Crazy little Tipsy!

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 11sd replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 4 months ago by jerseygirl.

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- 10/20/2011 at 7:49 PM
  Tipsy Bunny
  Participant
  373 posts
  Hi!! I am a brand new bunny owner! I just adopted a New Zealand White yesterday from my universty’s research lab. My professor in vet sciences said they finished a research and they needed to find a little bunny a home… and me being a sucker for the cute ones, fell for her and scooped her up! Now I have a ball o fun in my apartment tearing it up like a crazy drifting car! I decided to name her Tipsy cause she acts like she’s had a little too much to drink when she is doing her lazy binkys. You can tell she was a research rabbit cause she has a tattoo on her ear marked AZ-1… I dont think much was done to her, but I know she does not like to be handled by her scruff… and I noticed why, my teacher would pick her up that way and she would start kicking, but after a day with me I was able to scoop her up from her front end and back end and she would sit readily. Now she is spoiled rotten (already! oh boy) and soon to have her own room… technically a closet… its the perfect size and she is almost completely potty trained, and its an open closet, its not a normal one with the doors so dont worry I am not locking her haha. But she has a grass mat, a long accordian tunnel, a toilet, a stick ball, wood blocks, cardboard from my shoe box, and we will eventually learn to eat carrots and lettuce… I dont believe that the lab techincians blieved in Vitamin K from vegies, they told me “oh btw dont worry if she eats her poop its normal thats how she gets her vitamin K.” Or, I could feed her vegies. Anyways, I am excited and she is excited, as seen from her bouncing right now haha and we will how far we get!
- 10/20/2011 at 7:58 PM
  Monkeybun
  Participant
  10479 posts
  Welcome
  
  Your professor was wrong to handle her by the scruff, bunnies are not meant to be picked up by it Their skin is too fragile and thin there!
  
  Start her off slowly on the veggies, 1 new thing a week in small doses so you can make sure it doesn’t mess with her tummy.
- 10/20/2011 at 8:04 PM
  Tipsy Bunny
  Participant
  373 posts
  Thats what I thought, she did not seem to enjoy it. I think its going to take an even longer time than normal getting her to trust my hands and that petting is nice. She has been manhandled for too long I just felt so sorry for the little girl… I didnt want her hanging around there any longer. I dont think she ever got free time… now with me she gets probably 8 or more hours of play time outside the cage! Man, I want to be a bunny.
- 10/20/2011 at 8:07 PM
  bunnyfriend
  Participant
  2368 posts
  Welcome!!! She’s so lucky to be rescued from that research lab! Rabbits should never be handled by the scruff so she was definitely justified in kicking ;P What the vet technician is talking about are cecotropes, which is something a rabbit produces and because of the way their digestive system is set up they must eat them to attain certain nutrients. Veggies are a very important part of a rabbit’s diet but without this process they would not be able to get all the nutrients from them that they need (they aren’t poop). As for the lettuce and carrots; carrots are high in sugar so they should be considered and used as treats, only feed your rabbit dark leaf lettuce (romaine, green leaf), NEVER iceberg lettuce or anything similar it can cause GI stasis. It’s also important to feed a variety of veggies everyday, here’s a list of what is safe: https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/Diet/VeggieList/tabid/144/Default.aspx (:
- 10/20/2011 at 8:44 PM
  lashkay
  Participant
  1548 posts
  Thank you for rescuing her – I wish there were a million more just like you to pick up and give loving homes to the millions of lab rabbits, and all the other lab animals for that matter. She is beautiful. A word of caution – keep an eye on her that she doesn’t eat any of the plastic purple tunnel. I had one just like it that was inevitably chewed on the ends — so swapped it for willow tunnels available from the busybunny.com stie and some seagrass tunnels I was fortunate to find in a UK online store. The willow tunnel they can zip through, lie in and nibble on to their hearts content! More power to you – have fun with her!
- 10/21/2011 at 12:53 PM
  Sarita
  Participant
  18851 posts
  Thank you for rescuing her – you are an angel. I have had quite a few New Zealand white rabbits and I can tell you they are wonderful rabbits and you are going to enjoy her so much.
- 10/21/2011 at 3:52 PM
  Tipsy Bunny
  Participant
  373 posts
  Thanks for all of your kind words and advice! I have been giving her romaine lettuce (I read up on the light colored lettuce as soon as she entered my home) and she seems to like it, the carrots are still iffy, but still handed out as treats. I did think about that when I got the tunnel, but the only things I have seen her chew, for now, is just cardboard that I have lying around, but I always supervise her whenever she has her freetime.
  
  She actually has been letting me pet her! She is still a little nervous, she flattens out but she closes her eyes and I did feel a little purr come from her mouth! And she seems to enjoy the way I pick her up, she does not struggle and does not kick me. When I go to fetch for her its almost like she prepares herself instead of running away now, which thank goodness for that now. One hundred percent improvement from when I first saw her come out of the lab. I have not once regretted adopting her. I have always thought of getting a cute little lop, never once did I think of getting an albino rabbit, but she picked me and she is the sweetest thing. I dont understand how anyone could just think that picking her up like that is fine.
  
  Oh! And she has figured out the litter box! Still misses with the pooping but when she has to pee she is right in there! Oh and I have one question for everyone, how do you all feel about harness training your bun for outings? Safe environment of course, like backyards or frontyards.
- 10/21/2011 at 4:54 PM
  bunnyfriend
  Participant
  2368 posts
  Personally I think that the harness thing doesn’t really work out too well, they can easily escape or run into something not good. Is she spayed?
- 10/21/2011 at 9:32 PM
  Tipsy Bunny
  Participant
  373 posts
  She is going to be spayed within the next month.
- 10/22/2011 at 6:54 AM
  bunnyfriend
  Participant
  2368 posts
  Great (: She is lucky to be taken care of well!
- 10/22/2011 at 1:36 PM
  Ms-Read-A-Lot
  Participant
  50 posts
  Tispy is so cute! I’m glad she had the luck to come across someone so kind. I’m sure she is very happy! I am a new bunny owner as well, but welcome!<3
- 10/22/2011 at 9:00 PM
  jerseygirl
  Moderator
  22356 posts
  She’s just beautiful! Thanks for taking her in. It will be worth it, they give a lot of enjoyment.
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