New bunny+new owner=help!

[Ashley&Bing]

I got Mr. Bingley yesterday and I picked him out of a buinch of baby rabbits because he seemed very calm. It turns out he is quite the explorer. I let him out of his cage after a few hours when we got home and he was instantly running around everywhere, hopping very high in the air a few times. I read somewhere that was a good thing?… Anyways, my boyfriend help me set the cage up and he filled his bowl with pellets (Sun Seed brand). It contains alfalfa meal and about a million other thing. I guess he filled the bowl up and Mr Bingley ate quite a lot since yesterday. He has pooped SO much and on top of that, his cecals are not being eaten. And there are well over ten. At least that. I don’t know if the pet store fed him differently, or it its because he is in a new place, but I am not sure exactly what to do. Should I wait it out for a few days?

[Deleted User]

Hi, welcome to the forum. Congrats on your new bunny! He must be so happy to get some running space after being in a pet store cage. So, yes, binkies (jumping high in the air) are a sign of joy. I would switch him gradually over to a plain timothy-based pellet such as Oxbow. Sunseed is a fancy-looking feed very appealing to owners but it is too rich and can cause cecal over-production in sensitive bunnies. Also, I would limit his pellet intake and get him interested in hay. Hay is the key to rabbit health. Have you had him checked by a vet yet?

Petzy

[Ashley&Bing]

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks for your help!

He has not seen the vet while I have had him, but the store owner assured me that the bunnies were healthy. I was still a little nervous about buying from a pet store, but I fell in love with Mr. Bingley. However, they did not mention anything about hay… I had a rabbit when I was a girl and I did not feed it hay either, though it was an outdoor bunny in the barn with my horses. I wish I would have known hay was apart of the diet. I do not have hay and might not be able to get any, or a new pellet for that matter, as I am also in the process of moving by myself.

[Deleted User]

He needs hay now. It will keep his GI tract healthy and his teeth from overgrowing. Seriously, even though some rabbits never get hay (sadly) does not mean it is a choice. Hay now! A vet will also be able to tell you if it is a boybun or girlbunny, and help you decide on when to spay/neuter so you can get the littertraining really started. Do you have pictures?

[Ashley&Bing]

Got hay, replaced the pellets and he LOVES the hay. I had to stop packing, but it was worth it. I want my bunny to be healthy. Pictures will come soon, as soon as I’m situated in my new place and have our room set up.

[jerseygirl]

Welcome! Just wanted to say I love his name. Very cute!

[angelicvampyre]

Hay Hay Hay Hay Hay… I am on a Hay mission! I jsut got a 5 year old (Rufus) and because of his lack of hay and vet care found out that his teeth are a mess and has to have major surgery on his mouth tomorrow, hay is SO important that it is not funny. Also do try ans switch him over to oxbow pellets they are great but be careful that they don’t just eat them and forget out the hay because in case you don’t know Hay is SOOOOOOO important! Ok over my hay rant but really you don’t want to have to deal with moler spurs which hay can decrese the chances of them happening. Also please get him to a vet and get everything checked. Rufus was healthy acording to his owner but in fact his mouth was a mess and he was in total pain.

[Ashley&Bing]

What about sleeping habits for the bunnies? I don’t know if I should cover the cage when I go to sleep with a light on, so there is still a light side of the cage, or if complete darkness is okay.

[angelicvampyre]

mine just go with natural light, sometimes at night the want to be out if I am still up so I turn on the light and let them out but really they dont need any extra at night

[LoveChaCha]

My bun is in the living room and since my dad and I are gone during the day, the curtains are kept close. That is when bunnies sleep.

Also, did you try mixing in some of the new food with his/her old one? Don’t make a fast switchover, it could hurt a bunny’s sensitive belly.

And welcome

[Ashley&Bing]

I see, so they sleep when I’m not home. I’m a college student, so my daily schedule is not the same from day to day, and one day out of the week, I’m not home for good until 10:30pm. But right now, during summer, I’m home all day. Will this be hard for him to adjust to, summer transition to schoool transition?

[Author]

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