A few Q’s about different things…

[cadburybunz]

 Ok, so tomorrow is the big day! Aspen comes home!!!  So I’ve been re-arranging things in the house, and looking at everything from a buns perspective. I’ve got a few things I want to do, but some will have to wait, due to time constraints, and of course the all-mighty $$. 

Anyway, I plan on getting some tubing of some sort to cover the 1 wire that is exposed within her reach. I want to get that done ASAP (like today!) I I’m not sure what would work best for this, it has to be somewhat flexible, but I want it strong enough to withstand any possible chewing. 

Secondly, I have 1 set of stairs that goes from my main living room, up to a bonus room above my garage, the staircase is enclosed, meaning there’s no railing, it’s straight wall on either side, but open at both the top and bottom (no doors) my question is, should I put a gate on the bottom so she can’t go up the stairs? This room is just a playroom, there are toys, but nothing electrical, or anything that would really harm her, I’m more concerned about her on the stairs.

My third question is more about food, I’m not sure what she’s eating as far as brand of pellet, and hay, from the research I’ve done I either want to go with Oxbow (my first choice) or Zupreem (my second choice) So if she’s currently not on these particular how would I switch her? Is it like doing this with dogs, slowly mixing it in over a course of a few weeks until she’s fully on the oxbow or zupreem? Would I do this for the hay as well? 

Last but not least, I don’t want to overwhelm her when she first gets home, should I wait until Saturday to let her have her “out” time? or should she be ok Friday evening for her first time out of her cage? She will here between 9:30-10am tomorrow, and I figure by the time I get her cage set up, and get her in it, it will be probably around 12 noon. I know she will be scared, so I don’t want to make this anymore stressful than it already is on her, so ANY suggestions on the transition to our home, and schedule would be greatly appreciated. I have dogs, and cats, that over time I would like to introduce to her, she lives with both now, so they won’t be a total shock to her, but I plan on the dogs being crated while she’s out, and the cat will be put in the a bedroom with the door closed at first as well. I plan on introducing the cat first, then putting the dogs in a room with a gate at the doorway so they can start at least see each other, and interact that way at first, and then slowly start moving the gate to different positions. Eventually I would like to have them all interacting together without a gate, BUT with supervision of myself of course!!!! 

Thank you all for your help!! I really appreciate it! We are SOOOO excited about Aspen’s arrival! tomorrow can’t come soon enough!!! 

[Elrohwen]

1. Hardware stores generally have flexible tubing (used for plumbing I think). They can cut whatever length you need and you can cut a slit up it to get the wire in.

2. I would just wait and see if she’s even interested. Bunnies can navigate stairs just fine, but she might decide she’s not even interested. Just wait and see.

3. You should be able to get a small baggie of food from her current caretaker that you can use to wean her over. Do it over a month and start with 3/4 old food plus 1/4 new food, then 1/2 OF and 1/2 NF, etc each week. Hay doesn’t matter – you can feed whatever hay you want and she’ll switch over fine.

4. Personally I would open up the cage and see if she’s interested in coming out. My first bun was a baby from a breeder and really didn’t understand about coming out of his cage. I just left the door open and he figured it out. My second bun lived with another owner for a few years and was used to time out of her cage. The first day I brought her home I opened up the cage and out she went! Haha. I only gave her short amounts of time out and only when I could watch her, until I trusted her more and we built up to more time.

[Isabelle]

Some of this is probably repeating what Elrohwen said

1. Hardware stores like Lowes or the Home Depot should have plenty of options for you.

2. Dutchess does just fine with steps. I didn’t want her going up our big stairs right away, and we actually have a sunken family room with two stairs, so she got used to climbing and hanging out on those, then I introduced the larger staircase. It took her a few tries to get the hang of it, but she’s been fine ever since, I’ll put her on the bottom step and up she goes to the top. Lately she’s been zig zagging back and forth and staying on individual steps every so often to sniff, which indicates to me that she feels comfortable on them. As long as you supervise her until she gets the hang of stairs they shouldn’t be a problem.

3. Look up to Elrohwen’s post

4. I gave Dutchess a couple of hours when I first brought her home to sniff around her new cage, get used to the sights and smells of our house, and let her calm down for the car ride. If your bunny seems calm and pretty relaxed then I think it’s fine for you to open the cage and let her come out if she wants to. I only put Dutchess in a play pen for the first few weeks, then brought her to my room, and then the oversize family room. After six months she’s out 14-16 hours a day with me (with access to her cage, of course). I’ll leave her alone up to five minutes or so, she’s can be a bit of a mischief maker.

Also be wary of territorial issues with any of your animals. They’ve all lived with other animals before but it’s always something to keep in mind.

[cadburybunz]

Thank you all so much!!! That helps so much!!! I wasn’t able to get to the hardware store today, but that will definitely be done ASAP. I will be watching her very closely until I can get the things I need to cover that cord! I told my husband I felt like a new mom again bringing home a baby for the first time. of course I got the skype cam eye roll LOL (he’s in Korea)

Thanks again! We are super excited! Can’t wait for tomorrow!

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