Desperate for Help - Made a Terrible Mistake (Very Long)

I haven't been on here in a few months, and I hate to come back in this situation, but I really need some help.

This is Codi:



Codi has been in my life only since January. She's an absolutely wonderful rabbit. I purchased her as a house rabbit - I only got the one as my intention was to give her lots of attention and to have her roaming around the house whenever possible. For a while, things were going well. I got her vaccinated, spayed and litter trained.

She has a nice, big pen with lots of things to do and she used to enjoy being in it, playing with her toys or flopping down and relaxing. I'd go in and see her and she'd be calm and relaxed.

In February, I became pregnant. I couldn't have predicted just how ill I'd be - I've had serious morning sickness and been confined to my bed. As such, I haven't been able to get Codi out of her enclosure - I simply don't have the energy to take her downstairs and I definitely couldn't chase her around to get her boxed up to return her to her pen. I've been going to see her when I can and my husband has been making an effort to give her a lot of extra attention, but she is clearly not happy.

She is CONSTANTLY biting at her pen. All day and all night, keeping us awake. When we go in she obviously stops, but as soon as we leave the room again she's back to biting. She seems so frustrated. Twice now, when my husband has gone in to see her, she's been biting at the bars and has turned and charged at him, attacking him. She's such a well-behaved rabbit usually, so I know that she must just be frustrated at not being allowed out of her pen, but I just can't fix it. I feel absolutely terrible. Like I say, she's got a large pen but it clearly isn't enough. The only time she stops biting at the cage is to eat, drink or use her litter box, and then she's straight back to it.

I can't do this any more. It's breaking my heart to think how upset she must be, and it's breaking my heart even more to think that I bought her and I'm unable to give her the care she needs. We really have tried everything that we can think of (the only other option being to get a second rabbit, but then if they don't bond or the situation doesn't improve we're left with TWO that we can't care for). Right now, the only thing I can think of is that she needs another home.

I love her so much. I can't bear to give her up, and on top of that the thought that I'm going to be a terrible person for abandoning her is eating up at me. I've always hated people that take on pets and then say how their 'circumstances have changed' and they 'no longer have time' for their pet, but now I'm that person and I don't know what else I can do. All I want is for Codi to be happy.

So, after this very long post, I need help. Anything. Suggestions that I might not have thought of to keep her in our family, or at least a way that I can make sure that she goes to a good home. I can't stand the thought of abandoning her in some rescue centre or sending her to someone that won't love her as much as I do, but right now I don't think that here is the best place for her mental wellbeing. :bawl:

Not sure if it would be possible or how you have the cage set up but maybe you could use an x-pen and attach it or place it around the cage so she could get some free time out and be able to go back in to the cage on her own or so either of you wouldn't have to chase her around.It is very likely the cage biting is frustration at being penned up and her way of saying "hey I want out!" Try some new things too like toys to keep her busy as well and give her something else to focus her frustration on.

Amethystkytten said:

Not sure if it would be possible or how you have the cage set up but maybe you could use an x-pen and attach it or place it around the cage so she could get some free time out and be able to go back in to the cage on her own or so either of you wouldn't have to chase her around.It is very likely the cage biting is frustration at being penned up and her way of saying "hey I want out!" Try some new things too like toys to keep her busy as well and give her something else to focus her frustration on.

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Thanks for your reply. She does have a large x-pen, but unfortunately if I let her out of that then I'm having to chase her around to make sure that she doesn't nibble on furniture. She lives in our home office (there's no space for her pen in any other room) and I have a large wooden desk in there and, as you'd expect, a lot of wires. It's not a safe environment for her to be in unsupervised, and with me being so ill I can't go following her around to make sure that she's not biting things she shouldn't be.

We used to take her downstairs to give her free run of the ground floor (where we've bunny-proofed the lounge and kitchen) but I just can't do that any more, and my husband works very long hours and doesn't have time to do that for her either.

Can't she live on the ground floor permanently? Once you've bunproofed the area and Codi has picked her litter spot(s), leaving her free range is a piece of cake. There may be the odd poop on the floor, but she'll just do her own thing, hang out in the lounge, and you'll never have to chase her around to put her away.

