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[kcomstoc]

I’m new to this forum and I joined because I had a question (obviously lol), I am looking forward to a rough collie puppy that i will be getting in approximately 2014 some time. I have a bunny named Caleb he is a holland lop and is so super adorable and loving (he never bites and gives kisses). He is about 8 months old and is neutered (this was very important to me because I wanted him to live longer and be healthier). I don’t want him to get lonely when we get our puppy, we (my BF and I *we’ve been together for 3 years and I got the bunny with him* he loves him too) will still be giving him attention and love but will be focusing pretty hard on the puppy so he can grow up to be friendly towards the bunny. The place I’m getting the puppy from has cats and a bird and the dogs and previous litters have grown up with these animals so they “should” be fine. I am not going to my bunny and puppy/dog unattented at any point in time. Anyway my point is should I get another bunny for my bunny so he’s not lonely. I will of course make sure that they both have enough room for each of them to be properly exercised (is it ok if they share a cage?) I am learning quite a lot about my bunny *I’ve never owned one before now* and love him to pieces, I just don’t know if this is something I should do or not. Sorry this is so long, I forgot to add I am 20 and my BF is 25 and I start work soon because I just graduated college. My work will only require me to be gone 3-4 nights 12 hour shifts. The rest of them time is for my animals and my BF. If I’m leaving anything out please don’t hesitate to ask. I plan on moving into an aparment soon with my BF’s 2 friends and they don’t mind the bunny or the puppy idea. Another thing that I want to add is I might have a 1.5 year old australian shepherd living with us as well (not sure about this yet but is a def possibility). The cage is something my BF and I built together. It’s a table about 2.5 feet off the ground and then a cage made from the cubical storage cubes connected together. Again sorry this is so long but I wanted to give you the whole idea.

[MoveDiagonally]

Welcome to BB! Caleb is adorable.

When you have multiple pets the key is really time management. I have 2 dogs, 3 cats, and 5 rabbits. 2 of the rabbits are bonded and the other three are not. The eventual goal is to have all 5 bonded but I’ve been slow to start my trio. Even though I plan on bonding my rabbits all together I do not think a rabbit NEEDS a bunny friend to be happy. There are plenty of rabbits that live fulfilling lives with only their human companions. I think the only reason you should get another rabbit is if YOU want one and not only because you think it will be good for Caleb.

If you do decide to get Caleb a friend I think taking him on “bunny dates” is your best bet. This is where you contact rescues/shelters in your area and take Caleb in to meet other bunnies to find one compatible with him. The bonding process can be easy or hard and stressful. If you’ve never bonded a rabbit I really suggest reading the bonding info on this site. It really outlines the process and helped me a lot when I bonded my duo.
https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/tabid/53/CategoryID/9/PID/940/Default.aspx

They can share a cage once they are bonded but will need separate habitats before and during bonding. Bonding can be really stressful and time consuming so if you’re going to get a second bunny I would do it well before you bring home the puppy.

All that said, having two bonded rabbits can be really rewarding and it’s pretty fun to watch them together.

[kcomstoc]

I have thought of getting a second rabbit and I do want them to be bonded, I did buy Caleb but for the second bunny I’m really thinking rescue because they will already be spayed/neutered and already litter trained and of course saving a life It is about time management and I wouldn’t put them in the same cage unless they were properly bonded thank you so much for responding. Should i get a male or female? I really don’t have a preferance but what will I have more success doing or does it depend on the bunny?

What we were thinking of doing is building a cage like Calebs and putting them next to each other and just taking one of the cubes out on each cage so they can interact. Another thing I don’t know is is Caleb’s cage big enough? I want to go bigger but it was just a matter of how much space we had available. I don’t feel comfortable giving him a whole room to himself just to keep, though he is on the living room floor right now hopping around getting some exercise

another question I had was is there a toy that is for bunnies that makes them use their minds? I think he gets bored sometimes and I don’t know how to keep him entertained…he has lots of toys but he only plays with them sometimes. I would def do it BEFORE getting the puppy but I’ll have to talk to my BF about it. We’ve talked about a second bunny for Caleb but since I’ve been wanting a dog for such a long time we’ve been talking more about him recently. I also had never seen a bunny binky before and it was pretty hilarious when he first did it.

