Getting pregnant

[KaliQ]

Hey everyone,

My husband and I have decided to start trying to get pregnant! I'm super excited but also very nervous! :bunny18
Y'all are the first people outside of him and I who know this, so feel lucky!

I know this forum is for other topics besides rabbits, but I wasn't sure where to ask my question. Is there anything I should know or do with our rabbit (Sherbotsky, 1 year old, mini lop doe) while we're trying to conceive? When we first brought her home I read pet store information that said pregnant women should avoid contact with rabbits and small caged animals, but that doesn't tell me much about what to do since we already have a rabbit. We live in a small 3 bedroom apartment at the moment but are looking into buying a house as soon as we can. Sherbotsky's cage is a NIC cage in the hallway but she has one litter box in her cage and a second in the living room where her cage used to be (we wanted our living room back!)

I'd love to hear from others who have a rabbit and have become pregnant or any advice from any medical professionals (human or animal) who may be reading this.

Thanks in advance!

 

[whitelop]

I've never heard of staying away from your rabbit while you're pregnant. I was around my rabbit while I was pregnant and it was fine.
I know cat poop is one you should stay away from, but I also changed the litter box while I was pregnant.
But I'm not an expert or anything, but thats what was going on while I was pregnant...lots of animal stuff. I had 4 dogs, 3 cats and a rabbit while I was pregnant that I was taking care of and cleaning up after. I was fine.

Maybe someone else has some other medical advice though.
Good luck trying to get pregnant! Children are a little joys and its almost impossible to explain the love you feel for a child. :hearts

 

[Blue eyes]

I've also only ever heard of pregnant women staying away from cat feces.
It's been many years, but I recall asking my doctor when pregnant about rabbits and he confirmed that it's just cats to be concerned about.

 

[PaGal]

First of all, Good Luck! I haven't heard of a bunny or other small animal being an issue, just cat poo. Someone else might know something I don't know. If you are concerned about it I would just suggest washing your hands good after dealing with bun or bun stuff.

 

[KaliQ]

Thanks everyone for the wonderful kind words!

I've also heard about the cat feces and will talk to my doctor about it when I go for a visit next week. We don't have a cat but I do come in contact with them in my work (in home mental health support) so it's something that's on my mind.

Eep! So excited!

@Agnes, I've been trying to really enjoy all of those things you mentioned lately anyway, knowing that soon we would have "the talk." It's been him and I for nine and a half years now (married in 2009) and we've gotten pretty used to being able to pick up and go on a day trip or to the movies or out to eat without really thinking about it. We know that will change a lot once a baby comes along. Now that we've taken the next step we'll be sure to treasure it more!

Thanks again everyone!

 

[whitelop]

Oh yeah! Lisa made a good point, sleep as much as you can while you're trying and while you're pregnant. Because you won't sleep well the last month of being pregnant or again until your kid is like 6 months old. haha. Seriously. Its really hard to go to sleep for 3 hours to wake up and be awake for an hour or so and then sleep for 3 more hours. Its hard on the body and the brain.
There were times when I would be up at 3 am doing laundry or washing dishes or doing some crazy stuff in the middle of the night. Part of being a mother, never ending.
But then...you look at that little face and realize you've been awake for 20 hours and you have some unidentifiable stain on your shirt, but its all okay because that child is worth all of the sleeplessness and all the anxiety and all the bottle washing and clothes changing and being pooped on. Its all worth it because its you love that little crying, pooping, eating machine more than anything in this world, you love that creature so much that your heart bursts.

I agree with washing your hands after handling the bunny or bunny stuffs. Thats what I wanted to say after I went a little long. LOL

 

[kmaben]

The only zoonotic disease I'm tracking from rabbits is tularemia aka "rabbit fever".
Wikipedia says Tularemia is an infection common in wild rodents that is passed to humans through contact with infected animal tissues or by ticks, biting flies, and mosquitoes.

If you have an indoor bun who is healthy and see's a vet regularly nothing to worry about. This may be why you were told to stay away from "rodents" in general.

Yes Yes I know rabbits arent in the rodent family so :tonguewiggle

 

[Watermelons]

All myths youre safe!
Even for cats its more a risk for outdoor cats if you actually use a litterbox for them and dont change it atleast every 24hrs as past that is when the bad bacteria would start to vgrow.

 

[Apebull]

But then...you look at that little face and realize you've been awake for 20 hours and you have some unidentifiable stain on your shirt, but its all okay because that child is worth all of the sleeplessness and all the anxiety and all the bottle washing and clothes changing and being pooped on. Its all worth it because its you love that little crying, pooping, eating machine more than anything in this world, you love that creature so much that your heart bursts.

And then they learn to talk back and you wonder WTH was I thinking. Oh wait that's just mine. LOL j/k I love my kids more then anything. :wink

 

[whitelop]

Oh no, April I feel the same way sometimes. As I was typing that, I was watching my son dump my whole bag of banana chips onto his plate in the floor and then take his plate into his room and sit on his train table and eat those banana chips. Sometimes I wonder what goes through his little head and then I remember that he is MY son.

Poor thing.

 

[PaGal]

I did some research and came up with nothing...the closest I came to an issue is one statement that rabbits can carry the same thing that cats have that they warn pregnant women not to change the litter box. The info on rabbits though went on to say that although it can be found in rabbits it cannot be passed on to people and the only way it is passed on is when a predator eats it.

The whole beware of rodents and small animals thing may just be one of those cover our butts thing because everyone is now a sue happy idiot.

And someone remind me how to spell sue other than that way because I have a head ache and am tired because I'm married with children and I know the correct way but for the life of me I cannot remember it and I am just too tired to care enough to look it up...Ha!

 

[whitelop]

Thats how you spell "sue" Denise! haha. I have moments like that too, where I forget how to spell simple words. Thank god for autocorrect(sometimes!) and spell check on my computer! haha.

 

[Anaira]

For toxoplasmosis, which I think is the main one to worry about, you can only catch it by ingesting infected feces(or eating undercooked meats). So if you don't wash your hands after cleaning out a litter tray, then eat something, you could get infected. Risk isn't that high.