Discussion
So good to read that there are people out there who are prepared to rescue such innocent little creatures from the cruelty and neglect of previous 'owners', if that's the right description.
A pair of happily bonded bunnies owned by a friend of mine, a victim of vile stepfather abuse herself, now live in a wonderful 'Bunny World' in her flat and mean everything to her. Such gentle, loving little creatures, as bunnies truly are, must never be allowed to suffer.
Thank you to all those who adopt rescue bunnies!
A pair of happily bonded bunnies owned by a friend of mine, a victim of vile stepfather abuse herself, now live in a wonderful 'Bunny World' in her flat and mean everything to her. Such gentle, loving little creatures, as bunnies truly are, must never be allowed to suffer.
Thank you to all those who adopt rescue bunnies!
We have a house rabbit, not my choice but it is what it is. Despite having plenty of stuff in and around it's cage to chew on ours insists on chewing every corner of every wall and every skirting board. Can this be stopped or do I just have to accept it's slowly going to eat the interior of the house?
Skirting boards do seem to be quite attractive to bunnies, for some weird reason. They also love nibbling at joins in the wallpaper. And as for cables, those are complete bunny magnets....
One of my friend's little rogues also found the buttons on a TV remote distinctly tasty and chewed off the lot. Explaining that the reason for needing a new remote was "because one of my bunnies ate the last one" was received with sympathy and the replacement was provided free of charge.
You mentioned the c-word...'cage'. As I'm sure you know, bunnies need homes, not 'cages' - minimum hutch size of 6' x 2' x 2', which allows them room to move, stand on their hind legs and enough space for the food, toilet and sleeping areas to be kept apart. Also regular access to a secure run of at least 8' x 4'.
They also need a partner - one bunny on its own in a small cage will be a lonely and miserable little fellow.
One of my friend's little rogues also found the buttons on a TV remote distinctly tasty and chewed off the lot. Explaining that the reason for needing a new remote was "because one of my bunnies ate the last one" was received with sympathy and the replacement was provided free of charge.
You mentioned the c-word...'cage'. As I'm sure you know, bunnies need homes, not 'cages' - minimum hutch size of 6' x 2' x 2', which allows them room to move, stand on their hind legs and enough space for the food, toilet and sleeping areas to be kept apart. Also regular access to a secure run of at least 8' x 4'.
They also need a partner - one bunny on its own in a small cage will be a lonely and miserable little fellow.
Edited by nickwilcock on Saturday 19th September 22:13
Ours only have the bottom of their cage to contain the hay and the litter tray, in a pair and still they chew. Chewing is a rabbits prerogative. There are some things in life that can be fixed, and rabbits do not come under that category.
You can encourage them not to, but if they want it they will get it. We've just become less bothered by it. So long as it isn't harmful it is accepted. Even our sofa has been destroyed. That isn't much help is it?
You can encourage them not to, but if they want it they will get it. We've just become less bothered by it. So long as it isn't harmful it is accepted. Even our sofa has been destroyed. That isn't much help is it?
Ours is partial to the corner of the fireplace and the odd bit of wallpaper. The fireplace one will put his head to it and then stare at you for a reaction so he knows.
The living room door to as the try to pull it open.
Cardboard boxes help with their destruction needs. They did like sticks but since I walked to the woods and brought a load back they haven't been touched. Selective buggers.
The living room door to as the try to pull it open.
Cardboard boxes help with their destruction needs. They did like sticks but since I walked to the woods and brought a load back they haven't been touched. Selective buggers.
Stick wise ours will only touch hazelnut wood and apple. Anything else usually gets a liberal coating of pee.
The destructive thing might be a bit of a protest of not being allowed in the area anymore. They don't realise that by not being destructive they would be allowed everywhere.
The white one has a new trick. She'll rattle the baby gate for ages and then run to where the food bowl is kept. It's her way of telling us she wants food. Now. NOW NOW NOW.
The destructive thing might be a bit of a protest of not being allowed in the area anymore. They don't realise that by not being destructive they would be allowed everywhere.
The white one has a new trick. She'll rattle the baby gate for ages and then run to where the food bowl is kept. It's her way of telling us she wants food. Now. NOW NOW NOW.
So... Little man has been on Metacam for over a week now and has improved (no more sore patch on his back) but is still unsteady occasionally.
We saw a different vet lastnight and she said she believes he has arthritis so is to stay on the Metacam (0.4 per day)for the foreseeable and has offered the option of an X-ray to confirm if I wish.
Can anyone tell me what to expect, i've never had a bunny with A before (and don't know anything about it in general), will he eventually lose the use of his legs or is there a chance he may just stay as he is?
Sorry if its a stupid question
I'm not sure this is very helpful but when Treacle was looking a bit old the vet suggested glucosamine tablets. They were hideously expensive but you can give them vegan human ones (just match the dose of the rabbit ones). He hated them and only Coco ate them so that was a wasted exercise. We also ensure they get lots of nuts and keep their weight down (easier said than done with nuts) and stopping him jumping up and down from the sofa seems to have helped.
