Getting Prepared

[bitterepiphany]

Okay, so it’s my first post here and I’m already begging for forgiviness but if you could all please bear wtih me while I ask some of the most redundant questions that have ever been asked, I would appreciate it tremendously.  Also, forgive me for being long winded, I’m known for being verbose but I swear it all comes from a good place.

I am a first time bunny owner.  Or, rather, I hope to be a first time bunny owner.  I am a severe allergy sufferer and my relationship with a future rabbit is pending my continued exposure to the ones at the pet store.  (In english, I’ve been visiting pet store bunnies and gradually exposing myself to their fur in more…effective ways…tonight we’re going for the full monty.  bunny in the face, full on nasal and occular exposure.  if I don’t react to that, it’s going to be smooth sailing.)

With all of that having been said, before I fell in love with the concept of bunny at the pet store, I did a lot of reasearch to try and determine if this would be the pet for us.  (Trust me – we’ve weeded out a fair few in our pursuit of small animals that can live with me…  Hamsters…they die too young and the wheels are too noisy.  Hedgehogs… too stabby.  Sugar Gliders…too much ferret smell.  Ferrets…too much skunk smell.  Cats…too much sneezing allergic death.  Dogs…too much barking and teeth for my landlord.  Guinea Pigs…I had two as a kid and the last one died of a respiratory infection 15 days after we got him home…too traumatic.  Turtles…not enough cute and cuddly.  Snakes…too much “live food.”  Big Lizards…too tempurature sensative for my lifestyle.  Our heater is just not accurate to 5 degrees..10 sure, but not 5.)  The internet says that a Holland Lop is probably going to be the way to go for us.  Small in stature (which I love – I have a thing for tiny things) and floppy ears (which who doesn’t love those) were all plusses, but I also like that the resources I’ve checked seem to indicate that Holland Lops are some of the more gentle and tolerant of the bunny breeds.  I like that because, as much as I know that a bunny wont want to crawl up in my lap and attach my leg like my parents yorkie does, I would like it to at least like me   Further research indicates that, currently, there aren’t any Holland Lops in my local shelters, but a few days ago, there was one at the shelter about 45 minutes away that’s already been snatched up, so I’m hopeful that another one will appear for me to rescue.  If not, I’ve read that Miniature Lops are larger and slightly less sweet, as a breed predaliction, but a good second.  I also located a responsible breeder in our area of Holland Lops and she has several pet quality boys available currently.  Still, we’re holding out to adopt and, because of the time involved in cage assembly, I have a little time to wait and be patient for the right rabbit to appear at the right shelter at the right time. (I also know that just because the breed is sweet doesn’t mean the bunny will be sweet – I need to get to know the individual as well before taking it home.  I promise )

My next fundemental question would be the cage.  The short version is – is Polar Fleece safe for Bunnies? I know they use it in the slings sold at the pet store, but I wanted to be sure.  The cage that I’m planning on is a NIC cage and, really, I’m looking for a few basic things in it.
– I want it to be easy to move around so that we can vacuum without using our grown up language. 
– I want it to be inexpensive to construct because, lets be honest, I’m cheap.  I’ll splurge on things that are important but why pay more for something I could pay less for.
– I also have no particular desire for it to look cheap.  I need it to look like someone wanted THIS cage, not like they threw this cage together because it met their immediate needs.  What does that mean to me?  Minimal cardboard construction, maximum carefully done looks.
– Of course, it needs to be right for the rabbit – large enough space, safe enough floors.

The plan for the cage is as follows.  What would be, in effect, a wooden tray on casters (no pine, treated wood, or cedar) – about 1/2 inch larger than the wire cage on all sides, lined with a piece of sheet vinyl (they sell it by the yard on huge rolls at fabric stores) , with that being covered by a layer of polar fleece.  The vinyl would serve to protect the wood from the rabbit liquid elements and the fleece would serve to keep the rabbit from slipping around and chewing on the vinyl.  I also like both of these because I have machines for washing them   On top of that, one can place the (bottomless) wire cage which would have two “floors” – the second level wire floor being covered with vinyl and fleece also.

I will also need a litter box that fits in my cage doors, a hanging basket for the timothy hay, a food dish, a water dish, and a box in which the bunny can hide from me when he or she so chooses.

