inexperienced rabbit owner

[motomori]

hi,

8 months ago an acquaintance of mine wanted to get rid of her 2 male rabbits that she had bought for her kids over Christmas but after a few months she found them too much of a choir and was seeing if anyone else wanted them, no one did so she was considering leaving them in a wooded area (It was freezing at the time) since she was running out of options as she said, I don’t know if she would have actually done it but i said i’d take them as I was just moving into dorm rooms (pets allowed)

I took them in, she gave me all the stuff she had for them (bedding, food, cage which felt awfully small too me for two rabbits and a toy)

over the next few weeks i bought them a new second story cage that would still fit in my room, some new toys and I had them neutered as they where spraying everywhere which cost me quite a bit (I am a student)

the end story is, it wasn’t really the best solution and I am not very well fitted to care for rabbits as I also have to leave every other weekend to take care of my grandad in another city, leaving on Friday and coming back on Monday, my solution was to buy a special feeder that rotates and feeds them for the days I am not there, it is big and circular so they wouldn’t tip it over and I add another one of those sippy bottles to their cage, in those months ive had them this always went well, they ate their food and they would always have at least a full bottle left when I came back, my neighbour who has my key would also check on them when she could but she never mentions anything weird that has happened up till now.

my rabbits are also very skittish, my friend/aquantance mentioned her boys would have been a little rough on them and I think this has scarred them as they will hardly come out of their cage and usually try to avoid me if i reach into the cage to change their bedding or bowl or even just a gentle pat.
whenever I come home I leave their cage door open but as I said they don’t really want to come out and if they do it takes the tiniest twitch from me for them to dash back in.
I have picked them up a couple of times to trim their nails and they sit still nicely enough but i dont think they want to bond (I even tried treats which they will take but i can only coax them out so far before they run back in)

I’ve been browsing a lot of sites since even though I’m not really the best fit for them I do want to make it as good as possible for them, i discovered that the food i have been giving them was bad (a muesli kind of mix) it was the only brand they had at my local supermarket (I get home late so usually the pet store is closed during the week) but that means ill just stock up on better pellets in the weekend but ive also decided to give them a lot less pellets and more fresh greens.

coming to the end of my story is, am I doing alright now? I think i covered the basics and rectified the earlier mistakes, does anyone have some tips on how i can get them to come out and stretch their legs more? is there more I can do to keep up their health and make them happier? I occasionally catch them binkying in the cage so I think they feel good enough but I just really like to know how i am doing on this.

 

thank you

[rayray]

It may take them awhile to get use to you. Especially if you’re not around a lot and they were treated badly. The best thing you can give them is Timothy hay for the bulk of their diet. Fresh greens and healthy pellets are good too. Just leave the cage open when you are home and put a bowl of treats outside the cage. After a while they will see there is nothing to be scared of and you can work on bonding with them.
Sorry I don’t have a lot of experience, just saying what worked for me with my little guy. I’ve had him almost 2 mths and he’s just now climbing on me and nudging me to do his bidding.

[motomori]

thank you, sorry forgot to mention that besides the food they do have a constant supply of hay, and i guess they have a hard time bonding, it has been 8 months though.

[Kbana]

Hi, well they already are in a far better situation than before so that is awesome of you! The important thing is that you are trying to give them the best life possible. They will come around. If you aren’t around a lot then bonding will take longer so even though it has been 8 months, you can kinda cut that time in half to be more like 4. Plus, if they were mistreated, bonding will take longer anyway. Be patient. Spend some time on the floor when you are home, ignoring them and letting them come to you. (spend time on your laptop, phone, read a book or magazine, etc.) When they come to you don’t pet them, just have some treats or veggies by you and quietly give them those. Soon they will learn that you=yummies. Eventually when they seek you out for treats you can start giving them a pet. Then they will start seeing you as treats and pets…all good things. My concern is that they are being left alone over the weekend. I know your schedule is dictating this now and that your situation won’t always be permanent. Rabbits can become ill quickly and action must also be taken quickly so the more time you spend with them, the more you will get to know them and learn their personalities. Then it will be easier to notice any changes in their behavior that might signal illness. I don’t want to scare you but there are illnesses that could take a rabbit’s life in a matter of days/hours so perhaps you could find someone you trust to spend some time with them over the weekends and keep an eye out for any signs of illness/discomfort. Even if that person is not interacting with them, just watching them interact with each other…just a thought. Two great resources to check out are http://language.rabbitspeak.com/ and http://rabbit.org. There is a ton to learn about rabbit care and I was in the same boat as you, clueless trying to gather as much info as I could. You are doing a great job. Just keep doing your research and you will be just fine. Search this forum too with questions you might have. I found that old threads had some great information. This site has been a lifesaver for me! I feel like I have learned so much information in a short period of time.

Rabbit care is tough especially at first. Once they learn to trust you more you will see their true personalities and it will feel like a much more fulfilling job. It is a lot of work but it is so worth it.

[Kbana]

 my neighbour who has my key would also check on them when she could but she never mentions anything weird that has happened up till now.

 

 

I forgot to ask, but you didn’t say what happened that was weird?

