• 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.

Hello new to the forum

Jaspers mum

Young Bun
My bunny of 8 years died 4 years ago. I raised him from a baby, but when he passed, I had a human baby, so thought I would wait until my son was older.

Last week I decided it was time to have a new bunny in our lives, but I decided to visit our local animal shelter instead of a breeder.

On our visit, I saw DOZENS of rabbits there, it was quite sad. Well, this little guy had been there 8 long months. In a very small basic cage, no litter pan, no hay, no veggies :(

When I asked the staff about him, the woman told me that no one had ever asked after him, and no one has ever shown any interest in him, because he has a scar, and he is not "cute". The shelter staff said he was still a kit when he arrived, so he was about a year to 1.5 yr old.

Well...I think he's cute :(

Anyhow, his name is now Jasper. He has some behaviour issues. So any feedback and suggestions would be great, although I think some time to adjust and love is really what he needs most. But here are our issues:

1. Litter pan: He does not use it.

2. Territorial pooping. It's gross. (will this die off in time?)

3. The shelter did not neuter him, humping my kitties and spraying everywhere! He has an appt late April for the boys to be gone.

4. Aggression in the cage, when I touch things, and nipping my son.

5. Will not eat hay, has no interest in it at all! Also, Im not sure how fast to introduce fresh veggies?

6. Scratching the carpet and furniture and my son's lap with his front paws. My other bun didnt do this, is it normal and what does it mean?

Sorry for the long post...Im glad I got a shelter bunny, but it is proving to be a challenge!

ps...I think he may be a netherland cross...Any guesses?
In my signature, he is beside my 4 yr old's shoe, so you can see how small he is!
 
My bunny of 8 years died 4 years ago. I raised him from a baby, but when he passed, I had a human baby, so thought I would wait until my son was older.

Last week I decided it was time to have a new bunny in our lives, but I decided to visit our local animal shelter instead of a breeder.

On our visit, I saw DOZENS of rabbits there, it was quite sad. Well, this little guy had been there 8 long months. In a very small basic cage, no litter pan, no hay, no veggies :(

When I asked the staff about him, the woman told me that no one had ever asked after him, and no one has ever shown any interest in him, because he has a scar, and he is not "cute". The shelter staff said he was still a kit when he arrived, so he was about a year to 1.5 yr old.

Well...I think he's cute :(

Anyhow, his name is now Jasper. He has some behaviour issues. So any feedback and suggestions would be great, although I think some time to adjust and love is really what he needs most. But here are our issues:

1. Litter pan: He does not use it.

2. Territorial pooping. It's gross. (will this die off in time?)

3. The shelter did not neuter him, humping my kitties and spraying everywhere! He has an appt late April for the boys to be gone.

4. Aggression in the cage, when I touch things, and nipping my son.

5. Will not eat hay, has no interest in it at all! Also, Im not sure how fast to introduce fresh veggies?

6. Scratching the carpet and furniture and my son's lap with his front paws. My other bun didnt do this, is it normal and what does it mean?

Sorry for the long post...Im glad I got a shelter bunny, but it is proving to be a challenge!

ps...I think he may be a netherland cross...Any guesses?
In my signature, he is beside my 4 yr old's shoe, so you can see how small he is!

Hi :wave: It's great that you went to a rescue!

The neutering will probably work wonders with him - my boy wouldn't use his litter tray at all until I had him fixed :lol: It should calm him down a bit too so hopefully he won't nip anymore.
Veg needs to be introduced nice and slowly, just little bits at a time at first :)
For the hay, you can try tempting him with a few different types. Also, make sure you have him on a limited pellet diet so that the hay makes up a good % of his diet :)

:wave::wave:
 
Hello, welcome along, and lovely to hear your story.
He looks very cute in your picture.
Very sad to hear that he was in rescue for such a long time but happy that he now has his forever home with you.

I think you are right that most of all he probably just needs love and attention and time to settle in...

I think that many of your issues will ease a bit after he is neutered...I think litter training is easier afterwards and this will help with the aggression and the humping and spraying etc.