Moving beyond that, other than Timothy Hay, pellets (low protien high fiber), carefresh (for the litter box) we’re down to the nitty gritty of needing toys for a bunny to first come home.  Which, as I understand it, hard plastic toys for throwing and untreated wooden blocks for chewing on to wear down his or her teeth.

Right?

[Sarita]

Welcome and you have lots of great questions.

Since you mention you have severe allergies – you definitely want to make sure you are not allergic to timothy hay – in my experience this is more of a problem for allergy sufferers than the actual rabbit (not to say that a rabbit won’t cause allergic reactions of course).

I definitely would say don’t look at breed because my experience is that temperament has nothing at all to do with breed. I’ve known many Holland Lops to be little bulldogs (cute but bull headed) but that’s not to say some aren’t gentle and tolerant, that has just not been my own personal experience from the ones I’ve met (I don’t own a Holland Lop though) but I do think they are quite adorable to look at. I’m glad you are open to adopting – in my personal opinion, that is a great way to go because you are giving the rabbit a second chance. But really do leave your mind open to any and all breeds of rabbits – even those regular bunny rabbits without a specific breed or the mixes…many times a shelter or rescue won’t know the breed anyway or that has been my experience unless of course it’s very obvious (ie lop, rex).

As for the flooring for the cage – I don’t recommend wood because the rabbit may pee on this and well, that could end up being a problem (unless of course you put linoleum over the wood).

[Beka27]

welcome here! for a cage, i use xpens. i prefer them because they can be hauled off the rug in a matter of seconds for a thorough vacuuming. for flooring you could do either a rug or linoleum and they def don’t have the sloppy appearance that some homemade enclosures have. they are about 75 bucks, but once you build a condo with levels and platforms, you’re looking at spending much more than 75 bucks.

this is what my set-up was like before my buns were fully bonded.  i have a large rug on top of my regular carpeting just in case.  the rug can be vacuumed and i pick a lot of fur off of it regularly.

as far as breed, i’ll ditto Sarita that breed should be a secondary concern to temperament. i’d suggest you go to a rescue and meet several bunnies and keep an open mind. sometimes pics on petfinder are deceiving and the buns are much “cuter” in person too. lops are going to shed a good amount, i have heard that mini rexes due to their short fur are better for allergy sufferers, but you may also be allergic to hay… i have a mini rex and she sheds much less than my lop and she’s the softest thing ever.

[bitterepiphany]

Thanks Sarita! 

The plan is that the wood is structural.  It will be covered by a sheet of vinyl to protect it from bunny’s many fluids

 

EDIT: Thanks to you as well, Beka!  I should reply faster

[Sarita]

I agree too with Beka about the x-pens or puppy pens – way easier to clean and house your rabbits in – they are a little more than the neat ideas condos but they are well worth it and it doesn’t take any of your time to actually make them. I much prefer them to anything else.

[Bunnies4ever]

Welcome to Binky Bunny! Ditto what Sarita & Beka said. X-pens are the way to go. I have an x-pen attached to my bunnies cage and they love it. I can speak to having holland lops and yes they are little bulldogs! I have two and I love them dearly, but they are stubborn and bull-headed and they shed like crazy! I love the lionhead breed. They are small and pretty mellow. I would suggest checking out the shelters and rescuses. They have some of the cutest bunnies you’ve ever seen. One thing about x-pens. For rabbits that are climbers, they might be able to climb their way out. I have a foster bun that does that once in a while.

[kralspace]

oh wow, Beka, I love your setup. I wish I could do that. With my knees being so bad, I don’t dare get on the floor much so I have the 4 level condos. I enjoy visiting with the bunnies face to face and they do get a kick out of jumping the levels. I like to read in their room and if not out, they go to the second level so they can see me and hang out.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Welcome to Binkybunny

we can vacuum without using our grown up language

LMAO Too funny!!!

I think you’ve got good advice so far, and that’s great your being so proactive and researching ahead of time!

On the breed thing, I’ll ditto; Best to go to a shelter and meet the bunnies there and get to know their personalities.

(at our shelter we have an absolutely PSYCHO holland lop for example!! Never seen an energy level like that before!)

You should check out the ‘cool habitats’ section on this site, you’ll get lots of inspiration for building from that!

