New rabbit owner :)

[unknownphoenix]

Hey everyone, me and my fiance recently adopted two rabbits also our first time ever owning rabbits. We adopted May 20th of this year. We moved to a townhouse (our first place ) and of course wanted an animal. Dogs and cats have a monthly fee so we decided against those, and after doing weeks and weeks of research we  decided on getting bunnies. I was a little iffy about it cause I never thought they had personalities but after reading a lot I changed my mind. After searching the internet, pet stores and craigslist we decided to go to the humane society and adopt. (Which I am so glad we did by the way)

My bunny’s name is Bleu. She is about 6 months old, due for Spaying on the 24th of July. Which I am so nervous about by the way. She is a Californian/New Zealand mix. Really big white bunny that you just want to pick up and cuddle Since adopting her we have discovered a few of her traits so far. She is lovable, attention seeking, horrible chewer (lost security deposit on brand new carpet lol) lazy, loves when the central air comes on so she can lay in front of the vents, goes crazy for bannana chips, and hates carrots lol.

My fiance’s rabbit is named Kern. He is 8 months old neutered and is a Californian/Dwarf mix. Cute little guy and soft and fuzzy. When we first saw him he was slightly skittish and antisocial. My fiance likes a challange though so he wasn’t worried about his personality. He had to stay the night at the humane society to be neutered but when we brought him home and he healed up his personitly really came out. Has a bit of an attitude (like his owner ) does not like you moving things in his cage when he is in there. Will oink and lunge at you, never bites though. Isn’t much of a chewer, does like to dig though. Goes crazy for Craisins, does not like a messy cage and hates when you rearange stuff he worked hard to put into places he wants lol. He is a comedian, likes to get into trouble just to hear you yell at him. When you yell at him he runs around in a circle or head flips then smiles at you lol (who can stay mad at something that cute ) He will groom my fiance by licking him..me on the other hand, gets groomed with nibbles and nips which hurt and make me feel bad cause I always pull away cause it kinda hurts. He has a lot of energy, and is super fast. He nose bonks all the time, and if you sit on the floor you are forced to pet him till he tells you otherwise lol.

Once Bleu is spayed and her hormones go away we are going to start the scary process of hopefully bonding them so they can be housed together. Although if Bleu gets much bigger I dont think there will be enough room in the giant hutch we got . Hopefully they can be bonded, I am kinda worried they wont take to each other.

This is Bleu

And this is Kern (poor quality I know, only had my phone though and if I moved he would have gotten up)

[Julezypie]

They are beautiful! One tip about the nipping: screech or yell when he bites and he’ll eventually stop. Most of the time they are biting to ask you to do something, like move! Lol. My husband and I both did the screeching with Fiona and it stopped after six times lol. I also screech now when she chews on something she isn’t suppose to, lol. It confuses her, but she’s learning hahaha.

[unknownphoenix]

Lol, yeah I have heard that before. He mostly does it as a grooming thing on me, its just strange cause he nibbles on my clothes but it usually results in getting some skin with the clothing. He only licks my fiance though lol. I feel bad cause I am basically saying to him “I am to good for you to clean me”. And we usually yell their names when they are doing something they aren’t supposed to. They are starting to learn but they can be so evil sometimes lol. Bleu likes to chew at the corners of the carpets. She actually ruined brand new carpet in the dining room, evil brat.. I read somewhere to put unscented ivory soap on stuff they chew on to stop them. I hope it is actually ok :/ but that seemed to have stopped her, though she occasionally finds spots I missed and I have to yell and she gives me a little attitude when I do it

[tanlover14]

Gorgeous buns – and welcome to bunny parenthood! It can definitely be a challenge sometimes, especially with the young ones.

There are things you can do up until the bonding process is ready to start – we usually call it pre-bonding. Doing things such as switching litter in their boxes to get them used to scents, putting in a stuffed animal or towel that they get their scent on and then stick it in the others area, ect. As they become used to the others scent, it will usually help with the bonding process.

My three Tans are TERRIBLE with the carpet. They tore holes in our carpet also so we bought one of those huge floor rugs from Home Depot and put it over their area so if they ruin it, it’s not a HUGE deal. Also, what has worked well with my buns that like to dig and yank on the carpet – towels. They have been a life saver. It took a week or two but every time one of them would dig into the carpet I would shove the towel under noses and they’d just start going to town on the towel. Now they only dig and yank on their towels and not the carpet.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Big Welcome to you all! Your buns are stunning!!!!

I also didn’t know about the wonderful and unique personalities bunnies have before I got my first bun. It’s a shame so many people miss out on these wonderful companions because they think they are boring and don’t have personalities.

[hannaroo]

Welcome! Your bunnies sound like so much fun! Don’t worry too much about the bonding just yet, I would do the pre bonding as TL suggested as it worked out great for me and I managed to bond my bunnies in 5 days (I had never bonded before) lots of members have great threads about recent bonding s to help you if you’d worried!

[unknownphoenix]

Thanks everyone, its been quite fun learning new stuff on taking care of these guys. One thing for sure is that they are a lot more work than I originally thought they would be. I cant believe people buy rabbits without researching first and just expect to know how to take care of em properly. We did so much research and still was not prepared for all the frustration lol. We love them though and they are part of the family now, and hey family can make you crazy sometimes

And once Bleu gets spayed and the hormones go away I will for sure take the advice of doing pre-bonding. Hopefully I have the same luck as you Hannaroo, with it only taking 5 days..most likely not with our luck though… and our stubborn bunnies

[Julezypie]

We have started pre bonding before surgery, by doing the stuffed animals and keeping them next to each other. jack is getting neutered tomorrow, so in one month we’ll move onto real bonding. They already lay next to each other in the cages and groom each other through the bars, so I am hoping it’ll be smooth! Maybe pre bonding will help your bunnies, too!

[unknownphoenix]

Aww that sounds so cute. When we got them we weren’t sure if we should keep the cages near each other so we have them separated. Bleu is in the dining room and Kern is in the living room. We use the box our hutch is in to separate the rooms when they come out to play. I will suggest to my fiance to do the stuffed animal thing or maybe even do it with a small blanket

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