Hi there! New Member here in need of a little help
- Thread starter Sandishab
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Sandishab
Member
Hi Catlyn!
So I have a few things I need help with:
- Pretzel is around 8-9 weeks now, the person I bought her from doesn't know her exact birth date or what her breed is, if you could help me identify her breed, I would really appreciate it.
- I've watched videos online on how to litter train rabbits and I found one that works, you put your litter into the litter box and then layer it with hay, the problem I'm having with this, apart from it working like a charm, Pretzel tends to eat the hay from the litter box which I think is unhygienic and may also get sick from that habit, is there any way I can stop her from eating the hay in her litter box? If I remove the hay she tends not to use the litter box and urinates all around her cage.
- Her ears get super red and hot when I pet her and when she lays on my chest she does something with her mouth as if she's biting something really fast, why is it that these 2 things happen?
LizzyMayHarvey
Well-Known Member
1. Not sure what breed she is but she is very cute!
It may help other people to try and guess of you tell us what weight she is.
2. I can't really help you on the litter training thing sorry.
3. That biting thing she does is tooth grinding and rabbits do it when they are happy. It's sort of like when a cat purrs but for bunnies. It can also mean that she is in pain but you can tell if it's good or bad by looking at the context it's in. If you are patting her when she does this it means she is very comfortable and loves you patting her so this is normal and nothing to worry about.
Her ears being red and hot may be because she is hot. What's the temperature like where you are? Rabbits lose heat through their ears instead of sweating so her ears being red would be that the blood is trying to cool down.
It may help other people to try and guess of you tell us what weight she is.2. I can't really help you on the litter training thing sorry.
3. That biting thing she does is tooth grinding and rabbits do it when they are happy. It's sort of like when a cat purrs but for bunnies. It can also mean that she is in pain but you can tell if it's good or bad by looking at the context it's in. If you are patting her when she does this it means she is very comfortable and loves you patting her so this is normal and nothing to worry about.
Her ears being red and hot may be because she is hot. What's the temperature like where you are? Rabbits lose heat through their ears instead of sweating so her ears being red would be that the blood is trying to cool down.
Freedom
Well-Known Member
Your litter box setup is perfect.
Rabbits eat where they potty. Perfectly okay for them to eat the hay in the litter box.
Rabbits eat where they potty. Perfectly okay for them to eat the hay in the litter box.
Welcome to the forums! Hiss Pretzel is quite the cutie!
And like the others said before me, you got one happy bun! ☺☺
And like the others said before me, you got one happy bun! ☺☺
1. She is still quite young, so it might still be a bit early to help with breed-identifying. She is nevertheless absolutely adorable!
2. She's young, wait until her teenage months and ask again about litter habits
In all honesty, she's doing great right now, but will need to be spayed at around 5-6months when her hormones kick in as she is probably not going to be nice with her litter habits then. For pet rabbits though, spaying is more done for reducing the risk of female reproductive cancer, but it also packs plenty of other benefits.
Do keep her hay in her litterbox just like that. IT IS NOT UNHYGIENIC. Rabbits like to drop where they eat, so leaving it in the litterbox as-is will only encourage her to nicely use it more. It will also encourage her to eat more hay as it is readily and easily accessible there. My Storm will eat his greens in one spot and then hop off, leaving a pile of poos just where he had been sitting and eating.
Also, don't worry about soiled hay. She's smart and won't eat anything soiled or unattractive, easily leaving the bits she's peed on, right where they are. She will also not contract any illness from it. The only exception would be ammonia buildup if the box isn't cleaned often enough, but with a little bit of logic, that would never happen.
Good luck with her!
2. She's young, wait until her teenage months and ask again about litter habits
In all honesty, she's doing great right now, but will need to be spayed at around 5-6months when her hormones kick in as she is probably not going to be nice with her litter habits then. For pet rabbits though, spaying is more done for reducing the risk of female reproductive cancer, but it also packs plenty of other benefits.Do keep her hay in her litterbox just like that. IT IS NOT UNHYGIENIC. Rabbits like to drop where they eat, so leaving it in the litterbox as-is will only encourage her to nicely use it more. It will also encourage her to eat more hay as it is readily and easily accessible there. My Storm will eat his greens in one spot and then hop off, leaving a pile of poos just where he had been sitting and eating.
Also, don't worry about soiled hay. She's smart and won't eat anything soiled or unattractive, easily leaving the bits she's peed on, right where they are. She will also not contract any illness from it. The only exception would be ammonia buildup if the box isn't cleaned often enough, but with a little bit of logic, that would never happen.
