New bunny Peaches

[Thumpers_Mom]

Hi guys,

So I brought Peaches home yesterday and have let her out for a bit. She seems to be litterbox trained (which is GREAT) and has a very sweet disposition.:bunnyheart

The thing is that she is not really eating much and hasn't been drinking water at all!:shock:

She is eating her pellets little by little and has had some greens. I have put both a bottle water thingy and a bowl of water...and still nothing.

What should I do?

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Sounds like she's stressed. Where do you have her in the house? is it quiet? Have you tried covering the part of her cage where the water is? So she feels she's not vulnerable?

I'd put something yummy to some of the water to encourage drinking.

I'd also give her a leaf of lettuce that is really wet. I do that sometimes with my own just to get a bit more water in them. I just a leaf of some romaine or part of a green leaf or something and then wash it, but only shake it a little. Then I put it on a plate and place it in their cage.

 

[ra7751]

Hi,

It sounds like she is just stressed. It usually helps to let them "destress" for a while. There are new sights, sounds and smells. With wildlife, we usually just cover them up in a quiet and warm area. With domestics, we put them in the housing they will live in. We also keep things nice and quiet and give them a "hidey box" to retreat to in order to digest the new environment in private and to feel safe. We do not take them out for at least a week unless we absolutely have to in order to attend to medical or hisbandry issues. The idea in keeping them confined for such a period is that you want them to establish their house as "their" territory....not your entire room or house (and even if you intend to have Peaches "free roam", it is still important to establish the home base). We do still interact with them using a quiet voice with no sudden movements. We open the door and pet them and offer them bunny safe treats by hand. That will start to build the bond and trust. After the isolation period, we use exercise pens to give them a small area to explore around their house and expand the area every few days but they will always remember where"home" is. Just keep in mind that nothing good happens fast with a rabbit...patience and understanding will build a strong and lasting bond between you and Peaches.

Randy

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Randy, I found that having a "homebase" for animals is very good all the way around. Even something like a rug or towel.

We crate trained my australian shepherd, and we would love to get this huge crate out of my livingroom but she has a place that we can tell her to "go to your house" if she's been bad or "go lay down" if she just needs to be quiet - it works really well too. She knows it's hers and she even gets a little defensive if we touch her stuff LOL!

 

[Thumpers_Mom]

Thx everyone for the responses.

Peaches is doing much better now. She started drinking water. She has had some pellets and also her salad for the day. :bunnydance:

She has also been doing some real cool binky's and bunny 500's not to mention a whole lot of flops!

:happyrabbit:

 

[naturestee]

Sounds like she's settling in very nicely! When do we get pictures?:weee:

 

[Thumpers_Mom]

Oops, sorry.

I posted pics in the Thunder Thumper Blog. Does anyone know ifthere is a way to change the name of that blog?

I'll post pics here too in a sec. :biggrin2:

 

[Phinnsmommy]

Im sure a mod will be happy to change it for you

 

[Thumpers_Mom]

Thx, I sure feel bad about it being just about Thumper now and really don't think I can keep up two blogs.

Here are some Peaches pics...

 

[maherwoman]

Aww...she's PRETTY!!!

All of my buns go through the same adjustment process...the first week, just about, they eat little to no pellets...and eat ALL hay and steadily increase their drinking amount. You might try adding 1cc vanilla extract to 32oz of water...it'll promote drinking, and give the added bonus of cutting down on the ammonia in her urine!

Is she eating hay?

At any rate, it's just a stress and adjusting-to-a-new-environment thing...and she'll be fine. I'd say if she's still not eating her pellets at all after about four days (as I noticed that each bun's real steady about their starting the pellet food intake in their new home), then post again to let us know.

Otherwise, chock it up to her being nervous. As long as she's eating hay and at least drinking a little, she's good.

Hugs to you all!

Rosie*

 

[maherwoman]

Aww...wonderful news!!

Thumpers_Mom wrote:

Thx everyone for the responses.

Peaches is doing much better now. She started drinking water. She has had some pellets and also her salad for the day. :bunnydance:

She has also been doing some real cool binky's and bunny 500's not to mention a whole lot of flops!

:happyrabbit: