New member introducing herself and bun!

[Molzy]

Hello all!

My name is Molly, and I am the proud owner of an almost-four-year-old dwarf mix named Riley. Riley has shared my life for almost four years now, I got him when he was only 6 weeks old (pet store bun).

Riley is a total joy to live with, though it has taken four long years to get to this point! He is your typical dwarf – full of spunk, always looking for trouble! He has finally calmed down some, to the point where I don’t feel like I am constantly yelling at him for tasting things (i.e., carpet, baseboards, etc!). Riley was a total impulse purchase – I am a freshman in college and went to the local pet store to grab some things for my pet parrots (I also share my home with two cockatiels and a meyers parrot), and Riley won my heart. Luckily I had been considering a house bunny for a few years, so I was well prepared for the addition. He was neutered at 6-months old, which was a relief as he’d started marking my apartment.

Riley’s best friend growing up was my roommate’s kitten who grew up with him. Sadly we’ve moved away for me start graduate school, so Riley is now alone. I have tossed around the idea of getting him a friend for years, and he’s been on several bunny dates with local rescue rabbits back in MN, but none of them ever clicked with him. I still consider the idea, but now I am in Iowa, and don’t know of any local rescues. I am also a poor graduate student, so the cost of adding another bunny might prevent me from taking the plunge. Luckily Riley gets to be out a lot running around the apartment whenever I am home, and he is the star whenever friends come over.

Now what I know you guys really want, pictures! They are all kinda old, but the first one is Riley as an adult, but I had to include one baby picture for you guys to see how small he was! The middle picture is him at around 6 months I think, right before his neuter, but he was starting to get his adult coloring. He gets darker in the winters, lighter in the summers, but never as honey gold as he was as a baby. He is still a small bun, only weighing in at 3.5 pounds. It’s funny, cause when people come over they always comment on how big he is, I think because people are used to seeing babies at the pet store rather than adults! 

Riley LOVES food, he isn’t too picky! He about mows me over when I open the cabinet with his pellets, or if he sees me with his evening salad! I do find I have trouble keeping greens good for him, so if anyone has any hints that’d be awesome! With only one small bunny, I don’t go through them as fast as I’d like, even when the birds get some too.

[peppypoo]

Ohh he’s adorable! I love his eye color, such a pretty light brown shade. His fur seems to match your hair too (in the last picture, if that’s you in the background) . Welcome to the forums!

[LoveChaCha]

OMG HES SO SWEET look at those eyes!!!!

Welcome Molzy!!!!!!
I have a dwarf girl as well Aren’t they sweet and full of personality?

[lashkay]

Riley is adorable! Welcome Molzy! May I offer a word to suggest, switch from a leash with a collar on Riley to one attached to a harness – they have some really cute and comfy harnesses/walking jackets for rabbits, as collars at any time can be a hazard, as you may know. Thanks for the pics. Look forward to more of those!

[jerseygirl]

Welcome Molly and Riley!

He’s a handsome bun. You sound like a well indentured bunny slave. : )
I ditto lashkays tip about the harness. So much safer then neck leash. Though you’ve said this is a younger picture of him so perhaps you’ve already done away with the neck leash.

For veggie keeping tips there is a link to a thread on the Binky Bunny Diet page (see under BUNNY INFO). It’s full of lots of advice on this.

Hope you enjoy the site.

[Beka27]

Welcome! He’s beautiful!!!

I, for one, would not suggest you get another rabbit at this point. You have enough reasons to not do it, and it doesn’t sound like he’s lonely. Taking on a second bunny is a large financial and time commitment and it’s important to recognize your limitations. Enjoy your boy, he certainly appears to be a fun guy!

[Molzy]

Thanks guys!

I’m so happy to find a great house rabbit community!

lashkay – That actually is a harness, it was just one of those figure-8 ones rather than an H-harness, which is what he has now. At the time he was too small for any of the H-harness I could find.

peppypoo – the girl in the last picture is actually my old roommate, and his color did match her hair! He is much darker now that he’s an adult, and especially because it is winter. He gets a couple of shades darker in the winter now.

