Craigslist heartbreaker

[flopsydobinkies]

So I found this absolutely adorable white lionhead bun on CL last week, and my heart just went out to the little guy. I’ve been concerned that Flopsy is lonely, because I can’t spend nearly as much time with her as I wish I could and she spends most of the day lurking under the table. What I’d like your advice on, guys, is whether it would be a terrible idea to contact the person trying to get rid of him and try to set up a bunny date to see if this little one and my princess would get along. If they do, I think I could talk my husband into bringing him home. He’s gotten to the point where he hates rabbits, but I think he feels sorry for me when he catches me staring at this bunny’s CL ad. If I can get him to let me adopt this little man, how does one go about bonding? How long does it take? Is it hard? What do I do if I can’t get them to bond?

Helpz meh, BinkyBunny Brigade! O.O

[LBJ10]

You can always ask, but chances are the bun will be gone before you can set up a date. If the person is desperate to get rid of him, he might go to the first person who calls.

As for bonding, the other bunny would need to be fixed first before you could try doing any real bonding. Whether or not it is hard depends on the buns involved. Sometimes it’s easy, sometimes not. Sometimes it’s quick, sometimes it’s not. Leopold and Wooly were bonded within a week. But they had a very, very easy bond. They pretty much loved each other at first sight. Well, that is after Leopold got all the humping out of his system. That took a few days.

[LittlePuffyTail]

He’s gotten to the point where he hates rabbits

Why does he hate rabbits?

[Sarita]

Well, I would be concerned if your husband hates rabbits…bringing another one in doesn’t seem like a good idea.

I would also recommend you stay away from Craigslist :~)

[Beka27]

I would stick with one rabbit if your husband is having issues adjusting to having a bunny in the house. One bunny IS more manageable than two. There is no guarantee that they would bond, and would he be open to having a second complete bunny set-up? Bonding can also cause a loss of litter habits, so if this is something he’d be mad about, I would not recommend proceeding.

[Elrohwen]

I agree with the others about not bringing another bunny into your home if your husband really doesn’t like them. I think it’s so important for everyone in the house to be in agreement about pets, and to really want them, or else they can cause so many issues.

The new bunny isn’t fixed, so it would be a long time before you could start bonding and what if it didn’t go well? Your husband doesn’t like bunnies as it is and he’d probably be very upset about having two separate cages and playtimes.

That’s not to say you can’t ever get another one, I would just wait until it’s a better time and you’re both in agreement about it. There will always be more wonderful bunnies out there to choose from.

[Stickerbunny]

Agree with everyone else, if hubby isn’t on board, don’t go for it. Bonding two rabbits can lead to horrible litter management problems, my two didn’t use their boxes again after I bonded them and while my boyfriend found it gross, he loves them both so he put up with it. lol Also, since this bun comes from questionable background, what if it has any medical issues? I doubt your hubby if he doesn’t like buns would be happy with heavy vet bills for a rabbit.

Craigs list is hard cause we always want to save all the little animals there, but we have to examine our home and situation and the needs of everyone (and everybun) in the house we live in first.

[Beka27]

What is your husband’s concerns with rabbits in general, or your rabbit in particular? Maybe if we knew some background, we could help address those issues first. If you are experiencing specific problems with Flopsy, you cannot expect a 2nd rabbit to fix those problems.

[flopsydobinkies]

The reason he hates rabbits is that he feels cheated by the bunny community as a whole. He did do lots of research before we decided to get a bunny, and all the books he read led him to expect rabbits to be snuggly, affectionate lovebunnies who like to run around the house and play. Flopsy didn’t turn out to be like that. She sits in her house or under the table ALL THE TIME and when she does come out, she usually ends up chewing on something (I finally got hold of a phonebook for her and she has two willow tunnels and a cardboard box). She recently took a shine to his pristine collection of boxed anime series. I told him to move them to a higher shelf or build a fence around them, but he didn’t so they got chewed again. Then when he got mad at her for doing what bunnies do, he started yelling at her, even after I told him she’s not a dog and she doesn’t understand scolding. A rabbit was supposed to be his pet, but Flopsy has become mine instead. I really wish they could be friends, but he resents her for not being what he’d come to expect.

And I know I need to stay away from CL. Thanks for talking me out of a potentially disastrous situation, y’all. <3

[Sarita]

Hmmm…not sure what bunny community he was reading :~) I understand why he would be disappointed if that he was he expected. I do think it’s better to be honest to potential owners about what rabbits are really like, because heck, they sure look like they should be cuddly…

[Stickerbunny]

Not sure what he was reading either – it’s a shame whoever who spoke to gave him bad expectations of a rabbit. I remember my boyfriend asked me what a rabbit was like when we were talking about getting one and I was like “well, they don’t like being picked up, but they’ll stand up and beg for treats and you can litter train them, though they are going to have accidents…” he accused me of making them look bad after we got Powder lol I wish more people were honest with potential owners about all the faults an animal has. Maybe as time goes on he’ll get over the disappointment and fall for the cute face, a lot of guys can’t resist them.

