Hardest Decision. Please help!

I wasn't sure where to post this but I am in desperate need of advice on my little Nibbles future.

I purchased Mr. Nibbles in late January 2012 with my boyfriend. he promised to help me take care of him so we decided to get him and share responsibility of raising him. At the time I was just a college student with a lot of free time. About 6 months later I had to get a job which sucked up a lot of my after school time. A few weeks ago, me and my boyfriend broke up... Raising nibbles alone is difficult. Since I've had him he has caught a nasty cold, an abscess and his abscess has returned... I had someone there who he was used to to help raise, watch, and care for when I could not and now that his abscess has returned and I still have work and school, I'm unsure if I can be there for him every day to watch over his abscess as it heals. When he had his first abscess removed I gave him to my boyfriend to watch for a week since during the day and would stay with him at night. Now that it is just me, I'm afraid he won't have the attention he deserves. I have read that abscesses return a lot of the time and I'm unsure if I can keep having them removed everytime he gets them. I think it is unfair to him that I can't always be around during the day (I get home late a lot). I do love nibbles, he has been my constant companion and I also purchased him because I had a hard time sleeping alone at night and at the time, me and my boyfriend didn't sleep together every night. Nibbles has done a lot to cure my loneliness and has been here with me through his break up and when i'm simply physically and emotionally exhausted from work and school. my question is... if you were in my position, would you choose to give him away to a good home or keep him and keep trying to be the best for him because you do love him?

Ive been battling with this decision for two weeks... and when his abscess returned it only made me think harder on it. Thank you everyone for your input.

there are a lot of single people with pets. when my fiance and i started dating, if we got a pet it was with the notion that i was responsible for their care and he loved on them, but i wouldnt get rid of them if something happened between us. if you worry about him being lonely, you can have him fixed and get him a bonded cage mate.

i think your decision comes down to if you are willing and capable to care for his medical needs financially and emotionally. my rabbit, murphy, had an abcess under her leg which caused it to grow wrong and her leg and the abcess was removed 4 months ago and no signs of another abcess has risen after the removal and antibiotics.

You could begin looking for someone to take him. It probably would take some time & in the meantime he should be treated. Perhaps the problem will resolve & you'll decide you can keep him.

When he's not on antibiotics [assuming the abscess is bacterial] are you giving him antibiotics?

It would be hard to find a home for him with someone who is knowledgeable with rabbits and would be able to manage his health needs. Good rabbit owners are hard to come by. You can give him a better life then most people. I think maybe you are doubting yourself as an owner and thinking that he deserves more, but he'd be much better off staying with you. If you are worried about him being lonely, then you could try bonding him with another rabbit. I think that would be a better option then re-homing him.

I'm taking him to the vet tomorrow morning to get it removed and they will probably give me the same antibiotics as last time. I'm not giving him anything as of now, since he is my first rabbit i'm not sure what home care I can give him until I can get him in to see a vet.

I can't get another rabbit, since it is hard enough to clean up after and maintain the smell of one. All we would have is each other.

I suppose you're right irishbunny, he does have health needs and I'm not sure most people would be willing and ready to take on a rabbit who has had health concerns in the past.

I've just been thinking for a couple weeks now and I hate that he isn't getting the same amount of human interaction as he was before. I'm still coping with this break up and for a few days he was acting funny and not eating as much... not sure if that was because I was so upset and he could feel it or what. He has since started eating again and then this abscess appeared a few days later. I just don't want to make any wrong decisions or making the selfish decision to keep him when maybe there are people who could give him more time...

Your bunny has a cold and an abscess that is reoccuring.

Your bunny most likely has pasturella.

All you can do is manage it, you can't cure it.

An alternative is that your bunny has a problem with it's teeth if the abscess is in that area.

He doesn't have the cold anymore, he had one when I first got him. I just wanted to make the point that he has had bad luck this first year i've had him ... its just one thing after another.

This is the second time the abscess has returned. It is on his cheek. I thought it might have been his tooth last time but the vet told me it had nothing to do with his teeth... since you are saying that I'll make sure to ask them to look again.

