Rocket, Emily and Bennie

[Chris_Kewl]

Yes, after the surgery they'll need to be separated. Bennie's cage is going to pale compared to Rocket and Emily's because it's temporary but hopefully she'll get acclimated and is allowed in the pack.

I have been reading up on "The Lanugage of Lagomorphs" (http://www.muridae.com/rabbits/rabbittalk.html), even though it's an old and unkept website it still has some information. If you have a better communication website, let me know though. I really am interested in the cross talk of the bunnies and even how to communicate with them as well.

I'll take some pictures before surgery on Sunday and show the new cage and the bunnies now. They are happy and content, though I want to see them happier, of course.

Any other suggestions would truly be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[binkies]

Oh boy! A new addition!!! You are quite lucky to have been able to stick them in together. Can't wait to see pictures!!

 

[Chris_Kewl]

We left at 8:30pm, we'll be home by 6am. This means I may not get pictures of Bennie until after surgery. I'll see how things progress. I'm sure she's not gonna be thrilled with me tomorrow though.

She is keeping to herself but when supper comes, Rocket will bring the dish closer so Bennie can access it too.

Nite all!

 

[Chris_Kewl]

So today the buns went to the vet to get checkups. All of them pass with flying colors and the vet is very pleased with how well they were being taken care of. I gleamed. My wife, my friend (and bunny sitter) and I were there to make sure the trio didn't give too much ruckus. I have a few scratches from Rocket seeing the person in white and being afraid. Emily just succumed, especially when getting her nails clipped. Like she was at the spa. Bennie NEVER been to the vet so she was very afraid, she cuddled next to Emily in the carrier when we were there.

Bennie is scheduled to get fixed on Friday, from what I understand they like to do them before the weekend so that the owners can spend time with them. Smart thinking!

More pictures? Your wish is my command! *folds arms together and nods*

Lets start looking at the cage nearly a year later. It has changed quite a bit since the original creation.

Yes, that is a coroplast floor. They originally didn't like it but they did warm up to it a bit more.

There is Bennie having a break in the box and munching on some hay.

The stairs really have gotten ratty in the last year, they love peeling off cardboard, even if its apart of their own house.

Here is the completed place, I let them roam around here 24/7 then open up the cage for 4 hours during the day to let them get exercise. They seem to like it. We've really done a lot about bunny proofing and have learned quite a bit.

Lets go to the pictures that feature Bennie:

Bennie is like the little sister in the group, she's in the middle having her food. Emily doesn't bother her anymore and they seem to get along fine now. They will even cuddle together. It's quite cute!

Emily: "HEY! That's for everyone!"
Bennie: Munch, Munch, Munch

You can really tell the size difference when they are next to eachother. Bennie is a shrimp compared to the 4-year olds.

Now isn't that the most adorable picture? I am glad I got that snappy!

Rocket: "Aww, what about me. I'm still cute!"

Rocket got plenty of pets from me after these pictures were taken. I even did some "bunny talk" with him and got responses, including this one that allowed me to groom him. How nice is that? Just a little nose twitch by me and he was butter.

With the buns doing so well, I am not sure if separating them after the surgery will be necessary. I would love to get your opinions on this so that I don't make a mistake.

Thanks!

 

[Chris_Kewl]

Today I went downstairs to grab some lunch and make some tea when I see there is a few spots of urineon the coroplast. I just cleaned it yesterday, so I went and made lunch and while it was in the microwave I looked at the bunnies. Emily was on top of Bennie, but not in a hurtful manner.

"Some lordly rabbits will lay across the necks of subordinate rabbits to confirm their dominance."

This was something that I read on the Language of Lagomorphs (on the way to KY) but didn't get until now. This is quite interesting. Is Emily punishing Bennie for peeing on the coroplast? My buns are good about using the box but I think Bennie isn't quite up to speed yet. It'll change after she is fixed for sure.

 

[tonyshuman]

what cute dutches!! i'm partial to that breed, especially torts!

i put my hand over tony's ears/shoulders sometimes to calm him down when he's upset, like when he's in the car or i've just picked him up. being the submissive rabbit isn't necessarily a bad thing--they get a feeling of being safe and protected by the dominant rabbit. maybe bennie's out-of-the-box peeing is being taken as a "marking my territory" signal by emily, and emily just wants to reassert to bennie that she is the queen rabbit. i wouldn't worry about it--rabbits are very funny in the way they establish dominance. some don't mind being on the bottom rung of the ladder.:biggrin2:

 

[Haley]

Oh you have no idea how jealous I am- I want a dutch trio! They are beautiful together.

Im glad things are working out so far. I agree with others that she should be separated from the other two after surgery. If one tried to mount her she could be hurt badly.

Shes so beautiful though, she looks just like my foster boy Nigel. Also an 8 month old tort dutch (so if she doesnt bond long term with your two you can take him )

As for Friday spays, theyare good bc you can be home with her over the weekend but be sure you have an emergency vet who you can call over the weekend in case of emergency. Also be sure your vet gives you Metacam.

