Rescued bunny help

[Summerrae3]

I now have a four year old male(not neutered) rabbit. He has alot of fleas which I’ve been using a flea comb every day to get off but I was wondering what you would recommend for flea treatmen? He also has alot of matted hair that I think I’m just going to have to cut. He’s not potty trained so he poops everywhere-is it too late for potty training? The cage that came with him in a huge dog crate that someone put chicken wire across the bottom so his poop falls on the tray but it looks like it’s been bending and breaking his nails. I don’t have the money to buy a cage right now so I wanted some advice on what to do with the cage so he can be comfy and it’s still easy to Clean. He does have a litter box but he mainly lays in it. Ive been putting clothes across the chicken wire so he can cuddle them and not have to walk on the wire. Sorry for all the questions and thank you. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[LittlePuffyTail]

You can use Revolution for the fleas. A vet can give you the correct dose based on his weight. NEVER use Frontline for fleas as it can kill bunnies.

You can use a small handheld trimmer to get the mats out. That’s what I do with my long-haired guy. You definitely need to put something on his floor so he can be comfortable. Wire floor can cause very painful and difficult to treat sore hocks, which are open sores on the feet.

Litter training an intact bunny is difficult because it’s normal for them to mark their territory due to hormones. You can try putting some hay in his box but it will be most likely impossible to get him to do all his business in the box.

[Bam]

Clothes or other soft stuff (cheap fleece blankies I’d recommend) on the floor will protect his feet: as LPT says, he can hurt his feet on the chicken-wire and develop a difficult-to-treat condition called sore hocks. Buns don’t have padded feet like many other small pets, so they need a soft floor. You would have to shake out the blankies once a day or so, because he will poop on them.

Try to get him to pee on something that you can put in the litter-box, or soak up some pee with a piece of old newspaper so he realizes that’s where pee should go. If he will at least pee in the box and put most of his poop there it’s great, the poop isn’t really super-yucky since it’s dry. Intact boys can be hard to train but some will take to it. My bunny Bam was over a year when I got him and he got the hang of going in a box in a few weeks or so and was fine with it for a year (then he had a hormonal burst, but that’s a whole other story!) Buns often like to much on f ex hay when they go so hay in the box or near it is very good.

Revolution (selamectin) is the best anti-parasitic for a bun, as LPT says. Some vets will give Ivermectin instead. Fipronil (frontline) is deadly. Both selamectin and ivermectin will get rid of intestinal parasites as well iof he has any (it seems like he’s been pretty neglected in his old home), so that’s a plus.

Other than that, food is key to bunny health. Lots of good hay, a small amount of good quality pellets + a slow introduction of leafy greens one by one over a couple of weeks will be great for him.

Thank you for takin him in. We’d love to hear more about him!

[Author]

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