Does anyone know if abscesses keep coming back... or do they eventually stop?this one came back in I think a month or two.

abscesses that reoccur are generally the result of two things

1. an abscess that didn't heal properly
2. pasturella virus.

more rarely is the rabbit that just manages to keep injuring itself and not healing easily.

SO... in case it's the latter you need to check
1. is there anything in the cage that could cause injury
2. are you feeding a grass-like product that has the wrong type of seed heads that can burrow into the skin?

The fact that he "had a bad cold" tends to make me think it's the pasturella virus that has just changed forms in how it is presenting.

His cage is more of a 'litter box', I don't like keeping him caged, he looks so sad. He has his own bedroom, its empty. I feed him regular pallets for rabbits and alfalfa cubes, spinach as well a couple of times a week. Theres nothing really that could injure him that I can see. I let him chew on cardboard boxes? but he seems to enjoy that, he doesn't eat them though from what I've seen. I normally find chunks on the floor.

Hi. In my opinion, it sounds like a tooth abscess if the abscess is in the cheek area. It is probably the most common cause of cheek abscess. If this is the case, the tooth will have to be ground down [not clipped] and the abscess cleaned out. Then antibiotics to heal the abscess.
Your bunny's diet should consist of mostly timothy hay, then greens and maybe a quarter cup daily of good quality timothy hay pellets. And fresh water, of course. Hay keeps the teeth ground down and tooth issues develop quickly. Pellets should not be the primary source of nourishment!
Has your vet taken xrays? My bunny had a tooth root grow up into his nasal cavity and it was making its way up into his eye socket.
Seriously think about getting a friend for your bunny. Most bunnies love having another bunny around and two do not take much more care than one. They will keep each other company when you are not there.
Good luck!

I think you should start asking around and in the meantime start getting him seen by a vet. Its super hard to let a rabbit go. We love them but I think its for the best if you let someone who would have the time and everything for him. Maybe you can try getting him neutered and get him a bunny friend. That way they'll be happy even when you don't have extra time. But if you think its for the best for your rabbit, then I think you should. Rabbits are sweet and cute but you have to have the time, patience, money, and love for them. Perhaps you can figure something out, like at, lets say, 7:15 you give him 25 - 35 minutes of playtime everyday. It really wouldn't be too hard to do. Good luck on your furry friend.

Definitely talk to the vet about what is causing the problem. Also, you mentioned "smell" as one of the reasons to not get another bunny - is he neutered? Unaltered males can tend to spray to mark their territory, which does get smelly!

As to the living situation, keep in mind bunnies are crepuscular - most active mornings and evenings, not in the middle of the day, so don't feel too guilty about him having time alone in the middle of the day, he's likely asleep anyway!

I will definately make sure the vet takes x-rays... because I simply do not want nibbles to go through this again. I feel so bad for him..... They told me he was okay before and it came back. I do not understand at all. I now know the questions to ask the vet as soon as I get there, I refuse to have my companion go through this again... he does not deserve it. He is such a good little bunny rabbit.

Tomorrow at 10am is his apt. So I will ask about this virus and tooth xrays. Any other input? I reallly don't want him to go through this again... Its hard on him. He is a dwarf little bunny... less than 2 lbs.

thank you petoftheday, I feel a little better about leaving him alone during the day. I have not asked the vet, I simply assumed they knew what they were talking about... my mistake, I should have been more curious about my little bunny friend... I will get x-rays this time. He is also not fixed. He is an only child and I tend to keep him this way. Should I look into getting him fixed?

I would definetly look into getting him neutered. I think it helps with the smell alot. I would also make sure to ask all the fact finding questions you can to the vet.
It sounds as though you provide him a great loving home. I wouldn't rehome him if I were you. Breaking up with a boyfriend and bunny having a couple health issues would not be reason for me to rehome.
Also, I did want to add that I recently got another bunny and once bonded (although bonding can be alot of work) there really is little difference to having one bunny vs. two. They almost become one unit so I don't notice more smell, or more cleaning etc. Of course your bun would have to be neutered to bond but just wanted to throw that out there in case it was something you were thinking of.