[KatnipCrzy]

Bunnies personalities can be quite variable from typical “breed standards”- though it is always important to consider breed standards for temperament and other needs (grooming, medical, etc).  I got a Mini Lop when she was just 12 weeks old (first bunny) and she is a good bunny- she went thru the hormonal territory, marking, aggression, etc before being spayed.  Cotton is just over a year old now.  I adopted Penny, a Holland Lop who is a spayed female about 1 1/2 years old- got her about a month ago.  Comparing the 2 (Mini Lop Cotton and Holland Lop Penny)- Cotton is mellower, and Penny is a “little firecracker”(I have even commented to my husband and described her as such).  She loves to dig and push the blankets if they are on my lap.  And she seems to be more “go,go,go” than Cotton.  She is always grabbing stuff and tossing it, looking for stuff to chin, etc.

If you adopt a young bunny it is much harder to tell what personality will be like- I got lucky with Cotton and I really do adore Penny too.

I agree with the comment about the hay- most people on here have remarked it is actually the hay they are allergic to as opposed to the rabbit itself.  There are different types of hay that can be less irritating to allergies- but it varies per person and you can expect your hay budget to increase if you are having to buy “specialty” hay (meaning- not typical pet store stock).  And there isn’t much of a way around the hay issue- cubes and pellets are made, but there is the issue of getting the bunny to eat enough of those forms of hay to keep the gut healthy and moving (plus those can be more expensive also).

Julie

[jerseygirl]

Ditto regarding the hay. Maybe purchase some and ‘live’ with it before you go looking for your bunny friend. If you find you have problems with it you can always donate it to the shelter. Don’t despair if you react to the hay, as there are other types you can trial also.

[Cassi&Charlie]

Aargh, hay is the worst thing about owning a bunny. I’ve just switched to oat hay & my alergies are a thousand times better now.

I have two lops, both a bit crossed with other things and both having polar opposite personaities. So I also ditto what everyone else has said about not being tied in with breed for personality.
My other bit of advice is – just because they’re sweet as pie at the shelter/pet store/ breeder, doesn’t mean they’re not going to be terrors when they realise they have a ‘forever’ home. Although babies are cuter, an adult has a fully developed personality and is less likely to change completely a few weeks after you bring it home.

My teenage shelter bun was a snuggle bun for about 3 days after getting her home (the time it took her to claim everything as hers) and now she has a strict ‘no touchies’ rule, which we break at our own peril!

[bitterepiphany]

Thank you all for your comments and posts!

I am, unfortunately, not impervious to falling in love with an animal.  My parents actually obtained their M-orkie that way.  (I didn’t want a dog – but my parents really did.  The neighbors didn’t want one of theirs as they claimed she was too high strung…so they cleaned her up, brought her over.  My mother so much as handed her to me, she curled up in the crook of my neck and that was it, I was hooked.  She turned out to be the sweetest puppy in the world when paired with another sweet, mellow puppy – Lucy is an 11 year old miniature poodle that we rescued from the local shelter.  Unfortunately, my land lord wont allow us to have dogs, so Tabby stayed with them and Lucy.)  In any case, my breed research was more get a rough idea of what I was in for – but I do get that I may walk in and find a bunny who is sweet as peaches and love it instead, no matter what it’s breed.

Also, I appreciate the tips on getting an older rabbit.  I’ve read that a lot of places but I wonder, what qualifies a rabbit as a “teenager”?  For example, our local shelters don’t have any rabbits under the age of two.

I have another question for those of you that do have allergies…. We have an underground parking area (where we park and walk by a few times a day…) in which I had planned to store the bulk of the hay. Due to my allergies, I intended to keep the not-immediately-in-bunny-use-stock there, just to keep it out of the house, keeping only the small amount that was in the bunny’s hay box around. Do you find that it’s the bulk bale you’re allergic to or the small quantity in the cage that is triggering things?

[Beka27]

i’m not allergic to hay, but i know some others here are. in some cases it’s breathing in the hay dust that settles in the hay. this can be avoided by purchasing quality hay and shaking it out before bringing inside (all while wearing a mask). many will wear gloves when handling the hay, and store it in the bunny area in holders where it’s only accessible to the bun. it’s important that they get grass hays, and there are a few to choose from… timothy is the bunny standard, but if you have issues with that you can also use oat, orchard, meadow. oat you need to be careful with tho, b/c it’s higher in fat and can lead to some bunnies becoming overweight if fed exclusively.

i think a problem with what you’re suggesting is that if you leave a little bit in the bunny cage, you’ll be refilling it 2-3 times a day. you might actually come into more contact that way then if you left a lot in there at once. but again i don’t have hay allergies, so i wonder if someone else has thoughts on this?

this a a great article from House Rabbit Society about living with rabbits and allergies… http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-12/allergies.html

and another about the medical aspect… http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-12/fosterer-allergies.html

[Sage Cat]

Hi bitterpiphany,

Lots of questions are good!

