My Bunnies

[Corneal]

I’m new here and thought i would share information about my Bunny parenting experiences.

In 2011 I decided that i wanted a bunny, we had always had pets and always had loads (over the past 28 years we have had more than 90 hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits, dogs, fish, frogs, rats, mice and gerbils.) We also go on a lot of holidays and finding pet sitters for 13 hamsters, 1 dog, 7 guinea pigs and 5 fish was pretty difficult. So my parents said that if i wanted a pet rabbit i would have to pay for it myself, take full responsibility for cleaning, vet bills and finding pet sitters.

After two years of saving up my pocket money and and researching everything there is to know about bunnies i was finally able to buy my self a bunny on my 16th birthday. I adopted a butterfly patterned, dwarf lop named Snuggles, (Snugsie for short) she was my best friend and I had her on my lap or in my arms all day every day (I was home-schooled as a child so could literally have her with me 24/7) 

Snugsie lived in a hutch in the garden, but when it got colder we brought her in the house and she lived in a cage, but she was very rarely in the cage as I always had her in my arms. Snugsie was a pet shop rabbit but didn’t bite or run away from me like many pet shop rabbits. Snugsie’s favourite thing to do in the world was to jump on the computer desk while i was gaming and lie across the keyboard and ask me to run her tummy!.

5 months after adopting her she fell ill. She went limp and stopped eating, drinking, pooping or peeing. I took her to the vet and they said that she had caught a tick. She couldn’t move and spent all her days lying in her bed motionless. i was giving her medicine and staying by her bedside all day and night. 

One day she stopped being able to lift her head and got considerably worse. I phoned my mum and called her home from work saying that she she needed to go back to the vet. I placed her in her carrier and ran upstairs to get dressed. while walking up stairs i head her squeaking and fitting in her carrier. i ran back down the her and found that she had died in her carrier.

My mum came back from work to find me crying at the bottom step of the stairs. We buried her with her favourite toys and blankets.

I was heart broken. in the past when i was sad i would go to Snugsie and cuddly her until i felt better, but now i had no one to cuddle.

My mum asked if I wanted another bunny to cuddle, one who needs a home and lots of love. so i soon found two bunnies on a pet rehoming website, the girl looked like Snugsie and she came with her brother. They were called Bumble and Blossom. After visiting them several times and chatting to there parents I brought them home. I didnt want them to catch a tick from our garden like Snugsie did, so I cleared out the room under the stairs. gave it a paint job and replaced the door with a stair gate. They moved in with me and loved their new room. 

Bumble and Blossom adored each other, they hated to be apart and never let me cuddle one without the other.

Blossom went for a spaying and came back with a cone. i was told i had to keep them apart while she was healing. so i put a board across their room and placed them on either side of the board. However, Bumble didn’t like this arrangment and decided to hop over this metre high wall several times and sit with his little sister. eventually i switched the wall out for a wire mesh so they could still see each other and Bumble stopped jumping over. Instead they both sat pressed up against the mesh so they could be as close as possible to each other at all times.

5 years on and they were both very happy bunnies. They never fought and loved to play chase, Blossom was littler, but clearly in charge, while Bumble was my big softie. 

In January 2018 Blossom fell ill. she stopped eating and rarely moved. I was ill at the time and my dad was taking care of my bunnies, he hadnt told me about Blossom as he didnt want me to worry, I only know that she was ill when my dad came back from the vet placed Blossom on my lap and told me that she Had broken her back, (apparently when bunnies thump their back feet they can do this so hard that its breaks their back) Blossom sat on my lap with Bumble as we watched her squeak and slowly fade away in my arms. Blossom passed away. So now it’s just my and Bumble. He didn’t cope well with the loss of his sister at first but later started to come out of his shell and started asking for attention and hugs.

However, Bumble is already a chunky boy and doesn’t have any interest in toys, only treats. and I was wondering if anyone here knew of any awesome toys that bumble might like?

[Dasher]

Since Bumble likes food you can make a treat ball out of a toilet paper roll and fill it with pellets or treats.

[Author]

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