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im in a terrible situation plz help- UPDATE PLEASE READ

vickyplum

Warren Scout
Hello, i really need some advice. Tuesday night my partner who i have lived with for nearly 3 years finished our relationship out of the blue and for no real reason. I was living in York now I am back in Middlesbrough with my parents. I am having to travel from boro to york everyday because my teaching placement is there and my life is upside down. Ruby the rabbit is with him for now but im goin for her next weekend trouble is ruby is a house rabbit but she cant live in my mams house because my mam has sever asthma and is allergiced to her. The ex cant look after her properly because he works away. and i dont want to give her up. She has an indoor cage aswell. Would she be able to go outside in a shed or something or would this possibly do harm to her because she is used to the warmth indoors?

Please help,

Thanks, Vicky
 
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Im sorry you are in this situation.. It is not advisable to put ruby outside yet as she will not have a winter coat - I think April/May time is best..
though I think if she was in a shed with plenty of bedding and shelter from the elements she should be ok - also do you have a heatpad (snugglesafe) you could put in with her..

Btw - Ruby is gorgeous! :love:
 
As it is so cold outside at the moment, I would say that she couldn't go outside.
Is there anyway she could live in your room or somewhere your mum could avoid her?
Either that or it might be worth seeing if anyone could foster he for you until you get everything sorted out.
 
Ive asked if my parents would let her go in the upstair bedroom but they arent keen at all. I dont know what i am going to do, if i have to let her go i will be devastated everything has been taken away from me but Ruby has always been there and i just cant imagine not having her around but i dont want to put her at harm.

She is sheding her coat at the mo as well so this probably will prevent her from being ok outside but losing her hair makes her more likely to make my mam ill.

My parents were talking about getting a sun house in the garden, would that be better?
 
Unless the shed is heated, ill say no.
The nights are still freezing and you'll need to wait till the nights warm up.
around april/may time.
it wouldnt be fair to stick her outside while its still very cold.
She could get ill from going to nice and warm to freezing cold.

If your parents cant have her in the house, maybe a friend or another family member could take her on for a few months? till the weather improves.
 
Hi :wave: just wanted to say I'm sorry you're going through such a hard time.

Finding a fosterer is a good idea, at least then you know its temporary for a couple of months until the weather is warmer, and will give you time to get your outdoor set-up done. If its local you could pop round and see them too.

Good luck xx
 
do you parents have a garage that she could go in for a month until she can grow a thicker coat? If not a small room with no heating and then a little later the windows open will help her thicken up a bit & then you could move her in to a shed with perhaps a hutch inside it packed to the gunnels with hay and straw to help keep her warm.

if not I would say try to find some temporary foster care for her or possibly a bunny hotel (although thay would cost quite a bit, but they might give you a discount for such a long time)
 
would a garage be ok ?

mine are in a garage, but with a lil bit of warmth from the bird/aviary heaters to keep the chill out.

It does get cold in the garage, but not as cold as outside.
make sure she has LOTS of bedding to snuggle up in.

how about those bunny heat pads? i forgot what their called
they could help?
 
would a garage be ok ?

So long as its not also used for the car, as fumes will kill your bun.

A garage will be cold, but will be warmer than outside. If that is your only option then you'd need to pile in lots of hay and cover the hutch well,particularly at night when the temp drops further.
 
yes a garage should be ok for a couple of months (although not long term because of the lack of light). Make sure she is in a safe pen, well away from any chemicals and the cars mustn't be parked in it. Give her a hutch or something to snuggle in & as said plenty of hay & perhaps a snuggle safe for the first week or so. You could also put a heater in that goes on only if the temp drops below freezing. Most garages attached to houses wont go below freezing unless it is very gold outside because of the heat of the house. you might want to get her a pen for outside as well so you can pop her outside for an hour or so during the day or at weekends.
 
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Yes get them to clear out the garage and then put a heater in their and it should be okay until summer :)

Just make sure the heater is in an area unreachable by your bun.
 
She will be fine being outdoors as people seem to think it is a major problem it really isn't I have had house rabbits come in and they have been in the garage all I do is extra hay and straw and shredded paper, I never use snugglesafes just ensure it is a wooden hutch with a seperate bedding area
 
I'm sure with some imagination too you could have a roomy set up in a garage, I know someone that keeps there buns in a garage they put the lights on during the day when the weather is really bad or they open the door when the weather is good.
 