Also it’s starting to get warm out and the hottest room is my BF’s room (of course) and I don’t know how to tell if he gets too hot. It gets a maximum of 85 degrees sometimes, but he’s putting in the A/C soon so hopefully that will help but is there something I can do before then. I try wetting the tops and tips of his ears only (not the inside), is this right to do? I try to keep him as cool as I can….

 Added: lol sorry I should’ve said thank you for saying he is adorable my BF wasn’t sure at first if having a bunny is a good idea but now he says he can’t imagine not having Caleb in our lives 

[MoveDiagonally]

The HRS recommends that one rabbit have a 4′ X 2′ living space (8 sq ft). Two rabbits would need twice that so 4′ X 4′ of living space (16 sq ft). These sizes are considered the minimum and bunnies would still need additional time/space to exercise in.

I’m a little wary of the condo split in half idea. During bonding you’ll want them to be close enough to see/smell each other but you don’t want them to be able to “get at” each other. They can fight and injure each other through the cube panels. Have you thought about getting an X-Pen? You can set it up next to Caleb’s condo. X-Pens are also handy in general so it wouldn’t be a wasteful purchase. Or could you build the new addition to the cage as a separate cage (so there can be space between them) during bonding and then put it together once the’re bonded?

80+ degrees is pretty warm for a bunny as they prefer cooler temps. Here are some great “keeping cool” tips and tricks:
https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/tabid/53/CategoryID/23/PID/940/Default.aspx
Cooling is also being discussed currently in this thread:
https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/125077/Default.aspx

Hopefully some of that helps!

My husband and I planned on adopting a SINGLE rabbit and ended up adopting two, rescuing another (that was abandoned), and recently took on two more baby rabbits because of Easter (person bought them for Easter and then didn’t care about them after). I guess the babies are getting too big to really be called babies, lol. Some days I walk into the bunny room and don’t even know how this happened! But I couldn’t imagine them not being around.

[MoveDiagonally]

I also wanted to leave the habitat section link! It’s fun to look at and might give you some ideas.
https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/GreatHabitats/tabid/229/Default.aspx

Really everything in the “Bunny Info” tab at the top of the page is good and helpful.

[kcomstoc]

Maybe i wasn’t being clear enough lol my thoughts get muddled sometimes, I mean to have two separate cages (1 for each bunny) and then set the tables next to eachother (close enough to safely hop from one to the other if wanted after they are bonded. While the bonding is happening the cages would be close to each other but not close enough to actually get too. An x-pen is a great idea (I’ll look into it) so think Caleb’s cage with one that looks exactly like it right next to each other and then when they are bonded I can remove a cube section so that they can go into each other’s cages but it would be their choice.

Just talked to the BF he’s putting in the A/C as soon as he gets home in like maybe a half hour or so, so he should be nice and cool (I should’ve made him put it in yesterday when it was 85 outside and probably 82 inside ugh. Caleb was still hopping around and i kept checking on him because I didn’t want him to get too hot. Thank you so much for the ideas Going to immediately freeze a bottle of water for him

I just learned recently that people do that to bunnies during Easter  an animal is a full time responsibility no matter how small it is. I’m glad that you could do so much for them it sounds like they are in a better place. I got my bunny around thanksgiving time but I had done some research (I probably should’ve researched more) but I’m still glad I got him.

[kcomstoc]

With the habitat thing lol my BF really wants to make Caleb’s home more….elaborate I guess. He wants to build a dome like thing and attach it to the bottom of where his house thing is so he can lay in there and I love the idea but he also wants to build a tunnel from the bowl like thing and let him have an “underground” habitat it’s a great idea but i don’t think he’s that ummmmmmm what’s the word crafty? He has great ideas but anything complicated like that I’m not sure he could do but he really wants to so I’ll show him some of these. We will improve his habitat at some point but it might take a little bit because at the moment we don’t have much space. we still live with his parent’s so we only get his bedroom at the moment. That’s why we are going to get a 3 bedroom apartment with his friends that we will have more space and maybe do better by Caleb.

