Mom will be taking care of bunnies for 3 weeks

[bunnyfriend]

I am going to Japan for 3 weeks at the beginning of June and during this time my mom will be taking care of the bunnies. Because I will be gone for such a long time I wanted to make sure that the information I left her covers everything. If anyone is willing to check what I have so far over and give suggestions I would be so grateful!!!  I’m sorry it’s long! Note: I deleted my vet and emergency vet info. at the bottom just in case it’s against the forum rules and of course the format is a little different in Word. Food lists are from Binky Bunny so I edited them out to make this smaller because I know they’re okay 

Wilbur and Totoro 

Daily Food:

o Breakfast 5-8 a.m. 2 tablespoons of pellets for each bunny

o Hay available 24/7

o Water available 24/7

o Dinner 5-7 p.m. 2 tablespoons of pellets for each bunny

o Salad: 2 cups minimum of wet greens per rabbit

o Treats: No more than 3 pieces of any treat per day (this includes fruit and carrots)

Approved Foods:

NEVER FEED:

Shedding and Brushing:

Rabbits cannot throw up and therefore cannot throw up hairballs as cats do, which can cause blockages. The bunnies need to be brushed at least once daily or more if they are going through a molt. Methods to remove excess hair are brushing with the hairbuster comb (purple comb), rubbing down rabbit with wet hands or gentle pulling loose hair.

Daily Clean Up:

o Litter boxes should be scooped at least 1-2 times every day, first sift through to get poops then scoop out peed soaked litter

o Water bowls should be dumped and refilled at least once a day

o Sweep up poops outside litter box 1-2 times every day

Litter Box Clean up:

The litter box needs to be completely changed and cleaned about every 2 days. Any longer than that is dangerous for the bunnies’ health, and can turn their feet yellow.

1.     Dump litter

2.     Rinse and scrub box with vinegar/water spray

3.     Dry box

4.     Fill with 2-3 inches of litter

Daily Health Checks:

Check litter box daily for Wilbur [small poops] and Totoro [large poops] droppings. If you don’t see both kinds for 12-24 hours please CALL VET IMMEDIATELY. This is why scooping the litter box 1-2 times a day is very important, otherwise it would not be obvious that one has stopped pooping.

Rabbits hide pain and sickness very well. If you notice change in behavior like not coming out for food or not accepting favorite treats please watch them closely. Signs of sickness or injury include:

•       Loud tooth grinding, bulging eyes, or hunching

•       Very cold or very hot ears

•       Runny eyes or nose (Note: rabbits do not usually have nose or eye discharge like other animals nor can they have colds)

•       Labored breathing or chronic sneezing

•       Wet chin or drooling (rabbits do not drool or have wet chins usually, even after drinking water. Only exception is after they have just eaten something juicy)

•       Loss of balance or health tilt (this is sign of a very serious sickness called “head tilt” and you must isolate the sick rabbit immediately)

•       Loss of appetite or lethargy

Vet Information: 

If you are unsure about anything or have questions please ask on Binky Bunny forum with my account. Username: bunnnyfriend Password: ********

[SuperCheesetastic]

Good luck!
When I ask my mom to feed my fish while i’m at college, I come back to find a half-empty bottle of fish food and a tank so cloudly I can barely see in it.
My mom doesn’t even know how to use a computer!

😮

[JustBun]

I liked your instructions, I think if I was caring for your bunnies I would be able to know what they needed and when. I am leaving my bunny for a week coming up soon and am kind of worried. I had my mom meet him this week and they did well together so that eased my mind a little bit. I was going to make her a list as well, I saw some where on the site here had a nice form to print out. For your list, maybe it would be good to add some info about their play time and things they like to do if the person watching them doesn’t know too much about them? 

[tobyluv]

That looks like a fairly complete list. You didn’t state how your bunnies are housed. Are they in a cage or x-pen? What about their exercise and play time needs, and do they like spending time with people or are they content to be with each other?

Will you have a cell phone with you or a phone in Japan where you can be reached at most times in case your mother is unsure of something and needs to speak with you? She can of course post here as you stated, but she may not receive a reply right away. Some posts aren’t responded to for several hours.

[bunnyfriend]

Thank you for the suggestions! I’m still in high school so I live with my mom, she knows their personalties and what not but I do everything for them so she’s never done really anything for them before besides give them attention and occasional treats. They have free range of most of our house. I like your cell phone idea, maybe I can buy a temporary one while I’m in Japan. Otherwise I’ll only have internet at certain places throughout my trip. If she thinks anything needs immediate attention I hope she will contact my vet.

[Beka27]

Quite detailed. I try to minimize things the best I can when we’re away. I personally would not ask a petsitter to scoop or scrub litterboxes. I’d ask them to dump them out, quickly wipe out with a damp paper towel, and refill. I’ve found that the least amount of work you ask from them, the better the chances things will go smoothly. When we were gone for a week, I actually bought two new litterboxes and had them filled and ready to go so halfway thru the week they could just be switched out. Another option is to measure out the daily pellets and place in small snack size bags. The pre-packaged romaine hearts are nice and easy if all she has to do is rinse one out and that’s about how many veggies are needed. Pretty much anything you can do ahead of time to make things easier on your mom.

My buns are in great health tho, so if you’ve had many issues in the past, I can understand you being a little more vigilant.

[bunnyfriend]

Thanks good idea, I’ll be showing her how to do things so maybe I can cut down on the info. I offered to pre make litter boxes but she says she wants to do it, she loves the bunnies and she jokes around that they’re going to be hers when I go to college. I’ll just have to do something special for her when I get back  I’ll check out my grocery store for the prepackaged romaine hearts! My buns are healthy but I’m paranoid because the last time I left a rabbit (in the care of a pet sitter, not my mom) he ended up dying the night I got back (from cancer), I know that was out of my control but I’m still worried.

[Beka27]

That is heartbreaking about your bun that passed. I will also try to think if there was anything else I did to simplify. Three weeks is a long time. That will be an amazing trip!

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