Going away for 3 full days and 2 half days..GAH!

[Alicia Conklin]

Ok, so last night we heard that my father in law is getting married.  He’s 65 years old and lives in a nursing home with MS.  He lives back in NJ which is where we are originally from and is 15 hours away!  So, we’re going to head up there for the wedding of course..which is NEXT MONTH.  

So now I am freaking out! What do I do about Tucker??  My mom was the person who we always said would bunny sit but now she is going with us.   I’m afraid if I ask my dad he’ll forget to come feed him.  So, basically what I need to figure out is how much care he will NEED.  Now..I’m pretty sure that I know absolutely noone who is going to care for him the way that I would, but I need someone who could come and feed him.

What I’m worried about is finding someone who would come over twice a day.  We don’t live that close to anyone really.  So, what would happen if he was given both his greens and his pellets in the morning.  Would he be ok throughout the day and night until the next morning?  I am pretty sure that I can get my mother in law to come over once a day while we’re gone, it’s just that she’s 30 minutes away, she’s not going to want to come over twice a day. 

We’d be leaving Friday afternoon, so I could probably feed him before I left, then we’ll be gone Sat, Sun and Mon and come home Tuesday so I could feed him Tuesday since we’d be home around noon.  But what would happen Sat, Sun and Mon if he was just fed once a day? 

Ideally, if I can get up the funds with this added expense of the trip too..I’d like to get him neutered this month and then next month see if he could go and be “vacation bonded” at the one shelter, but I don’t know if a month’s time would be enough healing..

Gah!  This is so unexpected and soon and I really wasn’t planning any kind of trip like this within the next YEAR let alone next month!

[Veronica Vigilant]

When I went on vacation for 5 days shortly after I moved to a new state and didn’t know anyone, what I did was google “pet sitters” and the name of my town then I picked one pretty randomly from the 3 major options that came up. I had her come in 2x a day- once in the morning for a quick 10 min visit to feed greens and once in the evening for 20 min to feed pellets, clean, give head pets, etc… not ideal… but it was only $25 a day which was reasonable for me to have peace of mind that someone reliable was checking on them twice a day… she was bonded and insured through pet sitters america (??) or whatever the national organization is… can’t quite remember now… so that is in option if you can’t find anyone you know to take care of them… also, when I knew I was going to be gone for over 2 weeks even though it was a 23 hr drive, I took both my buns with me since I decided overall it would be less stressful for me and them if they came too….

I’ve left buns before for vacation and just had them checked on once a day… but I’m not sure how good that actually is… maybe someone else will have a better idea….

Also- if you can get him neutered, then 1 month should be enough time for him to be healed and his hormones to be died done enough to bond to a female. Everything I have seen online, including here on BB is that males can get a female pregnant for up to 1 month after a neuter, so I think at 1 month that would be fine to bond him. Males bounce back a lot quicker from a neuter (less invasive) than females from a spay so recovery isn’t as big an issue as hormones…

Hopefully all of my rambling helped you at least a little

[Scarlet_Rose]

Have you tried your veterinarian? Often times they will board an animal, along with the notion of pet sitters, check out your local HRS/Rabbit Rescue and see if there is a member nearby that will bunny sit (i.e. you take your rabbit to their house for them to watch).

I am leaving next week for two full weeks and I have a WONDERFUL bunny-sitter I am driving 1 1/2 hours to take my babies to. She does such a great job, the drive is worth it.

 

Here are two shelters in NC (one bunny-specific):

All Creatures Rescue and Sanctuary of North Carolina

Cape Fear House Rabbit Society of North Carolina

[RabbitPam]

I was thinking of your vet also. Mine boards so it’s a good choice.

But what about scheduling the neuter for that weekend, and bring him in Friday? He could board there during and right after, they can watch to make sure he recovers well, and it will be done and he’ll be healing by the time you get back.

[JK]

Oh been there done that!  I had a coronary over leaving Edson for 10 days! I finally contacted the local House Rabbit Society  to see if they had a list of sitters.  They had ONE!  She was INCREDIBLE!  I do think you need someone to come in twice a day if you go that route.  There’s so much to do with a rabbit.  I actually took Edson to this woman’s house which was awesome.  I thought Edson would die without me…I learned I was totally replaceable! Do you have a rabbit rescue nearby?  They often board as does the House Rabbit Society.  I feel your pain.  Good luck!

[Author]

Messages