Brand New Bunny Mama

[Jordain]

Hi I’m Jordain, I live in SF with my handsome rabbit Murray. He is 7 months old and I just got him (from a previous owner who could no longer take care of him) this weekend. He is a French lop buck and is 10 lbs. He is a super good boy who hates being caged. He is litter box trained and has free roam of my bunny proofed bedroom during the day and when i sleep at night. I’m keeping him in my room for now so that he would get used to me, in a week or so I plan on moving him into the living room. My house has hardwood floors so I haven’t been able to see him binky yet but hopefully that will come in time. He eats so much (and so well) constantly noming on hay and waiting for his big bowl of greens at night. I also catch him drinking out of his water dish a lot. 

Murray is not fixed yet because he’s having some issues with his eye. He was sent away from the neuter clinic because they were unsure of his health. The vet who saw him on Friday said he has no viral or bacterial infections. His left eye has a bluish sheen and the vet said it may be environmental but it may also be Glaucoma which has definitely been a huge concern; so far his ocular pressure is normal though. For now he is taking Metacam 1.5mg for any swelling. 

He is the kindest bun I’ve ever met! He loves getting his fur petted and picked at and really enjoys it when you sit on the floor with him. He is also very playful especially later in the evening. If I leave the house during the evening he’ll display sadness and signs of being upset when I get home.

It has definitely been a hectic week getting used to bunny antics and interpreting the actions of this big guy! (At first I thought his sudden  flops to his side meant he was upset with me!) He sleeps and grooms himself all day. I’ve been trying really hard to keep him entertained (so far i’d say that i’ve been successful) but unfortunately its hard to find hidey houses and other toys for his size (definitely need to check out some diys)! He loves his large snakshak log and digging at the walls. Any tips for providing giant rabbits exercise would be great! I’d love to take him outside in my backyard but for now i’m weary since i don’t believe in leashing and harnessing him (nor do i think he’d tolerate it) and dog (x) pens are too small for this guy!

Any advice and tips from fellow giant bunny owners would be super helpful! I’ve been reading the forum for a while so I have already learned a lot! 

[LongEaredLions]

Big welcome to you and your big, beautiful boy! Congrats on your new family member!
The BB store has great toys and hides. And since they are sized specifically for bunnies, I think they should be big enough for Murray. Here is a DIY toy thread I have created too if you want to check that out: https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/129025/Default.aspx
As far as taking him outside, could you join a few x-pens?

[lws84]

Welcome to BB! He looks lovely – good on you for taking him in and bringing him into your home. You could look into getting a dog run (chain link with a gate) and bringing a chair and/or book with you to sit with him and let him run around in it maybe? Those can get very pricey but maybe looking online for a cheap or lightly used one? We (my boyfriend and I) had an old dog run in our yard so I would carry my rabbit to the run and let him enjoy digging and eating grass and doing whatever (getting petted, brushed, etc) while I would sit on the ground or in my chair with him so he would have supervised company, but he still got to feel like a “wild” rabbit and run around. I put a section of a large PVC pipe in the pen and some other piping and he would run through them or lounge. When he was still small I put chicken wire all around the bottom two feet so he couldn’t escape through the gaps (he figured that trick out in one try, he was a rascal), but because Murray is so big you wouldn’t have to worry about that.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Welcome to you and your big, beautiful boy!

My buns really get a lot of enjoyment out of cardboard boxes. I make hidey houses by flipping a box upside down and cutting a door and window in it. They love to do “bunstruction” and they even sleep in their boxes. I put blankets on the bottom.

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