Brittany – dwarfs are definitely not short on personality! We’ve hit a couple of speed bumps with Rilers when he would get pretty cage aggressive, or decide that the carpet in my living room NEEDED to be remodeled. I’m actually amazed at how calm he is now – it sounds funny, but the fact that he lays down sometimes when I let him out is amazing to me!

jerseygirl – I will check out the diet page for some hints! Thanks for the lead.

Beka – thanks, that makes me feel better. Sometimes I feel guilty not having a friend for him, especially when I see pictures of people’s buns snuggled up with one another. Honestly, the thing holding me back the most is that my only reason for a second bun would be him, and I wouldn’t really want a second one if I ended up having to house them seperately.

[LoveChaCha]

Molzy! I know how you feel lol!!

I just moved from a house to an apartment and I’ve had to put perfume in places that my bunny decides to bunstruct. She has kept away from it since, but yes, as long as it doesn’t get too bad, my dad isn’t too mad about it.

Yeah, as they age, they tend to calm down more. My bunny likes to nap here and there now she is past the 1 year mark!!

Is Riley a big divo?

This place is fun to be around

[Griffenbun]

wow what a sweet bun riley is, very handsome eyes! I also have a dutch named Griffen. We were trying dates with other buns at the humane society but he was very angry with all of them. About one month ago a friend of a friend was giving away a bun so we took her in as a friend for Griffen. After alot of bonding they get along ok but honestly I think he liked ruling the roost and being solo. Mostly he just stares at her and chases her in circles. She gets annoyed and jumps back in her cage. What alot of character these little dutchees have!!!!

[lashkay]

Following up on your reply to me re the leash, thank you…actually, I had studied the photo carefully before posting my response, to see if I could make out the loop that goes under the belly that would indicate it was a figure 8 harness he was wearing, but couldn’t make out one so concluded that it might be just a collar attached to the leash. Thanks for pointing out that it was a figure 8 harness and also that you have since gotten an H-harness for your bun. When my two bunnies are neutered and I feel they’re ready to begin to try free-roam of my place, I plan to try having them in H-harnesses on leashes, as well, so I can control thier movement and dissuade them from hiding in narrow places. I feel that keeping them closer at hand and getting them used to a little open space at a time will be better than having them run amuck through the whole room! lol I hope my bunnies take to their harnesses as nicely as Riley seems to be taking to his, in your picture.

[Molzy]

Brittany – I have never heard the perfume idea! That is great! I think Riley has finally grown out of it – we moved into a new place last month when I moved down here for grad school, and I can have him out for 2-3 hours at a time without trouble! Though come to think of it, I think he just has me trained really well to go around and clean everything up before letting him out, and I got to bunny proof as I moved in so all the cords are taped high up on the wall! Little stinker! At least he’s leaving the carpet alone, that was my big worry!

GriffenBun – your buns sound adorable, is that them in your picture? Sounds like they’re still working things out a little, but it must feel nice to know they have each other when you’re gone. That is what I feel guilty about – being gone 10-12 hours a day. At least before he had the cats to chill with (the one cat would literally jump in his pen and sleep with him!). I bet your buns appreciate each others company more than they let on!

Thanks Lashkay. The picture turned out wierd where you can’t see the bottom part of the harness, not sure why. Guess college physics didn’t pay off, cause it doesn’t make sense to me! I MUCH prefer the H-harness, it is way safer, and makes you feel like you have much better control. In retrospect I don’t think I would use the figure-8 harness again, I would just wait till he was a little bigger, or bring him out in a cage. I will say that when Riley has his harness on inside, he doesn’t act like he does when he is actually free range. I got him used to it (and me used to it) by making a pen out of NIC cubes and gradually making it bigger – that way you can learn how to rabbit proof for your bunny (I think they’re all different in what they wanna get into!). Riley has been wearing a harness since he was 6 weeks old, so he’s pretty used to it, though he doesn’t wear it as much anymore. Hawks moved into the backyard, so I figure he’s happier and safer inside running around!

