New Bunny Owner

[RavenNC]

Hello everyone!

I just joined the forum and I wanted to introduce myself.  I’m a member of a few other forums – the one I’m most active in is a rat forum.  Our family has fostered for a couple of rescues, which is how we got started with rats and how we ended up adopting several of our guinea pigs.

Our bunnies are Odette and Suzette.  They are dwarf bunnies, and still babies.  Odette is all white with a black patch around her right eye.  Suzette is all white with a black patch over both eyes.  After some internet searching and some very personal time with both, we are 80% sure both are girls.  Or both are boys…but probably girls.    Bunnies are not the easiest animal gender ID!  We are also picking up another bun from the same person who gave us Odette and Suzette.  This bun is not named yet, so I’m calling him/her Thumper until he/she gets a name.  Thumper is a gray dwarf Jersey Wooly.  The person who owned all three isn’t sure if Thumper is male or female, but apparently the breeder marked all the babies by sex, and Thumper still has an “m” in his ear.  After seeing how well these little guys hide their affiliation, however, I’m holding out for a personal exam.  The previous owner got two bunnies and assumed they were the same gender.  They were not.  Nature took its course, resulting in Odette and Suzette.  She needed to find them homes, and I apparently have a huge “sucker” tattoo on my forehead.  I know her sister, and her sister knows I’ve fostered animals and spoil mine outrageously, so she asked.  I, of course, said yes.  A few days later she admitted that her sister also purchased a baby Jersey Wooly, but that she never considered that her bonded pair might not be that welcoming.  They took to thumping on Thumper so she separated them.  I’m picking Thumper up tonight.

All three are going to my vet tomorrow.  We’ll be having another gender ID on all three (just to try and make sure), and discussing how much removing gender from the equation is going to cost.  Everything I’ve read suggests that altered buns are happier and healthier, so unless it costs more than my last car, it goes in the budget.

The rest of our little zoo consists of:  Ritzi, Dulce, Peaches, and Dali – three female rats.  Bart (AKA Crisco the tub-o-lard), Brutus, and Bandit – three male rats.  All of our rats are unaltered and therefore the girls occupe one domain and the boys the other.  Last, but certainly not least is Seika – our beautiful red-headed, long-haired, Abby guinea pig.  She was once part of a herd of seven, all rescues/failed fosters.  We adopted her as a medical (sludge in her bladder), and expected she’d have a shortened life-span, but she’s outlived all of her herd-mates and is now somewhere over six years old.

I’m working on a diet and a roomier housing arrangement for the bunnies.  At this point we’re going with Oxbow pellets, an endless supply of Timothy hay, and veggies for a bedtime snack.  Any and all suggestions are welcome!

 

P.S.  I’ll upload pics tonight!

[Sarita]

Welcome! I’ve never had rats but I used to know some people from the Rat Association doing rescue work and I loved the rats – very smart and affectionate. Rat owners are extremely devoted to their ratties.

I love the Jersey Wooly rabbits too – they are so cute. Cannot wait to see pictures of everybun and your ratties too. I love the names Odette and Suzette as well for your dwarfs – are they litter mates?

Sounds like you are off to a good start with your bunny diet too.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Welcome! I ditto, sounds like your doing very well already! Love to see pictures when you can

[Beka27]

welcome here! we have another member who does rat rescue. i for one love hearing stories about her rats, so if you have pics of them too, i’d love to see the whole fur-family!

i’m glad you’re taking them in to get sexed. it is tricky to sex correctly, esp in younger buns. there are very minute differences. neutering and spaying are very important for the health of bunnies. in females especially… they have an 80% risk of developing reproductive cancer by the age of 3 if not spayed. and of course, surgery to remove cancer will be much more expensive than the cost to spay. another thing you will find is that unaltered bunnies can usually not be housed together due to the territorial and aggressive behavior caused by the hormones. so unless you were planning on doing 3 separate pens anyways, this is another important factor to consider.

for more info: http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/spay.html

let us know how it goes at the vet!

[Sage Cat]

Hi, hi, hi.
Can’t wait to see photos of the whole crew!