Morning sickness will pass. I'm sure after the first few months, you'll be feeling much better. Giving Codi away over this brief hard period may be something you'll regret later on. On the other hand, if you feel things will NEVER be the same, and you won't have time for Codi even after the baby is born, then the right thing to do is to find her a good home. Yes, many people rehome for selfish reasons, but there are also many who are rehoming for the good of the bunny. If she will be happier elsewhere, that's the best thing you could do for her and you should not be ashamed of that.

whiskylollipop said:

Can't she live on the ground floor permanently? Once you've bunproofed the area and Codi has picked her litter spot(s), leaving her free range is a piece of cake. There may be the odd poop on the floor, but she'll just do her own thing, hang out in the lounge, and you'll never have to chase her around to put her away.

Morning sickness will pass. I'm sure after the first few months, you'll be feeling much better. Giving Codi away over this brief hard period may be something you'll regret later on. On the other hand, if you feel things will NEVER be the same, and you won't have time for Codi even after the baby is born, then the right thing to do is to find her a good home. Yes, many people rehome for selfish reasons, but there are also many who are rehoming for the good of the bunny. If she will be happier elsewhere, that's the best thing you could do for her and you should not be ashamed of that.

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Unfortunately I still can't trust her not to go for the furniture downstairs if she's left to roam free constantly. She still needs constant supervision, wherever she is. There isn't a lot that she could destroy (just the sofas and TV stand), but she'd definitely go for skirting boards and door frames which, in a rental property, just isn't an option. I'd love to have her roaming completely free, but I can't trust her not to do damage when we're out of the room.

And yes, the morning sickness will pass. Unfortunately, for me it looks like it's likely to be around for the entire pregnancy as I have hyperemisis gravidarum. My fear is, if I'm unable to get her out of her pen until November (and then have a newborn baby taking up some time), what can we do? She's constantly biting at her cage and that just can't continue until the end of this year. I've been talking it through for days with my husband and of course I can say now 'Once the baby is born, things can get back to normal', but how long can she remain in this distressed state? My husband is really trying with her, but he has very limited time at home - he's let her out of her pen a few times, but when he's chasing her around because she's thumping her feet and doing everything she can NOT to return to her pen, he starts to get very frustrated as well. And now that she's getting aggressive with him, he's even less comfortable being around her. I'd love to just put up with this until after the baby's born - from my point of view, that would be great as it would allow her to stay in our family - but I don't know how well she'll cope with another 6+ months of this.

It really does feel like rehoming is the only option, but I won't ever forgive myself if I have to do it. I feel like I should never have got her, and that's so hard to deal with. I don't agree with people taking on pets without knowing their care requirements, and I researched and made sure that I felt happy that I could meet her requirements before I got her, so for things to change so dramatically I feel like I'm really letting her down. I've looked into local rescue centres and I'd certainly donate all of the money they needed each month to keep her there so that she isn't costing them anything, but I can't control where she ends up...

There is the option of temporary rehoming. Where do you live? If you make a post on this website (and other popular ones like binkybunny) asking, you may find a rabbit lover living near you who wouldn't mind taking in your bunny until the end of your pregnancy. You can ask rescues about this too! If you offer to pay the cost of food/litter/hay for Codi, and maybe a small care donation, I'm sure any rescue or associated foster homes that aren't too full would be happy to help.

whiskylollipop said:

There is the option of temporary rehoming. Where do you live? If you make a post on this website (and other popular ones like binkybunny) asking, you may find a rabbit lover living near you who wouldn't mind taking in your bunny until the end of your pregnancy. You can ask rescues about this too! If you offer to pay the cost of food/litter/hay for Codi, and maybe a small care donation, I'm sure any rescue or associated foster homes that aren't too full would be happy to help.

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Thank you! That's definitely something I'd be able to consider. I would absolutely pay everything for her, so I will speak to my husband about this and it may be the route we take.

All I want is for her to be happy, so I will do whatever it takes, but if there's a way to make this happen without losing her for good then that would be great.

I'm just throwing out some ideas I have.

Would it work to buy her a really great outdoor wooden hutch set up since it seems like she just wants to be in her outside pen so bad. Like this:http://ak1.ostkcdn.com/images/produ...-e860a5bc-d1e9-4d8d-9c50-34c5508e3203_320.jpg

Is there a rabbit club in your area? Maybe you could send the club an email and explain the situation to them and maybe someone can just look after her for you for a few months.

