In the morning, I refresh Panda and Fernando’s hay (a heaping big handful in the litterbox plus more hay in the hay rack as needed). Then I take out the water and pellet dishes, empty and refill the water dish, and place it back in the buns’ condo. Next, I prepare their breakfast, 1/4 cup or so of Oxbow adult pellets (1/8 cup per bun). I give it to them – they’re always real eager! – and about 15 minutes later, give them a treat (usually an Oxbow Simple Rewards timothy-hay cookie) as dessert. Since I’m also dressing and preparing to head for work, I don’t generally have much more time for that though I always talk to them and pet them while giving them breakfast.

In the evening, I refill their hay again; usually, what’s in the hay rack will last at least a whole day, since Panda and Fernando generally only go for its contents if they can’t find any tasty morsels in the litterbox. Again, this is a large handful of mixed hay from local farms; I give the buns at least two handfuls’s worth of hay every day, each equal in size/volume to their body size/volume. Every two to three days I also empty the litterbox and lay down fresh litter and hay bedding. I also get out their water bowl, empty and refill it. Then I take their supper bowl, clean it and fill it with at least 4 cups of spring mix salad, washing the vegetables before serving for cleanliness and extra water. I serve the buns their supper – their enthusiasm varies a bit from day to day, sometimes one of them takes longer to eat their portion than another day. I give them another treat for dessert between 15-30 minutes after serving supper.

After putting their supper bowl into the condo, I set up their exercise pen, lay out their cardboard tunnel (a 4′ concrete-form tube from Lowes) and several hidey boxes made from cardboard cartons inside the pen, secure the pen to the condo to provide a seamless area for them to run around in, and open the access door. For the next several hours I let them roam around in the pen/condo, coming in several times for floor sessions to interact and let them interact with me, offering more treats, generally a green herb like parsley, several times during the evening. At bedtime I herd them back into the condo if they’re still outside, latch the door, and take down and store the pen. Sometimes I give them a little more hay if they’ve been especially enthusiastic about eating that day.

Weekend routine is the same except that the buns get more time out of their condo in the X-pen and on Sunday afternoons, I clean the condo out thoroughly (white vinegar on the lower-deck floor and Dust Buster, which they cordially hate the sound of, on the carpeted upper deck). I also clean the litterbox with white vinegar at this time.

I wake up around 7AM to give Cinnabun her breakfast, she’s always eagerly awaiting by the foot of my bed for her food! I give her a plate full of organic spring mix (mix of herbs, lettuce, and other greens) and sometimes add in some parsley or cilantro. She also gets 1 tablespoon of Oxbow pellets mixed in with her greens. I give her some hay as well and some water for the day, although she doesn’t really eat/drink throughout the day since that’s when she sleeps.

She goes to her hidey-home around 10am and comes out after a nice long slumber around 4pm. She’ll eat some hay and drink some water, and around 5pm I’ll give her another plate full of spring mix. If I’m around after that, sometimes I’ll give her a treat (Oxbow rewards or a blueberry, maybe some banana) for her to nom on. Around 10pm I give her some pellets. I’m in college and live in a dorm (she is an ESA) so depending on my schedule for the day, she will either run around the hallway for a couple of hours (I’m an RA and my residents love this lol), or we will cuddle for a few hours. I spoil her with space – she’s already free roam in my 250 square foot dorm room but runs around the halls as well! The dorm hallways are carpeted and are cleaned often, and of course I watch her and follow her around the floor while she’s hopping about. It’s so fun to watch her go zoom down a bunch of hallways!! She gets tons of exercise!

Before I go to bed (usually around midnight-2am), I give her a lot of hay and refill her water. She’s pretty active throughout the night and spends most of the night eating hay in her litter box or lounging around. I switch out her toys throughout the night and she loves hopping on and off the futon at night and playing around the furniture. I only clean her litter box every few days. If it doesn’t smell like her enough she likes to poop on my carpet instead.

Regarding daytime “sleepy time”, I’ve observed, when I’m home on the weekends, that Panda generally retreats to her favorite hidey box on the condo’s upper deck around 9 am and mostly stays there until 4 pm or so (like Cinnabun), with occasional breaks downstairs to nibble on hay when she’s feeling hungry. Fernando goes upstairs a little later in the morning, but doesn’t go into his preferred hidey box as often; he prefers and loves to bunloaf in the sunlight either at the front or rear of the upper deck, depending apparently where he senses the sun’s rays filtering through the blinds to be nicest.

Guess some bunnies are “day owls,” I bet it varies just like in people! Thor is a noon to 7pm sleeper, I’ve noticed on the weekends that she will be completely sacked out from at least 1pm to 6pm without coming out at all. Cute little snoozer

As for daily care, in the morning I wake up around 7am, clean her litterbox and sometimes give her a little treat while I’m getting ready and eating breakfast (herb or one of the bunny cookies I made for her). I top up her hay and water, and give her 1/4c of pellets before leaving for work. In the evening, we give her salad around 7pm, refill hay again, and then we do evening snuggles and play time. She is free roam in our apartment but seems to be most active around 6am and 9pm, she does her best zoomies then

On Sunday, I clean all the hay up and do a full vacuum.

I’m going to take the opportunity when I get home from vacation, before I go to pick the buns up from their bunny-sitter, to do a thorough vacuum to clean up all the stray hay! Their foster mother did tell me that they’re used to vacuum cleaner sounds, but I haven’t, to be honest, dared to use it yet because they really REALLY don’t like the sound of the Dust Buster, so there’s a pretty good scattering of hay all over my floor by now. Thank goodness the poops are all confined to their condo (which I propose to give a thorough cleaning too after vacation) or nearby!