[MoveDiagonally]

Oh! That sounds like a fine bonding set up then. The only additional worry I have about your current cage set up is that it has an open front. With a new bunny I would completely enclose it. I’m guessing Caleb doesn’t try to escape because he’s been in the setup for a while but you’ll never know with a new bun. 3 X 2 grids (14″ each) come out to about 8.1 sq ft so the size itself is not a problem for a single rabbit.

Wow, that’s fast! I wish I could get my husband to do things that quickly. Lol. I think he’ll be fine until the AC it sounds like he’s hopping around and acting normal.

On the new improved habitat:
Haha, that does sound like a very fancy and complicated idea! My rabbits have VERY basic habitats but they seem to enjoy them just fine. So I wouldn’t beat yourself up about not having something super fancy. One thing you could do to upgrade his habitat without taking up more space would be to add levels to it. If you look at the habitat gallery you’ll see some examples of NIC Condos with levels.

These are where my bunnies live. They usually have more toys.
I keep the babies in a stacking NIC Condo. It’s basically two cages stacked:

And my bonded pair are in an x-pen with a base (my other single rabbit is in the same set up):

[kcomstoc]

Wow that looks awesome maybe do a ramp system so he could have 2 levels later, no he’s never tried to jump out. His head when he stands on his hind legs just comes above the top so I thought he couldn’t jump out maybe he can though. I didn’t think about it, plus I didn’t have enough cubes  but def going to have to think about it for the new bunny.

Bonding-should I go with a female because he’s a male? should I get one the same age or a little older? I’m not exactly sure lol

A/C- LOL he’s only doing it for 2 reasons, 1 it’s too hot to sleep comfortablely in there for us and 2 he’s worried about the bunny and doesn’t want him to get sick. I’m a little worried because he was hopping around because he was downstairs and it was cooler downstairs. He’s upstairs now in the hot room, I put ice cubes in his water until the water bottle is cool enough to do some good for him. BF is home now so he’s working on putting the A/C in, but it is kinda hot up there and he’s all stretched out. I keep checking his ears to make sure he’s cool enough but they are warm…..

 

[MoveDiagonally]

I plan on putting a ramp in the stacking condo when we start getting everyone bonded. The babies aren’t fixed yet because they’re not quite old enough so we wanted to make sure they had no way of accessing each other (also the stacking saved space).

Most people find male/female easier to bond. I don’t think age matters as much as chemistry. I would try the bunny dating and see if you can find his soul bun.

For cubes, I purchased all my cubes off of craigslist for a very low price. So I would keep an eye out for them second hand. I’m not sure where you’re located but the cheapest new cube panels I’ve seen are here:
http://www.storesupply.com/c-1196-mini-grid-display-unit.aspx
If you buy them by the single panel they are cheaper than in the sets, 1.10 each. The singles don’t come with the connectors but I’ve always used zip ties and tossed the connectors. But I haven’t ordered from the site and don’t know what the shipping would be. Another member posted the link previously and I saved it. It might be cheaper to look locally when you factor in shipping.

[BbsBunny]

I have been looking into the same thing, my oldest bunny has been living in the same cage since he was 6 weeks old and he is outgrowing it. These were great suggestions, thank you! (:

[kcomstoc]

 Ok, Josh (BF) put the A/C in just now so it should be cooler in a half hour or so, i put a cooled down water bottle in the cage with him and he tried biting the plastic so I put it in a sock lol he hasn’t touched it stil but he’s laying next to it so I hope it’s cooling him down. josh def wants to do a double story thing so we’ll  probably do what you did but put a ramp in. we still don’t know if we’re going to get a second bunny because we don’t know how many animals are ok to have in the apartment because they are still looking for the right apartments (but they are looking for large dog friendly/animal friendly *due to the possible  australian shepherd that might live with us*) we don’t know the animal limit. I wouldn’t think that they would mind the bunnies because they would be in the cage except for when we let him out for exercise. you’ve been so helpful thank you so much for all your advice. As I’m typing this the room has cooled down A LOT so he should be more comfortable now.

[kcomstoc]

Have you found any toys that your bunny really LOVES that keeps them occupied for while? or something that requires them to think about it a little bit to figure it out? What have you found that bunnies like? Also I HAD to say this lol the bunny in the picture that has the advertising for bunnies do binkies for our products the brown and white one looks EXACTLY like Caleb lol

[MoveDiagonally]

It depends on what you rabbit likes to do.

