Need Some Advice

[Glorylocks]

I need some advice on whether what I want to do is a good idea or not. First I'll give ya'll a little background information. I currently am still the proud Mommy of my nearly 2 year old rabbit Clyde! He's growing up so fast!! He is still not neutered and I do plan on getting him neutered eventually. Possibly this summer or fall.
Now I just got started taking College Chemistry this semester and my teacher *gasp* has a class pet. Low and behold its a rabbit. An adorable dwarf angora female. Here comes the sad part, she actually left it in her classroom all alone over Christmas break because she had just purchased a new animal and didn't want them to cause problems. She said that the rabbit was fine though because it has an "edible house" and it doesn't eat much food anyways. She still has yet to clean its cage since Christmas break. Its an adorable rabbit and is sweet as can be! I know I can try to educate my teacher as much as possible about proper care..however she's the kind who thinks she knows everything and has trouble listening to advice.
Here's where I need my advice, she is offering the rabbit to anyone who wants it at the end of the year. She doesn't want to take it home over the summer and her kids are done with it. So I volunteered without hesitation, however would it actually be a good idea? I know that I obviously can't put the two rabbits together if I receive the dwarf angora because Clyde isn't fixed and neither is she. However, would it be safe to keep them in the same room? I'd have to house her in my bedroom, in a separate cage of course. Would this cause horrible stress for both of them? I plan on getting them both fixed if I was receive her, I just can't get her fixed before I bring her home for obvious reasons. I really want to give her a much better life then what she is having currently.
Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks for getting through all that confusing rambling!

 

[lovelops]

Grab that bunny and keep them in the same room but in different cages. I had and still do that with chico and chica and they are not fixed. I can't get over people leaving animals over christmas unattended. do that with a kid you go to jail. What a jerk.

Yes, you can do that. I've put brooke in the same room with Chico and Chica before and it's a bit of a learning experience but that is because brooke is like 100 times bigger than chico and chica. Slowly show them the other gradually. I keep sections of the cage covered and then allow them to see the other bunnies. They should not allow this person to have another animal at all no less kids.. let me get off my soap box..

How are things going and do you need anything else?

Vanessa

 

[Imbrium]

If you can afford her and as long as you're ok with the fact that it may not be possible to bond them even after they're fixed, then I see no reason not to give her a better life!

Be aware that rabbits can - and *will* - mate through NIC grids, x-pens and even the bars of some cages, and that fighting can happen through bars/grids as well. If they're going to share a barrier at any point (for example, one is getting out of cage time/the other's cage is on the floor or if you have their cages side-by-side or have a divided NIC condo where they share a wall), I really recommend using something like 1/2'' hardware cloth along the shared barrier - you can zip-tie it to the grids/bars; just make sure to file or clip any pointy bits off after you cut it to size (chicken wire is cheaper, but I'm not sure the holes are small enough to prevent fighting/mating).

An even cheaper (as in free) option would be to use cardboard, but that only works if neither one is an avid enough chewer to make a hole large enough for fighting/mating while you're asleep or away. If you go the cardboard route, I would use at least two layers. The downside to cardboard (if you're hoping to eventually bond them) is that it prevents them from seeing/sniffing at each other through the divider and from being able to communicate with each other through body language and such.

Oh, and expect a "poop war" - lots of territorial poop-marking along any dividers. That'll die down after a bit, though.

 

[Glorylocks]

Thanks for the helps guys! I definitely am going to grab that bunny then. For the past week she hasn't even had hay..and shes a fluffy rabbit so I have no doubt that she's ingesting quite a bit of fur which can't be good for her digestion if shes doesn't have hay. :bawl: Not to mention I practically begged my teacher to let me fill up her water bottle because it had been empty for nearly 2 whole days. Her response was that the rabbit "doesn't drink much". Well it obviously can't if there is no water to drink..but whatever! My teacher is willing to part with her at the end of the school year..so hopefully the rabbit can just hold on till then! I've been keeping a pretty close eye on her. Thanks again for the advice!

