place with people holding him and restraining him. The physical turned out fine as well, again another good sign. The next step is to get him neutered, litter box trained and onto a healthier diet.

        My problem is that I don’t want another rabbit right now. As much as I love being a bunny slave, I don’t think I’ve ever stressed so much over a pet before. Jaedan has always been the king of the house and I would kind of like it to stay that way. I’m not sure he would appreciate another bun, especially a male. However, I can’t very well leave this poor guy here knowing that he is getting only the most basic of care, and wrong care at that.

        If I take him home and foster him through one the rescues (his information gets on their website, I pay for the neutering, vet checks, etc and work on socializing) do I need to worry about Jaedan catching anything? Simon is an indoor rabbit and they would be kept in separate rooms, but would I need to make a rule about washing hands if someone in my family touches Simon and then goes to pet Jaedan. Or would that only apply to the first couple of weeks of quarantine? Is that something I should have asked the vet, but totally forgot to ? Do you think that it is realistic that someone would adopt him at 3 or 4 years old? in terms of turning him over to Timothy hay, veggies, and a little bit of Timothy pellets, would you guys say 2-3 weeks should be long enough?

        Or, do I leave him here with the changes I’ve made and check on him every other month and take him in for a nail trim? He is not seeking out attention yet and he seems content enough to stay in his cage. Is it fair for me to uproot him like that? Me thoughts were different when I thought they had rescued him just a few months ago, three years just amazes me.

        I’ve been going back and forth, weighing the pros and cons, about this for the passed 5 days. I would love to hear your insights as to what you would do or what you have done in the past or anything I might have not thought through. Thanks for listening to the rantings of a crazy person

        Oh, and here is a pic of Simon at the vet, right before he got those daggers clipped. Wish I would have gotten a pic of the back feet, too. He weighs about 2 pounds, does anyone have an idea of what he might be?


      • Jaedan's Slave
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          Can you tell I’ve never been a part of a forum before? I will get it right next time around.


        • MoveDiagonally
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            Perhaps you could talk to the rescue and offer to foster him until he gets adopted or a space opens up at the rescue itself (whichever comes first). That way he’s out of a bad situation but you don’t have to make the forever home commitment.

            Do you think that the current owners would be open to learning about proper bunny care?

            I think it’s great that you’ve already done so much for him! He’s lucky that you appeared in his life


          • Jaedan's Slave
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              Thank you! These darn creatures just pull on your heart strings when they are in trouble.

              From what I understood from my brief phone call with the owner of one of the rescues, that is exactly what is going to happen. She said that she just couldn’t afford him, but once I got him socialized and neutered and all that I could post on her website. It’s better than nothing and I don’t mind paying a bit of money to help this poor guy out.

              I would like to believe that the current owners would welcome the information- they aren’t bad people, let’s just say that if I was a horse or a dog, I would want to be rescued by these people. I think they are like the general population and don’t think that much about rabbits. However, I don’t think it would last. I think they would do ok for awhile and then slip back into old habits. Some people just aren’t meant to take care of rabbits.

              I do think that I am thinking too hard on this matter, but I am trying to consider every option to make sure that I choose correctly. As much as I want Simon to have a good home, my main priority is Jaedan. I would hate to try to do something good only to have Jaedan get sick because of it. Am I freaking myself out too much over this?


            • bunnygirl
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                Hmm…if you kept them in totally separate areas, and treated Simon for calci and myxi and ticks and mites and fleas, and made sure that every time you petted Simon, you washed your hands, maybe even changed clothes. I know there are a few members who volunteer at rabbit rescues and every time they come home it’s ‘scrub down’ time and everything goes into the wash. You might have to do the same thing.

                Although, you know you said keeping them WAAAY away from each other because of them both being boys? Boys can live together, just like 2 girls can. It’s just easier to do a boy/girl pair because of natural instincts…you know…the birds and bees, even though they’re speutered. So there’s something for you to think about. But don’t push yourself into full time care if your not ready, don’t have the space, funds, etc.

                Best of luck. Keep asking questions!


              • bunnygirl
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                  Oh, by the way, that picture you posted? Yeah he’s adorable!!


