What should pet sitter know in order to watch bun?

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kloppie8

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We are going out of town for a little over a week and I am having a pet sitter come take care of our 2 cats and the rabbit. What should I have her do with him? He is very friendly but isn't around lots of people other than us, should she let him lout of his cage, take him outside to play?

I have to make a detailed instruction sheet for caring for the animals but I am just not sure what I should have her do with the rabbit?
 
Is he in a cage when he's not free-range? If so, I think I'd get an xpen & attach the cage to it, so he gets his exercise. I wouldn't let a sitter take my rabbit outside. Too many things could happen. I would divide the veggies into servings in the refrigerator.
 
I would not let them take him outside. You never know if a pen is latched properly, what other animals may be around or how competent the sitter is with rabbits. A rabbit can slip out of a harness, so that isn't a great option as well. It is one thing for you to do these with your rabbit, but it can be a liability issue for someone else.
Try setting up a pen inside that can connect to his cage. This way the pet sitter only needs to open the cage to let him out. They would not have to pick him up either, so it is safer for both of them. It would be good to set up the pen now so he can get used to it before you leave. It would be ideal to have the sitter come twice a day, they can let him out when the come and put him back later on.

To make it easier, divine up veggies into bags. Then they can just take out a bag and feed that rather than having to figure out how much and what to give. You can wash the veggies, but wrap them in paper towel. Otherwise just put some paper towel in the bag and the pet sitter can wash them.
Make sure to have enough pellets and hay to last plus extra. Have them in containers that are near the rabbit cage and label them if you need to.

Since you will be gone for more than 1 week, cleaning will come up. Give instructions on who to clean and what should be cleaned. It can be to clean out the food and water dishes, clean the litter box (or at least scoop), give fresh bedding or whatever else is needed. You should make sure the cage is clean before you leave and be prepared to clean it well when you get back.

If you can, have the pet sitter come over before you leave. Go over what care is needed, where things are and allow your pets to meet them.
 
Thanks everyone. Flynn's everyday cage is a 3x6 xpen area. He usually has free roam of the whole room but they past week he has been banished to his cage for naughty behavior. The pet sitter has cared for my cats and 2 of my dogs before but this time we are boarding 2 dogs and taking 2 with us, so this leaves the cats and Mr.Bun. I can make up the veggies ahead of time, I have to prepare my cats raw meal for the sitter too. I will be sure to make all supplies avaialable. Currently I do not scoop his litter box I dump it entirely once or twice a week depending on how often he needs it. I wasnt sure if the petsitter should sit with him and read or something for the company...my cats will be here but they will be locked out of the room and he is so use to the door being open and the chaos from the house drifting back. The sitter is coming twice a day for an hour each time, my cats require a lot of attention or they get upset and poop everywhere :(
 
I can't stress the list you are leaving & the going over that list with the pet sitter. Also, you are not a petting zoo, do not bring extra people over to pet the buns while you are gone. Do not feed my bun the lettuce off your Wendy's burger.

Sorry for the rant but with 3 different sitters I had lots of problems including a rabbit that had to get stitches in his ear. Call home if you can to check on everyone. I must now board everyone at the vet.
 
I am sorry that your bunny had gotten hurt..I am worried about leaving the rabbit, and I would hope a professional pet sitter would not do those sort of things...but I guess you never know. She said he daughter has a rabbit but that means different things to different people. I have a daily text sent to me about my pets, so I will know how things are going. I am still very new to rabbits are there any major signs of stress that I should be sure to list for her? My rabbit vet is about an hour away but she suggested trying to leave him home with a good sitter over boarding due to the stressful envoirment
 
Make sure it is someone that can be trusted. Try to anticipate every need that might arise and give feeding and care instructions. Best to try and find someone that has rabbits so they know the ins and outs.Make sure you leave them a number for your vet and contact the same and let them know that someone else will be taking care of your critter if they need to see them. The hardest thing to explain to a non bunny person is that bunnies stick to a routine, so any variance or change may be problematic.
 
We have petsitters take care of our pets all the time. We have never borded any of our animals. For persitters we get a neighborhood kid or one of our friends to come over and take care of the pets. When I was showing rabbits and had 30 at a time I got a fellow rabbit breeder friend to come over and take care of the animals. We always left detailed instructions on the animals care. It was not uncommon for our pet sitters to have to take care of 50-100 animals for a week at a time. (we had fish, chickens, rabbits, dogs, hamsters-mice, a snake, birds, turtles). I would always call a couple of times during vacation and check on how the animals were doing.
 
kloppie8 wrote:
I am sorry that your bunny had gotten hurt..I am worried about leaving the rabbit, and I would hope a professional pet sitter would not do those sort of things...but I guess you never know. She said he daughter has a rabbit but that means different things to different people. I have a daily text sent to me about my pets, so I will know how things are going. I am still very new to rabbits are there any major signs of stress that I should be sure to list for her? My rabbit vet is about an hour away but she suggested trying to leave him home with a good sitter over boarding due to the stressful envoirment

I'd leave the vet's number just in case... and perhaps this website in case anything comes up that they'd want a second opinion on :p

stress that not eating at all for 8+ hours is major cause for concern... maybe leave behind a can of plain pumpkin (not pie filling) and instructions to give a small amount if the bunny isn't eating very much (as that could just be the stress of having you gone) to make sure their digestive tract continues to run smoothly until the rabbit gets back to eating normally. hopefully this won't come up anyway, but you never know how a bun will respond to a change in the normal routine.
 

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