I adopted 2 “older” rabbits in February – my first buns! Kay is 4 (5lb Hotot mix) & Winston is 2 (4lb Dutch). They were both very shy and, as a result, had been in the shelter their whole lives. They are now very adventurous and very friendly.

One HUGE advantage of adopting “older” rabbits is that they are fixed! 

Mine are also completely litter-trained and incredibly well behaved – they only chew on their own toys!

I spent a lot of time at the shelter talking to them about what I hoped for in bunny personality – and they really helped “match” us..

As for the pen:

Polar Fleece is safe for buns! Plus, it is cheap at fabric stores. I have been meaning to switch to fleece for their shelves instead of towels, because they do sometimes dig at the towels and little strands come up – some one here had a bun choke on one of those “towel strands” – that does not happen with fleece!

I also have cotton rag rugs (Target $3) that are easy to shake out or wash on the bottom of my buns pen.

A wooden tray on casters – I keep meaning to do this, too. To make it easy to move – just in case.

By the way – I rent. My landlords are actually jealous I have bunny’s. And therefore, very cool with my set up. I have included a current photo.

I think a teenager is 3 to 9 months???

 

PS – you know Beka cleaner RIGHT before she took that photo! 

1112031011071.jpg

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

^^ Awwww such a cute picture!!

On the allergy question, I also don’t have allergies to hay, BUT from my understanding its the handling of the hay that causes the reaction. If you can convince someone else in the house to handle it, or maybe (as silly as you’ll look) wear gloves and a mask, I’m sure you’ll eliminate most if not all reaction to the hay

On adopting because they come fixed there are actually TWO bonuses to this; One you don’t have to pay for the spay/neuter, which is pretty expensive depending on where you live. TWO you don’t have to suffer through the day of the surgery worrying how your bun is doing and spending the next few days administering pain meds and watching like a hawk for poops and eating. It’s waaaay stressful on bunny parents to have their kids recoup from surgery

[Sarita]

You might also consider adopting a bonded pair as well! Rabbit owners will tell you that rabbits prefer to have a friend and many people adopt one rabbit and go back for another after they realize this. Also boding rabbits can be stressful so if you adopt a bonded pair you are better off and you are saving 2 lives.

[bitterepiphany]

 

So….  Let me tell you about my evening

The local shelter just got a surrender today…a white lop eared little thing with the satan red eyes, but i can forgive that.  She’s house trained, docile and friendly.  Or, so says the website.  The shelter closes at 5.  I leave work at 4:30.  I knew I could make it in for about 10 minutes, stop by, see the bunny, give her a hug and see if we liked eachother then, if we did – I would put in an application.  The website said that applications take 2-4 days to process before you can take your pet home, which would give me the weekend to put together all of the things I would need – the hay, the feed – THE CAGE….

Oh, how wrong and naieve I was.  We walked into the humane society at 10 to 5 and there she was in the lobby with her “stats” stuck to her cage.  So, when there was a staff member free, I asked them if I could hold her.  They handed her over and, while she wasn’t exactly falling all over herself to fall in love with me, she did allow us to hold and pet her without incident and she didn’t seem to mind the attention, so I asked for an application.

15 minutes later, the SO was loading a bunny, cage, dish, water bottle, and an inordinate amount of cedar bedding along with it into my car.  Woah.

So, this is MECO.  She’s a 2 year old LOP that was surrendered this morning to the local humane society.  She’s housebroken (though we did get one little poop on the carpet while we were cleaning her cage, but since she has claimed that spot as her favorite I’m pretty sure I know what that’s all about.) and sweet enough, she’s cute and curious and she’s being brought in for her spay sometime in the next month, after she setltes into her new house. 

As I mentioned, we kicked her out of her cage after carrots did nothing to ply her from it and scrubbed it out, removed the cedar bedding, replaced it with a piece of fleece and a litter box (filled with timothy hay – the pet store is closed and Wal-Mart doesn’t carry care fresh.)  For now, she’ll have to make due wtih her water bottle.  I’ll replace the bottle and the food dish in a few days with a matching set.,  We also picked up some hard plastic baby toys for her to play with and a few wooden chew sticks.  And, aside from the bit of soiled bedding I put in the bottom of the litter box under they hay, I got rid of it all together.  (it bothers my allergies too!)

