*waves* from Luna and Sparklebuns

[Luna and Sparklebuns]

First time bun owner here! My husband and I owned a pair of chinchillas for about 12 years, then waited a few more years to consider bunnies. Luna is a lovely orange holland lop, and Sparklebuns (thank you, daughter, for dubbing her that instead of Hermione, sigh) is a sable point double maned lionhead. She is so incredibly fluffy that I think she’s a snowball masquerading a bunny! Both are currently 9 weeks old, and I only brought them home yesterday.

I’ll post a few pictures that their breeder took. I’m a photographer myself, but my husband built them this gorgeous indoor hutch, and they currently hang out in either their litter <g class="gr_ gr_865 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-del replaceWithoutSep" id="865" data-gr-id="865">box,</g> or under a ramp. I'm hoping they decide it's safe to come outside soon, especially since I think Sparklebuns is getting matting on her bottom, and I'd like to clean her off and brush her. Does anyone know how long it can take for bunnies to come out and play?</p>

Anyway, I’m sure I’ll be posting here regularly, since I suspect Sparklebuns will be a diva, LOL.

[Bam]

They are perfectly adorable =)

They might need 2-3 days to come out and play. Make sure there’s hiding places in the play area. I don’t know if Chinchillas like hiding places, but buns do. An overturned cardboard box with two door holes, one on each side will do perfectly. If a bun feels there is a good escape route if one is needed, they might not feel the need to actually use it.

If they haven’t come out after 2-3 days (but you’ve seen that they’ve been eating, drinking, pooping and peeing), you will need to gently take them out for a bit of check up of the butt and fur etc.

You should give them a litterbox and start litterbox training at once.

[Luna and Sparklebuns]

Thanks for the advice! So far, it seems to have taken them not quite the two days I’ve had them to litter train. No pee cleanup this morning, and all poop in the box, woohoo! On day one, there were quite a few smelly, softer poos, so I cut off pellets as of yesterday morning (they’re on Blue Seal from the breeder), and they’ve been nibbling hay all day long. I’m hoping to see better poop today, and give them some pellets tomorrow.

I’m aiming to bring them out either tonight after my kids are asleep, or tomorrow while they’re at school, just to lessen any random loud noises. I do have a cardboard box with some crumbled brown paper inside, but they haven’t shown an interest yet, likely because they have some hidey spots in their hutch as it is.

[Gordo and Janice]

So cute and adorable, the both of them. Welcome!

[Deleted User]

Welcome they are beautiful!

You don’t mention if they are separate. At 9 weeks old they will be approaching hormones and puberty any time soon. They will need to be kept separate at all times to prevent against fighting. Also, young buns are often incorrectly sexed, so you’d want to avoid any potential for a surprise litter. But the biggest thing is the fighting. Girls can become very aggressive and territorial when their hormones kick in. They can be bonded once they have been spayed and their hormones have died down.

Enjoy your new little ones

[Luna and Sparklebuns]

Currently, they’re in a very large indoor hutch in my office, and share a space. I actually brought them to a reputable exotic vet yesterday (goodbye $320, eesh) just to get them checked out, and get some in person advice on grooming Sparklebuns, clipping nails, what to look out for, etc. According to her, keep a close eye on them, and if necessary, separate – which I can do, I’d just have to block off some doorways in the hutch, and they can each have half. We’ll be going back in 8 weeks to spay them. Also picked up a hairbuster while I was there, and today I managed a full grooming session on Sparklebuns and she seemed pretty okay with it, once I managed to scoop her up and park her in front of some pellets. She had some weepiness in her right eye, so she was put on antibiotics. I think knowing I HAD to handle her made me a bit more determined, hah.

I will say, I thought I did a lot of bunny research, and apparently I missed where “99% of lop bunnies get awful ear infections, here’s an $1800 ear surgery to fix it” lol. After $770 in July for the spaying (is $310 for a spay standard??) plus some sort of ECUN panel, that will likely be put on the back burner for a bit. Thankfully, the vet was impressed with Luna’s ears – she said they are very straight, no twisting, so she might be one of the rare few who aren’t prone to ear infections. Fingers crossed!

[Gordo and Janice]

Lol…yes they sneak right into your heart (and your wallet!)

[Bam]

First of all, 99% of lop buns don’t get ear infections. I can’t say how many do get ear infections, it is more common in lops (because of the reduced ventilation in lopping ears), but most buns don’t require surgery. You treat with antibiotics first of all, IF the bun gets an ear infection. During my time on these forums I can only remember one rabbit that actually had ear surgery.

Spaying prices vary a lot between areas but they can also vary between clinics in the same area. In some places you can find low-cost spay/neuter clinics that do work for shelters and rescues. The vets in such places get lots of experience, so they’re as a rule not an inferior option.