[MooBunnay]

Welcome to BinkyBunny!! I’m super excited to see some rat photos I have always heard that they are very intelligent animals, I have 8 bunnies so I have my hands full, but if I didn’t I would definitely have a rat…and a chinchilla…and some dwarf hamsters…

Anyways, the cost of the spay/neuter depends usually upon the vet, if the vet you go to seems really like, you can check around at other vets for their prices, or ask local rabbit rescues which vets they recommend. It is definitely a good idea to fix your buns as soon as possible, in case you are not familiar, females can get pregnant as young as around 16 weeks.

It is so kind of you to take in so many animals that need help – poor Thumper getting thumped on If you plan on keeping them as a trio, I’d recommend giving them as much together time as possible so they can grow up together, and then getting them all fixed at the same time. I recommend this just because I know it can be difficult to bond an adult trio, but baby buns seem to be very accepting of each other. You will have to keep an eye on them as they grow up, sometimes bunnies feelings towards each other can change as they mature, so as they get closer to puberty keep a close eye on them and check them over once and a while for any possible hidden injuries that may indicate they could be fighting.

Good luck, and I hope I’ll see photos soon!

[Cassi&Charlie]

Welcome! We love rats here, they’re so smart and adorable. I love their little ‘hands’.

[RavenNC]

I got some more info about the bunnies today.  Odette and Suzette are 7 weeks old tomorrow.  Thumper has been renamed Sebastian and is 4 months old (and half again as big as Odette and Suzette).  At what point do they reach their full size?

Sebastian is extremely mellow and DEFINITELY a boy.  He cheerfully let me flip him over and hold him like a baby  at which time his *ahem* attributes became very clear.  Bless his fuzzy little feet!

I’m talking to the vet tomorrow about neutering Sebastian.  That’s definitely going to be step one, with the girls following close behind.  I’m hoping once everyone’s hormones level off they can all live together, but I’m NOT notnotnotnotnot NOT interested in “the miracle of life” thing happening in our little bunny family.

Here are the pictures…lots of them!

Odette playing in the cat cube:  http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y140/RavenNC/Rabbits/Odetteplaying.jpg

Suzette getting her pets from hubby:  http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y140/RavenNC/Rabbits/Suzettechilling.jpg

Odette on the cat rocker thing:  http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y140/RavenNC/Rabbits/Odette.jpg

Odette being adorable:  http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y140/RavenNC/Rabbits/Odette2.jpg

Odette and Suzette passing each other:  http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y140/RavenNC/Rabbits/OdetteSuzette.jpg

One of the girls (I can’t tell which, the wrong eye is showing!) :  http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y140/RavenNC/Rabbits/CheckingtheCube.jpg

Manly Sebastian:  http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y140/RavenNC/Rabbits/DSC03464.jpg

Sebastian with his bearded bunny look: http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y140/RavenNC/Rabbits/DSC03465.jpg

Sebastian up close:  http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y140/RavenNC/Rabbits/DSC03466.jpg

I see a great deal of grooming in Sebastian’s future.  His fur is unbelievably soft – almost like it isn’t there at all!

RATS!

Bandit:  http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y140/RavenNC/Rats%20Nest/DSC03032.jpg

Bandit using my youngest as a jungle gym:  http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y140/RavenNC/Rats%20Nest/DSC03034.jpg

Dali checking in with Santa last year:  http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y140/RavenNC/Rats%20Nest/DSC02686.jpg

Dulce sticking her nose in the camera:  http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y140/RavenNC/Rats%20Nest/DSC02878.jpg

Ritzi and Peaches:  http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y140/RavenNC/Rats%20Nest/DSC02920.jpg

Guinea pig!

Seika – the old lady of the house during her intro to Georgie (RIP):  http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y140/RavenNC/Guinea%20Pigtures/DSC01669.jpg

 

 

[MarkBun]

Very cute.

I would suggest that if you can do it, to bring the babies with you so they can be sexed as well. Better to be 100% certain than to have an unexpected family.

[KatnipCrzy]

Welcome!  Thanks for posting pics- we always love to see cute bunny pics!