So that’s that I guess.  No more getting ready for me

(And, yes, this weekend we intend to upgrade her cage.  For now, she’ll have to make due with the small one we got her in but in any case, she’s hiding under the kitchen table at the moment anyway )

 

[Hedi]

HI!
I am very allergic to hay. Using covered cat litterboxes will keep down on the hay dust in their cages but it doesnt work for me because my buns like to be nosey while doing their business.

The best thing to consider if you love the bun and want it no matter what but worried about the hay is to just buy cheap masks to use. I have a painters type makes with the filters but that is WAY too much for me. So I just use those cheap disposible makes to cover my nose and mouth. I only use it though when I clean out litterboxes. With 4 buns and 3 community litter boxes this can take a little time. I wear the mask to clean and then I take it off when I am done and no breathing problems (I have asthma attacks from hay).

Usual play time with buns, feeding time and even just hanging out with them in their rooms never requires me to wear a mask.

And about the NIC cube Idea. I have 3 of these set up just like Beka’s X-pens. Just as easy to move and clean around. Just make sure to use good, sturdy zipties to connect the cubes and don’t use those big plastic connectors that come with it-they just make things uneven. And it is so nice to move and reconfigure them as I wish. All my cages have shelves as well for the buns to lounge up off the floor. And I move those around periodically as well (if you want photos let me know).

[Hedi]

OH, and routinely check your zip ties. My buns like to use their spare time to pick at a few to make potential escape. They act like prisoners…work on exscape routes when no one is watching. lol

[Beka27]

she is perfect! absolutely adorable. it always ends up that you get the bun that is meant for you. i think some of the rescues will make the process seem more lengthy and involved than it really is in order to discourage “impulse shoppers”. that’s probably why the 2-4 days thing ended up not happening. will they have her examined by a vet also or were they able to give her a health check-up sometime during the day when she got dropped off? good job getting rid of the cedar, that’s a big litterbox no-no for buns. i like Hedi’s idea of buying inexpensive masks… you should be able to get a big box at a home improvement store (maybe even wal-mart) for pretty cheap.

welcome home Meco!

[Sarita]

Congratulations! She’s beautiful. I love the pink eyed rabbits too – the pink eyes to me are so pretty.

[bitterepiphany]

I can’t even begin to tell you how relieved I was to wake up this morning, wander down stairs and discover that I hadn’t accidentally un-litter trained the bunny in the span of 12 hours. I figured that I would for sure be able to take a docile, sweet, house broken bunny and turn her into a crazy rabbit with bad habits in twenty minutes flat but when I woke up this morning, aside from the few droppings she’d left around the box, there were no surprises in her cage. Well, except the one where nothing in her cage is where I put it last night, but i figured that would probably happen

She seems like a sweetheart and she doesn’t run from us when we open the door to her cage and pet her. I know, in the long run, you aren’t supposed to reach into their cages, but I do want her to get used to our smells. It seems like the home she came from loved her, but they were inattentive. The vet at the humane society said she trimmed a half an inch from her nails that morning, but another half inch would still have to come off. She didn’t want to take too much and make her feet hurt in addition to the rest of her jostled day. And as for the vet visit, the humane society gives you a free vet visit with the new pet, so we’ll schedule the appointment on Monday and take her in for a checkup and to get her nails trimmed again. The vet also said that she was kept in a cage with a wire bottom and has a combination of little lumps on her feet as well as urine burns, but she said that will clean up some too. So, we’re going to have to get a little bunny nail clipper and a bunny brush (because there is no way this rabbit has ever been brushed ever…and get her cleaned up gradually over the next few weeks.

They are also going to spay her sometime in the next month, but they wanted her to acclimate to her new home before they did that so that she wouldn’t be quite so traumatized.

I have another question, however… Most of my reading has indicated that feeding time should be a routine and, for us, we can probably routinely feed the rabbit between 5:30 and 6 every day without missing it. But – how much should I feed her? The previous owners had her on a bowl and graze method and I suspect she might be a bit over weight (the vet visit will tell us for sure) However, in the time between now and when I visit the vet, how much should she be fed of pellets every day? (I know hay is unlimited and treats should be restricted…)

[Sarita]

Really pellets should be limited too. I would slowly introduce her to greens – one at a time. Maybe start out with Romaine or parsley. Eventually you will want to give her a variety of greens.

