I’m Back! **UPDATES ON COCOA**

[CocoaButter]

Hey everyone, I know i’ve been gone for a while now.. I just got back from a really long 2 month vacation to florida to visit some old friends and family members.. i just got back home 3 days ago, and when i picked up my dogs from a friends house they where so excited to see me. Tails wagging drool dripping everywhere and that dumb little goofy smile. lol I was so excited that they were excited to see me. I was worried though about Cocoa.. would she of forgotten me by now? have you? lol i hope not. when i picked her up from another friend’s house, When i saw cocoa she was so sad looking all curled up in the corner. When I let her out the first thing she did was sniff me and curl up in my lap.. SOO CUTE! i missed her so much, and obviously she missed me also.

Her fur is getting thick and velvety. and She’s growing a thick flap of skin under her chin.. what is it? i think its normal but idk..  i’ll be posting new pics of her very soon!

 

my boyfriend and I are going to get her a friend shortly and already decided if I got another one we’d name it Pebbles.

Cocoa Pebbles!! lol

 

I can’t wait to hear back from all of you and your little buns!

Take Care! XOXO Paige

[Sarita]

Welcome back. It does sound like Cocoa missed you. The thick flap under her chin is called a dewlap and that is very common in females (and sometimes overweight males) but it’s really more of a female trait – I love dewlaps :~)

[Hannah]

Well, I’m new here, so… nice to meet you, CocoaBunny! That’s so cute that your bunny missed you so much. Can’t wait to see pictures of such a sweet sounding bunny. And as far as the thick coat goes, that seems to be a wintery sort of thing– my little bunny hasn’t changed any, but the big one that’s with my mom went through a huge shed about two months ago and now has a really plush coat and has gained some weight. Do you live somewhere cold?

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Welcome back-Thats a long vacation!! I’m jealous-minus the missing your pets part! I was gone for three weeks this summer and it was almost unbearable! I love the name matching-cute!!

[CocoaButter]

HJSoulma – Yes, I do.. I live in Maryland. My friends that watched her live on a farm and kept her outside with there buns. So that might be why she’s shedding. When I first got her she was so little and my friend who raising rabbits told me she was a mini rex, but now i’m not so sure she’s getting bigger and bigger by the week (not like gaining weight just getting bigger.)

I posted pictures of Cocoa a while ago when she was little. When we got her i would have guessed she was about 2 months old. here’s the link https://binkybunny.com/Default.aspx?tabid=54&forumid=6&tpage=1&view=topic&postid=9776#9776

and here’s the story how i got her https://binkybunny.com/Default.aspx?tabid=54&forumid=1&tpage=1&view=topic&postid=9714#9899

I’d love to discuss and talk about her..

She’s the first rabbit I ever owned and i’m learning with her she similar in taking care like Guinea Pigs.. just a little more work.. i’m still getting the hang of it.. ask me anything and i’ll tell you how i’m caring for her.. help me out anything i’m doing wrong, advice or anything! Thanks!

XOXO Paige

[Scarlet_Rose]

Wow I would definately say that you’ve been gone a while but I’m glad it was for R & R. That is too sweet, little Cocoa remembered you and snuggled right in. Too cute!

[CocoaButter]

Scarlet Rose – R & R? sorry if its a dumb question..

When I left Maryland it was a steamy 80 degrees I come back two months later to a frosty 20 degrees! and coming from florida where everyday is about 80 -90 degrees it was quite a change and i’m still adjusting!

[Scarlet_Rose]

Rest and relaxation. No worries and it’s not a dumb question!

[DustBunneh'sMama]

Hi Paige. It’s nice to "meet" you. I’m new here too. Just one little thing – I just got my 2 month old Flemish Giant two weeks ago and he came from an outdoor hutch. I live in Wisconsin where it is very cold. The person I got him from told me to be careful about him getting too hot for the first couple weeks indoors because he has an outdoor winter coat on but it’s much warmer inside. I just opened the window in his room in the house an inch or two and stuffed a towel outside under the door to keep the cold air in. His room was much colder than the rest of the house, but still a lot warmer than outside, at about 50-60 degrees. Signs that she is too hot inside include panting and stretching out, trying to cool off. It’s just an idea. Now that she’s back inside, you might want to try to cool off her room or area for a little while if at all possible so she can adjust.

[Hannah]

I’d love to see a current picture of her– she looks very mini-rexish in the older picture (I have two!) but if she’s getting very big and getting a dewlap, she might be a regular rex. (I’m actually playing the same "how big will it get?" game with my baby mini rex, because she might be a regular rex. She’s just too little to tell…)

[CocoaButter]

you mean mini rexes don’t get dewlaps?

thanks for the tip DustBunneh’sMama I’m acutally keeping her outside during the day when its about 30-40 degrees and bringing her inside at night.. i;m told by my friend that watched her, who owns several, that bunnies love the cold.. so thats what i’ve been doing

[Scarlet_Rose]

Hmm, I’m not sure I agree that they love the cold and temperature changes greater than 20 degrees from inside to outside are not good for them.  You just might want to consider keeping them inside as a house rabbit. You might want to take a gander at the Summer and Winter Dangers write up by the CO HRS and Outdoor Dangers.

