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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.
Well, need I say more ? LMAO !
Frosty is a PILL ! We’ve had this guy since Thursday evening and he is a major trip ! Everything we try to do, he does the complete opposite ! LOLOLOL
He was kept outside in a hutch because he was a show bunny so he hasn’t a clue about what a litter box is. We got a cage for him with a plastic bottom and a removable top/sides, put a corner litter box in there complete with a urine soaked paper towel, along with some hay so he can munch while he “goes”, put his poops in there every chance we get and he just ignores it all ! I realize it’s not an overnight thing since he’s almost 7 mos. old (the 17th of this month), but he can at least show an interest or give us some glimmer of hope, LOL !
Last evening he decided to do a bink inside his cage and knocked over his litter box & all his food dishes and then proceeded to lay in it without any regard as to what it was doing to his beautifulness. He’s such a prince ! He probably figures this is another easy way to get a bath ! Like I said, he is a PILL ! LMAO !
He loves being cuddled and laying on his back in our arms while being petted, stroked and talked softly to. He’s a big baby. Too bad they don’t make diapers or pull-ups for rabbits, LOL ! Wouldn’t that be a site ? Bwaaahahahahahahaaaa !
Well, I couldn’t stand seeing him lay in his excrement any longer so we broke down and got him one of those wire cages from TSC along with a frame kit and a plastic pan for underneath. At least he’s up out of all the gunk for the time being. I put his litter box in there just in case he “gets it” and also a nice size piece of cardboard so he has a place to stand and/or lay other than the bare grate…….wouldn’tya know, though…….he went and peed all over it and we had to take it out because it was being eaten through by his pee !! He never laid on the cardboard, only on the grate, and he has yet to use that litter box !
I have a toy hanging in there for him (the one CowieCow came up with) and he just likes running under it but not really playing with it :o( He’s very aggressive to my other bunns except for our Netherland Dwarf, Bally, whom he probably thinks she’s a prime candidate to make little Jersey Woolies with, LOL !
This guy is definitely getting fixed within the next few weeks as I’m pretty sure that has something to do with him not wanting to use that litter box, along with the fact that he was always kept outside and probably never saw one before and thinks it’s just in his cage for decoration, LMAO !
I know, I know……those grates are no good for bunns to be on, but like I said, we tried having that cardboard in there covering half the cage & he just won’t use it. He refuses & uses it as a toilet. And the other cage we had he lays in his pee and poop……he’s a godawful mess right now and needs a bath because of acting like a maniac last evening. At least it was a bink he did when he knocked everything over, so I take it he’s happy to be here in the warmth and comfort of our home, so that’s a good thing :o)
Angoragrl, was Henri hard to litter train or was he already trained when you got him ? If you’re the one that had to do the training, did you have much trouble with him learning ?
I tried attaching pics and then hitting “Submit” about 3 times now and this post just won’t ’take’, so I’m giving up for now. It’s too aggravating at the moment
He already looks like he tangled with a weed whacker from his last escapade, so I guess he thinks he has nothing left to lose. Maybe one of those fake sheepskin rugs that absorb the pee might help, until he gets litter trained.
On the bright side, he loves being handled so cleaning him up will not be the trauma most of us go through. He just may be overwhelmed by all these new, hifalutin innovations like litter boxes, solid floors and toys. (what up with that?)
Bwaaahahahahahahaaaa, Bunzai ! How true, how true, hehehe
We had a helluva night here last night again ! He made so much noise in that cage that I hardly got any sleep, nor did hubby & he had to get up to go to work @ 3:30am ! It sounded like Frosty was ripping his cage apart but every time I got up and looked down to see what he was doing (our house is laid out like a cabin & our bedroom is in the “loft” area, so I can get up and look down into the living room to see what’s going on down there, LOL !), he would stop !
Well, I finally was able to doze off and wouldn’tya know he started making these extremely loud crashing noises from his cage @ 2 in the morning. Doug, my hubby, got up with the flash night, mumbling under his breath about what is up with this crazy rabbit & we both looked down into the living room……well, he was down there thumping his foot as hard as he could thump it ! One of his bowls was overturned as usual. It was his pellet bowl, so I guess that was his way of telling us in the middle of the night that he didn’t want to wait til everyone got up to get his fresh supply of pellets for the day, even though he had lots of hay to eat and plenty of cold water……..Noooooooo……he wanted them NOW !!!
So he got his pellets and we came to bed. We could hear him crunching all the way upstairs !! It didn’t stop him from making tons of noise, though. When I got up this morning, it looked like he was trying to knock his water bottle down because it was hanging on the outside almost sideways and the part he drinks out of was in a totally different hole from where I put it !!
As for the sheepskin……I wouldn’t for the life of me know where to get one of those around here. This is a very small town and we have to travel a good ways to get to any decent stores :o( I would have to buy several, I would think, just to keep him in clean ones because all I’d get done doing is doing laundry, LOL !
This bunn needs to get over himself ! LMAO !