Keep us posted!

Haley

 

[star_tigress]

Chris is going to split off the condo for Bennie tomorrow night. I'm not looking forward to Friday morning - I will ask them about Metacam when we drop her off.

They're still doing well together. Bennie is hanging out with Emily in the cardboard house while Rocket is nibbling his breakfast. So far so good. I have been vigilant since I don't want any rabbits to get hurt here.


I'm so hoping to get a picture of Rocket sitting on the couch one day! Chris and I were out of town for the weekend and our bunnysitter was checking her email then came back downstairs to discover Rocket had jumped onto the couch! As we all know, he isn't a big jumper but somehow he did it twice... and when she wasn't looking either. He's a mischevious bunny for sure. :biggrin2: I haven't seen him do it... yet.


I'm so glad to see replies here - it makes me feel reassured that things will be ok for Bennie. Hopefully things will continue to be smooth, especially after the surgery.

The vet office has an emergency phone line and the office has two vets that specialize in rabbits along with two attendings who have rabbits of their own. One of the vets assured me that she will be right here if anything happens. She actually lives about two minutes away from the office which is 15 minutes away from our home. So if anything happens, she'll be right there.

 

[star_tigress]

Well, Bennie is home. She's sitting around a lot but also hopping around.

I asked about painkillers but they said if the vet thought Bennie needed it, they would have given it to us. I asked them why not - they said that if we had some, Bennie would overextend herself due to not knowing her limits. If that made sense?? We also didn't need to get a cone since the incision is too low for her to reach.

She did get a painkiller before leaving though. So I guess we'll see.. :? I feel like such a bad mommy though.


Any tips while we keep an eye on her?

 

[Haley]

Oh geeze Im sorry I didnt see this last night. How is she today?

Its not your fault- butno vet should spay a rabbit and send herhome with no pain meds. Thats just cruel.The shot they gave her only lasts about 12 hoursor so. She should be on Metacamfor at least 2-3 days after her spay. If theyre still open, call them and complain.She probably in a lot of pain.

 

[tonyshuman]

IMHO, you're not a bad mommy, they're insensitive vets!!:grumpy: any invasive surgery needs painkillers i think, especially one as invasive as a spay!! maybe post in the infirmary to see what others will say about getting her some meds? i bet randy will have an opinion on this... i need painkillers if i work out too hard at the gym, so i think a bunny would need them for having her babymakers removed!:shock:

in any case, glad to hear the surgery went well!

 

[Chris_Kewl]

I really don't think she's in pain. I know that sounds just as bad but she's as active as ever. We're trying to limit her mobility but she's jumping around and even hopped out of the enclosure we made for her twice. She's all about the snooping around and she isn't just chilling in one place.

Our vet said, and I even though it was odd, if she had a twinge of pain she wouldn't overexert herself and that he has been doing it for 20 years and he knows what he is doing (and he hasn't lost a patient yet for this). So I dunno. She really doesn't seem to be doing bad. She's doing great in fact, she's all about the jumping and she did a few little binkies around 5am when I was feeding her.

Though last night her poos were soft. I assume that means she just wasn't doing much hay. I was feeding her as much hay as I could and hopefully that'll harden them up some. She's still marking though, which is irritating me. That should pass over time, right?

 

[star_tigress]

Bennie has jumped about three or four times since she got home. Last night, she somehow jumped out of the enclosure and spent all night long having the rule of the living room. She even saw Emily and Rocket & spent some time by them which is evident by her pee near the cage. We woke up to see tons of little poo everywhere!! And Bennie was munching on the bale of hay that Chris got. I was wondering how the heck she got out so Chris tried to make the enclosure shut offs higher to my knees.

After checking email and then deciding to hang out with Bennie, I went downstairs to have some munchies with her. When I set a foot by the couch (she was staying by the couches and the TV) she took a single look at me then bolted. It was like one minute, she was there and the next - she wasn't!! :shock:

I was like ... "Where are you Bennie??!" I looked around the enclosure - nope, no Bennie!! She had somehow become a super-rabbit.

So our family friend and I looked around since Chris had to work emergency hours. We found her hiding with the DJ equipment.

So I tempted her out with some hay and picked her up & petted her while walking back to the enclosure. She promptly started looking around on how to get out again. Thirty minutes later when Chris came downstairs to check, Bennie decided to do a slow-motion of what she did which was to jump ON the enclosure wall then off it. It was somewhat cute but I was getting worried about all those activities she was doing. Chris checked her - she hadn't ripped anything and was just fine. So she was put back in and he told me he would make her cage when he was done with work.

A few minutes later, she promptly jumped out again through a very teeny tiny hole that we didn't think she'd fit through. :foreheadsmack:

So I left her out of the enclosure after I closed off the DJ equipment or anything she might be able to sneak under or through. She seems to really want to be back with Rocket and Emily. I also saw the incision that they had made - it's really small - looked like they did it laproscopically?? Is there even a possibility?


I'm going to see what Chris did since I took a nap.

