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Liquidtravel

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Hello all,

About a week and a half ago I got my 6 month old flemish giant neutered. Prior to that he was very active and rarely wanted to stay in his habitat. I would always let him out at regular intervals and he would run around on the hard wood floor like a race car driver sliding around corners. He would always end up under my desk chair nibbling on my pant leg for some petting. Whenever I put him back in his habitat, if I left the room, he would think of very ingenious ways to escape and come after me.

Now however, after being neutered, he almost never leaves his habitat. He sleeps most of the day and eats a lot more. He seems healthy enough, at least I can't see any outward signs of illness but he doesn't seem to want to be active at all. When he does venture out, he slides on the floor. As I mentioned, this was not a problem in the past and he seemed to like the sliding. Now however, as soon as he starts to slide he runs back to his habitat. Now he never comes to my desk chair but I still do go to his cage all the time to pet him.

Something else I have noticed is that whenever I load up his hay box, he seems to pull everything exposed at the top of the box into his liter box and mix it around with his bedding. I see him often sitting in his liter box munching on the hay. Then, he will push the remaining hay deep into the hay box like a trash compactor to the point of not being able to reach it. I will then fill it up again and he does it all over again.

On average, I would say he is eating more pellets than hay but I can't be sure. I do also give him carrots on a daily basis and just recently found that I might be giving him too many carrots per day considering his age and just in general. I am not sure if too many carrots would make him lethargic or not.

For the most part of the last week and a half, he spends most of the day laying next to the open gate on his habitat (on the inside). I can hear him moving around inside but rarely does he come out unless I pick him up and physically move him to another area which I have don't only a couple of time which I can't tell if he likes or not. Just trying to get him some exercise.

all thoughts are welcome to help with my bunnies blues....
 
Hello all,

About a week and a half ago I got my 6 month old flemish giant neutered. Prior to that he was very active and rarely wanted to stay in his habitat. I would always let him out at regular intervals and he would run around on the hard wood floor like a race car driver sliding around corners. He would always end up under my desk chair nibbling on my pant leg for some petting. Whenever I put him back in his habitat, if I left the room, he would think of very ingenious ways to escape and come after me.

Now however, after being neutered, he almost never leaves his habitat. He sleeps most of the day and eats a lot more. He seems healthy enough, at least I can't see any outward signs of illness but he doesn't seem to want to be active at all. When he does venture out, he slides on the floor. As I mentioned, this was not a problem in the past and he seemed to like the sliding. Now however, as soon as he starts to slide he runs back to his habitat. Now he never comes to my desk chair but I still do go to his cage all the time to pet him.

Something else I have noticed is that whenever I load up his hay box, he seems to pull everything exposed at the top of the box into his liter box and mix it around with his bedding. I see him often sitting in his liter box munching on the hay. Then, he will push the remaining hay deep into the hay box like a trash compactor to the point of not being able to reach it. I will then fill it up again and he does it all over again.

On average, I would say he is eating more pellets than hay but I can't be sure. I do also give him carrots on a daily basis and just recently found that I might be giving him too many carrots per day considering his age and just in general. I am not sure if too many carrots would make him lethargic or not.

For the most part of the last week and a half, he spends most of the day laying next to the open gate on his habitat (on the inside). I can hear him moving around inside but rarely does he come out unless I pick him up and physically move him to another area which I have don't only a couple of time which I can't tell if he likes or not. Just trying to get him some exercise.

all thoughts are welcome to help with my bunnies blues....
I would phone the vet , sorry I don't know anything else about that
 
It can take awhile for males to fully recuperate from surgery. Hormones can take up to 2 months to fully dissipate. Give him some time for those hormones to settle and his behavior to even out.

6-7months is typically the age when a rabbit transitions to an adult diet, BUT since he's a Flemish, he'll take a bit longer before he's considered adult. Once he's adult, those pellets should be measured out to keep him from over-eating them. For a Flemish, he can transition to an adult diet somewhere around 9-12 months of age.

