New bunny owner!

[NinjaBunny]

Hi everyone! Just discovered this website/forum and I must say, it’s a haven for a new owner like myself. I’ve read so much that has been helpful thus far but I’m sure I’ll have plenty of questions to come.

About a month ago I adopted a baby rabbit from a local shelter. It has been quite the experience so far. Here’s some info about me and my new roomie.

Rabbit Info:

1. Rabbit name: Dexter (shamelessly named after my favorite TV show).
   
2. Rabbit Age: I’m guessing about 2-3 months? That’s what the shelter said on the papers, although he looks older to me.
   
3. How long has your bunny been with you? A little over a month.
   
4. Spayed/Neutered? Not yet. Too young.
   
5. Rabbit Personality Traits (Calm, Diva, Naughty, Feisty, Sweet etc) I think my username says it all! Hahaha. He’s like a little ninja. He gets into anything and everything. And he has no fear! He can blend into the shadows and dark corners and I would never know he was there since he’s solid black. He loves playing with my cats as well. And he’s a definite chewer. I already have a big ugly whole in my carpet as proof.
   
6. Include a photo of your bunny if you can.

About me:

1. Are you new to rabbits or have you been a bunny slave for a long while now? Completely new. First time owner.
   
2. What made you choose to have a rabbit companion in your life? Started reading up on them and a friend reccomended them as a great/fun pet.
   
3. Anything else that you’d like to share – hobbies, interests, talents. My name’s Lindsey. I’m a 24 year old female, who is in and out of school. I have an interest in the arts and will be studying film making this coming term. I live alone with three cats and now, a bunny. Huge animal lover (obviously).

I’m sure I’ll be asking for a lot of advice since he seems to be quite the trouble maker. I made the horrible mistake of letting him run around on my bed the first day I got him, and well, the mattress is now covered in pee. So, I have to keep him out of my bedroom at all times now or he’ll hop right back on it and pee again. I was pretty successful at first with the litterbox training. I gave him a nice big cat tray and put hay on one end to tempt him to go in it. It worked like a charm and for a while he was peeing and pooping only in the box with a few slip ups here and there. But then one of my younger cats decided he was going to make the box his litter box and started using it! I eventually bought him a cage and put all his stuff in there and that seemed to stop the cat from thinking it was his litter box. Buttt, even though Dexter goes in his cage, he’s also started going everywhere else.

I’ve also had the chewing problem, and he’s already destroyed a lot of things. I try my best to distract him with toys, but it’s still an ongoing battle.

I have an unused second bedroom which I will be working on turning into his room, and I’m hoping that will make things a bit easier around here.

Anyway, I look forward to meeting you all and hope that I can eventually become a skilled bunny owner!

[Monkeybun]

Getting him neutered will definitely help with the litter training. And the demolition lol. Although some bunnies do still insist on chewing up everything.

Welcome to you and Dexter

[LoveChaCha]

Hi there Your bunny is so cute! Monkeybun has an all black Nethie, and I have a black otter Nethie, so we know what you mean by DARK BUNNY! LOL ! By the looks of it, he will be getting BIG 

He looks like he is onto some bunstruction!
Do you have access to cardboard boxes? If you do, I recommend ’em! Make sure all the tape and such is off of the box before giving it to him
Hahaha, cat, lol! I would suggest keeping the cat from the litter box and vice versa! Cats carry things that are hazaradous to other animals. Giving him his own room is a good idea! Or an exercise pen I put down a blanket and put the x-pen around it, so my bunny can’t scratch the carpet. She isn’t really a scratcher, but yours may be!!

Feel free to ask many questions!

[jerseygirl]

Welcome to you and your Ninja Bunny. Fun and games already! With rabbits so young, it’s a good idea to limit how much space they have. The cage you’ve provided should help him litter train and give him a place that’s completely his own. No need for too much space at this time.

You might be able to get more of an idea about his age by checking if his testicles have descended (Sorry to bring this up in your 1st post here – lol!) On average this is around 3-4 months of age and he can be neutered once that happens. Have you found a rabbit vet and had any check ups so far?

[NinjaBunny]

Thanks so much for all the input guys!

It’ll be interesting to see how big Dexter gets. I have no idea what breed he is. Not sure if there’s a way to know by just looking at him? He’s probably more than likely mixed though. I’ve given him a couple of boxes and he seems to like it. I plan on making him a box castle soon, hehe.

I’ve tried to limit him to only the kitchen and it worked the first couple of weeks, but now that he’s a bit bigger and more confident, he’s figured out a way to escape despite all my efforts. I tried a barricade that was at least four feet high at one point and he still got out with no sign of struggle, LOL. I’m guessing he’s able to jump up on the counters? I only have some counter space separating the kitchen from the living room. That’s the only place I have right now until the second bedroom is cleared out for him. So now I limit him to just the kitchen and living room, and I have a baby gate separating him from the rest of the apartment. Although, I know he could jump over it if he wanted to, he doesn’t seem to care enough to try. The other option is an exercise pen, but it’d have to be over four feet high, I would guess. And they’re a bit pricey for what I can afford right now (over a $100).

As for checking his testicles, lol, I don’t see anything when looking at him from behind… maybe I’d have to flip him over in order to see? Which would be quite the task, hahaha. The shelter I got him from have the neuter included with the adoption. They told me to bring him back in a month, so I’m supposed to bring him in on Tuesday. And he hasn’t had a check up yet, but I’ll surely be working on that soon!

Wow, sorry for the length! I tend to ramble.

[jerseygirl]

I was going to ask…. That’s great the neuter is part of adoption. Well, since he’s being seen soon, no need to get in his bad books by turning him over to take a look.

[LoveChaCha]

Amazon has x-pens that are 48 inches high.
Here is the link:
http://www.amazon.com/Midwest-Black-Exercise-Pen-Inches/dp/B000H8YTJI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1292575677&sr=8-1
When you have the funds, you could always get 2 and connect the pens together to make it big for bunny

[angie-la]

congrats! I also just got my bunnies about a year ago so I’m still learning haha.

as most people mentioned, try giving them a limited space when they’re young. that way they can learn routine, because when they have free roam they will honestly do whatever they want and not really learn anything [as I learned the difficult way haha. my poor carpet -_____-]

my buns would do some insane acrobats when they were younger, so I had to make sure to get an extra tall fence for them. i got the same kind of fence brittany shared with you, but be careful because my buns would actually slip THROUGH the bars haha. they are so good at escaping.

as for the destruction, it will die down, but there isn’t much you can do but be super careful when he’s out and keep an eye on him. their caged area is completely bunny proofed, and when I let them out to roam my apartment I watch them like a hawk because it only takes two seconds of chewing and then your wires are completely done for lol. good luck! they really are fun companions.

[Lintini]

Welcome and hello!

[Andi]

Welcome, congrats on become a new Bunny Slave!

[Beka27]

Welcome!!!

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