Update!!!

The vet did a number on baby nibbles. This time they sedated him, looked inside his mouth, and it is not a tooth they say. they also scrapped out all of the puss inside that abscess and sewed him back together. His little face...
Last time they put a drain inside his cheek and i had to drain it everyday for a week as well as medication and special flush stuff to wash it with but this time i do nothing except give him oral medication. He did say it COULD be that virus but we will know if it comes back this time. I have to take him back in two weeks to get the stitches removed.

As for re-homing... he needs me right now and I couldn't just give him up in this state... he looks so sad and fragile

Oh, your poor little guy! I hope this fixes him up. And I'm glad you are keeping him. He does need you Crossing my fingers for a speedy recovery!

BrittanyBunny said:

I feed him regular pallets for rabbits and alfalfa cubes, spinach as well a couple of times a week. Theres nothing really that could injure him that I can see. I let him chew on cardboard boxes? but he seems to enjoy that, he doesn't eat them though from what I've seen. I normally find chunks on the floor.

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btw, he needs to be on grass hay of some sort instead of alfalfa (timothy, orchard grass, meadow, botanical, bermuda, coastal, oat, wheat, etc.... with "cereal" type hays like oat or wheat you want to pick out all the oats or w/e because the extra carbs aren't good for bunnies) and it should be normal hay rather than compressed cubes . hay should be 70-80% of his diet. more veggies (and more of a variety of leafy greens) would be good for him as well.

if you have a feed store in your area (horse supplies and such), you can buy an 80 lb bale for around $9-14. if you just don't have the space for an entire bale, you could buy one and ask them to cut it in half and only give you half - you'd still come out WAY ahead of pet store hay prices! (pet store's like $3 per lb vs around $1 for 8 lbs buying by the bale).

I'm really sorry your poor bunny's having such bad health issues . honestly, you're a lot more concerned about his health and happiness than the average bunny owner (here at RO, we're used to everyone being great owners... it's easy to forget how many bad ones there are in the world who would never find their way to a site like this). if you can handle his care financially, I think you should keep the little guy... and if finances become a struggle, you might try contacting places like rabbit rescues/sanctuaries and animal shelters to see if you can find one that's able to help him get the care he needs on the budget you have to work with.

as others have said, I really think you should consider getting him fixed and finding him a friend through bunny-dating at a shelter - they're SO happy with another bunny around, the moral support is very helpful to them when they're sick/recovering and cleaning up after them/caring for them really isn't any harder with two than with one if they're bonded.

Nibbles is very lucky to have you. You are doing a great job taking care of him with his issues and changing his environment would be very hard on him. I'm sure he is extremely attached to you and is already stressed over your boyfriend not being in his life. I think it would be unfair to take you and his home away as well. You obviously love him very much if you are even asking the question and trying to make him happy.

Once the abcess heals I highly recommend getting him neutered. I can't stand the smell of intact rabbit in the house, it just reaks no matter how much you clean. The hormones make them so nasty. Once they are fixed there isn't a smell as long as the box is clean, it makes a HUGE difference! Then you can think about a friend if you are still worried. They will still love you lots but have someone to tell their bunny secrets to. Bunny love is so very cute and it makes them very happy.

I also agree that feeding the lose hay is important. I get 60 pound bales from the feed store for $7 and it is so yummy! It is not as green as pet store hay (which I suspect is colored) but it is sweet and crunchy. The rabbits now will not eat pet store hay if it is offered! Sometimes people think the feed store hay is a lower quality because it is so cheap, but I have found it to be fresher and more pallitable for them. It helps their teeth as well. Panda had horribly crooked teeth when I got him because he was never given hay or chew toys. After three months of good hay and learning to chew on sticks (another reason to have a bond mate- they teach each other things) his teeth look great. They are streight and trimmed to a lovely length naturally. A good diet can make a huge impact on their dental health.

Give Nibbles extra lovings and nose bonks from us while he heals. *hugs* for you taking such good care of him.

Omg poor lil guy! Sounds like you've gotten great advice so I just wanted to wish lil nibbles well and good for you for taking good care of him!