New rabbit owner- a couple of questions

[kjm84]

I have recently bought my first rabbit, a black holland lop. I was told that he was a female, but am now pretty positive that he is male. I was also told that he is 6-7 months old, but really have no idea on the accuracy of that number (any clues on how to tell for sure). He lives in his cage, which is pretty big, but has many hours outside of the cage (I don't have the room to just let him roam freely without supervision). He is not neutered (I know I should get him, but just don't have the money to right now, I'm going to start looking into it though). He wasn't litterbox trained, but I think as of yesterday he may be starting to get it- I bought a bigger litterbox for the cage and put it in the area he kept going in (before I only had one of those corner litterboxes, which he just kept sleeping in). When he is outside of the cage he leaves droppings, but never pees either on the floor or in the litterbox. He had been peeing on the couch and our bed, but now we immediately take him off the couch/bed when he jumps on. My questions:

1. Anything I can do to get him to stop jumping on the couch/bed because it makes it difficult to just leave him out of the cage without being on constant attention with him. I try and blockade both, but he can jump sooooo high, over everything (I'm talking 3-4 ft). Will he ever learn that the couch/bed are off limits?

2. Is this diet ok... (not sure of his weight, but he's a holland lop) In morning he gets 1 cup of veggies, in the afternoon he gets 1/4 cup oxbow young rabbit (alfalfa based) pellets (not sure if when these run out I should switch to the timothy pellets or if I should stick with alfalfa based until he's a year-if thats accurate), then at night again he gets 1 cup of veggies. He has free access to oxbow timothy and orchard grass hay. Am I overfeeding him veggies/pellets or is this diet ok? I've looked on rabbit.org's diet section, but I still wasn't sure if this was too much food for him based on his weight/age.

Thanks for the response.

 

[LakeCondo]

Rabbits enter puberty at 5-7 months, so if he's male his balls should have dropped by now. Some few rabbits have no "teenage" bad behavior. If he's a he and doesn't develop hormonal symptoms, there's a school of thought that he wouldn't benefit by fixing as much as a female would be. Supposedly prostate cancer is much less common than is ovarian cancer among rabbits. I don't know if that's true or not or just an excuse to not have to bother with it.

2) At around 7 months is when the pellets should no longer be unlimited. A fourth cup certainly is not too much. As to veggies, it depends if you're talking about greens or something more calorie-filled. But you can sort tell by feeling a rabbit's ribs if they're getting too hefty. When you make the switch to timothy pellets, gradually introduce them & reduce the alfalfa ones.

Welcome to the forum, by the way.

1. You might look into getting an xpen [exercise pen] as tall as you can & if he can jump out of that, add a mesh cover. He MIGHT get better in time, but it could take SO long.

 

[kjm84]

Thanks for the tips. We're pretty positive he is a he because we've seen a penis and balls (oval shaped on stomach)- unless rabbit female parts resemble the male parts he is definitely male. He doesn't really chew, even if I give him things to chew such as cardboard. He is pretty hyper, but that's fine. He had been leaving his mark and spraying, but hasn't been doing it anymore and he is starting to develop litter habits. He isn't the best with the poops around, but that is more tolerable than peeing. I'd rather not have to get him neutered if I don't absolutely have to because the vet quoted me $450, and that seems ridiculous to me. I called several other vets and they won't neuter a rabbit.

If I gave him more food, he would gladly eat it, but I don't want to kill his appetite for hay either so I've been sticking to the diet I had said. The veggies I give him are greens, things like parsley, dandelion greens, arugula, romaine, and cilantro. He doesn't feel overweight, but I also don't want to be starving him either.

 

[LakeCondo]

It sounds as though things are pretty good.

People have found reasonably-priced neutering by asking the people at shelters that take rabbits who does theirs. Males are so much easier to fix than females, so I agree that price sounds crazy, but I don't live in your area, so who knows. Or check on Yelp for other rabbit vets.

 

[buster2369]

Hello and Welcome from a fellow New Yorker! I just moved from Long Island, West Islip actually.