But since she may never have had greens I would continue with her current feeding routine and slowly transition her on more greens (maybe do the greens in the morning) and the limited pellets at night.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

WOW!! Congrats!! She’s gorgeous!!

I’d wait to do her nails again…When they are left to grow super long (As a couple of rabbits who’ve come to our shelter were) the ‘quick’ grows longer then it should be. Now that they’ve been trimmed a bit, the quick will start to slowly recede. I’d wait two or more weeks, and then just take a little off at a time. Trimming the quick isn’t the end of the world but it bleeds alot and it hurts so you want to avoid it.

[bitterepiphany]

Is that why they advise you to wait??

I had small dogs as a kid, so we trimmed their nails and when Lucy – one of the rescues – was “new” we had to trim her once a week just a tiny tiny bit, but I never knew why.

Cool.

[Beka27]

wow! what a story! that’s why i love rescuing buns, you really are giving them a second chance at a wonderful life. soon her former owners will be a distant memory and all she’ll know is love and attention! i’ll bet that in a month or two once her nails are good, and the urine is out of her fur, she’ll look like a totally different rabbit.

what else do you know about her diet before, did she ever have hay or only pellets?

[Sage Cat]

How cute she is!
I would not worry about the occasional stray poop – I find them in really strange places.
Heck, at the shelter here it takes about 2 weeks to adopt bunny’s. The people at the Humane Society may have realized that you had done your home work.
So glad you rescued her!

[KatnipCrzy]

Aww, that is AWESOME that you adopted a shelter bunny!  Sounds like it was meant to be!  Also keep in mind that when they spay her they will trim her nails then too- and at that time they will be able to get them as short as possible since she will be sleeping (be sure to remind them in case they forget- but this is commonly done during spay/neuter as is is so, so easy to do then).  I would ask the vet about trimming the nails- you might not get off much more since they just trimmed off a lot of overgrown nail- and her feet might hurt from the lumps and ouchies from urine burn and wire grating.  If it needs to be done- you might consider having the vet do it at her appt and then spay so YOU are not the bad guy and then maybe when her feet are more normal then you can continue regular care of her nails.  I normally would not recommend for a new owner NOT to trim nails if they are OK with doing it- but I would ask the vet what she recommends and bunnies are not like dogs, dogs don’t seem to hold grudges, but bunnies are so smart doing somthing that might be painful (handling sore feet) just might earn you the stink eye and bunny butt for awhile (P.S. If you don’t know what “stink eye” and “bunny butt” are- you soon will!!! Welcome to being owned by a bunny!)

 

[jerseygirl]

Congrats! Meco is a cutie! It’s funny how it happens, you just end up with a bunny. So how have you gone with the allergies? You didn’t say so I’m hoping that means it a non issue. Or is it you’re so overwhelmed by the cuteness, you haven’t noticed yet? – te he!

[bitterepiphany]

To be honest, it’s too early to tell on the allergies.

We’ve learned that I can’t handle the hay. Which is fine, Mike does. We’ve built a cage (and by built, I mean not only a NIC cage but also a wooden base complete with casters and kick plates. We’ve made two custom quilts to fit inside the cage and the bunny has finally settled in. (I say “finally” like it’s been more than two days ) Last night was when she really settled in. We wouldn’t let her out of her cage until we finished making her new one (too many tie wraps laying around the floor and too much fast movement. So when we did let her out she went absolutely bonkers running around the house jumping up and down like a crazy rabbit. It was cute because we conned her into hopping into her cage while we ran to the gas station at around midnight and, when we came back, we’d discovered a design flaw in the cage. She pushed her body up against the front door until she pushed the cage forward a good six inches. Fortunately, it was too close to the ground for her to get out. Still, we’re working on cutting down her double doors to a single door which will stop that from happening. In the mean time, we just stood a char in front of the cage so she can’t push it open anymore.

So, aside from teaching her to drink from her water bottle rather than a bowl (darn rabbit!) and getting her accustomed to greens (she wont eat anything green other than her hay…it’s annoying i think she was only given carrots before) we’re quite settled in. So much so that she runs right up to us looking for attention and affection.

 

 

 

[Author]

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