Another idea is, can you find apple branches and willow branches, lots of them, and put them in her indoor pen. I live in a town where willows grow all along a river so I can just go and cut branches anytime. I use a lopper and cut off huge branches and put them in my rabbit enclosures and in a week they chew all the bark off- its a boredom buster for them.

Another idea is can you hire a kid in your neighborhood put her in her pen in the morning and take her inside at the end of the day for you.

Have you tried bringing her into the room where you are at for the most time during the day? If she is mostly alone where she is at, she may be lonely. Even if you can't interact with her much, and even if she would have to be in a smaller pen or cage and can't run around, she may be happier just to be around you and have the company.

You could also try lining her pen/cage with hardware cloth that has smaller holes, at least 1/2"(you do need to protect the edges with something as they will be sharp). This will prevent her from being able to chew on the bars and curb that bad habit. Then just add other things to keep her busy like an old phone book to shred, a dig box filled with shredded paper, boxes to play in, etc.

Definitely she sounds bored - I like the "old phone book to nibble" idea! Things to chew, different toys she might like, switch things in and out, and even just spend time near her when you need to sit down for a while, so she gets "mom" time. Another idea - do you live in an area with 4-H clubs? You might find a child who would either take her for a while, or maybe one who would want to come twice a week to give her some exercise or something like that?

Thank you for all of your suggestions!

I've put a phone book in and that has calmed her down. She had a lot of toys to chew and nibble on already, but I'd never given her a book because I think I'd read somewhere about ink being toxic. She had paper from a pad but she was just working her way through that sheet by sheet and it wasn't very distracting for her, but an entire book seems to have helped!

I will also get her into the bedroom with me a bit more. It does mean locking her into a cage like this for a while: http://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/rabbit-140-guinea-pig-and-rabbit-cage-(online-only)

But if people think that she'd prefer the small space and more social interaction then I'm happy to give that a try. I'm missing her a lot, so it will be nice to see her a bit more, but I didn't want to be even more cruel by expecting her spend some of her time in a little cage like that.

I also bought some garden tarpaulin on eBay yesterday, big enough to cover the floor and to pin up the sides of the cage a bit, so hopefully that will also help when it arrives.

Finally, I'll get my husband to get us some twigs. We had a tree chopped down at the end of the garden last year and they just left the twigs there in a big pile behind our shed, so I'm sure he'll find some good ones when I send him out!

Hopefully, with these changes we can keep her around through the pregnancy. I haven't heard her biting all morning, and husband said when he went in to check on her she was looking a lot more contented.

Another thing to consider if just bunny proofing a room 100% A room isn't bunny proofed 100% if you don't trust leaving them there alone.

As ugly as it might seem, you can get free boxes from the USPS and cut them up to cover the things you don't want her to be chewing on. More than likely will have to replace the card boards every few weeks/months, but better chewed up cardboard than furniture. Just put the cardboard up with tape along the furniture, high enough for her not to reach on her hind legs, and bam, protected furniture.

You can also buy this (http://www.plaspropipes.com/cat-clear.jpg) for the the wires. Just make a cut along the whole tube so you can put the wires inside safely and easily instead of having to push the wires inside. That way they are protected from the bunnies, and the bunnies protected from the wires.

There's plenty of other things you can do to make giving her away not necessary. I'm sure someone else has mentioned temporary housing, moving the cage to where you are most of your time, etc. Pregnancy is temporary, it'd suck to rehome her for something that won't last forever, unless you think that even after the pregnancy you won't have the time that is.

Be careful with the twigs. Some plants are toxic.

My bunnies eat almost all their pellets out of treat balls made for cats. That gives them something to keep them busy for a while and might help keep your bun busy too.

Can someone foster her for you? Ive been there, I truly have and I'm telling you that you'll regret it if shes gone. I rehomed a little dog during my pregnancy and I still feel awful. He has a great home but its not the same. Vit b6 really helped with my morning sickness, although I still had crazy low blood sugar and couldnt stand for long. Congrats on your baby.

An odd thing that helped me with morning sickness was motion sickness wrist bands. They did more for me than any other remedy. I don't know what I would have done without them. Actually, I do. I would have gone to the hospital often so I could get rehydrated. I got so sick I couldn't keep even a sip of water down. Those wristbands made a world of difference.