Back to the vets last night as little man didn't seem himself & was dragging his leg again. I'm not sure whether he was just stiff from lying in one position too long or he was in pain. On the last visit (2 weeks ago) his dose of Metacam was dropped from 0.8 to 0.4 and on a few occasions I have had to double the dose as he was obviously in pain.
So for now he's back on 0.8 and after the weekend I am going to drop it to 0.6 and see how he goes.
She did mention it's not good for their organs to be on Metacam long term as it can damage them so the smaller I can get the dosage too the better
Poor little guy falling over then giving up and staying laid down. He gets so frustrated that he cant scratch/ clean himself without falling over, breaks my heart
https://youtu.be/93BBceplQJA
So for now he's back on 0.8 and after the weekend I am going to drop it to 0.6 and see how he goes.
She did mention it's not good for their organs to be on Metacam long term as it can damage them so the smaller I can get the dosage too the better
Poor little guy falling over then giving up and staying laid down. He gets so frustrated that he cant scratch/ clean himself without falling over, breaks my heart
https://youtu.be/93BBceplQJA
Edited by axgizmo on Thursday 8th October 09:37
bazza white said:
Hope yours gets better soon. Think one of ours may have an eye infection 
Anyone else's have an amazing internal body clock. Ours 21:59 will be in their cage chilling, 22:00 playtime and running riot around the living room. Every night bang on without fail.
Ours know exactly when it's feeding time and sleep time. We feed them at night at 19:00 and they are there waiting every time. They also know when it's bed time (22:00) and 1 normally plays ball when you tap the cage she goes in but he's a cheeky sh** and knows if i don't go in eventually they're going to give up and give me a treat to go in which 8/10 times happens because we can't be bothered to carry on! Anyone else's have an amazing internal body clock. Ours 21:59 will be in their cage chilling, 22:00 playtime and running riot around the living room. Every night bang on without fail.
samuelellis said:
It is amazing how regimented bunnys can get. Mine also know the exact time they should be fed. they dont know what bedtime is as they freeroam in the front room all the time but food time they know down the minute
We gave ours free roam but didn't like it at all and got really jumpy in the morning when we came down so they have a bed time and seem to like that much better now.Hi Axgizmo
We've got a rabbit the same age as Gareth (though he's a giant bunny called Stanley) who means the world to us, and he's been going through exactly the same issues. Balance issues and not being able to clean himself etc.
We took him to the vet today and he was given Metacam, which I saw thanks to your thread. This has already had a marked improvement three hours after his first dose and he's bombing around like a nutter and giving himself a good clean.
I just wanted to say cheers, because before I'd seen your post we would never have thought there was anything that could have been done. I do hope Gareth is doing well too.
Many thanks
Patrick
We've got a rabbit the same age as Gareth (though he's a giant bunny called Stanley) who means the world to us, and he's been going through exactly the same issues. Balance issues and not being able to clean himself etc.
We took him to the vet today and he was given Metacam, which I saw thanks to your thread. This has already had a marked improvement three hours after his first dose and he's bombing around like a nutter and giving himself a good clean.
I just wanted to say cheers, because before I'd seen your post we would never have thought there was anything that could have been done. I do hope Gareth is doing well too.
Many thanks
Patrick
Hi Patrick,
I'm so glad my posts have helped, has yours injured himself or do they suspect Arthritis too? I'm glad he's making a good recovery and the meds are working. Gareth loves the taste of it, he thinks its a treat and gets huffy when the syringe is empty haha.
I decided to go against having an X-Ray done as the vet suggested they wouldn't do much different to treat him if they had confirmed Arthritis and he would have to be under anaesthetic to have the Xray, I don't want to put him through that just to satisfy my curiosity. Vet said he will probably be on Metacam for the rest of his days (hopefully many more years!).
As long as he is eating/ drinking and his normal happy self I am happy, although it is not nice watching him get frustrated that he cant wash his face with both paws or scratch behind his ears without falling over
Kind Regards,
Laura
I'm so glad my posts have helped, has yours injured himself or do they suspect Arthritis too? I'm glad he's making a good recovery and the meds are working. Gareth loves the taste of it, he thinks its a treat and gets huffy when the syringe is empty haha.
I decided to go against having an X-Ray done as the vet suggested they wouldn't do much different to treat him if they had confirmed Arthritis and he would have to be under anaesthetic to have the Xray, I don't want to put him through that just to satisfy my curiosity. Vet said he will probably be on Metacam for the rest of his days (hopefully many more years!).
As long as he is eating/ drinking and his normal happy self I am happy, although it is not nice watching him get frustrated that he cant wash his face with both paws or scratch behind his ears without falling over
Kind Regards,
Laura
Edited by axgizmo on Thursday 15th October 12:24
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