[CocoaButter]

thanks.. can you tell if the rabbit is hot or cold by touching its ears? like somtimes Cocoa’s ears will be hot other times cold.. is this bad? normal?

[DustBunneh'sMama]

I heard – and I’m not sure, so hopefully others will chime in – but, I heard that their ears are their air conditioners of sorts. Because they are so thin, they are used to cool the blood when the bunny gets too hot.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Yep they sure are Dustbunneh! It’s normal if they are a little cool to the touch, you can also take their internal temperature as well (if you are concerned) which should be around 101 degrees farenheit.

[Sarita]

You wouldn’t want to use their ears however to take a rabbit’s real internal termperature in case of illness – they are not indicative of the real temperature of a rabbit.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Double that Sarita!

[CocoaButter]

Thanks a bunch! also one more question.. My close friend just died yesterday so I have to drive to North Carolina for the day tomorrow to be with her family for support. alot of friends are going up so there’s no one to watch her. Can I just leave her with a handlefull of veggies?

[Sarita]

I’m sorry about your friend! My condolences. How long do you plan on being gone? If it’s only overnight I would say that is fine if it is more than one night I would suggest you have someone check on her to make sure everything is alright (eating, drinking, pooping, etc.). Rabbits can go pretty fast if there is something wrong with them.

[babybunsmum]

i’d second that… i’ve left baby overnight when i know she won’t be alone for longer than 12 or 16 hours.  you can always leave enough food, but aside from illness, i worry about the water bottle leaking / clogging AND her crock being simulatneously soiled.  i’m a bit of a worry-wart tho. 

so sorry to hear of your loss.  hope you & your friends family find somecomfort in eachother.  (((hugs)))

[CocoaButter]

Thank you.. Yes I will be leaving in the morning and i won’t get back till the next evening

[BinkyBunny]

Well Welcome Back! And then, I’m so sorry about your friend. Wish you peace during this hard time.

[CocoaButter]

thank you all very much. When I got back home all was well.the other day I was holding her while my dogs were out, and sadie growled and bared her teeth at her. Any advice on safe bonding? Or will they forever be unable to play?

[Scarlet_Rose]

Hmm, I would wait a while for things to settle down and I am a bit concerned about Sadie’s behavior.  That is pretty aggressive sounding and she might also be jealous that Cocoa is getting so much attention as well.  She sounds like a one person dog and is taking offense to the other fuzzy animal that gets your attention. You just might have to work on getting her to stop acting jealous, spend more time with her etc.  But since you just came back from being gone a long time, she could be acting extra possesive fo you.

Here is an article from the HRS about bonding dogs and rabbits and FYI it has nothing to do with a disgusting YouTube video with the same title:

When Fido Met Thumper

Bear in mind that certain breeds are not, like terriers, pit bulls, wolf breeds, huskies, etc. Basically hunting dogs or ones with strong hunting instincts and the small high-strung ones like poodles, toy varieties and chiuauas. Of course there can be exceptions to this on rare occasions, but definately use your best judgement and error on the side of extra caution especially since rabbits can be scared to death, especially if they see a dog running up to them whether they are just going to sniff and lick them to death or not.  Their prey instinct alarm will go off.

[CocoaButter]

thanks, thats a very helpful link.. i’ll give it a try and let you know how things work out.

[Scarlet_Rose]

You’re welcome! I hope it all works out for you and please let us know how the introduction goes!

[CocoaButter]

My dogs are Shetland Sheepdog. For people that aren’t familiar with the breed they’re basically a miniture of the standard Rough Collie (a.k.a. Lassie). My one dog Sadie is very good with her although I still wouldn’t trust them to be together without leash and me holding Cocoa. Sadie has gotten very used to Cocoa and will fall alseep on the floor while I’m holding Cocoa. Althought she’ll still growl at times if Cocoa runs or jumps. If I hold Cocoa Sadie will put her paws on my knees and lick Cocoa’s face, it’s adorable. Toby still is a very territorial dog, and I still don’t trust him to be out even if I’m holding Cocoa. He’s killed 4 rabbits in the past year.. the only rabbits he ever killed. They were wild of course just hopping around in my backyard minding there own business eating the grass and smelling the flowers when here comes my demon dog after them. When my dogs are in the same room as her in her cage they’re perfectly fine. She’ll come up to the end of her cage and sniff them and they’ll lick her.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Yes, sounds like you wouldn’t want the dogs alone with the bunny. My dog (well, my family dog, she lives with my parents) tries her darnest to be good with the bunnies but her instincts kick in if they move…..Dogs are just sort of that way, if something is running they must catch it…So Mandy (my dog) can never be alone with the bunnies, nor would i let go of her when the bunnies are in the room. It’s just how some are you know! I’m sure your doggies try really hard not to eat ‘the inside bunny’ but if cocoa was running around, they might not be able to help themselves! I only let Mandy see my bunnies when they are in my arms, and I constantly say “be nice girl, only kisses, no bites” all commands she knows that mean to control her instincts and be good… I think keeping cocoa in the cage is the best thing when the dogs are around

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