Hey, I’m new!

[Peter's Mummy :)]

Hey all, I’m new on here. And I’m also a new bunny mum.  
Well, I just got my little guy, Peter a week ago as of today and I absolutely adore him! I got him for free off of craigslist. Along with a 2 story cage, food, dishes, etc. I was very happy. My mom kept telling me no, I couldn’t get a bunny, but she said the same thing about my hamster and my cat(both have passed ) but she ended up falling in love with them just as much as I had. And now, she loves Peter! He is a part of our family already. The lady I got him from told me that he is 2, going on 3 years old. I’m trying to find out if she knows when his birthday is so I can make him a little bunny-carrot-veggie cake

Oh yeah, and I have a question…Why does he randomly start scratching at my couch out of nowhere? He sits on top of my couch just like a cat would. He sits on the opposite of my where my cat used to sit. He basically is like a little kitty. 

Well, here are some pictures of my little bugger.
Oh yeah, my name is Felicia.

Our First night with him..

 

 

 

Second day, getting to know eachother

 

 

Last night….Sitting on the couch, his favorite spot. haha

[4Lily]

Welcome! OH HE”S SO CUTE! Bunnies dig to dig holes for burrowing! The best thing to do is to get a diggy box, & a hidy house! Most people use shredded paper in a box for the diggy box, but I use the litter & hay & sticks Lily likes to dig in his litter box, for the box I used a covered cat litter box! I also have a box with a phone book in it for him to dig at and rip & destroy! LOL! I haven’t got Lily a hidey house yet, but can’t wait to!

[kralspace]

Hi Peter’s Mum!

Welcome, you’re among bunny friends here 😉

I love your cute little dutch boy, look forward to hearing all about him.

Kathy

[Peter's Mummy :)]

Ah, that helps thanks! I usually just tell him NO! and he stops right away. Lol, he knows the word “NO” Thankfully! Haha

Thanks for welcoming me guys!

He’s not neutered and I haven’t brought him to the vet for a check up…Do bunnies need a check up with the vet? As I said, I’m new with bunnies. I did a ton of research though, and every thing I read off of Google says that same thing-If they stop eating bring them, if they get the runs, if they are not themselves, all the obvious ones. But should I bring him to the vet? I want to, but I don’t know of any vets for bunnies in Manchester, NH. Do all vets practice on bunnies?
Ahh, sorry for all the questions! LOL

[Karla]

Haha, I’m looking at him thinking “No way, can he be a boy. That is all wrong. Dutch bunnies are females” But welcome to you both! This is a great forum, so you came to the right place.

Well, it might be a good idea to bring him to the vet, so he can teach you how to trim the nails, check his condition and you can talk about his neuter. Not all vets are good with exotic animals such as bunnies, so do some research before choising your vet.

Maybe this link can help you find the right vet in your area:
http://www.rabbit-vet.co.uk/

And by the way – Peter is beautiful! And so teeny weeny I love it.

[Peter's Mummy :)]

Haha, what? He’s not a boy?! I haven’t really looked… The lady I got him from said he was a boy and not fixed.
Man, I feel bad for him if he’s not a boy and been called Peter for his/her whole life! haha

[Karla]

Hehe, it wouldn’t be the first time though, I’m sure Not exactly as bad, but I had a beautiful girl named Karla (hence my profile name) for 4 months until the vet ruined it for me, and told me my little girl was a boy!

But I’m not implying he looks like a girl It’s just, I have a Dutch girl, and so I always think it is weird to see another Dutch bunny and it is a boy. It just doesn’t compute in my mind Dutches are females! That’s it!

But when you go to the vet, do let him check Otherwise you can easily determine it yourself.

[LoveChaCha]

Welcome

I would get your little guy to the vet as soon as possible to make sure he is in good health. Rabbits generally need yearly check ups. You can even ask your vet to show you how to trim his nails, etc. And get him neutered as soon as you can It will help him in the long run.

Your bunny is very very cute Aww, he kinda looks like Monkey’s Moosey boy.

[Peter's Mummy :)]

I’d love to bring him to the vet, but I can’t find one in Manchester, NH. Karla was very nice to send me a link to find a vet in Manchester, but that is for Manchester in the UK…Lol I live in New Hampshire..In America. Lol.
But I’m calling around right now and I hope I find someone to look at him. I do need to be taught how to trim his nails because they are very sharp and he scratched me the other day(he does that when you pick him up at first, I think it’s just a bunny thing?) but yeah, I went to my high school graduation Saturday with scratches all over my chest. Haha, didn’t look to pretty!

[Karla]

Hahaha, I’m from Europe! That’s why. Sorry about that…once in a while another European comes in here, and so I thought..well, you know what I thought.

This link might be of more help then

http://www.rabbit.org/vets/index.html

[Monkeybun]

Welcome I have a little Dutch man too, Moose. He’s a sweetie for sure!

Definitely take him to a vet for a check up once you find a good one. Not all vets are rabbit savvy, so definitely try to find a really good vet for your man. A check up will tell you lots of info, his weight, his age, if he has any medical problems, etc. And of course.. you can make an appointment to get neutered too

[Peter's Mummy :)]

Well, since he is my baby now and I want him to have everything perfect and nothing but the best and not to mention, I’m a little picky haha, I called pretty much every single vet office in New Hampshire. LOL. The place I liked the most, and other vet offices recommended, is going to look at him next Wednesday afternoon.
He sure will hate me when he gets fixed! Haha, Sorry bud!
How do they do that though? Do they like knock them out for a little while? Or just give them wicked numbing stuff? Will he be all droopy when I pick him up after his ittle procedure?