For the bits that are behavioural, there are lots of people on here that are great at giving advice. Some things, like scratching and digging, are just their natural instincts, for instance my indoor rabbit Fay digs and scratches a lot and she is neutered. My other indoor rabbit Starbuck doesnt at all. To prevent her digging at bits that I dont really want her to, I am getting a bitter apple spray that is specially for rabbits (think you can use white vinegar too). They dont like the taste. Also providing plenty of toys and things to chew and maybe even a special box for digging in, can help.

As for the veggies, I think just introduce one kind at a time, in small amounts. Provide hay and he might go for it over time when he is a bit more settled.

ETA: you can also stuff the inner cardboard tube from toilet rolls with hay to make more of a game out of it - can put tiny treats right in the middle of that so he has to work to get it out.

Loads and loads of luck for everything and hope you get lots of answers on here!

Helen x
 
Thanks for the great tips!

I will try measuring out his pellets in an effort to make him eat some more hay, my aunt is also going to the farm goods store next week end to get some fresh meadow hay, rather than the stale packaged timothy we have available here.

I wish I didnt have to wait as long as the end of april for his neuter, but not anything I can do about that than
 
Thanks for the great tips!

I will try measuring out his pellets in an effort to make him eat some more hay, my aunt is also going to the farm goods store next week end to get some fresh meadow hay, rather than the stale packaged timothy we have available here.

I wish I didnt have to wait as long as the end of april for his neuter, but not anything I can do about that than

congrats on your new bunny, i agree with everyone else. in the mean time before his neuter you can sort out his eating, this will be vitally important in recovering from the op. yep just try loads of different hays. you can also order hay from Hayexperts online. good luck and hope he calms down, he's probably a bit traumitised at the moment and will take some time to settle in.
 
congrats on your new bunny, i agree with everyone else. in the mean time before his neuter you can sort out his eating, this will be vitally important in recovering from the op. yep just try loads of different hays. you can also order hay from Hayexperts online. good luck and hope he calms down, he's probably a bit traumitised at the moment and will take some time to settle in.

I know Lisa does send some parcels overseas to Europe but I don't think she has got to sending parcels to the States and Canada yet.

I am sure that neutering will help reduce the territorial / hormonal issues you are having.
 
hey well done you for rescue route, poor little darling sounds like he has been through a lot!! so thats prob where his issues lie:cry:

what scar has he got?? I think that they just add to the charactor;)
 
:wave: welcome to the forum, great to see another Canadian.. one of my favourite countries i've visited!

aawww he looks lovely, i adore that colouring!! fab name too!
I'm sure having him neutered will help with some of his behaviours.. i guess some of it may be due to him being in a shelter on his own for so long. Would you think about getting a 2nd rabbit so he has a partner?
 
:cry: I cant see the pic!! (stamps foot!!).
Welcome to the forum!! So pleased youve got him...sounds like youre the best medicine for him!!!, scar and all!!!:wave::wave:
 
Aww hes lovely :love::love:

After reading alot about bunnies, I think having him neutered will help with most of the problems so far. He is probably still really scared of you and your family, its still new for him so maybe within time he will get better himself.

Not sure if this would work but how about not feeding him pellets for a day or so, just give him hay... would he eat it then? As for veg, he should be fine eating bits but just introduce things one at a time for him to get used to them :)
 
thanks for the response

Sorry for the delay, I had trouble finding the post :S

I wrote an update in rabbit chat however!

His scar is on his bum, tomorrow (its after midnight) I will take a pic and post. The vet said the scar is permanent but that the area shaved around it is fairly new. I dont have too much info on him, since the shelter I got him from just recently had an overhaul. A large portion of the staff were charged criminally for animal cruelty, and the health records werent very good.

His eating is doing well, he is still nto eating hay, which is apparently super important, as I took him for his check up today at the doctor, and he has some teeth issues. His upper teeth grow weird sorta like your fingers in a peace sign.

In any case, the doctor said to try different hays, and to measure out only a bit of pellets each day. But that the hay is important, becuase of his wonky teeth

The litter pan is doing nominally better inside the cage, and territorial poop is getting better.

Veggies, we have found THREE he is willing to eat! Romaine lettuce, Broccoli, and carrots (a wee bit) also, I shared a little banana with him, and he shuddered in happys than snuffled around looking for more.
 
Back
Top