The adventures of Tuck...

[TuckerandGusGus]

Hi there! I'm not exactly sure what this blogging thing is about, but I figure I'll figure it out as I go... I wanted to be able to keep tabs of my life with Tucker, and his adventures, and of course what I learn from him and about him as he grows.

Tucker is my baby bunny who is around 9 to 10 weeks old right now... and this is my first time owning a "baby" bunny, so of course I am learning so much about him, and hopefully doing things right!

I will start off with how I came across my little Tucker.. I had a bunny whose name was Jake, and he passed away this past August, I had him for 11 to 12 years... he was approximately 14 or so when he passed away. I am only 25 this april, therefore I got him when I was young... and I did NOT do my research prior, he definitely lived a long and healthy life, thankfully. Needless to say, I still had his cage and supplies, and I am a big animal rescuer, I am almost always looking at craigslist at the pet section.. and I saw this person posted a "free bunny" and I felt so bad for the bunny! I emailed the person, and they basically said that we could meet the next day, but that it was going to be 50 for the bunny, cage and supplies, I said I didn't need the cage and supplies, and they said that there would be a fee for the bunny then. (Even after I told them what great home I'd give the bunny) I honestly think that they just cared about the money.

Not that I didn't want a bunny, but I really was only going to take him because of how bad I felt that someone would be offering their bunny on craigslist for free.. I wouldn't have been getting a bunny otherwise. Anyways, I then started browsing and ended up finding a different ad with 3 little baby bunnies. They were asking 25 for each. (Again, not that I can't afford to spend 25 on a bunny, I would've rather spent the 25 buying the bunny a new toy or something) After I explained the great home and promising the family updates and pictures through facebook, they agreed on letting me pick him up for free, with no issues. I also figured if I paid the $25 in a way I'd be supporting a breeder, and I'm not a big fan of that.

Meeting people off craigslist.. what an experience that was! That's a story for another time (I think).. haha

Here comes Tucker.

I think I forgot to mention I have 4 cats and 2 dogs.. and when I first brought Tuck home, I let him hop around my kitchen with my dogs and cats checking him out. I never realized how much it would stress him out! I mean, he doesn't know me, and he doesn't know this new environment, and he did live with cats in the past, but he did NOT live with dogs, especially my dogs were so interested in him.

(My dogs are very playful and just were like "What is that? Can I play with it?" kind of thing.. nothing vicious at all. Same with the cats, although I think they just wanted to know what he was -- not that they wanted to play OR hurt him, at all.)

He was very scared of me at first, so sunday I left him alone all night, and then monday when I got home from work I cuddled him a few times and sat in the room with him, I held him and was on my laptop and he hung out on my shoulders, behind my head in my hood most of the time. He also came down and hung out in my lap and watched me on my laptop, too.

Tuesday, Mike (my other half) and I went and picked up a playpen off of craigslist, again. And we set up Tuckers cage. I noticed when Mike was holding Tucker he was a little more stiff, and then when I held him it was the first time he actually explored my hoodie and my face and neck, because he was finally getting comfortable. I loved it!

I really didn't feel like the cage I had was good enough.. with the litter box and his igloo and whatever else, those things basically took up the whole cage, so I decided to order him a new one. We put that one together last night... and he loves it!!

I could've sworn when I put him in there I heard him hopping around (maybe possibly doing a bunny binky???) I was so excited!

But the greatest thing is.... tonight when I was hanging out with him in his pen once I got home from work... he binkied like crazy all over me, and he has been opening up, too. He has been coming right up to me and hopping in my lap and then up on my chest for cuddles and everything. It's amazing, it's only been a few days and he already loves me so much! I am so happy for that!

Anyways, I want to end this right now with some pictures. :]


When I itch his butt, this is what he does!

How cute is this little boy?

And the other day in the morning when I went to pet him he laid down on his side, it was so cute and I knew he trusted me when he did that, but he did it again tonight when I took him off my shoulders and put him on his floor before I left him... here's an adorable picture.

