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allison

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Hello I'm new here, my name is Allison I'm 16 and have 2 rats, 2 birds and a rabbit but my rabbit will be going with my mom up north when I move in with my dad. He is highly allegic to rabbits so Dusty can't come along.:(

Dusty is a four year old holand lop rescue that we got from the humane society. My mom will be getting a job up north soon and won't be able to spend much time with Dusty. I will be there on most weekends sohe won't be getting a lot of attention. She will feed him butthat's it. I will cleanhim and cuddle him(when he wants:D). Right now he's out supervised for 4-6 hours dependingif I have school or go somewhere.(Remember I have my other pets to play with aswell)

Well here are my questions.

1.Since my mom isn't going to have a lot of time to take him out and let him run around, should I just let him free roam in my bed room at her place? (After rabbit proofing) He's already litter box trained (with the occasional accident). Or should I keep him in a cage in a high traffic area with little excersize time?

2. If I can, I think I will get Dusty a friend (another rabbit). He is neutered so there is no problem there. I would make sure that the other rabbit would be spayed or neutered as well ( I know it helps with thier behaviour). Should I do this? I don't want him to get lonely when I'm not around. I know that all rabbits are different but do most rabbits welcome a friend, or do they try to chase them away? Also do I need to quaranteen the new rabbit?

3. I don't really know if my mom will want to cut up fruit and veggies for him. Would he be okay if my mom just gave him mixed greens and baby carrots? I think she would have no problem just putting them in.

4. Dusty is kind of lazy. He plays with his toys in his cage but when I let him out he usually just finds a comfy spot and lays down.:? He is getting kind of overweight. Ho do i get him to excersize more? Is there any low fat food I can give him. He was on a diet or fruit and veggies (celery, apples, carrots), pellets (which are mostly alfapha meal), the occasional yogurt drop, and timothy hay/alfapha mix. I have learned that alfapha isn't the best for him so after he's done with this bag of pellets I will try to get him a timothy hay based one and will stop giving him alfalpha and yogurt drops. Is there anything else I can do?

What do you guys think about all of this? Is there anything else I should know?
 
Oh here are some pics of him.

rabbit1.jpg


rabbit7.jpg


rabbit5.jpg


blurry.jpg
 
1. I think free roaming would be a good idea but there's always the chance he'll eat the base board, wall, carpet, etc. in the room, especially if he's left alone.

2. As for the friend, it's really up in the air. Some bondings are easy, some are hard, others are impossible. For instance, I have 3 rabbits -- 2 bucks and one doe. My bucks were bonded from babies until about 10 months old when the younger one hot the teen years and decided to challenge the previously dominant one. They have been separated ever since and I have no hopes of ever bonding them again because the one buck just down right hates other rabbits. It's not a trait you can tell by how they act with humans because this buck is also the sweetest, friendliest guy you will meet.

I got my doe last year and I bonded her to the other more passive buck and they are happily bonded right now. I did wait until she was older than a year to bond them because I did not want the same problems I had before with my bucks and it seems to have worked for me. Now my other buck, he can't stand my doe. He has attacked me for just smelling like her. He's now used to her scent but he still tries to attack her if he gets the chance.

Basically it's easiest to bond a male/female pair but they don't always work out. I'd suggest finding a rescue and letting your rabbit pick out his mate if that's what you want to do. Some places even offer a bunny dating service where they will try to bond your rabbit to some rabbits and if it works, you can bring them both home but if it doesn't, you only take your original boy home. I like this method the best because you always run a risk that things wont work out when you bring a new rabbit home. (Some rescues will let you take the rabbit and if bonding doesn't work, they will happily take the rabbit back.)

Quarantining is a good idea in case there is a hidden health problem that may be contagious. I'd suggest2 weeks but some others may say a week.

3. When you say greens, what do you mean? Because things like Iceberg lettuce are to never be given to rabbits and spinach as well as many other things are supposed to be very limited.

As for carrots and other sweet fruits and vegetable, they should be fed in moderation as TREATS only (especially with an overweight rabbit). My bunnies' salads consist of only green leafy vegetables and anything else is given as a treat which I limit to 3 treats per week.