[Zombie-Sue]

My, my! I just can’t get over those brown eyes

[Griffenbun]

Hey!! yes that is my two fuzzballs in that picture.  They are getting better each day.  Griffen now must spend all his time in her cage when she’s not in it….they hay is always browner on the other side of the fence i guess.  Did your cats really enjoy the rabbit that much?? that is so amazing bc cats are pretty choosy critters.  do buns get defensive with cats? …very interesting

[anneNjoerule]

He’s precious. Wow, that sounds small to me but I guess people who have only ever seen pet store babies might think otherwise. I have a 4 lb dutch and 6 lb mix breed, good solid girls
Funny, I am planning on adding some birds to the family as well. It sounds like your animals are well off. I would encourage you to stick with the single bun. That was my original plan and than my second bun pretty much just landed in my lap and I couldn’t say no. Believe me, two bunnies = twice as much food and twice as much spent at the vet.
Anyway, welcome to the forum!

[Molzy]

Griffenbun – the one cat did, the others weren’t fans. But he grew up with Riley, he was only like 5 weeks old when we found him (the cat), so he was raised with the bunny, and they were good buds.

Anne-what type of bird are you thinking of getting? My girls are very spoiled, as is Rilers. Thanks for the advice on the one bun – that helps quench my petfinder stalking that I’ve been doing. I am also so happy to FINALLY have him at a point where he isn’t destroying my home, I’d hate to upset the balance!

[Michelle&Lolli]

He’s adorable!

[anneNjoerule]

Well due to the immense cost of conures (my dream bird) I am thinking of a budgie parakeet instead. I’ve heard they will bond quite tightly with their human if you only have one. They seem very cheery and sweet and when they learn to talk their voices are the most precious thing!

[Molzy]

Budgies are awesome birds if you can find a tame one or take the time to tame one down. The problem I have with them is that they are constantly chattering – not loudly, but it’s like constant background noise. I kinda like the noise, but I know it would make some people nuts.

Birds are REALLY expensive. I got all three of mine for free from people who couldn’t keep them anymore for one reason or another, but I have spent thousands on other items (toys, good food, vet care). In fact, I have spent close to $700 in the past three months on vet care – first my one tiel got a terrible sinus infection which took 4 weeks, at least 10 vet visits, and lots of meds to cure. Then my other cockatiel laid a funny egg (shell wasn’t fully formed), so I had to put her on prescription vitamins to help with calcium absorption, and an antibiotic in case bits of the egg were still inside her. So definitely make sure you have an emergency fund just like for the bunnies. Now, I did go five years without an emergency visit, but I think I made up for that in the past few months!

I also highly recommend cockatiels, they make great pets! I love my two girls, and at point I swore I would never own a cockatiel (I thought they seemd “boring” compared to the conures and such, but they have proven me wrong time and time again!).

[CarlieL]

Welcome!! Riley is just adorable. I love that middle picture of him! He has really cute ears…

And yay for another bird owner! I have a Congo African Grey (Dexter) and an SI Eclectus (Riley lol) who are sooo spoiled…but a blast. And yes, very expensive lol! Not initially, I got Dex for free and Riley was around $300…but wow, fresh food/pellets/toys/wood/cages/perches/vet care/harnesses/carriers etc add up so fast. I’ve spent at least a couple of thousand just in the last 10 months. I still wouldn’t trade them for the world!

Oh and I’ve gotta agree with the Cockatiel recommendation, they never appealed to me before but since learning more about them and meeting a few, I’ve been amazed. They’re so cool.

[Molzy]

Carlie – I love african greys, they are awesome birds! And yes, I laugh at my “free” birds! Just spent $60 this week ordering pellets and toys for them (just moved to a smaller town which doesn’t really have much in the ways of higher end foods!). But I wouldn’t trade them for the world.

My cockatiels have more personality than most parrots I meant – Sweety thinks the world revolves around her!

[Monkeybun]

One thing to remember about birds, is that they are very sensitive to smells. Strong cleaners, perfumes, air fresheners… and non stick coating on your pots and pans, can all cause serious problems with birds.

I just learned that in my training session at the humane society, I was amazed that non stick coating could cause respiratory issues with birdies.

[CarlieL]

^ Yep. Hubby wasn’t happy when I gave all of our non-stick pans away. We’ve learned to love cast iron, though! And I have started eating more veggies/organic foods and pay attention to what’s in products, now we have all natural cleaners etc. The main thing I miss is my candles!

[anneNjoerule]

I live in a very organic family. We’ve never used air fresheners or icky cleaners. I grew up with cast iron and buying everything from Whole Foods, so no worries here

Thanks for all the bird advice (didn’t mean to hijack your thread, or in fact the forum :p)

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