 

[agnesthelion]

Tucker is such a handsome guy. I saw your introduction and as I said I'm a bit partial to lionheads. I got my gal when she was about that age too! They are just so darn cute at that age and seeing pics of your Tucker does bring back memories.
Glad you decided to do a blog. I also have one called The Antics of Agnes and Archie and it is a fun way to keep a record of bunny life
It sounds like your previous bun led a great life! No need to feel guilty about previous rabbit care. My first bun was 20 some years ago and I still cringe at how I took care of him. I just didn't know any better and I also think rabbit care has come very far the past few years.
This is a great forum full of lots of rabbit obsessees. Glad to have met Tucker and we look forward to hearing more from you!

 

[Katielovesleo3]

He's too cute! I want to bunny-nap him muahahahaa! He reminds me of Nala (imbrium's lion) a little bit! yay! I get to follow another blog! ahhahaha! It's hard to keep up with some of the other ones, they write so fast. And some bore me because they write every once in a blue moon :|

 

[Hyatt101]

Cuteness!

 

[Moochyesh]

I love his color!!! and that last picture is just too cute!=]

 

[whitelop]

Tucker is adorable. He does remind me of Imbrium's lionhead Nala. I guess its a harly lionhead thing! haha.
He is so cute! I'm also living my first go-round with a baby bunny and its crazy how affectionate they are! They're so sweet and they just love you right off the bat, I love that about them!

His cage set up looks awesome! I have those same litter boxes, lol.

Can't wait to read more updates on Tucker!
And yes, like Katie said, sometimes the blogs do explode(mine being one of them) and there is a lot going on on them!

 

[TuckerandGusGus]

I am hoping I don't bore you guys!!

I just looked up Imbrium's rabbits.. and oh em gee!! Haha... Tucker does kind of look like her lion head, and whats even funnier is there has been multiple bunnies that I have looked at online and have wanted to adopt, and they have all been lops that look exactly like her other bunny!! We apparently have similar taste in bunnies, haha.

I was very proud of myself when it comes down to Tucker's set up.. I don't feel so bad that he's in there because he's got so much space! And he seems to LOVE LOVE LOVE it. As I said earlier, I am pretty sure he took his first binky last night while he was in his new big cage. <3

@whitelop - You have a baby bun, too? any pointers? This is my first baby...

@Katie -- Please don't bunny-nap him.. I'd miss him too much already!! Funny how bonded we can get to these babies. I hope I don't BORE you too much with my yackin

 

[whitelop]

I don't really know what pointers I could give, other than go slow with all new foods and always watch their poop! haha. I had a bun for 2 years that passed away in December and the bun I have now, Ellie is my first baby baby. I got her at a little less than 8 weeks and its been a total learning experience! They're so tiny and seemingly fragile. At least thats how I felt about Ellie when I first got her.
She is super lovey and REALLY smart...and sneaky. haha.

I would watch out for the sneakiness! I would also make sure you keep up with his litter habits and make sure you're putting all the out of box poops and pees in the litter boxes. I really only have general baby advice! haha.

OHHH! TAKE A LOT OF PICTURES! They grow up really fast! You'll look at this little tiny baby tomorrow and then the next day you'll be looking at an almost grown bunny! haha. Thats really how it happens. Especially where you bun is now in age, he's going through a growth spurt right now.
And they eat A LOT! When I first got Ellie, I waited a few days to give her pellets because I was unsure about her little tummy, she ate like 3 times her body weight in hay a day for the first few days. Now she is up to I think over a cup of pellets a day! But she is eating Sherwood Forest and they recommend unlimited and thats pretty much what she gets.

Sorry for like taking over! hahaha. Those are the things I felt like I should pass on to another baby haver. haha.
LOTS OF PICTURES!

