slightly clueless newbie here! @_@

[Torren]

Hey there! I'm a fairly new owner of two adorable dwarf bunnies, Spot and Shadow. My mom and i had a bit of a crazy spree the day before easter. We'd gone into our local pet shop for something, and while we were there we fell in love with these two sweet baby buns they had. (there were three, but the other little one got adopted the same day by someone else at the same time =] ) The petshop said they were probably 4-6 weeks old (though isnt that young? ; ) so we figure they're about 12 or 13 weeks right now.

Spot and Shadow are the most awesome bunnies ever, they're so friendly both with eachother and with us. We can sit down next to the cage, open the door on our lap, and they'll both come right over to say hello. Shadow will even hop right out onto my lap.



of course, heres my main reason for seeking out a forum ^^; We've recently discovered (by a vet visit) that Spot is a girl and Shadow...is not. My mother and i intend to get Shadow fixed (and spot at a later date) but we're still looking for information and everything. And my vet clinic has two vets. Who seem to have differing opinions on things, according to the receptionist i talked to today. Anyway. thats a story for another thread that i'm sure i'll be posting soon. (>< i kinda need advice there. =[ )



Also, i'm pretty much a newbie to rabbits, but not a newbie to rodents or pets at all. I'm also the proud mother of Chip, Dale, and Tails--gerbils, jack--a mouse, Zeke--a chinchilla, and am caring for my friends gerbil and hamster, Kink and Socks, along with the resident dog of the house, Rush. Pet lovers ahoy :biggrin2:

 

[BlueGiants]

:hello So glad you found the Forum! This is a great place to getadvice (and share Bunny Stories!) Can't wait to see photo's of your little ones!

You'll have to start a blog about Spot and Shadow... share stories and pics! Wow! 4-6 weeks is so young to get them. Poor lil things. Are you keeping them seperate til you get Shadow neutered?

 

[Torren]

Just actually got a doublecheck, they were 6 weeks, not 4 when we got them, not that its much different. Still young (just got their nails clipped at the petshop we got them at =] )



well, these poor little things were indeed little, but very happy and playful right from the start. Odd that they were young, but happy none the less. They were also very well cared for and well attended,i love this pet shop =]



Right now, they're still together. I'm *really* worried about separating them, since they seemreally attached to one another and i dont want to take chances at ruining that by separating them. i also dont know the grounds of normal seperation other people take, hence my cluelessness, really. (i've had bad experiences with pairs of gerbils, and how a simple cleaning seems like it can make them freak out and destroy a bonded pair. I'm sure its different in rabbits, but i've been failing at finding decent information regarding this)

 

[Tootsie B Bunny]

Hello Torren!

We're in Northern NJ (Bergen County).

We use a vet in Paramus that is THE BEST!!

There are certain questions that you'll want to ask prior to spay/neuter....like:

How many buns have they spayed/neutered, and what kind of sucess rate.
What kind of anesthesia will they be using?
Will there be an overnight stay required? If so, will someone be there with them all night?
What kind of stitches will be used? (ideally none, and they will use liquid stitches)
Are pain meds prescribed after surgery?

A savvy vet will not have the bun fast prior to surgery. And they should ask you to bring food along.

 

[Torren]

hmm...maybe i'll have to check them out then! I live in Clifton, so i'm actually not too far away.

Good stuff to know there, thanks =] I've never had to really take any of my pets in for surgery or anything before, closest thing was when my chinchilla had some phantom injury last year that didnt seem to be caused by anything and the vet took him in and anestitized him to take an xray. (cleared up on its own, hence "phantom" injury )



also, random question (if i dont find it elsewhere first ^^; ) What seems to be the general consesnsus on how old a male bun should be before they get neutered? Also, how young can they have babies? (shadow isnt really mature yet, he just got checked on that.)

i'm probably completely insane, trying to avoid having baby bunnies and keeping the buns together at the same time @_@

 

[BlueGiants]

A buck can be neutered as soon as his little "nads" drop (become visible). Usually around 4 months for smaller breeds, later for larger breeds. Spot (as a smaller breed) can get pregnant anytime after 16 weeks of age. I appreciate that they are bonded, but they are getting to "that age"... and even if you do neuter him, he will need to be kept away from her for 6-8 weeks after surgery. That's how long it takes for all the hormones to decrease.

 

[Becca]

Great place to come
I've had some trouble like you - my two does have turned out to be a buck and a doe
So i came strauight on here and they told me how to handle it and its all sorted out though one may be pregnant allready - :X

But anyway Welcome thanks for joining our RO family!

