Hello! =)

[Teddy'sMum]

“Waves” Hey peps, I’m Marrisa. And this is Teddy (Ted or as my friend calls T-dog). I wasn’t exactly planing on a bunny, but as we all know the best things in life are unplaned for. Teddy was a flea-market bunny, he was the last one of the litter & I just could not leave him. Love at first site. This was on Sunday, & well now he is alllll mine. He is a four month old boy (that’s what the lady told me), & a possible mini-rex? I hope ya’ll can help me figure out the breed (not that it matters).  He seems to be settling in well.  Anyway I have a few questions….

 1. What’s the best housing for them? He came with a cage, but from what I’ve read up on, that’s not the best. What could you suggest? What seems to work for your buns?

2. What age does T need his shots & all that? Also could you suggest any good vets? I live a couple of hours outside of houston.

3. any suggestions for toys on a budget? He LOVES cardboard, is that okay for him to play with?

4. In about a year, I’m moving out. Does moving stress buns out a lot? I HATE the thought of leaving him behind.

5. What all can they eat? so far he has had his hay, pellets, & lettuce. I’m going grocery shopping tomorrow & I want to get him a variety of veggies & fruits.

 

 

 

[Teddy'sMum]

 

 

 

[Teddy'sMum]

Ugh, I have no idea how to work this picture thing. I have 5 more I want to post, but I have no idea how to do it.

ETA= Never mind, I figured it out. =)

[Teddy'sMum]

 

 

 

 

 

[LoveChaCha]

hi there

to answer your questions: your bunny does not look like a rex at all he looks kind of mixed, but I could be wrong! He is very cute tho!

The best answer to a cage.. it depends on the owner. A pet store cage is too small for a bunny. if you click the ‘galleries’ on top of the forum, you will see ideas! making a cage is very easy and very affordable it is pet and human friendly and fun. i felt a sense of accomplishment making a condo for my bunny and she was happy.

Rabbits don’t require shots. Did the person you got him from get him neutered? he is about the age where males should be fixed, or a lot of teenage behavior could be around xD… his litter habits will become better. I noticed that you covered his cage with hay. I would just advise to have hay in one place… rabbits don’t need bedding, only in their litter boxes

Here is a link to good rabbit vets. Just click on Texas: http://www.rabbit.org/vets/vets.html

Cardboard is GREAT! As long as you get rid of the glue and tape from the box, it should be fine. My rabbit enjoys cardboard, ripping it to shreds! Also newspaper (no glossy ads), and phonebooks (without the covers), empty toilet paper rolls, empty tissue boxes

Moving is stressful for any person or animal. It is a new environment. I had to move from a house to an apartment this past year and my rabbit was angry at first, but she settled in nicely. Like humans, they will adjust.

As for food, since he is young, he should get unlimited alfalfa pellets. as soon as your vet tells you to switch to timothy based, you should, but do it slowly. Rabbits should only be fed a limited amount of pellets once they reach adult age, or else they could turn into a chubby bumby. You should be careful with fruit, as it can also make a bunny chubby. The fruits that rabbits tend to like are: strawberries, pineapple, apple, papaya, blueberries. Just a teeny bit is good enough for them. As for vegetables, i would slowly introduce one veggie a week, as some rabbits have sensitive tummies. I would try romaine first, and add something new like baby carrots the next. No iceberg lettuce

[Teddy'sMum]

Lots of great info, thanks ChaCha.

  Those are very nice cages! I’m going to buy some of thos NIC cubes tomorrow & make one. Do you know of any guide that could be helpful? As for the hay, that’s how the cage came. I actually did fix it up ( I just took those pictures before I did), now the hay is in a big bowl, & his pellets & lettuce is in another one right next to the hay. Then his watter bottle is in the corner next to the bowls. Then on the other side is a small cat bed (he loves that thing!), & next to the bed is the litter box. It’s a bigger cage than one would think, it just does not show very well in the pics.

  As for the shots, wow I had no idea! You learn new things every day lol. Ah yes, I will check into getting him neutered, one teenager is enough in this house (well okay I’m 18 but still haha). No, he was a flea-market bunny. He was the only one “left-over” so to speak from Easter. Nice right? Honestly, he was not in the best of places, which is why I want to get him checked out ASAP. He seems VERY healthy, & the lady who lives on my street who also has house-bunnies says he looks great, but one could never know.

  

[LoveChaCha]

Aw Poor guy. I’m glad you are giving him a good home. To make an NIC (neat idea cube home) for rabbit, you will need grids and zip/cable ties and scissors. Here is more info on what you should look for: http://www.guineapigcages.com/cubes.htm If you plan to make an NIC grid house, I would look for the ones with the smallest holes.. you wouldn’t want any bunny head stuck between the hole.

Also, large dog exercise pens are great too You could use a blanket as flooring, or linoleum… I’m sure there are others that could help out more with the flooring types

A rabbit savvy vet is very handy when it comes to rabbits, as they are completely different from dogs and cats. So I hope the rabbit link helped

It is not uncommon to pay $100-$200 for a neuter, so don’t be surprised o_O! Neutering a boy is much cheaper than spaying a female.

