Newbie

[Celia]

Hello all, I just got two little bunnies at a small animal expo.I was there to get chickens and couldnt resist these two cuties.I have them in the house right now, its like 95 degrees outside and miserable.Im hoping to make these two mostly indoor buns but with an outdoor  run for nice days.

I dont currently have an indoor cage but I do have a nice big Bass rabbit cage 36x30x18 but it doesnt have a pan.I had to put a tarp under it and then cardboard on the bottom for them to walk on.I also got a litter pan with aspen(didnt have any cat litter yet).

One is a Castor mini rex named of all things Binky(named before i found this board lol) and the other a Holland lop named Poppy.They are both females.Both around 8 weeks I think.They are both small but the mini rex is only about as big as my hand.So cute and little.Both are a bit skittish but semi friendly and seem curious and not over scared.

 

 

[Stickerbunny]

Welcome! They are cuties.

I notice you said you don’t have cat litter _yet_. Please don’t use clumping or clay litters if you do decide to go with cat litter, feline pine or a good wood pellet litter is best for them if you decide for cat litter. Clay can cause respiratory infections from dust and blockages if they ingest any (even from grooming themselves) as it will clump inside of them.

Hope to see more of them as they settle in and get more comfortable with you!

[Monkeybun]

And also, just a bit of a warning, you may want to get the buns to a vet to verify gender. Quite often they are misgendered when they are little, and unwanted litters occur.

And the size of cage you have may be …decent… for now, but they will quickly need more space, especially with 2 of them. You may want to get an xpen for them, it gives alot more space, and is easier to clean.

They are adorable!

[Deb'sBuns]

X pens work great for buns. I’ve used them for years and years.

Your buns are very cute!!

[Celia]

Thanks all.I will find wood pellets at the hardware if that works better.Thanks for letting me know.
I am hoping that they will be able to be mostly free range in my extra bedroom.So the cage would only be for night times or when I need to go out.I work from home so dont go out alot.Its going to take me a few weejs to get it rabbit proofed though.
I will start looking around for a better cage though.

Ive never had an indoor rabbit.We did have an outdoor one for a long time.He actually ran around free in our chicken pen for several years because he had been kept in a small cage all his life when we got him and I just couldnt do that to him again.

[Deleted User]

Welcome

They are adorable

[Tate]

Another thing that you will want to do is find a rabbit-savvy vet and get them in for a general wellness exam. Your vet can than consult you on when to spay them both, although it generally isn’t until 6 months old. Rabbit.org has a list of “exotic” vets… those are the ones that are well versed in rabbit care. If you don’t see any in your general area, still call around to local vets and consult with them. Neither of the two vets I see for my rabbits are listed on rabbit.org. It’s also not unusual to have to drive a bit to find one.
Welcome!

[Stickerbunny]

My vet also isn’t listed on rabbit.org, I found him on another bunny forum where they have a list of rabbit-savvy vets the users recommend. Takes a bit of searching but rabbit.org does have a good questionnaire for making sure the vet knows what they are doing

[Celia]

I am not getting two females spayed.That is silly.That would be over 200 dollars.
The people at the meet were breeders and had been in 4H for a long time I imagine they could tell a male from a female so Im pretty confident Ive got two females.

[Tate]

I tend not to think that doing everything I can to prevent as many illnesses and diseases in my rabbits is not silly. I take offense to you saying that. The costs to treat reproductive cancer can easily surpass $1000, and that’s just for one bunny. And the chances are in cancer’s favor… Over 80% of unspayed females will get it by the time they hit 2 years old.
Also, two unspayed females cannot live together. They will fight until the death. 

I’m sorry, but this makes my blood boil. 

[TaraMichele]

 Tate I totally agree, but as a new person to bunnys myself I had no clue about the positive effects of spaying and neutering until I came to this site and now Im 100%for it!  it also helped to learn that through some of the house rabbit society sites you can get discounted neuters.  I hope there is somechance you will consider it for the sake of your girls  besides for me since my sweet girl became a humping maniac I cant wait to go (which Im bringing both tomorrow !  Goodluck!

[Tate]

This is totally true, Tara. A lot of people on the forum had to “wing it” when they got their buns… me included.

[TaraMichele]

lol Im still winging it but with out a doubt this forum has been the most helpful

[LoveChaCha]

Posted By Tate on 06/06/2011 06:44 PM

I tend not to think that doing everything I can to prevent as many illnesses and diseases in my rabbits is not silly. I take offence to you saying that. The costs to treat reproductive cancer can easily surpass $1000, and that’s just for one bunny. And the chances are in cancer’s favor… Over 80% of unspayed females will get it by the time they hit 2 years old.
Also, two unspayed females cannot live together. They will fight until the death. 

