Hi Guys,

Well i finally got my rabbit after a month of waiting not so patiently We collected him yesterday and brought him on a 3 hour journey home. He is a chinchilla netherland dwarf and we have named him Henry. I am totally smitten and head over heels already. I have afew questions about his behaviour since we brought him back. He is just  7weeks old and was separated from his brother yesterday so i understand he is probably quite lonely and adjusting to new sounds. ( the breeder kept her rabbits in a heated shed in the garden and i am keeping him in the living room)

I have been a little worried about his fluid intake since we collected him. i had a bowl of water in his travelling box but he didnt touch it once on the whole journey home. He had a leaf of lettuce which he nibbled at for a while. He has been very well handled since 3weeks of age so is completely tame and loves cuddles. when i placed him in his cage for the first time he would not step off my hand so i had to give him a gentle nudge. He hasnt moved from the litter box to investigate his surroundings since yesterday. i just want to know if this is normal. he seems very happy to stay in it. i was quite worried this morning to find him in the same place. there is no sign of him being anywhere else. no poops or wet spots. i dont think he had touched a drop of water since yesterday. when i put the bowl in front of him he doest drink out of it unless i wet the rim and then he licks it so i wet my finger and he licked it too. i continued this for about 5minutes until he didnt want anymore. im so worried he is dehydrated and also wonder why he is staying in the same spot for so long. he is eating hay, nibbling cabbage ( the breeder has already introduced greens?)and eating dry foodso that is a good sign anyway.

I took him out for a cuddle this morning and he was very curious. he nudged my chin with his head and then got up very close to my mouth and started sniffing and started to lick my chin and have a little nibble. then he nuzzled in again and i could hear his teeth making a little grinding sound. he seems alot more comfortable being cuddled than he does in his cage. i just worry about the water … he didnt know what to do when i put him in front of his water bottle and he doesnt drink out of the bowl. does anyone have any ideas on how i can get him to use these? is it normal that he has not explored yet? i will be putting up pics latersorry about the long post… i didnt want to leave out any information that might be important!