Oh lord I don’t even know what to say. Sorry I’m no help at all but I sure sympathize with you. Sounds like he needs more space. What about an xpen attached to his cage? I think I would use towels rather than sheepskin just because it sounds like you’ll be doing some wash!
frosty, for pete’s sake, learn to use your litter so your mom & dad can focus on spoiling you rotten with attention instead of how to keep you clean!
LOL what a little brat! Good thing he’s cute huh? My new bun Rupert sounds a lot the same, well in that he throws everything around and makes a mess. I bought a clip on food dish for him, that might help you! Other then that, no advice but hang in there!!
Yes ! Little brat is right ! LOL !
Do you know what he was doing just a little bit ago ??? He had his head laying in his litter box like it was a pillow !!! I can’t take it ! If I don’t laugh, I’ll cry ! LMAO !
He is just too much !
He has plenty of room to the point my other bunns are very jealous now ! I can see Sid’s ears steaming every time he looks over at him because I know Sid thinks he’s a pansy, LMAO ! He wants outta his cage so bad just so he can go over there and kick Frosty’s dirty butt ! LOL ! I’m crackin’ up here…….these bunns are a riot !! Everybunny thinks Frosty is getting special treatment around here when he’s really being treated like he’s a special needs (mentally) bunn because he just isn’t ‘getting it’, LOLOLOL ! Omg……my ribs hurt from laughing and Frosty just keeps doing what he’s doing with total disregard to the help we’re trying to give him, LOL !
Hubby now thinks Frosty is mentally challenged and of course he would end up here…..LMAO……but he adores him anyway, as do I. I think Frosty thinks WE are the mental ones ! We’re just one big dysfunctional, mentally challenged, happy family ! Hahahaha
Who needs TV ? hehehe I’ve got my own little Soap Opera right in my living room ! Bwaahahahahahaaaa !
I’ve attached a pic of his new house so you can see how much room he has…..I just don’t like those bare grates ! I’m going to try putting down cardboard again only in a different position this time and see how he does. You would think he would eventually “miss it” when he goes to the bathroom at some point !
We’ll see.
And the story continues……..LOLOLOL !
I just got an email response from Jenn, the lady we got Frosty from. I wrote to her last evening about him and how he was acting and asked if she had any advice to give me……I also asked her since we will probly have to bathe him now and we didn’t have any rabbit shampoo, if there was anything else we could use around the house here that would be non-toxic. Well she didn’t answer me about what to use in place of shampoo, so if any of you have any ideas what we might be able to use, I’d really appreciate it !
As for his living quarters, this is what she wrote:
“Yes I told you, He is one of the Most Dirtiest rabbits I have ever seen! His like a PIG! He just loves to get messy, The wire cage is your best Thing, That way his coat stays clean, He looks very happy! TTYL Jenn”
I sent her pics of him in his new cage and playing in the X-pen. It kinda sounds like she’s glad to be rid of him, doesn’t it ? I’m so glad we ‘rescued’ him ! Actually, hubby considered him a rescue from the git-go because he was being kept outside in the weather…….not in a barn, either !
When we went to pick him up, we noticed all her rabbit hutches were right outside the barn in the weather ! I can’t imagine how her babies made it through the night last night because we had bitter cold temps here last evening, in the single digits, and below zero with the wind chill factor……really wicked winds !!
I’m so glad he’s here…….I can’t begin to think how he would’ve shielded himself from the cold last night ! I shudder to even think about it……
Instead, he was in here thumping his feet, keeping us awake, wanting pellets !! The spoiled brat ! LOL !
Ok, so does anyone have any suggestions as to what we can use for “shampoo” that we might have around the house here, without going & buying overpriced shampoo that we probly won’t use but once or twice ?
Thanks a bunn-ch !
Here’s some pics of him being held like a baby by hubby (Doug) & taking a break from all the fun in the X-pen :o)
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He is so adorable I cant get over it! Sounds like a brat…but a cute one! LOL
oh Tami! the shenanigans you guys put up with!
i have a question. in the pic of the wire bottom cage, is that the litter box, the little blue thing in the back left hand corner? if so, it doesn’t look very large. that may be why he’s not using it. bunnies very often like to stretch out and lay around in their litterbox. since he’s so big, i would get him a much larger litter box, maybe even a dish pan with a lower side. do you have any dollar stores around you? they usually carry them in different sizes. and i hope he gets the litter training soon, b/c that cage looks too small for such a big guy. are you planning on doing NIC condos or an xpen when he’s neutered and trained?
Tami, he sure sounds like a character. I also have concerns about that very small cage on the left. As Beka mentioned, rabbits do really need a cage big enough to stretch out in and that house does appear to be very small. Also – I understand your desire to not have him laying in poop = but wire bottom floors are not a good choice for bunny feet, since they can lead to sore hocks – which are very painful and hard to cure.
LMAO!!! What a character.
I have an idea you could try. First, I think getting a dishpan is a good start, since too small a litter pan could be a problem. How about taking a piece of cardboard and cutting it the size of the litter pan bottom, either current one or new pan? You could put some litter in the pan, then put the cardboard on top of it since he thinks that’s a toilet. Then move it to the spot where he peed on it before. It might have to be the litter pan spot for good. If he goes on the cardboard a few times, he’ll associate it with the pan and the spot. Then after a while you probably could replace, then remove the cardboard piece.