[motomori]

thank you,

I do feel guilty about leaving them but for now i have no choice, there is no one else to take care of my grandad and bringing them is not an option, like i said my neighbour who I trust with the key does come by when she can to check on them to see if their food dish is running properly and the water is fine, I shall try to stay around the floor when i get home and perhaps keep some slices of carrot close and thank you for those links, i have been there before since I did do some research to see if they are acting alright.

they seem to like each other good enough and do things like groom each other (mostly the white one does this on the black) but they also spend time apart by hanging out on different levels which they can with this cage, ive never caught them fighting before so im happy they find comfort with eachother even if they dont like me well enough yet (unless i give them little treats for like a split milisecond)

but this was reassuring to know, I felt dreadful when i had learned i fed them badly for so long that I just had to know if there was anything else i did wrong

 

here is a picture of their cage, this was when I just finished building it which is why there is no hay present yet and their food dish is not placed inside but I let them back in because they where freaking out

[motomori]

oh sorry I mean to say, my neighbour who checked on them never reported anything weird to me like a ill looking rabbit, or that they knocked over the food bowl or the water bottle fell off or things like that, basically up until now the weekends have been going good

[Kbana]

Good to know that the weekends have been going well. What I am noticing now is that you have smooth flooring. (at least that is what it looks like from the pic) Perhaps that is also keeping them from coming out and exploring? Some buns really refuse to walk on hard floors. That is all mine has ever known so he is ok but some just hate it…just another thought.

[motomori]

I did consider that, it just strikes me that at times they seem interested at coming out of their cage but it just takes the tiniest movement from me to send them back in, and I don’t mean necessarily movements towards them, I could be yawning and they bolt back inside, I tried gently petting them in the cage but they huddle up in the corner and just seem petrified, I feel so bad for them

[Roberta]

Give it time Motomori,
Try opening the cage door and stretching out on the floor with a good book. They find it much easier to relate when we are down at their level. After a while they will start to relax around you and if they are anything like mine treat you like part of the furniture.

[Beka27]

I don’t have much to are too what has already been said… I just want to commend you for taking these sweet babies in and doing right by them.

Welcome to BB! I am looking forward to hearing more about them!

[motomori]

thank you for all the replies, it puts me to ease knowing I am not making another really bad mistake, when I get back from work on Monday i will be just laying on the floor for the evening with my laptop and see if they are interested, my room has plenty of nooks and crannies for them to explore (I already bunny proofed it and worked all my wires away) so I hope once they are at ease I can shoot some pretty pictures of them to post

[Kbana]

Good luck! I’m sure things will work out just fine and you’ll have two furry friends for life.

[Tigi]

Posted By motomori on 10/17/2013 12:26 PM

I think i covered the basics and rectified the earlier mistakes, does anyone have some tips on how i can get them to come out and stretch their legs more? is there more I can do to keep up their health and make them happier?

 

 

 To encourage them to come out and stretch their legs, would you consider an xpen attached to the cage? That way they can get used to roaming around/ exploring even when you’re not home and still be able to go in the cage if they wish.

[Bam]

I’ve nothing to add, everyone else have come up with excellent ideas, I just want to say that it took my first rabbit a year before he started moving around. He’d take the very occasional, tentative tour of a few yards from his abode of choice, under the coffea-table, then run right back. Other than that he just sat or laid down under that table. I don’t know what had happened to him before I found him, but I’m guessing he sat in some small cage, and when I gave him freedom to roam, he didn’t know how to.

But it changed. Now he’s the cuddliest bunny. He isn’t much for binkying around, he’s much too lazy, but he moves about and he seems happy and unafraid and he really likes being pet. So I think time is vital.

When we are at my mother’s we lay out newspapers and small rugs to make like a “bridge” over her very hard, shiny kitchen-floor, so he can to get into the living-room which is carpeted, or else he stays in the cage he has in the kitchen.

[motomori]

hey guys, I just wanted to post an update, they seem to like their new cage and food enough, whenever I come near and open up the pen they rush towards me, probably because of treats but ever since I started to feed them more fresh veggies they seem to be a lot more confident and happy, weatley (the big white rabbit) is now laying stretched infront of the open cage quite comfortably and jack (the black one) is nibbling hay on the second story (also with the cage doors open)

this afternoon I spend some time infront of the cage when I gave them their fresh food, what i do now is put their tray infront of the cage so they have to peak their head out to eat (i dont force them to come all the way out) and after a few minutes i put the dish inside but after checking out their food they actually came out to sniff me before hopping back in again, and out, and in, and out, I rewarded them with a treat but then after i vacuumed they where a little more reserved (they dont like the vacuum much) still eating though

and I was thinking about a pen for them to roam in but i dont really know if it will even fit in the room, also if i go away for a bit I am afraid they’ll somehow manage to climb out of it and hurt themselves, when I have some money to spare however i want to get them one of those tunnels to run through, I think offering them more obvious hiding spaces might help to get their playful side out

[justwildbeat]

Welcome to the forums~ It definitely seems like they’re warming up to you, which is great. I also have hardwood flooring and had to cover the play area with fabric in order for my bun to come out. Adding cardboard boxes helped too. They’re cheap/free and rabbits love them.

Also you can use NIC cube panels to make a play pen instead of buying one made for cat/dogs. It’s a cheaper alternative especially if you’re on a student budget.

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