 

[TuckerandGusGus]

@Whitelop - How old is your baby Ellie now? I didn't really know until just the other day that I shouldn't let him try a ton of new veggies, oops, but he's been doing really well! I also didn't know to put all his loose poops into his litter box, he is literally REALLY good with his potty habbits, no pee outside of the cage AT ALL.. and maybe 2 to 4 poop pellets out of his litter pan... but now that I know this, I will put those pellets into his litter box, I always thought it was okay to just toss them out.
You don't have to tell me twice about taking tons of pictures, I am taking pictures and videos and everything and anything I can! haha.
Tucker doesn't really eat many pellets, I mean I know he does EAT them, but he never finishes all of them, and he does chomp on hay, but never finishes it... he does gobble up his parsley and basil, he also loves baby carrots (I don't give many of those)

 

[whitelop]

Ellie is between 14 and 16 weeks. I think she was about 6 weeks old when I got her, but the pet store said she was 8. I don't think she was 8 weeks.
Its great that Tucker doesn't pee outside his litter box! Thats great! Ellie was really good at her litter box too, until about a week ago when she picked a spot in the kitchen she liked to potty on. Ahh. She's going through puberty and she's VERY picky about her litter boxes. If they're even slightly dirty she won't use them and uses the floor. hahaha. Since Tucker is so good with the box, I don't think you necessarily have to put the stray poops in the box, I thought you were still going through litter training and thats how I did it.
I don't know why Ellie eats so many pellets, she just really loves them I guess. She didn't used to eat that many because I limited her to half a cup a day and she was losing weight so I had to add more pellets. She still eats the same amount of hay, so the pellet addition wasn't a huge deal.

They say to wait until 12 weeks to feed the veggies. You just have to look out for soft poops. I wouldn't feed him too much of anything, just like a little amount. I only feed Ellie like 1 romaine leaf and a sprig of cilantro in a day and maybe a raisin or two. I'll up her green intake, but she's still really little and really young so it freaks me out a little. But my last rabbit ate 4-6 cups of greens a day, but with no pellets. But, you just have to feed him what you feel is right, like the amount and everything. The key to a good rabbit diet, is finding a balance between all the things, the hay, pellets, greens and fruit. At least, thats how I feel about it. haha.

But to me, it sounds like you're doing everything right. And if he's already binkying around, he sounds pretty happy!
Can't wait to see more pictures and watch him grow up too! I love lionheads, they're so cute!

 

[Tam O Ham]

awww, he sounds adorable and certainly looks the part too. With a name like Tucker, I want to see him in a little green John Deer hat now haha! Sounds like he was a good rescue and he knows he's in good hands now. Can't wait to read as he grows up.

And a lot of people will charge 'rehoming' fees for pets. Sometimes it's about the money but sometimes it's to discourage people that aren't serious or - around these parts at least - people that are looking for cheap snake food.

 

[TuckerandGusGus]

I have read so many different things regarding food and everything. A couple of things were... that you should feed unlimited ALFALFA hay and alfalfa pellets.. then I heard that it could get them sick and they could die from the upset tummy/diarrhea, so I decided to mix in the regular timothy hay and alfalfa hay, always unlimited, however much he wants he can have. Also, I give him the Oxbow young rabbit food, I put half a cup but he never ever finishes it, so it is pretty much unlimited as well.

The veggie thing -- I heard not to start them on veggies until they're a bit older, BUT, he was getting some veggies when he was at his other home and doing just fine, not sure WHAT she was giving him, but I have been giving him parsley and basil and sometimes a baby carrot, but never many of those. I give him a small thing of parsley, and maybe 2 to 3 leaves of basil. He absolutely LOVES basil, and he is doing really well with his poops. All healthy.

I am worried that I am giving him too much now, but he has been doing just fine with it... so it should be okay right?

Ugh, I have never worried so much about a bunbun, haha! I love him so much already.

I am so so happy and pleased and excited that he is comfortable and happy enough to actually binky for me!! I thought it'd take me soo long to see him do that, and I am so glad that me spending even just an hour when I get home from work every day has opened him up this much.