[jerseygirl]

Thanks for all the pictures. You are now officially accepted into the clan! Photos are the ticket in!

Odette and Suzette looks like DOLLS – so cute. Sebastian’s a lucky boy. Those rattie pictures just beg to be captioned. Oh and Seika with the red hair has a the whole Elizabeth the First thing going on!

[Sarita]

What beautiful bunnies. The ratties and piggies are adorable too.

Jersey Woolies usually are around 5 pounds at the biggest so Sebastian should not get too large. He’s probably going to be more fur than anything. He’s very handsome.

[Beka27]

oh good! at 4 months, Sebastian can be neutered. i agree with Markus, have the baby girls sexed also… they won’t be able to be spayed till much later (about 6 months), but at least with the bunny boy altered, there will not be a risk of an accidental litter.

[Beka27]

i love the pic of Dali and Santa. he looks like he’s reciting his list! that’s so cute! watch those paperback books by the couch too, i could see that becoming a favorite chew spot of the bunnies! they are very beautiful! Sebastian has the most lovely eyes!

[RavenNC]

My vet’s office called this morning, and the poor guy has the flu (possibly).  That means our appointment has been rescheduled for tomorrow morning.  Sebastian isn’t coming on this vet trip, just the girls.  I have NO doubt at all about Sebastian’s gender, but the girls are so young I want to have the vet check them.  I’ll be scheduling Sebastian’s little procedure tomorrow, too.

Sebastian cracks me up, though.  He goes completely limp when you pick him up.  He’s the only bunny I’ve ever seen that doesn’t care if you scoop him up one-handed.  When I get him onto my lap he migrates up and snuggles into my neck and makes these little whuffle noises.  At first I thought he was congested (eek!) but then I realized they seem to be little happy noises.  He stopped as soon as I lifted him to check his nose and looked at me like I was crazy.  The only time he makes the noise is when he’s snuggled against your neck.  My son used to hum against my neck when he was a baby – I think it’s kind of the same thing. 

The rats watch floor time with a great deal of interest.  Of course, from their perspective it’s just a couple of white blurs running around, but apparently it’s captivating because all seven come to the front of their homes to stare at Odette and Suzette.

I have video of the girls’ first time out for floor time, I’ll post it tonight if I get the chance.

[Beka27]

most times you’ll need to have an exam before they will neuter. very few vets (if any?) would do that without seeing the bunny prior. so you might want to call back and see if they can do an exam on Sebastian tomorrow while you’re there and then you can schedule the “little procedure” or else that might delay the neuter even further.

[Cassi&Charlie]

Hahaha, that humming probably means he looves you, better have him neutered soon! Is he circling your feet yet? I agree that the humming noise is adorable, but it gets less adorable when an arm or ankle becomes the object of their affection.

Aaah, your ratties are so cute!!! Thanks for the pics, we love love love pics hehre.

[Scarlet_Rose]

WELCOME Raven! Wow you have a whole troupe of animals! I can tell right away that you’ll fit right in here – we’re all animal fanatics.

[RavenNC]

I was hoping I could get them to squeeze Sebastian in on the appointment today (I made it before I knew about him), but it’s a no go. He’ll probably get his appointment next week, with the neutering happening shortly thereafter with any luck at all.

Happy news from last night – I got home and discovered that with the exception of some territorial pooing, Sebastian actually used the litter box that I’d put there! I didn’t really think he would – I put it in more out of hope than any actual expectation that he’d use it. Oddly, though, he doesn’t like the water bottle even though I know he used one at his previous home. I ended up putting a water dish in for him. I’m wondering if maybe it’s because it’s my little travel bottle with the annoying spring-loaded tip? I never buy those – this one was bought by accident and only used for trips to the vet.

I’m picking up a new water bottle, along with the economy-sized box of timothy hay and Oxbow pellets, on the way back from the vet. The only place I can get the Oxbow pellets and a decent amount of hay is at Phydeaux, which is about 45 minutes away. Normally I just order it online, but since I’ll be going right by there I get to SHOP! LOL

[Author]

Messages