[Peter's Mummy :)]

Well, since he is my baby now and I want him to have everything perfect and nothing but the best and not to mention, I’m a little picky haha, I called pretty much every single vet office in New Hampshire. LOL. The place I liked the most, and other vet offices recommended, is going to look at him next Wednesday afternoon.
He sure will hate me when he gets fixed! Haha, Sorry bud!
How do they do that though? Do they like knock them out for a little while? Or just give them wicked numbing stuff? Will he be all droopy when I pick him up after his ittle procedure?

[4Lily]

They do knock them out, if you are allowed to pick him up the same day, he will be groggy., Lily had to stay over night! I went crazy missing him! But, he was in good hands, my cousin is a vet tech at that vet’s! That’s the only way he got neutered there, he also neutered my cousins bun! But they don’t normally neuter or spay bunnies! I called all over looking for a vet that does, but I trust my cousin & the vet since my other animals go to them! & the animals are actually calm & don’t mind them at that vets!

[Monkeybun]

They will knock him out, and he will likely be droopy afterwards. boys bounce back quickly though

[Zombie-Sue]

Hello and welcome! (:

[Peter's Mummy :)]

Haha, that must be so funny to see a bunny all doped out. I’m home from work and Mr. Peter is sitting on my lap right now. He says Hi Allll! And thanks for all of the welcomes!

[Beka27]

Welcome! Your new boy is so cute!

In your initial post, you mentioned you don’t know his birthday. Since most of us don’t know our bunny’s birthday (or even how old they are!), we usually celebrate their “anniversary” with us… since that’s a date we do know for a fact and it’s the day your bunny entered your life, so it’s far more important than his birthday! My rabbits are Meadow (adoption date: July 21, 2007) and Max (adoption date: June 6, 2008).

Please continue to ask questions. Rabbit are not easy and cheap pets. Chances are you will spend a good amount of money getting him neutered and getting him a larger cage and appropriate food, but it’s necessary to make sure he has everything he needs to live a long and healthy life.

Can you tell us about how he is set-up right now?
What size cage, what kind of food and hay?
Does he have a litterbox? What kind of litter, and is he using it?

(Sorry if this has already been discussed somewhere else. I’ve been gone for a little vacation so I might have missed it.)

[Peter's Mummy :)]

Hey, Thanks!

Aw, I never thought of using that date. I did with my cat and my hamster.

Well, currently, he is living in a big 2 story cage..in my closet :X We are fixing up the basement for him now so he’ll be able to be in and out of his cage as he pleases and be safe.
I feed him ZuPreem Natures Promise and he loves it. It is the food I got him with from his previous owner. I read a lot of good reviews about it on Petsmart, so I guess it is healthy. What do you think? I feed him hay that my friend feeds forher horses and her bunnies. It is good hay, it smells sweet, not dusty, just perfect. He likes it. I read it was safe for him. Again, what do you think? Should I get him different food or hay? If she feeds it to her horses and her bunnies, it must be good for them. But her bunnies are outdoor bunnies because she lives on a farm. This may be silly, but do they have to eat different foods, indoor and outdoors?
I’m not sure if he is in fact litter trained, he sits on my couch all the time and he hasn’t had an accident yet..
But I read that after he gets fixed, he will start going to the bathroom all over? Is this true? If so, why?

[LoveChaCha]

Horse hay is fine for rabbits Buns should always have hay, unlimited hay in fact
A lot of people use Oxbow pellets and hay. I use both for my bun. She loves it. As long as the food is just pelleted food it should be fine. I don’t recommend pellets that have sunflower seed, etc in it. The pellets should be timothy based since you say he is 2 years old

Have you litter trained him yet? Litter habits are better if you get your bunny fixed. If he isn’t fixed, chances are he might do his business in places you don’t want him to My bunny was litter trained 2 weeks after I got her, but peed in places she wasn’t supposed to. After I got her spayed, her habits are perfect.

I litter trained my bun by putting her poops into her litter box.. she caught the hint after a while. Make sure to watch where he tends to pee in his cage and put the box there.

[Monkeybun]

! Beka, Max and Monkey share a Bring Home date Although Monkey’s was 2009 hehe

[jerseygirl]

Welcome to you and Peter! He sounds like he’s a little champ! Sitting up there on the sofa and not littering…rhe sofa is a trouble spot for many whether their rabbits are fixed or not. They just like to go there for some reason.

But I read that after he gets fixed, he will start going to the bathroom all over? Is this true? If so, why?

Where did you read that?! Perhaps that was someone’s personal experience? As a rule, neutering improves litter habits. Sometimes directly after the procedure things can worsen but this is due to the hormones and once they settle things should improve for the long term. Some members do have unneutered males who are super with habits. It depends on the individual bunny I guess. Neutering is done for a variety of reasons though.

It’s good you kept Peter on the same food when you got him. Rabbits don’t always do well with sudden changes in the diet. The Zupreem pellet is a good one. If you do decide to change it for some reason, just transistion him over slowly. Also, horse quality hay is good for bunnies so you’re all good!

[Lintini]

Hello and Welcome!!

[Peter's Mummy :)]

Jerseygirl- I don’t remember where I read it…But I know I definitely did read it.

He had an accident the other day, he peed on the couch, but I cleaned it off with vinegar and he hasn’t done it since.

[Lunar~Atticus]

i dont know about you guys but once lunar and atticus were neutered, their litter habbits improved derastically and they are some what free range boys!! i was sooo impressed and how fast it improved!

[Author]

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