 

[Torren]

bluegiants:
oh geeze=O Good to know!



and here is where i start kicking myself wondering what i managed to get myself into without doing the research PRIOR to bringing the buns home @_@ Seems like i'll be here a lot then lol



Now, theres probably whole threads dedicated to this, and i just havn't found them yet, but how would i go about sepearating them in such a way that they could still have enough interaction to keep them together in the long run? Would this just include putting some sort of seperator in the cage they're in now so they can still be "togehter" without actually being able to physically interact (ie grooming/sleeping together/etc) or would it be ideal to keep him in a completely seperate cage and hope for the best upon reintroducing them after the 6-8 weeks?



Truely sorry for the onslought of silly questions >_< My current mesh of knowledge is either from small dogs or tiny rodents, so my seperation ideas are from intro'ing gerbils...^^;;


babybunnies:
Well, for now i'm hoping Spot's not gonna start plopping baby bunnies around @_@ that'd be adorbale, but a complete mess all at the same time!

I might be lucky so far though, my boy's bits havnet dropped yet. I'm hoping thats as good a sign as any that no babies have been conceived yet ><

 

[Becca]

Torren said:

Now, theres probably whole threads dedicated to this, and i just havn't found them yet, but how would i go about sepearating them in such a way that they could still have enough interaction to keep them together in the long run? Would this just include putting some sort of seperator in the cage they're in now so they can still be "togehter" without actually being able to physically interact (ie grooming/sleeping together/etc) or would it be ideal to keep him in a completely seperate cage and hope for the best upon reintroducing them after the 6-8 weeks?

I have had to seperate Dippy and Fluffball and I don't want to have to bond them again if I can help it so the 2 cages are as close as they can be so they can tocuh noses and snuggle up which they do! AWWW Anfd when they r in the run i have a divider down the middle so again thye can still touch and achknowledge each others there!
#Hoepfully that should work

 

[Torren]

aww =] I'm wondering if i'd be able to just put like, an extra cage side down th emiddle of the cage and clamp it in somehow, when i need to. I'd feel horrible taking away that much space from both buns, but if it'll keep them from "breaking up" it'll be worth it. I'd hate to see them sad without eachother!

My mom and i plan on getting a big playpen for them too, so maybe we'd be able to get extra pieces for that to use as the divider, and we can use the extra pieces to seperate them in the pen too.

 

[trailsend]

Hello & Welcome! I am so glad you found the forum you've come to a great place and have gotten good help already

I have a Chip & Dale too - but they are Prairie dogs

I'm so glad to hear Shadow will be neutered when he's ready. Then your buns can happily live together :biggrin2:

 

[Haley]

Hi there and welcome!

I know its heartbreaking, but I would definitely separate them now to avoid an unwanted pregnancy. Im sure they will bond later on. You'll want to separate them so they can see one another but not touch in any way (they can do it through wire so be very careful).

If your boys testicles have fully descended, you can most likely have him neutered now. Most experienced rabbit vets will do it as soon as they drop. As for females, you'll want to wait until shes a little older. most vets will do it around 5-6 months.

Also, males can still produce sperm for up to 8 weeks after their neuter, so if shes unspayed you will want to keep them separate for at least 2 months after his surgery. We'll be here to help you rebond them later on

 

[juliew19673]

Hi and Welcome to RO! Love the newbie's as I'm one too and have learned loads in the last month and half.. Here are a couple of tips:

Check out this link: http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=28197&forum_id=17

Not sure if you've heard of NIC cages/pens - but you could build a long run for them and these are REALLY cheap to buy and fun as you can make all different shapes!

Also, another great tip is to get "zip ties" which I think they also have pic of in the site above - I actually found some at the $.99 store and got 200 for again $0.99!

Good luck and can't wait to here more about your buns, rats, cats, etc..

 

[Torren]

Trailsend: prairie dogs? thats so cool! never knew you could have them as pets =]

haley: so far, they havent fully descended. Got someone knowing to check on that today ^^;Its crazy to think the boys canstill produce sperm that long after the surgery @_@ how on earth is that possible if the organ that produces the sperm is removed? I'm baffled by bunnies ^^;

juliew19637: oooh! i'll definatly have to look into those things! That'd make getting./making them a playpen a LOT easier and probably a lot cheaper <3! And i could totally use those to separate the cage when i need to, thanks for the link!

 

[Wabbitdad12]

Welcome to the forum! Don't worry about whether a question sounds silly or not. Looks like you have already found that there are a lot of friendly people here with loads of experience and great advice.

Don't forget to search the site for threadson topics that you have questions on.Although I can understand when you need that bit of instant reassurance too, been there! My herd started out with a bunny that was just supposed to "visit" and never left.

Whenyou get a chanceyou should start a blog about youradventures as a bunny slave and aboutyour bunnies.

I look forward to seeing some pictures of your bunnies.