How do I go about finding a decent animal sitter?

[NewBunnyOwner123]

Ok so I just now realized that my wedding/honeymoon is coming up in 4 months! 

I am already married but since my husband is in the military we couldn’t get the wedding we wanted right away. Well, two years later and we finally get to go back home to Texas to have an amazing wedding and honeymoon. That being said, We will be gone for 3 weeks… 3 WEEKS! My husband was saying that he can just have someone stop by and feed and water the rabbits and walk the dogs but I honestly do not trust them to take of the rabbits. They are delicate and his friends are not the most responsible of friends.

Last year when we went to Texas for 10 days we had him come by twice a day to walk Bear (we took Abbie with us) and feed the fish every other day… well he walked Bear right but all of my fish died! If he can’t keep fish alive for 10 days I’m so afraid he won’t do the rabbits well. Not to mention, he didn’t even tell us that all of our fish died! He just left them all in the tank rotting in the water (which probably contributed to the other fish dying) and I saw that the light was off when we got home and I turned it on to only one fish miserably hanging on by a thread and all the other fish just rotting in the water! 

I shared with him my concerns and then he was like well how about we let him live here those three weeks so it will be hard to forget…ummm well I do not feel comfortable with this man living in my house for 3 weeks. I’m a very private person. He also suggested that maybe someone could take the rabbits to their house for 3 weeks.. there is someone a few miles down the road who have some experience with exotics. they have 3 sugar gliders. They also have 2 german shepherds and large back yard that Bear could play in (he is anatolian/husky mix) which would be nice that he won’t have to be stuck inside waiting all day for his measly 15 min walk. 

I actually would feel comfortable taking the rabbits to this girls house. I trust that she could care for them properly with the daily ritual of giving them their salads and making sure they have lots of hay and cleaning out the litter box every day and such. I just KNOW that the other guy just won’t do as well. I trust him walking my dog and feeding him…but the buns require more care…they aren’t just some rodent or some fish you can forget about and they aren’t as replaceable as the fish he killed without batting a eye about! (one fish cost me $30 and I was actually very upset about losing him) 

Would the rabbits freak out going to someone elses house for 3 weeks? 

[peppypoo]

I agree that boarding the rabbits at the girl’s house is a better option, as long as you can be sure there will not be a danger of injury from the dogs. As long as you bring along some familiar items such as their litter box and a few toys, going to someone else’s house for 3 weeks should be perfectly fine. I definitely encourage you to tell your friend about signs of illness to watch for (sluggishness, lack of apetite, etc) and to leave your vet information just in case.

[tobyluv]

Do you have any rabbit rescues in your area? Some offer boarding, and some rescues may know of good pet sitters for rabbits.

[Deleted User]

Have you asked your vet for a reference? They may have some great suggestions as to who would do a great job of taking care of your babies.

[Baxter n Boos Mom]

We board our rabbits with the vet. We pay $15 per day for both buns – and supply the veggies, grain, hay and litter. This way, we know they’re in good hands, and if they get sick – the staff is right there and very attentive. They even like to invite visiting children to see our buns 🙂 But 3 weeks can get pricey.

[dewey]

I used to house take my bunny to the rabbit rescue from which I adopted him. Since then, we moved and I’ve had some pretty scary experiences with pet sitters. I trained the girl next door to take care of my bunnies. I have to admit, she was one of kind. She is now a pre-med major in college. We trained her sister, another outstanding young person, too. I find it easier for someone to come to my house b/c my bunnies don’t like to be moved about too much.

Due to the bad experiences with pet sitters, I know look for someone with prior bunny or guinea pig experience. They are out there, but are hard to find.

[NewBunnyOwner123]

I don’t feel comfortable leaving my rabbits at a rabbit recuse. Don’t want to risk the chance of them getting exposed t god knows what. Plus, they won’t get the undivided attention and particular diet they require I feel like because they have so many buns to look after. I just don’t want them to get forgotten about and stay stuck n a small cage all day. Not to mention, boarding costs do get pricey and I’m paying for a wedding and honeymoon here lol

Niw that i know taking them to her huse wont stress them too bad…When making a care sheet for this girl when she takes them to her house. What sorts of things to add? I do not want to leave anything out!

I will still see what I can find but the cheapest way t go is to find a inside friend. When you “hire” a sitter they seem quite pricey whereas a friend will do it for 3 weeks for like $150. And that’s also doing my dogs for me. Idk I’ll also have to actually look into this guy actually staying here and caring for them too but he just seems so…lazy.

I’m scared that if I leave a care sheet for him he won’t really care about it and sorta ignore it. But I’ll talk to my husband. I partly blame him because when he is talki about the chores his friend will need to do he sounds all nonchalant about it and I’m like HELLO it’s a life! It’s serious and he needs to take this serious! So I’m going t talk to the husband and tell him that if he wants t go this rute he needs t be WAY more strict than last summer. Like check in everyday with him to make sure he has done the animals and fed the fish.
Grrr leaving animals is so stressful!!!

[Beka27]

The hardest part of pet sitting is the daily (sometimes twice daily) driving back and forth. But if she can have them in her house, that’ll be so much easier on her, and the buns well acclimate quickly.

For you, I would be trying my darndest to get them bonded and in one xpen before that. They’ll take up less space and have each other for companionship.

[Author]

Messages