• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

Have i done the right thing - how do you look after a house rabbit???

Ive been so focused on getting Diego into the house asap, that its only now im thinking whether i was right to or not. i feel so guilty over Dora and would do anything to bring her back. now i know thats not going to happen so i want to protect Diego in case the same happens.
The vet strongly advised bringing Diego in as he felt that Dora could have had an infection which led to her getting pneumonia because she was weak.
Diego was missing Dora and was searching all over for her, but he was happy, eating and seems a very well bunny.
im sure i have done the right thing as i know they go downhill fast, but he has gone from an approx free run of 18ft x 6ft to a 6ft x2ft spacee with as many runs out in the lounge as possible.
but im out of my depth here as ive never had a house rabbit... i have 4 children aged 5 and under plus the three cats constantly roaming... how can i let Diego run about in that? surely its too hazardous for him, hubby thinks we are going to end up with stacks of vets bills over fights between Diego and the cats. plus i dont know how to keep Diego from getting himself lost by getting out the lounge/into the kitchen/up the stairs.

Will i have to wait til april time for him to go back out into his new hutch? i will have to wait til he is back outside to get a new partner/partners

How it can all change in one afternoon :( there i was busily building the hutch and thinking how we could move them in in a few days.. i miss Dora :(
 
Sorry about Dora. Do you not have some sort of pen or run you could bring in so he has somewhere safe so you don't have to worry about him roaming.
 
Have you got a cool, preferably quiet place for him? I know that's not going to be easy with so many in the household but if you were able to keep him in an unheated room there would be more chance of you being able to put him out sooner.

Is he prone to being stressy? The change of environment might be worse for him but it's really difficult to know. If you are able to provide him with as large an area as you can spare but enclosed and somewhere within that where he can hide for a bit of peace, that's probably the best.


So sorry all this has happened to you, I've had two very similar surprises last year, totally out of the blue also.
 
Oh I am sorry.

What is the weather like? Im just thinking over here we have 4 inches of snow from last week and another inch from today. I think if you had conditions like that plus the possibility of Diego having something developing, inside would be the best option for him, even if he didn't have the space to roam. You can keep a good eye on him.

I have the smaller one of these http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/rodents/cages/pens_fencing/pens_with_racks/35638 if you need a borrow.
 
Is there room for him to live in the kitchen? You could use a baby gate to stop him from roaming.
 
thats so sad to read.....i hope we never go through with that with our dora and diego...:(


maybe it wouldnt hurt too much to have the cats stay out a bit more than usual?...as long as they have a place to hide im sure there wouldnt be a problem but i am no expert and thats the type of thing i would try.
 
Sorry to hear about your bun :(

I have 4 cats and they are fine with my rabbits and vice versa.

The cats were a little wary at 1st, but not at all agressive as its not another cat entering thier home.

The buns were no way afraid of the cats so thats a good plus.

Now the cats and buns dont have a great deal to do with each other, but are completly accepting.

Give it a trial run, see how things go and you can always make adjustments if things dont go too smoothly.
 
Back
Top