Miley my new bunny-is she okay?

[Shannon]

Alright I admit it. Iam an anxious new bunny Mom and I was wondering if anyone would like to help with some advice?

I have two Dutch mixes. One is Oreo and he is a fixed male and one is Miley and she is a fixed female. They are brother and sister and have been together their whole lives. They are seven years old. I got Oreo at the Humane’s Society. When they posted the rabbits they posted saying that Oreo and Miley need to go together because they are bonded. I had no problem with that as I am an inexperienced rabbit person (although I have read a lot) and was looking for two rabbits so that I would not have to worry about bonding them. I wanted them to be already bonded. Well it turns out that Miley was having some healthy issues and was not approved for adoption. So I kept calling everyday to see if she was approved yet. Finally they transferred me to the clinic so I could find out exatly when she was going to be approved and what was some of the health issues. They informed me that they suspected Stump Pyometria or a Urinary Tract Infection and she was on Chlorapam for 10 days. She was finished her medication on August 2. We took her home yesterday August 6’th. So they had been apart for exactly two weeks and two days. Now during this time Oreo was obviously loney and looking for his sister. The vet clinic that was at the Humane’s Society suggested that we house them seperatley for two weeks so that we can watch Miley’s urine etc. I am fine with this and now we have two expens. One for Miley and one for Oreo.

Now since Miley has gotten home I am very surprised at the difference in nature between her and Oreo. She seems very shy, untrusting and skittish. Which is fine I am ready to accept that that may be her personality but is there anything that I can do to make her more comfortable, happy and reassured? With Oreo it was a breeze because we had visited him so many times. But with Miley she, doesn’t seem to trust us. I am wondering if the two week two day stay at the vet has made her untrusting of humans. You know, being poked and proded must not have been easy.

They have seperate play time and when one is out all the other one does is watch the one that is out and they lay at the cage often side by side (seperated by the bars). They keep sniffing each other and have even tried diggin gto get to each other through the bars. Or that is what I think they are doing. Oreo paws at the bars frantically when she is at them. I was thinking they might be able to play together? They seem to badly want to be together but some people on another forum have suggested that they may need to be rebonded.

Also, when she first got here and even now she seems to stay mostly in her play house we made her out of a cardboard box. She went to it and started shredding the newspaper in it. She shredded it and gathered it almost as if she was making a nest. Why did she do this?

Also, she was first taken to the Humane’s Society clinic and away from her brother because of diahrea. Her stool is not soft anymore but it is awfully small. Still round and hard but really small. What is causing this? How can I get her to have a nice healthy bunny poo? I feed her veggies and Timothy Hay and a tiny bit of Alfalfa. She doesn’t eat much veggies like Oreo does. Oreo horks it down like there will be no more!  Is there a regime that you can recommend that will give her nice bunny poo?

Thanks for your help! and I realize that this a very long post. Thanks for reading,

Shannon

[osprey]

Hi Shannon,

Wow, lots going on at your house!  I can answer a few of your questions.

How to make her trust you?  It is often hard when you get a new bunny from a shelter, you don’t really know how they were treated before they got you, so she may not have been handled much and is not used to people.  Also, she is still very new in your house, and recovering from an ilness too, so that will tend to make her more skittish.  The best thing to do is often just spend time on the floor with her but ignore her.  let her come to you, bunnies are very curious creatures and she will eventually try to check you out.  Try not to move towards her, just let her take it at her own pace.

Small but hard poops?  This is usually an indication of too little fiber in the diet.  The antibiotics they gave her could also cause this.  How is her diet?  Is she eating a good amount of hay each day?  Does she have access to clean water 24 hours a day?  The small poops are usually OK if she keeps passing them and keeps eating, just watch to make sure she continues to poop.  These should get bigger after a few days.  Shelters often feed bunnies as many pellets as they want and no hay, so it may be that she just isn’t used to a lot of fiber.

I am sorry, I cannot offer any additional informaiton about the UTI.  Perhaps someone else can chime in?

 

[BinkyBunny]

Awe, she has been through alot! She was separated from her bonded mate which is very difficult. That alone is stressful, and then she’s dealing with being treated and all the new scary stuff. It’s no wonder she has small poops. I have no doubt she’s been stressed. I am very surprised that the clinic are having you house them separately  just because of the UTI. My vet would never encourage separation unless one was getting picked on.     I do understand that some bunnies can pick on the “sick” bunny, but they have been together for seven years, I would think they would at least suggest to see how they interact first.

I also understand that they may want you to keep track of her urination and water consumption, but is there anyway, you can keep a close eye on those things even while they are together?

I know if it were me, I would rebond asap as that is important for her health and stress level which can help in her healing process. But if you would like to find a middle ground between their advice, then at the very least I would allow them playtime together.

You do have to watch though when you do allow them to interact with each other as even bonded bunnies can unbond when separated and/or come from the vets office where they no longer smell like themselves.

As far as the UTI, did they tell you what to watch for to make sure it was cleared up? Drinking lots of water, struggling to urinate, urinating before reaching the box etc. are all signs of UTI.

I bet once she is feeling safer and confident with her new surroundings, and she is back with her brother, you will see her “old” self come back.

Keep us updated!

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Welcome!! I won’t add to their advice -its all good there! *Healing Vibes for Miley*

Keep us posted! And we love pictures *hint hint*

[MooBunnay]

It sounds like she just needs a bit of time to come around and calm down. One of the bunnies I adopted was extremely stressed when I got him. He even had the nervous habit of biting his nails! He also had the same problem of very small poops. But after a bit of time (about a month) he started to get used to his surroundings and now he makes plenty of XL poops. I think she will also feel better when she gets to spend time with her mate again.

Do be careful when you first re-introduce them, it would be good to read up on bonding just because sometimes when re-introducing a pair they need a little bit of help re-bonding. It is good that they can still see and smell each other, and spend time together, hopefully their re-introduction will be quick and easy!

[skunklionshow]

From what I recall from my cat’s bout of pyometra….did she have blood in her urine?  It seems like a major difference b/t stump pyometra & a UTI.  Did they give you any motility meds for her?  Sometimes the motility meds are recommended after pain meds and antibiotics b/c they can affect their overall system.  I think she just needs some time and probably some quality time w/ her bondee.  I would try a reintro session, maybe w/ some tasty veggies. 

I agree that she’s likely scared.  Been through alot and now in a new home…..get those pics up!  They sound like an awesome pair!

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