Hi Everyone! I haven’t been on in ages although my phone keeps me signed in forever. It’s good to see some familiar people/rabbits ?. Hope everyone is having a happy holiday season.
Ok, I’ll start with backround for those not familiar. I have a female rabbit, Nelli, who will turn 8 in March. She was bonded to my male bunny, BunBun since we adopted her when she was 5 months old. He died in early June. I was heartbroken but she seemed OK. In late June, we took her to a shelter where she met a little bunny who looked much like BunBun- his name is Luke and he was only a year old. She was lovely with him, groomed his head even, and he was very shy and gentle with her. She did hump his head after the rescue lady groomed her and put her back in the pen with him, and that kind of freaked him out, but he just ran away from her. They did fine on the car ride home. But once we got home, she started chasing him to the point where he was growling and really looking panicked. The rescue lady had (I thought) instructed me not to separate them, just put them right in the house (Nelli is indoors only, free range). So we separated them and starting bonding, but they got together 2 more times accidentally and the 2nd time Nelli needed stitches from Luke’s sharp “young bunny” claws. That really scared me and since then, we have kept them separated by an Xpen fence. At first we had screening up so they couldn’t reach each other at all, but once they were laying next to each other nicely and trying to touch noses, I removed the screen. They spend lots of time laying next to each other and eating hay from the pile I put on either side of the fence. But Nelli still snorts at him a lot and they will get into these nipping contests where it looks like they are going to rip each other’s noses off, but nobunny ever gets a scratch. Occasionally one will grab a little fur from the other’s butt- Luke especially gets upset when Nelli goes to hop away from him. He’s started to imitate her snorting and it’s pretty funny!
So- this whole time we have been fixing up another house to live in. Its finally almost ready and our plan has been to bring the rabbits over in separate carriers, then put them together upon arrival at the new house (under constant supervision at first). I will bring their old toys, litter boxes and cardboard hidey houses. I am hoping that the brand new surroundings will remove Nelli’s territorial behavior and that Lukie will be a comfort to get. He is good at adapting to new situations, whereas Nell is very nervous about everything.
My concern is that these changes are going to push Nelli into a health crisis. She has always been healthy, but after BunBun died, I noticed her being a bit wobbly in her hind legs. Then the rescue lady at Luke’s shelter said her eyes looked cloudy and suggested a give her a 28 day course of Panacur. I did, and the leg issue improved a lot. I still notice it a teeny bit, but that might just be due to her age, perhaps a little arthritis. I’m going to try glucosamine if it’s safe. Akao, the vet did say she has mild cataracts that don’t affect her vision. Last, she has had a mild issue with her right ear- it smells slightly off and sometimes she’ll shake it and scratch. I got drops from,the vet and added grape seed oil extract and a bit of cider vinegar to boost any anti yeast or antibacterial action. That helps, but catching her and putting it in her ear every day is terribly stressful for her, so I just do it once a week or so and that seems to control it.
Sorry this turned out to be so long! I always do this, and up writing a book here. Anyway, any suggestions or experiences that you all would like to share? I would love to hear them. The good, the bad, the ugly, and even any viewpoints that completely disagree with my plan.
Thanks so much!!!