4. It's hard to make a rabbit exercise more but you definitely need to cut out the Alfalfa if your rabbit is overweight. He should be on Timothy or other grass hays and Timothy pellets, not Alfalfa. It can lead to bladder sludge and other related health issues requiring veterinarian care. I suggest Oxbow Bunny Basics/T which is highly recommended by vets (you can order it from them if you are in the US). The other option if you can't get Oxbow is Kaytee Timothy Complete which is available at PetsMart and many other pet stores. It's not as good as Oxbow but it's still an improvement on Alfalfa pellets. Again, all the fruits should be cut out of his diet. Not only are they fattening, but they are harmful to his GI tract. I don't know how much he is getting but lots of sugar (even natural sugars) can cause problems within the GI tract.

I think I covered it all. Hope this helps!
 
Because time is an issue and vet bills are so expensive, I would just stick to having one rabbit. I don't think this is the ideal situation to bring another one in.

Pam
 
Hi, very cute bunny.

Can you make him a cage? Many of the forum members have made cages for their bunnies. We have made 2 for our bonded pair (it's a long story), it actually gives them alot of room to play in. Their is a topic on the forum about these cages.

We feed our bunnies kale, dandelion leaves, carrot tops, parsley, dill, collards. spinach and once in a while carrots, apple, craisins.

Soooska:apollo:
 
Our bunns love to eat: Cilantro, dill, parsley, romaine lettuce, dandelion, arugula, anise (fennel), carrot tops, radish tops, watercress, basil and celery. We give them bits of apple, tomato and carrot occasionally as a treat!:D
 
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that make sure you have enough money for both rabbits if they should need vet care. That being said, I have 3, the 3rd one I got as a companion for one of my males so that he would not be lonely when I start university in the fall. I still think a friend is a good idea if you can get them to bond, it helps keep them from getting too lonely.

And a NIC cage is a great idea! I forgot about that as well. Multiple rabbits that may not get out lots would most certainly need a very large cage. Even a single rabbit that wont get out a lot would need a very large cage.

As for greens I feed: Romaine, Cilantro, Parsley, radish greens, raspberry leaves (I make sure there are no prickles on the bottom), carrot tops, brocoli leaves, etc.
 
Well, you don't have to worry about me getting another rabbit. My mom said no way. Can you share some pics of your cages? Maybe if there is some way of blocking my room off from the rest of the house at my dads he'll let me take Dusty to his house. I know that there is not cold air return in my room so maybe there is a way of blocking the door so no allergins go through. I would have to wait until after my rats die ( I know that's pretty sad :() but my dad thinks I have too many pets already with my 2 birds and 2 rats. I'm hoping he will let me. So cross your fingers for me and Dusty.

-Allison
 
The best place to find the grids is Costco. But you can find them at Walmart, Home Depot, Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, ect.

Take a look at this website, as the have a "Find Materials" page where you can put in where you are from, and see where other people in your area have found supplies. Their photo gallery has some really awesome cages there too.

http://guineapigcages.com/

--Dawn
 
The ones from Costco are about $20 for 30 panels, and the other stores are about $20 for about half that.

So if you can, find a Costco and go see if they have them right now. I know the ones in Canada are carrying them now, and I don't know where you are located... But worth a check.

--Dawn
 
see now that is a great deal. The ones i got from target had 23 grids in the box. we had a membership to costco 2years only went like 3 times so we didn't renew it this year and i wasn't going to pay 50$ to renew it to see if they had the grids.



by the way dawn your bun is so pretty =)
 
what are the NIC cubes called in Costco? trying to search the online site to see if they have any. Also, which department would they be located in?

Thanks.
 
stephiemarie78: You're right about the cubes not being on the website.

They are normally in the office section, and they only carry them about 2-3 times a year. I stock up on them, as I build cages on the side.

I think they just say "Grid" or something simple like that. It's an 8 cube set. If you go in and ask, they should know what you are talking about.

They come in white, black, chrome, and multi-coloured.

--Dawn
 
Costco doesn't always carry everything all year around or every year. There are some things they do but I know around here they don't recieve shipments of certain things more than twice a year if not less.

I did find them at our local Costco for $20 for 30 panels which is, as said, a very good deal. You'll have to go look for them in your area. I'm not sure where they are in the store, you'll just have to look. I imagine they are by the shelving units though.
 
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