I’m sorry, but this makes my blood boil. 

 

I would have to agree with you. The price of treatment for cancer is way beyond what you will pay for a ONE TIME spay. Believe me, it is well worth it. Your rabbits will be happier, and you will be happier. When the teenage terrors hit, I hope that you will reconsider this advice.

[Stickerbunny]

Females have a VERY high risk of cancer if not spayed.
Females can become VERY destructive if not spayed. My carpet has to now be replaced thanks to my females hormones, she dug it all up trying to dig a den. She has been spayed and is not digging nearly as much, even after 3 days.
Females can become aggressive if not spayed. Even if they bond, you may end up with pricier vet bills due to them fighting. Or having to buy another cage / exercise area, which also ends up being expensive.

There are plenty of reasons to spay. The only reason not to really, is if they have a health concern that would make putting them under fatal (rare). There are low cost spay/neuter places that may do it for cheaper for you, but really it is best for a female bun to have it done. Contact some rescues and see if they can point you to a low cost place if money is a concern.

[Malp_15]

I agree with what everyone has said. If you brought these bunnies into your home, you should be eager to give them the best care possible. Here is an article about why to spay.

http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/articles/spay.shtml

Just because these people are breeders doesn’t mean they are definately right. A LOT of people on this forum can tell you first hand how breeders and vets have gotten the sex wrong. It is very hard to tell at this early age.

[mia]

Check with your local humane societies; they often have low cost spay/neuter.

[Huckleberry]

You may want to consider how much you will spend after the buns start digging up the carpet. Mine totally destroyed our carpet before I got her fixed. I havent repaired it yet but I am not looking forward to it.
I take her to an exotic vet at a local vet college. They are very affordable! At least consider shopping around. Be sure to make sure the vets are rabbit savvy since they are very different than cats and dogs. Generally, a vet in a pet store wont be able to do it, just a heads up to avoid those.
I hope you reconsider your decision. They really do become little monsters with all those hormones. They bite, scratch, snarl, charge, dig… its not pretty. Forget trying to snuggle them!!! I just dont want you to end up hating them in a few months when they are a nightmare to own, and honestly, I did with mine before she was spayed. I still loved her and treated her well, but she was mean!!!!
Have you considered CareCredit? Its a credit card that many people get to help with pet costs. You could make low monthly payments instead of having to stock pile a lot of money!
I hope this helps!!!

[Beka27]

Welcome! Those buns are just about the cutest things ever! I also have a lop and a mini rex. My lop always puts his ears over my mini rex’s head. It’s like she has a built-in umbrella when her husbun is around!

As you can tell, we are passionate about the welfare of rabbits. In order for two rabbits to bond, especially two females, it’s necessary for both to be spayed. They will not get along otherwise, and it will be very unsafe to house them together past about 4 months. With two males you could *possibly* get away with it, but intact females are far too aggressive and territorial. Altho, sometimes spayed females will not get along either, so there is no guarantee. And as was mentioned, the risk of cancer is too high to keep them intact.

I also want to ditto the recommendation that they are both sexed by an experienced rabbit vet within the next 2-3 weeks. This way you have time to separate them if necessary. You would be amazed how often breeders get the sex wrong! We see it on a weekly basis.

If you have any questions or need some suggestions on housing, diet, spaying, or finding a rabbit vet in your area, feel free to start a new thread in the appropriate sub-forum. We’d be more than happy to help!

[jerseygirl]

Posted By Celia on 06/06/2011 06:25 PM
I am not getting two females spayed.That is silly.That would be over 200 dollars. 

I’m guessing… but I think Celia may have made this comment based on the chief reason to get pets being fixed is to prevent litters. So with 2 females, that reason alone would make it seem silly.  She may have been unaware of the other reasons to spay.
 

[ScooterandAnnette]

Unfortunately I think many breeders think of bunnies as livestock and not as pets, and really don’t know much about how to care for them as pets. Really when you’re in the business of breeding them do you take into account that spaying them is going to result in a longer lifespan? No, because spaying them means you can’t breed them and that’s contrary to your purpose. I’m willing to bet many breeders don’t know that a house rabbit can live 8-14 years if properly cared for.
– Annette

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Welcome! They are adorable!

I can only echo what other people have said about spaying. I guarantee if you hop on other house rabbit sites, or speak to any good rabbit vet you will hear the same-how it’s really important to do.