[LittlePuffyTail]

they sure look like they should be cuddly…

Yeah, bunnies are just big teases.

[Joyfull_music]

Sorry if this is a little off topic, but I gotta say it…

I am sooo sick of hearing this “my husband/boyfriend/S.O. hates my” things. So the rabbit did not turn out how he “expected”. He considers THAT grounds to hate an entire species and community? OMG seriously, what is he? 5? And what is he going to do when you guys have a kid (if you do have one) and that kid trashes his anime, breaks his video games, and flushes his favorite whatever down the toilet? What if his son wants to be a ballerina? How is he going to react to that? I say how a man acts in these situations is a HUGE judge of his character, and how you can expect him to act during the duration of your ENTIRE marriage. I have been with my husband for seven years, and married for nearly four of those years. And you better believe I do NOT tolerate him acting stupid or petty over this crap for an instant. Nor does he tolerate when I get out of line over stuff. We keep each other in check and balance each other out. Guess what? I don’t care for cats. But my husband has 5 of them and I just helped him rescue an injured stray which we are probably going to keep. But I would also be the first to rush into this burning house to save them. The reasons he should say “no” to another animal are reasons like finances, time, and space. Not because he does not “like” them.

I think some of you girls really need to take control of your lives and try putting your foot down instead of ranting about it to a bunch of internet strangers. Marriage is about support, balance, and compromise. If this person you are with is being so intolerable, then tell him to man up or leave.

[Beka27]

What has he done to try to get her out of her shell? Have you considered clicker training or some other kind of bonding exercises?

[Rei]

Posted By Joyfull_music on 03/04/2012 08:33 PM

I think some of you girls really need to take control of your lives and try putting your foot down instead of ranting about it to a bunch of internet strangers. Marriage is about support, balance, and compromise. If this person you are with is being so intolerable, then tell him to man up or leave.

 

I don’t think telling him to “man up or leave” is going to make ANYTHING better. I think you need to talk to him and make him understand that your bunny is like your child, and that even if he doesn’t care to spend time with him/her, he at least needs to be supportive of your wants. He may just need time to warm up to your bunny, thats all. They can get frustrating when they chew something you love…Molly chewed a piece of artwork I was working on, and I obviously was not happy about it :/ But have patience with him and just try and educate him without forcing it on him and I’m sure he will come around after a while. Guys can be stubborn, but then again, women are too, sometimes worse! (I can say this, cuz I’m a woman) lmao good luck
 

[RabbitPam]

Aside to Joyful: your comment is quite sound, but it is very vehement. Maybe tone it down a bit? A clue is when you find yourself using all Caps – you’ve wandered into the rant zone yourself. Whether her hubby is going to be that extreme in all things remains to be seen, and probably not by us any time soon.

In the meantime, I believe in respecting the wishes of the members of the household, and if someone does not want another bunny because of disappointment in life with one, it isn’t going to be better adding another into the mix. I’m sure that despite expectations, Flopsy’s own behavior and personality is really what will impact the dynamic with your husband, and maybe some bonding work might be helpful between them instead. Having done what bunnies do and chewed the bottom shelf belongings after he was warned, he’s probably a bit mad at himself for not fixing it as much as he is at the bunny. (There’s an unspoken I told you so in there he’s well aware of.) He’ll get over it. I have seen much more apathetic husbands reported to be a bunny’s best buddy a year later, so there’s hope for these two.

You made a good decision to not get the one you saw and ignore Craigslist.

[Stickerbunny]

I think what can be tolerated as far as animals goes depends on the person. To me, my partner not liking my animals or yelling at them would be a deal breaker – occasionally the bird bites my boyfriend and he yells “OW” or something at the bird and spooks him, but that is because it hurt. But, to others the attachment to pets isn’t as important a trait in a mate. I’m a crazy animal lover, my boyfriend knows me well enough to know he has to support my pets no matter how frustrating they may get – he told me if the bird was human I would leave for him. haha Doesn’t mean anything is wrong in a marriage if one respects their mates feelings as far as animals goes, if both are happy with the arrangement, as long as there is no actual abuse.

I think the best way to get a guy to like a rabbit is to give them craisins and sit them on the floor. It’s hard to not like something that is crawling all over you.

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