Question for all you folks out there with kitties and doggies AND bunnies -- Tucker lived with kitties before he came to my house, but he seems sooo afraid of my animals at my house, and I really really would love it if he could hop around my house when I'm home and not have to visit them seperately. Any advice at all on getting him to be more comfortable and less afraid of my other animals?

I brought my cat Sophie into his room just last night, held Tucker in my lap and he was just fine, then I let him hop off of me and check her out and when he got up to her and sniffed her he ran away so afraid. When he was in my lap and she came and sniffed him he was perfectly fine (or so it seemed). Sophie is my more social cat who really only sniffed him then was purring and rubbing on everything in the room (it's not a room she is usually in, like ever) so it's not like she was focused on Tucker...

Please, any advice is appreciated.

I also understand people giving their bunnies away for a fee to protect the bunny itself - but when someone promises to give you updates and takes the time to tell you the kind of life they'll give the bunny, I mean I feel like that person really only cared about getting money for it's bunny, and it made me sad. I mean Tuckers first Mom was fine with giving me him for free, knowing that I would keep her updated on facebook and everything.

 

[DUSTBUNNY-CLYDE]

great pics!!!

 

[whitelop]

His diet sounds pretty good to me! Since he was eating greens at his first house, then he should be fine. It doesn't sound like you're feeding him that much anyway, so I'm sure its fine. As long as his poops are solid and normal! Poop is the most important thing! hahaha.

With the alfalfa hay. I did the same thing as you are doing. I mixed alfalfa with timothy hay and I feed an alfalfa based pellet. I'm not sure what the oxbow baby food is made out of, but its fine. I've heard lots of good things about oxbow foods. I only gave her a few handfuls of alfalfa hay a day though, since she had never had it. Too much alfalfa at once WILL upset their stomachs, because its a different kind of hay than timothy. It sounds to me like you're feeding the right things though!

As for the cats and dogs and rabbits. I have three inside cats and I had a dog up until a few days ago. Ellie was TERRIFIED of the cats and dog for a few weeks! She would sniff them and then take off running from them. You just have to give them time and be patient with them. Just let the cats sniff Tucker, maybe from the outside of the pen. He'll get used to them on his own. Now Ellie will chase one of my cats and she plays with one of the other ones. A lot of people have problems with cats and rabbits together, because cats carry a lot of bacteria under their nails and in their mouths, but you just have be vigilant when they're together. Also, if Tucker is out in the house and not just in his room, make sure he has enough places to hide. I like to give Ellie a few boxes to choose from to sleep in and hide in. Since she lives in my kitchen cage free right now, she has like 3 boxes to choose from. I would make sure he had a box to hide in to get away from the dogs and cats. But he'll get used to them and they'll probably all be good friends.
My last rabbit was totally in love with one of my cats, they were such good friends. It was really sweet to see!

Like I said before, it sounds like you're doing a pretty great job!

 

[Chrisdoc]

He´s so lovely and I just love it when they´re really little. They do grow up quickly and you tend to forget how small they were. When I look back now at the first photos, it´s amazing how much they´ve grown and changed.

Sounds as though he´s a healthy bun. Mine also love basil, they actually like most herbs especially dill and sage as well. Just keep your eye on him with what you feed to make sure it´s not upsetting him. His cage is really good, a bit like mine, I´ve got cages and then an xpen set up around them to give them more space although they are out quite a lot of the day.

I think particularly at rescues, they ask for a fee just to cover their costs and others to make sure that they´re going to someone who´s serious about getting a bunny.

Hope to hear more about Tucker as he gets bigger and settles in.

I think most of us on here have our blogs as well as it is a great way to document your bunnies progress and a great way to exchange stories and ideas.