[Celia]

Wow a really opinionated group here..First things first is i need to get them a decent cage.So Where do I find a cage that is big enough.But it needs to be under 5ft long x 24 deep.approx…That is for the indoor cage.
.Honestly I dont know when I can get them fixed.It may be a few months.In fact Im not sure how Im going to swing that, my dh will make me get rid of them before he pays 260 bucks to get them fixed which is what it will cost( I was up at the vets yesterday getting my dogs allergy shots so I asked her how much for two rabbits)..She gave me a really weird look too like I was nuts. So I may just end up rehomeing them in the end and chances are that whoever takes them probably wont have them spayed either.

I can build a cage but cant think of how to make a tray or find one that would be big enough if they arent good at using the litterbox.
I also have a crummy water bottle that leaks just enough to make things soggy.What is a good one that wont leak?

[TaraMichele]

 you have time before you have to worry about spaying them, just something to keep in mind.  I would especially watch for any aggressiveness and signs that theyre hitting their teenage years once my girl started with that I couldnt wait to get her spayed ( which was done tuesday).  and as far as opinionated, its true but isnt everyone opinionated when it comes to things theyre passionate about?  Im glad youre keeping it in mind though.  As far as the cage all I found was either 40″ in length or and xpen, I coulldnt find anything in between but with the xpen you can kind of form it to what you want so that could be a possibility.  and lastly I feel like water bottles are just hit and miss, some days mine leaks others it work great.. 

[Stickerbunny]

Honestly, I am a fan of the NIC cages. The panels are available at bed bath and beyond and you can build it to fit your home. If you run out of connectors, just use zip ties. For a bottom, coroplast works well (available @ sign stores and home depot). It’s $19.99 a box for the panels at BB&B, which is the cheapest I have found.

For water bottle, you could either get a new one and hope it doesn’t leak or try a ceramic crock that attaches to the side of the cage so they can’t flip it over.

Not all vets are rabbit-savvy, the person at the front desk giving you a weird look asking about it would make me worry about their handling of your buns, personally. Most vets _will_ treat them, but most don’t really know how and just do it to do it. If he’s not OK with spay surgery, what would he do if they ended up with GI stasis, cancer or any other common illness for bunnies and needed vet care? Rabbits can live 12+ years if properly cared for, so vet bills ARE going to happen and with exotics, those can become very expensive. $260 for two rabbits is very cheap honestly. Though, a rescue/humane society may be able to get you a cheaper price if you contact them. Perhaps some bribery on him would help? He obviously doesn’t mind vet care for your dogs, so perhaps you could talk him into it? They won’t be ready to spay until 4-6 months old, so you’d have time to put money aside.

If you do have to rehome… a rabbit rescue in your area may take them in, they tend to spay before adopting and interview prospective adopters to make sure the bun will be cared for properly (I would look for one that uses foster homes). If you do it yourself, an in-person interview on their care is recommended and a rehoming fee to dissuade anyone who might want them for snake food etc.

Opinionated tends to be a common trend for those of us who are passionate about animals – especially exotics, since they tend to get the short end of the stick in a lot of homes. Sometimes people can come off harsh, but we aren’t trying to discourage, merely educate. Good luck getting him on board with their care, sometimes it can be hard when you have to talk others into doing things. Good for you for checking on prices though with your vet!

[Tate]

I know most people HATE the thought of another credit card in their wallets, but you might want to check out CareCredit. It’s a credit card used specifically for vets and a few human health procedures (possible ER visits… not sure of the details). You will want to find a vet that accepts Care Credit, but it really just acts and is processed like a credit card so more and more vets take them now.
Also, you could check around to different vets. I’ve been quoted as high as $400 for 1 neuter! Eventually, I found a vet that did it for $65!
As far as a cage, you can get an xpen and they are wonderful. Petco is having an online sale on them that are 50% off! Plus free shipping on orders of $49 or more. This is what I use, although I have two xpens. They are awesome because you can configure them into different shapes. One xpen gives you a 4 ft x 4 ft space.
It’s unfortunate that 4H-ers don’t bother to educate their customers. Many people just don’t realize that you can even get them neutered or spayed! But it is very important, especially for females because of the cancer risk.
Good Luck!

[LoveChaCha]

$260 to get them fixed is very reasonable. I know of some places that will ask $400 for ONE rabbit. I paid $135 for my rabbit’s spay.

 

We are a passionate group, but we want the best for other’s rabbits and for the owner to enjoy them  Rabbits are very silly creature.