I’m glad you got to groom Sparklebuns =) You have to be determined when dealing with rabbits, because they themselves are very determined. I don’t know how much determination chinchillas have, but rabbits tend to have quite a lot of what is known as bunnitude.

An ECUN panel tests for Encephalitozoon cuniculi, or e cuniculi or ec. It’s a microscopic parasite that’s currently classified as a fungus. Many buns carry it. It’s estimated that about 80% of buns are asymptomatic carriers. Most stay asymptomatic all of their lives, but in som individuals, the infection flares up and starts causing symptoms. I didn’t think vets tested routinely for ec.

[Deleted User]

Why did they test for E-Cuniculi? Are either of them showing symptoms? One of my buns has it and the upkeep on him is monthly, not to mention the test alone was $300. They don’t really need to be tested for that unless they’re showing symptoms like head tilt, vertigo, incontinence, or hind leg weakness.

My boys were each $350 for a neuter with 36 hours of overnight care at the vet, so if you won’t be getting that type of care, that’s overpriced. Why are they doing the spays at 4 months? Most girls aren’t really developed until 6 months. Just be careful about keeping them together, they act all loving I know, I made the same mistake. I went to go to bed one night and heard tumbling and saw my boys fighting on the floor. They can get injured really easily in a fight, just be mindful that you can’t always be watching them in the event a fight does break out.

That’s an odd statistic on the ear infections. I have two lops and although yes, we’ve been told to keep an eye on their ears, my vet has never been concerned with ear infections, more tooth problems because of the lops having smooshed faces. Neither of my boys have ever had issues with their ears. And the cure for an ear infection is usually an antibiotic like Sulfatrim or Baytril. I’ve never heard of an $1800 surgery for an ear infection.

As much research as bunny owners do before jumping into it, you’re constantly learning better ways to take care of them and odd new facts. That’s one of the great things about owning bunnies

[Deleted User]

As the others have already stated, there’s really no need for an EC test unless they become symptomatic. Also, I’m really not understanding why your vet is recommending surgery to fix a problem that hasn’t yet occurred? No offense, but it sounds like this vet is just giving you the shake down (i.e. they are after the money in your pocket).

On another note, I highly advise you to separate them now. A quick look around this forum of the posts where rabbits are fighting will give you a pretty convincing reason to separate them before fighting occurs. It can break out in an instant, and some buns have lost pieces of ears, testicles, and sustained bite/scratch wounds that require stitches or other medical treatment. Aside from injuries, rabbits will hold grudges. If they have a bad fight, it is likely that you may never get them to get along well enough to live together. Please do consider separating them, for their own good and also to make things easier for you in the long run.

[Luna and Sparklebuns]

Thanks for all the input here, truly.

That’s an odd statistic on the ear infections. I have two lops and although yes, we’ve been told to keep an eye on their ears, my vet has never been concerned with ear infections, more tooth problems because of the lops having smooshed faces. Neither of my boys have ever had issues with their ears. And the cure for an ear infection is usually an antibiotic like Sulfatrim or Baytril. I’ve never heard of an $1800 surgery for an ear infection.

I’m definitely not going to opt for it. She seemed a bit pretentious anyway. She actually called my rabbit “freaks” because “Just look at them, with their smooshed faces, they’re just like pugs, ugh, I wish they would stop breeding them.” I was immediately turned off, but I didn’t feel I could say anything because she is HIGHLY recommended in my area. However, I was so upset about it that I spent some time at 2am this morning, and found another exotic vet about an hour and a half away. I may try them out, and price out their spaying, and only use the local one for emergencies.

BunNoob, I’ll get my husband to start building the barriers tonight. I HATE to separate them, but I don’t want them to maim each other. It’s just hard to imagine – Sparklebuns actually flops right on top of Luna to nap, lol.

Oh, also, they didn’t test for ECUN yet, just said “We should do it to at least one of them when you bring them in to get spayed.” I didn’t inquire further, since I was still annoyed, figured I’d check into it when we got home. Glad I posted here.

[Gordo and Janice]

She sounds incredibly insensitive and not very compassionate. I don’t understand the mindset. Even if she truly doesn’t like a certain animal or breed for whatever reason, to actually say that to someone’s face about their pets that they love and hold dear blows my mind. There is some basic fundamental disconnect there that would bother me deeply as well. Regarding putting the health and life of my pet in her hands, especially if she has openly admitted to having such disdain for them? Forget about it. See you later alligator! Wise to find someone else that you will be more comfortable with.

[Deleted User]

I’m biased, obviously, but I think lops are the best especially my little Hollands

Don’t do the ECUN panel unless symptoms are showing. That test is expensive, and there’s no need to put them through that unless something changes. You’d only be wasting the money to come back with a negative result anyways.

I agree with G&J, it’s good to find another vet. That’s so rude of them to even say that. It seems like she wanted your money more than caring about your fur babies. I hope the new vet turns out to be better

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