Good luck with her!
Icebluequeen_o.o
Active Member
Maybe she's us a mix... Or a Rex, ill need more pics and what type of fur she has... (Photo) but for now... A Rex
Welcome to the forums! Hiss Pretzel is quite the cutie!
And like the others said before me, you got one happy bun! ☺☺
A wam welcome to both of you also from me ❤ And thank you SirLawrence. I couldn´t have said it any better!
Again, welcome!Sandishab
Member
1. Not sure what breed she is but she is very cute!
2. I can't really help you on the litter training thing sorry.
3. That biting thing she does is tooth grinding and rabbits do it when they are happy. It's sort of like when a cat purrs but for bunnies. It can also mean that she is in pain but you can tell if it's good or bad by looking at the context it's in. If you are patting her when she does this it means she is very comfortable and loves you patting her so this is normal and nothing to worry about.
Her ears being red and hot may be because she is hot. What's the temperature like where you are? Rabbits lose heat through their ears instead of sweating so her ears being red would be that the blood is trying to cool down.
Hi Lizzy, thank you for your reply, so I'm from Durban, South Africa, and even though it's winter right now it's really hot during the day and really cold during the night, I have noticed her ears getting red and hot during the day but at night she jumps onto my bed and sits next to me and her ears seem much cooler, but she rolls in my blanket and tries to hide her head in the blanket, maybe because she's feeling cold
Sandishab
Member
Hi Catlyn, thank you for your reply, I will keep all this in mind, thank you for your help!1. She is still quite young, so it might still be a bit early to help with breed-identifying. She is nevertheless absolutely adorable!
2. She's young, wait until her teenage months and ask again about litter habits
Do keep her hay in her litterbox just like that. IT IS NOT UNHYGIENIC. Rabbits like to drop where they eat, so leaving it in the litterbox as-is will only encourage her to nicely use it more. It will also encourage her to eat more hay as it is readily and easily accessible there. My Storm will eat his greens in one spot and then hop off, leaving a pile of poos just where he had been sitting and eating.
Also, don't worry about soiled hay. She's smart and won't eat anything soiled or unattractive, easily leaving the bits she's peed on, right where they are. She will also not contract any illness from it. The only exception would be ammonia buildup if the box isn't cleaned often enough, but with a little bit of logic, that would never happen.
Good luck with her!
Sandishab
Member
Hi Icebluequeen, thank you for your reply, I've tried to upload a video of her fur but it's not letting me upload it, I've tried taking a few photos of her today (she's not in the mood to model) so I've attached them, thank you so much for your help!
Attachments
LizzyMayHarvey
Well-Known Member
Awww! She is so cute!
She sounds like an awesome wee girl.
Yes, so her ears being red is normal, but do keep an eye out for her being too overheated. If she starts to show signs of overheating then you will need to put in measures to cool her down so she doesn't go into heat stroke as that can be an emergency. But if you provide her with a cool tile and an air conditioned space then she should be just fine. Her rolling in you blankets could be because she is cold or maybe she is just being a silly bun.
She sounds like an awesome wee girl.
sabrina92
Active Member
Hello! Aboht the litter box, most rabbits eat where they use the restroom but if you feel it’s unhygienic or it concerns you I would get a bigger litter box so there’s a enough space between the food and her business or have two separate boxes (put the hay in the box before the litter box). Another set up people have is put a hay bag over the litter box so she still eats and does her business but her business and food do not mix!
The red ears is just her trying to cool down, sometimes I mist my bunnies ears to keep her cool or put little packets of ice packs or frozen empty bottles of water so she can lay against it. Sometimes tile or some sort of cold flooring helps!
Red hot ears are because she's starting to get too hot. This will occur a lot faster if this is happening while she's being held on a warm day. Our body heat, combined with a warm day, can especially have that effect. It's important to not let your bun overheat and to provide ways for her to keep cool on hot days.
Tips on preventing heat stress, and the signs of heat stroke in rabbits.
https://www.specialbunny.org/overheating/
http://www.annarbor.com/pets/keeping-our-rabbits-cool-during-the-heat/
The quickly chewing thing while you are petting, like the others have said, is likely her tooth chattering, which is a sign of contentment and her liking the pets(not to be confused with tooth grinding from pain).
And like the others have mentioned, eating hay from the litterbox is normal and fine. Though I would suggest keeping the soiled hay cleaned out every few days. You just don't want mold growth to occur.
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/litter-training.html