 

[Celia]

(I dont mind opinionated I can be that way too)

I live way out in the country here in kansas.We have two vets, one does horses and cows and the other does dogs and cats.So a bun is not something they see everyday. In fact they wont even see chickens at all(I have 3 pet chickens and one swallowed a hair band(silly bird) but she was okay anyway)
Also I did at one time look into cloroplast for our two pet rats(I wanted to make them a cool cage) but we could not find it anywhere.So I really need a premade cage or at least some kind of premade pan.Im hoping that the litter boxes will be enough.I dont mind using tarps in the room they will be playing in either.Be aware I do have cats, they are not usually allowed in the house but they do make it on occasion, the one house cat I have is a wimp and hates the out of doors and wont go near my rats so Im not to concerned with her.
So at night they need to be caged.
The credit card is a no go.We went bankrupt last year because my dh had a heart attack about 4yrs ago and a massive chest infection with kidney failure.Our doc. bills got so bad that we had no other choice.At least they couldnt touch your house .

[Stickerbunny]

I am in Kansas as well, what part? Maybe I could point you to a nearby vet or store with coroplast

[Jend013]

I’m also in Kansas   I don’t know where you are at, but the Animal Health Center in Hays spayed my rabbits for less than $100 each.   I keep mine in 2 x-pens put together with carpet from walmart ($20) underneath then a shower curtain under that just in case, and give them water in heavy bowls (in the houseware dept at walmart  -they are heavy and safe for baking).  They don’t know how to even use a water bottle.

[Celia]

We are about 150 miles from Hays, in Morris County.
I know that they have a vet at K State but they would charge even more.We cant afford those prices at all.The bigger the city usually the higher the prices unless they have a low cost clinic.

What are x-pens? Dont they get sick if they chew on the rug? So far they arent very good at using the litter box.They use it but also pee just anywhere in the cage too.

[Stickerbunny]

There is a rabbit rescue in Manhattan that may be able to point you to a low-cost spay/neuter somewhere near you. Riley County Humane Society. You could try contacting them, see who they use for their bunnies (they get all of their rabbits spayed before adoption). I was going to adopt through them, but the local shelter had some rabbits and Riley uses fosters, whereas the bunny I got was in a small metal cage, so I got him instead. I use a vet in Topeka, but that’s a bit of a drive for you and while he is excellent with rabbits, he’s not low-cost ($152 for a spay, but included exam, 2 doses of pain meds to take home, one at the office, antibiotics, surgery and he was willing to take her in without appointment if anything caused concern at home).

X-pens are things sold at pet stores for animals – they are wire pre-built exercise pens and a lot of people use them for their rabbits. Whatever you get, remember rabbits can jump high! I have baby gate panels that were left at my house by the previous owner and they were great… for a few days, then my bunny remembered he could easily clear 28″ lol

If they eat the rugs they could get sick, yes. It all depends on the rabbit – you could try buying grass rugs which are safe for them to chew (sea grass ones usually are pretty cheap). It takes a bit to litter train babies, but they’ll catch on if you’re persistent with it. What I did with my girl was I used carefresh litter in her whole cage for about a week and let her choose her corner – then I put a litter box in the corner with the bedding in it, then gradually removed the litter from the rest of the cage and by time it was all gone except in the litter pan, she was trained and using the box exclusively for urine. She still leaves droppings around, but she hasn’t had time for her hormones to calm down yet.

[Jend013]

I got my x-pen on ebay, they can be expensive in pet stores. I haven’t had any issues with mine chewing on the rug, but they have cardboard, sticks and hay to chew on in their pen. One thing that has helped me with litter training is feeding their pellets in a bowl in the litter box. I also started out feeding hay in there. I bought the biggest (cheapest) cat litter box at walmart. They got used to jumping in and eating and “going.” For litter I use wood stove pellets that I bought at Orchelin’s and Westlake, I think that’s about the cheapest option. When I first started training mine they lived in a large pet carrier.  I put in the huge litter box so they spent a lot of time in it anyway.  I didn’t want them to have a lot of freedom to just pee wherever they wanted.  I wasn’t totally sold on the idea of getting mine spayed, especially when I found out I had two females, but I finally gave in when they wouldn’t stop marking (leaving little pee spots) in their pen and on their stuff.  Oh and when I let them out it was like a poo sprinkler went off. 

Have you let them out at all?  How are their litter habits when you do?  They may view their whole cage as the litter box, but not have any accidents outside of it. 

Good luck to you, I’m happy that you are trying the house rabbit thing. I had them outside as a 4-H project when I was little, but they are so fun in the house I’d never go back! Once they are able to have more freedom you get to see their personality come out and all this will be worth it.

[Meg Pressley]

Aww, so cute. :3

[Author]

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