 

[TuckerandGusGus]

What made me decide to do a blog, was exactly that. I wanted to really document his progress, whether people follow it or not, you know? I just think it's a great tool to see how his life progresses and how his personality shines, I can't wait to see what he'll be like, but I'm loving this little baby bun part.

My only concern with his diet is, once I start introducing him some more veggies, I know we're supposed to switch them up, I heard we aren't supposed to feed the same thing day after day... well lately I've been doing a mixture of basil and parsley, should I be worried about this hurting him?? I hope not.

I understand rescues need to charge, but at the same time THEY put money into them, by getting these babies spayed and neutered. I don't understand why people would be asking for a expensive rehoming fee if I still have to pay the huge vet bill of getting them fixed, you know? It's silly to me, really.

Whitelop & anyone else that can help -- When I let the kitties come over to the pen to smell him he freaks out and runs all around his cage wicked afraid, should I let him continue to do that until he calms down eventually? I am guessing he'll eventually end up being okay and maybe check out the cat/dog eventually.. I really just don't want to give him a tiny heart attack, you know?

 

[Chrisdoc]

If he´s accepting the veggies Ok then just make sure you keep your eye on him. I try and vary mine but sometimes, if i get stuff from the market and there´s loads, i feed them it for several days as, if not, I have to throw it out. I try to mix wherever but sometimes do a couple for a few days and rotate the rest. i do keep checking to make sure they´re doing well.

As for the other animals, i´ve never had cats or dogs with mine but I´m sure someone else can help you out as there are loads of people on her with experience of this. I have read that some bunnies can get so frightened it literally scares them to death but I don´t think that´s the norm.

 

[TuckerandGusGus]

Is anyone getting this snow? I sure am! and I am loving it! It's so peaceful to watch, not that excited about shoveling it.. and was hoping for an actual full day off of work, but I did get a half day off, which was nice! I got to come home and spend some time with Tucker, I am actually going to be going back in his room after this update. I wish he could be out here with me all the time, but until he gets more comfy with my other animals it's just not doable.

My main question on this update will be, I've been reading about introducing your bunny to your other animals and the first step is to let your cat/dog check the bunny out through the cage. Tucker freaks inside his cage, though, and I don't know how long he'd keep freaking out, but I do know that once he spazzes all around his cage I end up removing the cat/dog... I don't know if I should just wait and see what happens? I just don't want him to get so scared he gives himself a heart attack. I also don't know any other way that he'd get used to them, either.
Any advice would be great with this..

Today I picked up Tucker and started to brush him He actually loved it! Or atleast was okay with it! He was soo soft after that!

I got some cuddles from my cuddle monster.

I am always trying to get good pictures of him to share.

I'm researching the vets in this area, so I can figure out estimates on spaying/neutering... at what age should they be fixed? Also, have been doing a bit of research on the whole One vs Two rabbits... what do you guys think? I know mostly everyone here has more than one. I did find one vet that said the spay/neuter surgery.. for both it's $216.. which isn't that bad, comparing it to the $377 estimate we got from a different vet. I am going to contact some rescues and shelters to see what they think or if they can offer anything for us, too.

Anything to save a little money..

Here are some more pictures.

 

[Moochyesh]

Oh I just love your bun, so cute!

I think introducing your other pets depends on your other pets, A hyper dog may be a lot to take in.
I let everyone come up and sniff around the cage for a few days to make sure it was all ok =]

277 for being altered seams like a lot? In my area all the vets vary from 50-125
I would call around everywhere and see what the cheapest you can get is. Also a lot of counties all over the us have started a Low cost spay and neuter program. Only very few do rabbits but its worth a look!

 

[Katielovesleo3]

I got Bister neutered for about $240 as well.

Lol. Buster is still pretty scared if Rosco but for good reason, Rosco is a giant!!! Lol and when the cat comes inside for his meds he gets scared if the cat too but I wish he wouldn't because Toger is a great cat and doesn't have claws

I like having the blog too, it's like having a journal that nobody can read and it's online it's fun!