Feel so sorry for you. My advice..... ask a vet to be sure - a vet that knows rabbits. I do know that my friend got a rabbit thinking she would like a house rabbit. Turned out she didn't like having the bun in the house and she wanted to let it live outside. The advice she was given from the 'experts' was that as the rabbit didn't have it's winter coat it was very risky and she should wait until April/May time (which isn't far away!) Anyway she tried it in the shed and the wee thing was obviously freezing and unhappy so they brought it in after two days! If you can just get over the next few months, maybe boarding her if possible I can tell you that my two are great outside all through the winter with a little TLC, hopping up and tonnes of straw - need a very sturdy, warm shed or something though. Oh I hope you can work something out. I'll pray about it for you if you like!
 
Update

Hello people,

Thank you lot for your advice and replies,i have had further thoughts and i wanted to share them with you to make sure i am doing the best for ruby.

A really good friend of mine is going to look after ruby until april in his house and i am going to pop up to see her everyday.

I am going to buy a sunhouse which i will put heaters in for ruby, the sunhouse has windows for sunlight. I will put lots of hay in there, a radio for her because she isnt used to quiet and i will let her run around in there and play.

I will also get her a run for the garden which im sure she will enjoy in summer.

Her current cage is this one :http://www.petsathome.com/shop/rabb...a-pig-and-dwarf-rabbit-cage-by-ferplast-15992

It is brand new and she has settled into it really well, i know that bunnies tend to have wooden outdoor cages but if i got her a stand to put the cage on and a snuggle to put over the cage would i be able to keep her in this or do people think it wouldnt be safe?

I know ruby will hate the change of having to live in a summerhouse but i will get her our for hours everyday and sneak her in the house when nobody knows lol.

PLease if anyone has any worries, or if anyone thinks its a good plan could you get back to me because i am so unsure about myself and my choices at the moment.

Thanks,

vicky
 
Hey Vicky - sounds like you are really doing your best for your bunny. Things cant be easy for you right now. Best wishes to you and chin up - things will get easier.

Take care - Ceri xxx
 
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I'm sorry about your situation, I'm sure you are doing your best for Ruby. Make sure you are looking after yourself too x

Not sure what a sunhouse is?

I'm sure Ruby wil be ok outside. Not sure about using an indoor cage though. Also if she will be alone for long periods you might want to consider a friend eventually.
 
Hello people,

Thank you lot for your advice and replies,i have had further thoughts and i wanted to share them with you to make sure i am doing the best for ruby.

A really good friend of mine is going to look after ruby until april in his house and i am going to pop up to see her everyday.

I am going to buy a sunhouse which i will put heaters in for ruby, the sunhouse has windows for sunlight. I will put lots of hay in there, a radio for her because she isnt used to quiet and i will let her run around in there and play.

I will also get her a run for the garden which im sure she will enjoy in summer.

Her current cage is this one :http://www.petsathome.com/shop/rabb...a-pig-and-dwarf-rabbit-cage-by-ferplast-15992

It is brand new and she has settled into it really well, i know that bunnies tend to have wooden outdoor cages but if i got her a stand to put the cage on and a snuggle to put over the cage would i be able to keep her in this or do people think it wouldnt be safe?

I know ruby will hate the change of having to live in a summerhouse but i will get her our for hours everyday and sneak her in the house when nobody knows lol.

PLease if anyone has any worries, or if anyone thinks its a good plan could you get back to me because i am so unsure about myself and my choices at the moment.

Thanks,

vicky

is a sun house a conservatory? or a shed? i would not have glass windows in it as this can maek it too hot for the bunny. if the cage is indoors in the shed (im calling it a shed for now as i think that is what you mean?) then the cage will be ok if teh cage is outside then it will not be ok make sure whatever she is in it is weather proof and fox proof, and has lots of space to relieve boredom get her a bunny companion she would like this i think your freind caring for her until april is best but i think sneaking her into the house should be a no no as i know peopel with severe allergies adn asthma will still feel the affects adn it just inst fair how about sitting i nthe garden with her to play. hopefully your mums is a temp solution anyway and once you ahve yoru own place again then you can have her as a hosue bun x
 
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