[Monkeybun]

I love exercise pens. 2 of my buns don’t have a cage or condo now, just the pens. The other 2, my bonded pair, have a condo +pen.

I have that exact cage I think, it’s in storage in case of emergencies. Its way too small. Bunnies grow fast, and they need a TON of space. Need to stretch those legs!

I would suggest getting a full size rectangular cat litter box, and pile hay in one end of it. Bunnies like to go and eat at the same time, so that would be helpful in training.

Get him checked out at a vet, make sure he doesn’t have mites or coccidia or anything. Get a good workup done, for a baseline health evaluation. If he is healthy you will ahve a record of his levels of stuff

Neutering can vary in prices, mine charges $130 for neutering, plus extra for extra stuff like pain meds. But I have seen it go up to $400, so do some checking to see what a good price is in your area.

For toys, it varies depending on what your bun likes to do. My little guy is a bunstruction worker, he ADORES tearing cardboard to shreds. And he likes tossing stuff around. So toilet paper tubes and cardboard boxes are great for him

[Huckleberry]

Posted By Teddy’sMum on 05/30/2011 09:50 PM

You learn new things every day lol. 

LOL you have no idea. A bunny is so unique, its not much like having a cat or dog… the independence of a cat crossed with the goofy loyalty of a dog, perhaps… but as for their needs and the way their bodies work (especially their little tummies) is totally different. 

Welcome!!! He is so cute, I can see why you fell in love with him!!! 

Looks like Chacha gave you lots of advice and covered all the bases pretty well! 

Have you had rabbits before? Are you familiar with their behavior? Check out youtube for “binkies” and “flops” , these are actions of happiness and they will make you laugh harder than you ever have! 

When your bun starts to reach puberty, he may get more aggressive. He will turn into a little demon, to tell you the truth… but if you get him fixed he will go back to being a sweet baby again.

As for veggies, romaine is a great starter! For the next couple of tries, you may try collard greens, cilantro, or parsley. Any veggie with a high amount of carotene (carrots, tomatoes, strawberries) fed in excess can cause urine to turn red (this was a personal experience that scared the heck out of me, as Im sure is understandable) so just keep that in mind and be sparing about those. I havent heard of any others that have dealt with this but I was…. uneducated… about my bun the first few months and gave her WAY too many carrots and strawberries. Many buns get gas after eating broccoli. 

http://www.sandiegorabbits.org/diet/graphics/Rabbit_Food_Pyramid_July08.pdf

http://www.adoptarabbit.org/articles/toxic.html 

As for toys, my bun loves plastic cat balls with dingle bells inside. She bumps them around and loves the noise.

Ask anything, no matter lame it may seem. We have heard it all and we were pretty much all there at one point. We all have made mistakes, felt like the worst bun parent’s on the planet, banged our heads on the wall and then fixed the problem. 

Good luck!!! and Welcome!!!

[Teddy'sMum]

Thanks guys! =) I ended up buying a pen (I’ll post pictures latter), I just need to set it up. I also bought some babygates, so we can keep Teddy out of my moms room/office, & the laundry-room. What kind of flooring do ya’ll use? I bought some rubber mates, But I’m not sure how I feel about them. do they work well for you? I called our local vet & they do take rabbits, I’m taking him in tomorrow.

  

[mia]

I use a shower curtain in my x-pen; my flooring is carpet. If you have a hard surface, you will need something thicker. In my condo, I have bath mats. If you are near an ikea, that’s where I bought most of my bun’s goods for cheap.

Not sure how high your pen and gates are, but my bun can jump over my x-pen so, just keep that in mind.

[Beka27]

Welcome! You’ve gotten great advice so far!

What height pen did you end up getting? You want it to be at least 36 inches high.

[Monkeybun]

Well, my flooring is odd. I do have carpet, but Monkey has accidents while sleeping, so part of her and Smudge’s floor has a blanket on it. Squirrel has a blanket too, as he is a baby and not fully trained. The blankets are easy, just pick it up when it needs washing and toss it in the washing machine. Replace as needed. Moose is on carpet, but one section of his pen he decided to rip up some of the carpet, so we covered it in cardboard and a little throw rug. Only in that spot, he leaves the rest alone, little weirdo.

So yeah. Carpet, blankets, and cardboard. Thats what I have as flooring in my apartment lol.

[jerseygirl]

Welcome Marrisa and Teddy.

He’s sweet! He could well be a rex mix. Does he have a little white nose? In one of the pictures it looks like he might.

[Teddy'sMum]

it’s 40 inches, I got the tallest one I could find. As for the flooring, the mats seems to be working really well. He doesn’t like to chew on the carpet(fingers crossed he stays that way), but he does enjoy chewing on books. I learned real quick to put them up high! Thanks JerseyGirl, yes half his nose is white. I’ll try to get a better picture to show ya’ll.

[brittbritt]

I’m so glad your bunny is in a good home now. I can’t wait to see more pictures of that beautiful bun.

[Author]

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