                • MoveDiagonally
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                    When I bring home new buns I generally keep them in separate areas, washing my hands in between handling, until I can take them to the vet to get ok’d. Since he’s been to the vet I would give them a call and ask what they recommend for quarantine time/routine/get some info on the risks. There might be specific risks in your area.

                    I don’t think you’re worrying too much! That’s out job as bun parents

                    If you fall in love with Simon it would be possible to bond him with Jaedan. But I wouldn’t bother with any of that unless you decide to keep him forever.


                  • Bam
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                      He really is adorable!

                      I’m in a situation somewhat similar to yours, I recently found a male un-neutered rabbit and I already have one male, neutered rabbit who is very important to me.

                      I’m keeping them apart, the new bun is in an out-door cage and I’ve had him vaccinated and treated for skin-parasites. I change clothes and wash before I go into Bam’s (the indoor’s bun). I also spend time with the new bun to observe his behaviour and his poop (great poop, not a hint of sth sticky). I’m planning to get him neutered when the vaccines have kicked in properly, then wait a month for his hormones to subside and then I will try to bond him and Bam – and I’m going to ask for help on this forum when I do that, because this is a GREAT forum with so many experienced and kind rabbit-owners.

                      In Sweden we don’t have rabbit-shelters. The only option is to take him to the police and they will take the bun to the animal hospital for euthanization. Not a great option.

                      Above is a pic of new bun, Yohio.


                    • Jaedan's Slave
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                        Thank you, he is a pretty big cutie. And soft, too. Despite being in a dirty cage, he is an incredibly clean rabbit.

                        I have heard of bonding males, but given Jaedan’s personality, I don’t see it going well. It would be super cute though. We will see, things always have a funny way of changing on me.

                        I may just keep a lot of hand sanitizer or other cleaning products handy at Simon’s cage. I would much rather be overly safe then overly sorry later. I’m more concerned about the family remembering the rules. Simon needs to be placed somewhere in the house where he will get pet all the time. Right now his cage is in a back room that is hardly used, it’s a good thing there’s a cat in there or else I don’t think Simon would get any attention :/ Our bunnies are very lucky to have us, it’s too bad that all bunnies aren’t treated the same. Thank you for your help.


                      • Jaedan's Slave
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                          Movediagonally: Being a bunny parent is hard Thank you for your help. Jaedan has to go in for his claws, too, (no where even close to Simon’s) when I get done with this job. I will have to remember to ask them then. I asked a few questions today and had it all figured out, but that one, probably the most important, slipped my mind until I got back to the car. Simon would need to be kept separate no matter what, the fact that he is still intact is a problem in and of itself, but he left a nice big puddle in the corner of the vet’s office today. Litter training is definitely one of our priorities. Jaedan was litter trained purely by accident before I got him so this is definitely a first for me.

                          Bam: oh yes, I read your post before I posted my story. Thank you for rescuing your new boy! He’s beautiful and very lucky. At least I’m not alone in this, and neither are you. Between us and the other lovely people on this forum we’re going to be just fine. This forum is great! Good luck with those vaccines, I’ve heard of that in different countries, but we don’t have them here, at least not in California. Good luck with your neutering, I’m sure Simon will get done around the same time! They’ll be no-more-balls buddies.


                        • Bam
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                            No-more-balls buddies! LOL! It would be great to have sb in the same situation to discuss progress and set-backs with when the time comes!

                            Yohio is actually litter-box training himself right now. The outdoors hutch/run is big and he chose the furthest away corner of the run to poop in. I tried putting a litter-tray there, but he dissed it and chose the other furthest corner instead. Then when we went to the vet for his shots, he peed in the tray in the carrier. I took that peed-on tray and put in in the pooping-corner of the run, and lo and behold! Little Yohio got the message. He now pees and poops in the tray. He also poops a little in the other corner, but nowhere else and I expect that to get better once he’s neutered because that’s how it was with Bam.

                            We have frequent outbreaks of Myxi and sometimes RVD where I live, hence the need for vaccinations. I don’t think you have those diseases in California.

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                        Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Possible, accidental fostering