My rabbit Buster is also my first rabbit. He is really energetic and sweet but
I have been dealing with similar problems. My rabbit always jumps on my bed and I let him because he is usually clean but sometimes he leaves "presents" of poo and pee. He just started jumping on the couch in the living room and my parents are not amused. I either cover up the sofa with cushions up high so he can't jump or use my exercise pen to block it off. I have been giving him massages on the floor and treats so he associates that with good and I pick him up when he gets on the couch(he hates being picked up). You can always try a spray bottle with water, I have tried that with my rabbit for other reasons and and whatever bad he is doing he automatically stops

As for the vet I have been calling places here in Westchester County and they have been quoting me 490$ for a neuter! I don't know why it is so expensive in NY. I know there is a rabbit savvy vet in West Islip on Sunrise Highway. I don't know how much they charge though... I heard there is a place in New Jersey somewhere, where you can get very cheap neuters. Don't know how far you are willing to travel.

It seems like you are treating your rabbit well, giving him good veggies and lots of hay

Good Luck with your new rabbit
:bunnyheart

 

[kjm84]

Thanks for the reply, I might have to try the water spray, then maybe he'll learn that bed/couch=squirt and not do it anymore. My rabbit also hates to be picked up, he fights and kicks when I have to pick him up. Not sure how a rabbit's brain works since I've never had one before, only dogs.

I actually called the vet in west islip on sunrise and the receptionist told me that they don't neuter rabbits there, which kind of confused me because the vet I use to take my dog to recommended them as a rabbit vet. The $450 quote was from an exotics vet in centereach. I did find a vet in patchogue though that specializes in birds, rabbits, and guinea pigs (my brother takes his parrot to her). They quoted $60 for a visit (which is required before neutering) and approx. $183 for the neutering... that is more reasonable. I'm in sayville, btw, so we didn't live too far away from each other at one point. Good Luck with your first rabbit!

 

[zeekat]

Hi I am in Nassau County and had my male neutered for $180+ the visit. She is a great vet. She only sees rabbits and cats.
Good luck with your bunny

 

[buster2369]

Thanks for the info! I just might have to take Buster down to Long Island to go to the vet there! :biggrin:

 

[hln917]

Have you checked Dr. Gil Stanzione from Dakota Vet in White Plains? I highly recommend him. Their are also a couple of other bunny slaves on this forum who use him. I call him my bunny miracle doctor.

 

[kjm84]

Thanks for the recommendation, but white plains is really far from me... couple hours. I couldn't imagine driving home with a bunny just out of surgery for that long.

 

[Bonnie Lee]

:welcome1:goodluck

 

[Nancy McClelland]

:wave: Welcome to the forum. Sometimes a little driving is worth it. The vet in Tray wanted $375 and the one in Oakley charged $65. Since all of ours were rescues and we haven't got a winning lottery ticket (was told I have to buy one to win) we made the drive. Check around with rescue organizations or if there is a Veterinary College and see if there are any that are more reasonable.

 

[kjm84]

Thanks, I'll check around. I don't mind traveling, but going to white plains from where I live will require driving through the city, and paying lots of tolls. I'll check for places on Long Island if I decide to get him neutered.

I'm considering getting him an exercise pen because although he is very good now about peeing in the litter box, he poops all over the place still! And it's driving my husband crazy, so maybe if I get an exercise pen I can just let him play in there and it will keep his poop contained and off the couch/bed.

Thanks for the advice everyone

 

[ZRabbits]

Welcome. Good Luck with your new bunny. My boys love their exercise pen. It's easy to put up, they enjoy their time out, and no poop, or as my husband calls them "forget me nots" lol all over the living room.

Best of Luck finding a Rabbit Vet. I was very fortunate to have one in the Vet office for our Dog, Jake. He's excellent, raised rabbits to help put himself through college. Laughs at my little guys (he raised Large Meat rabbits) but knows his stuff.

Please let us know how you make out.

K