My rabbits love moving stuff around so I have baby keys, interlocking rings, and stacking cups for them to toss around. All of these are made for babies but my rabbits love them.
Here’s my Penny looking all kinds of irritated because I cleaned and put the keys/interlocking rings in the wrong place. >.<

I also have rabbits that love chewing so I keep them in steady supply of willow rings and baskets. I get mine from the BB store because you don’t want to give them anything that’s been treated with chemicals. There are some other toys there too.
store.binkybunny.com/toys-c2.aspx

I also take brown lunch bags and stuff them with treat and hay and then twist the top closed really tight. They have fun tearing into them and making a mess.

Diggy boxes are great for bunnies that like to dig but my rabbits always got confused and used them as litter boxes! A basic diggy box is just a container with bunny safe stuff in it to toss around and dig in. Like shredded paper and such. There’s a really cute video here of the owner of this site’s bunnies making an adorable mess:
https://www.binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/tabid/53/CategoryID/22/PID/940/Default.aspx

Other easy toys are toilet paper rolls stuffed with hay or phone books for them to tear up/dig into.

Here are a BUNCH of toy ideas. I just discovered this page recently and I’m excited to give some of these a try:
https://www.binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/tabid/53/CategoryID/27/PID/940/Default.aspx

I know some people around here have used the “Teach n Treat” toy. If you scroll down on the thread below you’ll see a video of Meow1’s bunny playing with it.

https://www.binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/a…fault.aspx

[kcomstoc]

 My bunny likes doing all 3 things lol we put his toys in certain spots after cleaning and he gets all (we call it “humphy” lol) because now he has to move them into the “correct” spot. He loves to dig, but we’re confused because before he got neutered he didn’t dig at all, now (it’s been a couple months) he wants to dig. We take him outside on his harness sometimes (waiting for another cooler day) to take him out again on his harness. he HATES the harness but likes going outside (he doesn’t notice the harness anymore after he gets outside and he’s still getting used to it). 

He also likes chewing so he has chewing rings and chew things but he wants to chew on his litterbox (which is made out of a cardboard box with a hole in it so he can jump in). *forehead slap!* I’ll check out the websites to see what i can find thanks. 

[kcomstoc]

How do you know if ink is “soy based” or not?

[kcomstoc]

How do you know if ink is “soy based” or not?

[kcomstoc]

 So I made that toy that was on here and he played for it for those 10 seconds and now couldn’t care less lol but I’ll post pics anyway. I stuffed it with hay and then a treat and then more hay

[Deleted User]

Re soy based ink: in North America most phone books are printed using soy based ink (if that is why you are asking?). While the person I got my tip from is very knowledgeable about this sort of thing I’m not one hundred percent sure of the info, but the tip I was given is that if you handle it and it stays on the paper (phone book as opposed to a newspaper), doesn’t come off on your hands, the ink is likely soy based. Apparently its a lot more commonly used then many of us realize.

[kcomstoc]

 I was wondering because it said for the paper part to use soy based ink but I didn’t know what it meant and I really wanted to try out the toy so I just used computer paper as you can see it didn’t matter because he only played with it for a few seconds lol

[MoveDiagonally]

Very cute!

For newspapers, I think you can call them and ask if their ink is soy based. Same thing for phone books. You might be able to google a specific brands or check out their websites.

Too funny that he stopped playing with it after a bit. Sometimes I will make toys for my rabbits and they will ignore them for a while (once up to a week) and then suddenly they go crazy with them. Or the opposite they love them at first and then just suddenly decide that game isn’t fun anymore. They can be fickle fluffy jerkfaces XD

[kcomstoc]

 He is a furry jerkface when it comes to toys lol but he played for it just a little while ago so maybe it’s an on and off thing…? idk he does what he wants lol I just brushed him he sheds like crazy and I can brush off as much fur as he has and it’s like it never ends lol but he kisses me while i do it even though I know he doesn’t like it. That’s a good sign right? he’s laying in a corner of his cage right now “humphing” lol

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