My vet sold me a verrrrry fancy shampoo, but before that I had some all natural unscented soap I had bought once that was safe for babies. Not Ivory, I think it was olive oil based. I never used to wash his head or mouth, just his feet and from the shoulders down, but he was a smooth mini rex. Still, even a little lemon juice in the water might be safe and still get out some of the poo, dirt, hay, fur, rug, pellets, shredded paperbacks….whatever he’s got stashed in that adorable mane….
Ok, first of all that cage he’s in is 30 x 30 x 18, plenty big for him as he can run around in circles, do binks, etc. in there and he’s not in there all the time because we have an X-pen we put them in for exercise and play. The cage sitting next to his cage is just a sleep cage for our Lionhead. She doesn’t spend all her time in there. We are going to order some Whitmor cubes (the equivalent of NIC’s) from Walmart online and have them shipped to our local store for pick-up. I haven’t done that yet as I have to see how much money is left over from paying bills, but we’ll get them sooner or later before the end of the month……at any rate, they still have the X-pen.
The thing in the back left corner is a litter box and it looks smaller than it actually is, but still not big enough, I agree, so I ordered one of these medium sized litter boxes for him about 3 days ago and am waiting for it to arrive: http://clover.forest.net/kwcages/index.html Scroll down to the bottom of this page and it’s the middle sized one. I figured this will keep him out of his mess unlike the normal litter boxes. I’m hoping it comes within the next few days :o)
The idea about the litterbox & the cardboard is an excellent one and I’ll try that ASAP! Thanks rabbitpam ! :o))
Frosty is mostly all fur. He looks like a pretty big rabbit but he’s not……we were surprised too ! To us he looks huge, but he’s really mostly fluff, LOL !
Here’s a couple more pics of him in that cage:
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh43/tami1962/FrostytheAngorainhisnewcage3.jpg
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh43/tami1962/FrostytheAngorainhisnewcage2.jpg
As I said in my earlier post/s……I don’t like that he’s on those bare grates. In fact, I hate it…….so that’s why I’m going to put the cardboard back in there again so he has a place to lay or stand that’s nice and smooth. Knowing him, though……he’ll prefer the bare grates, LMAO !
All I can do is trial and error and see what’s going to work best for him as far as health goes and cleanliness goes. He’ll get used to it eventually and hopefully get used to, and liking, being clean !
oh good, it seems like you have all your bases about covered! it’s really good that they’re all getting plenty of outtime during the day.
“Fake” sheepskin can be purchased at a fabric stores usually- I have seen it at JoAnn fabrics and maybe Wal-mart might carry it oo. You just buy it by the yard and trim as needed.
If you have a cage that has a wire grate- and are looking for things to cover it- you could try a cutting board. My bunny has a cage with a bottom grate- so I bought a new cutting board that fits about half the cage pretty well. She does not pee on it- as she is smart enough to know it will soil her environement- she has not chewed on it at all. It is hard and supportive without being really slippery- I don’t used a hay rack and her hay covers alot of it too. It seems to be scratch-proof as she has not tried to scratch it. And it could- not sure that I really would- be run thru the dishwasher. But it is not porous- so it is easy to clean and should not retain any odors if it is soiled.
Julie
Tami, great pictures! I can’t believe that is him AFTER his hair cut. After my Shadow gets fixed I want to get a rescue companion for him. I am trying not to be breed specific, cause in the end, the choice is not mine. But damn…between Frosty and BigSis’s lion head bunny pictures, I am really going crazy with desire.
Thanks so much for the suggestions everybunny ! :o))
Well, last night the noise continued while we were trying to sleep (I have bags under my eyes this morning….like I really need that !). My husband witnessed Frosty jumping straight up and down in his cage and when he comes down he slams into the floor as hard as he can ! Kinda like a spoiled child in a store throwing a fit because mommy won’t buy him the toy he wants !!
I can’t imagine what his Highness might be saying/screaming about if he could talk ! I mean I can’t see where he’d have any complaints since he’s being treated like a Prince ! Sheesh !
oh tami, I’m laughing so hard reading your description of the tantrum….hahhh My diva Pringles can really throw them too.
I can’t get over how fluffy Frosty is. I definitely wouldn’t do well with one like that because I don’t even like messing with my hair…..permanent ponytail here. He would be like having one of those dolls that you can fix their hair all day for fun, around my daughter, he’d wind up covered in little bows and clips…hahahaha My hat’s off to you and your guy for enjoying all the work that breed must need. I’ve loved reading the ongoing soap opera
Kathy
The jump straight in the air things sounds a lot like a “popcorn” binkie. Our Curly Sue does these, she jump straight up in the air and lands on all fours. I couls see that making a loud noise if she were landing on the cage bottom.
He’s so cute :~)
lol. what a handful of fluffy fluff! my first bun was full of popcorn binkies. i loved how his lop ears would flap about. looked like he was trying to fly
i am having litter training trouble to there is nothing i can do he just wont pee in one place he has peed in like 10 different places and i dont know what to do anymore