As for the hay, we want him eating loads of hay. It should be the bulk of his diet. A rabbit may eat less hay if he's getting too many pellets, and/or if he's getting too many sugary foods. Carrots are high in sugar and should be severely limited. In fact, I put them in the treats category. An average size rabbit should get no more than a baby carrot nib per day. A flemish, probably no more than 2 baby carrot nibs (about 2" slice of one carrot). That amount should be reduced if it is keeping him from eating plenty of hay.

Have you been introducing greens to him? After hay, the next part of a rabbit's diet should be daily greens. These need to be introduced slowly and one type at a time. You can read more about bunny diet on the following page of my website:
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/feeding.html
I would absolutely avoid picking him up to carry him to another location. If the floor is too slick, you can provide an area rug for him to run about. My current rabbit is like this too. I have a runner rug that spans the space between his cage (door always open) and the area rug.
 
It can take awhile for males to fully recuperate from surgery. Hormones can take up to 2 months to fully dissipate. Give him some time for those hormones to settle and his behavior to even out.

6-7months is typically the age when a rabbit transitions to an adult diet, BUT since he's a Flemish, he'll take a bit longer before he's considered adult. Once he's adult, those pellets should be measured out to keep him from over-eating them. For a Flemish, he can transition to an adult diet somewhere around 9-12 months of age.

As for the hay, we want him eating loads of hay. It should be the bulk of his diet. A rabbit may eat less hay if he's getting too many pellets, and/or if he's getting too many sugary foods. Carrots are high in sugar and should be severely limited. In fact, I put them in the treats category. An average size rabbit should get no more than a baby carrot nib per day. A flemish, probably no more than 2 baby carrot nibs (about 2" slice of one carrot). That amount should be reduced if it is keeping him from eating plenty of hay.

Have you been introducing greens to him? After hay, the next part of a rabbit's diet should be daily greens. These need to be introduced slowly and one type at a time. You can read more about bunny diet on the following page of my website:
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/feeding.html
I would absolutely avoid picking him up to carry him to another location. If the floor is too slick, you can provide an area rug for him to run about. My current rabbit is like this too. I have a runner rug that spans the space between his cage (door always open) and the area rug.

Thanks for the great information. I had been giving him some greens but will start getting that more than carrots. For some reason, I just thoughts carrots were great for rabbits. (stupid bugs bunny, I guess). He seems healthy enough, I have given him plenty of hay toys to play with, although he rarely does. I guess I just feel bad because prior to the surgery, he was running around all over the place and now he just sits in his cage all day long. Make me sad since the door is wide open and he could come out any time he wants.

One last thing, you mentioned you bought a runner for your rabbit. What was it made out of. I have tried a couple of different one. One was made out of rubber, he started eating chunks out of it when I was not looking, and I do mean chunks. I then bought a carpet runner, he ate chunks out of it when I wasn't watching. He seems to like to eat plastic, fabric, carpet, cotton, polyester, rubber, and human flesh :). He is a good boy but I have taken most things away from him because he was eating them. That is why the floor is bare.. any thoughts?

thanks again.
 
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The excessive destructive chewing may settle down along with his hormones. It should get better.

I usually look for low-pile carpet to discourage chewing. It takes some trial and error to figure out what will work. (Though anything he chews now you may be able to try again in a month or two.)

Once he is more actively eating more hay, that could help as well with minimizing the destructive chewing. You could also put out cardboard boxes for him with doorways cut out. That could help keep his attention off of carpet.
 
I had cardboard boxes but he chewed them all up. Is it safe for him to be chewing cardboard? That is why I don't have them currently. I was getting a little worried because of all the things he chews thinking it might cause some digestive issues. Am I wrong?
 
I had cardboard boxes but he chewed them all up. Is it safe for him to be chewing cardboard? That is why I don't have them currently. I was getting a little worried because of all the things he chews thinking it might cause some digestive issues. Am I wrong?
Yes , cardboard is safe as long as it's not got dye or tape on it .
 

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