 

[lovelops]

Thanks for the helps guys! I definitely am going to grab that bunny then. For the past week she hasn't even had hay..and shes a fluffy rabbit so I have no doubt that she's ingesting quite a bit of fur which can't be good for her digestion if shes doesn't have hay. :bawl: Not to mention I practically begged my teacher to let me fill up her water bottle because it had been empty for nearly 2 whole days. Her response was that the rabbit "doesn't drink much". Well it obviously can't if there is no water to drink..but whatever! My teacher is willing to part with her at the end of the school year..so hopefully the rabbit can just hold on till then! I've been keeping a pretty close eye on her. Thanks again for the advice!

Excuse me what the HELL is wrong with his person? can you just go in there and take her? She is going to die if you dont' do something? can you go in there before class and give her WATER????? Where is this school? I may just go there myself and grab this rabbit.. I mean, come on? This is cruelty to animals..I would not be able to stand there and let this go on. The rabbit has NO FOOD OR WATER??? I mean I don't want to sound like some crazy PETA people but this is freaking wrong. Please give this animal some water or go in there after class and get her out of there.. I know I sound nuts.. but your teacher is slowly killing this animal and I for one would not be able to stand by and let this happen. TWO DAYS WITHOUT WATER? HOW MANY DAYS WITHOUT FOOD? Can you call animal control? ANYONE? SO ONE WEEK WITHOUT FOOD? She is probably going to go into GI Statis soon!!!!!!!

Vanessa

 

[JBun]

Technically speaking, not providing a rabbit(or any animal for that matter) water for 2 days is probably grounds for an animal cruelty charge. And the college itself may even have guidelines for the care of animals on it's property. I think it's a bit shocking that a college teacher is not providing the proper care for a class animal, and this rabbit should really be removed from her care immediately. She's lucky that rabbit didn't develop GI stasis and die, from not having water.

 

[Glorylocks]

The rabbit is actually in a high school, I'm just taking a college level class. I'm honestly surprised shes allowed to have it on the premises because none of the other teachers have class pets. I have been watching her pretty closely everytime that I'm in there. I've been watching her water supply and next time I'm in there if she doesn't have hay I'm going to give her some. I mean..for crying out loud the bag is RIGHT beside her cage. And if the teacher has a problem with it I'll just bring in my own hay and give it to her. I've seen pellets before in her cage, but not everyday. I'm not sure if she just eats them faster some days or what. I'm definitely worrying though because we haven't had school for the past four days due to extreme cold temperatures. I'm sure the rabbit isn't affected by the cold because its indoors, but I don't know if anyone other than the janitors will be in the building to take care of it. I know over Christmas break the janitors cleaned out its litter box because my teacher wasn't and she nearly had a cow because now the rabbit is peeing in the other corner of its cage instead of its litter box so she blames the janitors for un-litterbox training it. Thats probably not the case..it was probably under so much stress that it didn't know what to do with itself. So hopefully if its out of food or water by now the janitors will see it and take pity since everything to take care of it is literally right next to its cage. I'm sending prayers up for the poor thing. I WILL contact authorities though if the rabbit gets worse and she won't let me take it, or take adequate care of it while I'm there. If I can talk her into letting me take it sooner, I definitely will. I however, think she uses it to gain popularity among the students and other teachers because they are always in there wanting to hold it and pet it and so on. Which is just cruel in my opinion.

 

[aj82]

Just steal it, I would x

 

[Bville]

Maybe you could offer to take it home over the next long weekend or school vacation (do you have a winter break in February?) and then take your time returning it. Maybe she won't miss it after a while and will let you just keep it.

 

[aj82]

I don't think there is enough time for that

 

[Imbrium]

Ugh. That poor bunny! There's gotta be some way to (maybe even anonymously) file a detailed complaint with the school regarding the inhumane conditions the bunny is kept in - if nothing else, they may tell her that she can't keep it at the school any more, which could prompt her to hand it over to you sooner. It's ridiculous that someone who picked a career as a teacher is setting such a wretched example for her students... and is so uneducated about proper care for an animal she's chosen to keep, at that! (Rabbits actually require more water than many other animals, especially if they're not getting fresh leafy greens, which she obviously isn't if she's not even getting hay most days).