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away few days: bunnysitter advice

VikkiVet

Mama Doe
hi
Loooooong story cut short, but basically i have been unwell with cough/cold since November, had proper flu over new year and now my mouth and throat are full of ulcers and abscesses that wont get better. I dont have a doctor here at uni - i went to register today but it will take a few more days then another few days to get an appointment. So i am thinking of going home to Gloucestershire to my home GP and a couple of days TLC with my mum.

All my housemates are away on college placements but i have a couple of friends willing to take care of the bunnies for me. they are vet students, one has had a (very destructive) houserabbit before, the other no rabbits.

Just wondering what you recommend i tell them while i am away - obviously about food and cleaning out, leave the vets number. I dont want to be patronising but as we all know many people dont know that much about rabbits, so i just want to make sure they can spot it if something is wrong and know what to do. also, anything other than food, litter etc that i should leave with them?

thanks
 
I'd write out my daily routine and ask them to follow it as much as possible...Then you're basically telling them everything but not in a way that's saying "i don't think you'll get it right", you're just saying "this is how the rabbits used to being kept".
Hope you can get to the doctors and get yourself better :)
 
When my bunnies went to the Bunny Motel whilst I was on holiday, I literally just wrote down my everyday routine and anything that's abit dodgy about my bunnies. Like Tomee, doesn't like you touching his food bowl and he's a sneezer. That kind of thing.
 
Sorry your unwell Vikki :( Sounds awful.

Im sure if you just write down your normal daily routine.. and hand it to whoever is coming in to take care of the buns, they'll be fine. Obviously your number, the vets numbers (normal and emergency). Are they coming in morning and evening? Have they seen buns before?

Im sure they'll be ok for a few days, you'll be lost without them :) xXx
 
Sorry you are feeling so ill.

If you didn't want to go home just to see Dr, is there anyway that you could go into a walk-in centre at your local hospital (they have them in ours).

I tend to leave instructions of when to feed and what to feed, how often to clean, symptoms of illness and the vets number.

Hope you are feeling better soon.
 
it may help if you show them what and how to do everything. When i first went away i showed my friends the exact amount Spice got fed with a small yogurt cup I use which i've drawn a black line on, so no excuses for overfeeding by accident :D :D

As for hay just say the times and show them how much or if hayrack just say so ALWAYS full hehe :D

Handling - i encourage my housemates to get my buns out and mess around with them as much as they want! hehe more handling is equally more chilled buns when i come to handle them haha!

Cleaning the cage - maybe a demo for this too :D

Then the written instructions and your phone number maybe :D

There are 7 of us in our house so I am never too worried about when I go home etc my only problem is making sure only one person is going to be doing it so they dont get fed 6 times haha i normally yell up the stairs who wants to look after the rabbits and wait for the first reply hehe

Hope you get well soon! I am in gloucester so if you ever need anything, or wanna come meet my buns if your suffering from need-to-see-a-bunny-cravings just let me know!! :D
 
thanks everyone. train is booked for 11 tomorrow morning so will give the shed a thorough clean out in the morning before i go. my friend Emily, who adores the bunnies and will be a housemate next year, is going to come and do them. i took your advice and showed her everything but there will be written instructions too. i'll only be gone til saturday evening anyway so should be alright.

i hadnt thought of including symptoms of illness or their natural quirks, ie thing that are "normal" for them, so thanks for those suggestions!

i keep getting paranoid that somehow they'll catch something off me, but so far so good, and hoping i can get well again soon!
 
All's going well with the rabbits - they are updating me (too) regularly by text! think they are getting some extra cuddles too!

Doctor was useless - just gave me more painkillers and said to come back if the ulcers havent healed uin 6 WEEKS!!! so that was a £30 train ticket and 2 days off college for nothing! :censored: i know its probably a virus so antibiotics wont work, but you'd think they could do something?

Really miss the girls, keep looking out for them when i open and shut doors and around the laptop cable! Feels like 2 years ago after my last bunny Charlie died, just cant get used to them not being around! :( I'll get back around 11 pm tomorrow, debating whether i should go "wake them up" and check on them that late....
 
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