 

[Chris_Kewl]

The separate cage, really just a divider between the two cages has been made. I am glad I did this because when Bennie would jump out and Emily was out, Emily would chase her out of the way. I am not much for that, I wish I knew how to change this behavior.

So Bennie is now on her side of the cage (see the 1st picture of the set I took to get the idea of where the divider is) andlooks at me with sorrow. She's all sad looking because she can't roam free like the last 24 hours. Though Emily saw Bennie on the other side so Emily put her nose through and tried to either nip at her or lick her. I was confused, I hope it wasn't a nip.

Also the week Bennie has been with us Rocket and Emily have no disregard for the litter box, which makes me upset. The poo isn't so bad but it's the spots of urine that now I have to take care of. I'll need to get a gallon jug of vinegar from Sam's Club, which saddens me a little. I am sure they are marking that this is their area but it's a bit out of hand.

Hopefully in time I can combine this family again but right now it looks like Emily and Bennie are at odds.

 

[star_tigress]

Rocket and Emily are on their condo's 2nd floor. Who's on the first floor at their partition?

Bennie!! :headsmack

Somehow she jumped the partition last night after Chris put her in her section. I have no clear idea why but I may have a tiny inkling. She seems to be ok but I'm worried because she keeps jumping everywhere!!

A :inlove: story ...

Last night when we were hanging out with our neighbors since he was the one who dropped off Bennie since his friend couldn't take care of her anymore - Bennie jumped on me twice while I was laying down on the couch. She's quite a jumper.

I'm not used to having a jumper in the house - Rocket and Emily aren't jumpers. The most Rocket can do is the top of an upside down milk crate.

Anyways, Chris is downstairs checking on Bennie and putting her back in her enclosure. I have to go since we have two hours worth of drive for a meeting. :? I hope she doesn't do anything like that again for today.

 

[Haley]

aww Im so happy theyre all doing ok.

Unfortunately, the marking is normal and sometimes doesnt really get much better. Ive had bonded pairs where both were wonderful with the litter box but that all went out the window when they were put together.

Im glad Bennie is doing alright. Try as much as you can to keep her jumping to a minimum- they can easily tear open their wound after surgery or worse. Even though she might feel good she wont isnt. Maybe block off her second level for now?

Oh and we need some more pics when you guys have a chance!

 

[star_tigress]

Chris tried to get rid of possible jumping points and Bennie still somehow got out while we were away.

No idea how she is doing it - she's a super rabbit!

We will try to get more pictures. I know Chris is getting more videos.

 

[Chris_Kewl]

I have blocked the jumping point with a spare piece of coroplast for tonight to see if I can limit her jumping 2 NIC cube high. It's quitea challenge.

And I want to give props for this new post all for our little Bennie: http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=30564&forum_id=16&jump_to=400830#p400830

 

[star_tigress]

Yesterday, I woke up and checked on Bennie, she was still munching away on hay.

So I had to go to Youngstown since I was a guest speaker at an elementary school. Four hours later when I came home - Bennie was still in her enclosure - she seemed to be ok but a bit unhappy. I assured her she would be hopping around during the regular "out" hours when I was done with my finals rough draft.

When Chris and I were finished with work and finals respectively, we came down to discover that somehow the coroplast got moved and Bennie was with Rocket and Emily! We were so shocked.

How is she doing it?! Are the other rabbits conspiring? I can't imagine how Rocket and Emily could move the coroplast so Bennie could jump.

Until much later. Bennie kept jumping back and forth for some reason but we kept missing it because we were watching tv so Chris got the camcorder and waited for the next moment.

He got it on tape! It's quite odd - Bennie would jump then rebound on the NIC wall like Jackie Chan and then try to do the same thing on the hay bale but it didn't quite work. So she decided to jump from the floor over the 28 inches tall NIC wall and on the top of the brown cardboard "house".

She made it too - she had to clear the few inches by using her hind legs on the NIC squares. Because of that, I got worried. So the NIC wall is gone since she seems so for being with Rocket and Emily, we're watching her. So far so good.

The vet called while Bennie was trying to do her jumping tricks. She wanted to know how Bennie was doing and to check on the incision area. So Chris checked Bennie - so far so good. The incision is healing nicely and still is closed. He told the vet about how she kept jumping. The vet laughed and said that the rabbit was a Houdini.

That's for sure.

Chris will upload the videos then post it on here today - it's quite cute and some surprising things on there.

When we were laying down with the all three rabbits - Bennie kept binkying around and coming up to Chris to sniff him. It was so cute. Rocket kept trying to get our attention so I paid him attention. Emily was hiding under the reclining chair with several sheets of newspaper she somehow found. So it seems like everything's going smoothly. We'll see about today. Maybe Bennie will be more courageous in her searches - she's still skittish whenever we move, she would immediately look at us and tense up like she's going to bolt.

 

[Haley]

Aww she sounds adorable! I think its fine to keep them together as long as youre sure she wont be mounted.

I cant wait to see the video!