Advice appreciated

Hi,

I'd appreciate it if someone could advise me on the following:

(I have kept rabbits on and off throughout my life since I was 8 or 9. Apologies for the long story, I feel the background is important.)

Every single rabbit I've had for some reason has hated me. They would bite, scratch, run away from me, growl at me, stamp their feet at me, etc, but were fine with other people. I figured these were because they were outside rabbits and I didn't see them too often other than to feed/clean them out. I then got a house rabbit when I was 15 and she tolerated me, but still wasn't keen on me. When I came back from holiday one day, I discovered my mum had sold her, so I gave up on keeping rabbits as I didn't seem to have any luck with them. A few years later, my husband got a house rabbit and they got on marvellously and so I decided to try again with my own rabbit.

Enter Dexter (my profile picture). He was a tiny little ball of fluff whose parents were, I believe, a mini lop and a mini lion head. There aren't enough words to describe how much I adored him. It was love at first sight when I first saw his picture in the advert and knew I simply had to have him. He was born in May 2011, the runt of the litter, but this was now August 2011 and he was now ready for his new home - we collected him on Saturday 13th August 2011.

The following Thursday I was at home with him when the only way I could describe it was he fell over and had a fit. Hindsight tells me it was the parasite settling in and he'd just fallen over and was struggling to get up. I took him to the vet that evening and I can't remember exactly what they said, nothing epilepsy related and not what was really wrong with him, it turned out, but we were sent home with antibiotics. That Saturday, I was out for the day so I'm not exactly sure what happened, but he had to be rushed to the emergency vet who diagnosed him with E. Cuniculi (apologies for spelling) and gave him a course of Panacur and follow up appointments with our own vet. Within a week, Dex was paralysed in both his hind legs and couldn't move. I took him out of his cage as the sawdust hindered him and put towels down on my living room floor with the run around him so he could pull himself along with his front legs eventually. I read everything I could on E. Cuniculi and tried everything that was suggested. I hand fed him, gave him his water bottle, daily baths as he soiled himself, tried to keep his back legs moving so the muscle didn't waste away for when he got better. When he went back to the vets, they wanted to see him again in 24 hours, gave him an injection and said if he didn't improve by then, they would put him to sleep. Devastated, I took him home, wrapped him up in a towel and kept him my arms all night to keep him warm like they said. When we went back, he showed enough improvement that they continued treating him and after a week, he was up and about on all fours again. He recovered enough that eventually he moved back into his cage and lived a normal-ish life. He would run around our living room with our other rabbit, although he would fall over sometimes and he couldn't jump or sit up on his back legs to wash himself, but from where he was, I never thought he would be as good as he was.

Sadly, he slowly began to decline again and his front right paw became weaker. When he lay on his side, it would be curled behind his back. We weren't too concerned as we were warned he could deteriorate again as he would need the Panacur every three months to keep it in check. This was now early November, but he wasn't due for another month as it had been early September when he'd been treated with the Panacur. He began struggling with his cage and the sawdust again, so he moved back into the towelled run he'd been in before and lived there permanently as his mobility was better. I wanted to take him back to the vet and start the Panacur again, but agreed with my husband that it would do the trick and if we gave it him too often, he would become immune. So I continued with the hand feeding and watering and baths whenever he needed them and then gave him his course of Panacur when he was due. This did nothing, so I took him back to the vet who put him back on his previous medication and told me to continue the Panacur and to see him again in a week. Unfortunately, I woke up the following Sunday to find him on his side, breathing shallowly so I rushed straight to the emergency vet. They took one look at him and said they couldn't do anything as he was totally paralysed now. There was something they could try, but they doubted it would work and he would have to stay in. Not wanting him to be alone and so ill and pass away without me, I agreed they could put him to sleep. To say I was devastated is an understatement. I cried continuously for a week until people told me to get over it. Then I cried in private and pretended I was fine, something I still do to this day. I've found that nobody understands, they tell me, he was just a rabbit and be thankful it wasn't a person. They're wrong - there are plenty of people I know who I would gladly swap in a heartbeat if I could have Dexy back. Losing Dexter felt like having my heart ripped out, and I'm not really the same person I was before he died. Things I used to enjoy aren't as fun as they used to be. Dexy was so small he would sit in the palm of my hand, and he was long haired so he was incredibly fluffy and whenever I held him, he would lick any bare skin he could find, my neck, my hands, my arms. There's not a day go by when I don't think of him and miss him terribly. He's the only rabbit I've ever had that didn't hate me, but loved me back.

But, my question. My husband didn't know what to do with me, so he thought it cheer me up if he bought me another rabbit the. Slipper is a long haired dwarf lop, but she has a bit of a temperament problem. She hates being picked up and really hates cuddles. She stamps her feet all night when trying to sleep and is really aggressive around food. When getting her food bowl out to fill it up, she bites your hand and woe betide you if you don't get the bowl back in fast enough. I've never seen anything move faster! I've persevered with her and we've finally gotten to the stage where I can pick her up with no problem to clean her out or put her out in the garden for a run. I've found that if I distract her by stroking the top of her head, I can get the bowl out of her cage and fill it up and usually get it back in without being bitten, but in the past week, she's slipping back to her ways of rushing straight to the food bowl when it lands and I'm sure it won't be too long before she bites my hand on its way out of the cage. She has hay available constantly and I give her a carrot or some lettuce each morning, food in the evening, so I'm sure she can't be that hungry. Recently she even ignores the salad, but still dives on her food like she's not been fed for a month. I was very upset on Saturday about Dexter when a friend was telling me about having to have her dog put to sleep a while ago and it brought it all back. I went home, thinking that since she'd been friendlier recently, I could pick her up and sit and cuddle her for a while. Nope - she bit me after only a minute which upset me even more and made me miss Dexter even more and consequently provokes this question.

Is there anything I can do to calm her down further? Or should I accept that this is just who she is and if I want a cuddly bunny to sit in my arms and be affectionate, I need to hunt around for a second rabbit? She was sold as a female, but when she grew up, it became apparent she is actually a male, I refer to him as a her through habit. She hasn't yet been neutered as I've lived separately from her for a year and only got her back about a month ago (another long story due to personal issues I don't like to discuss) but it's on my to do list as soon as I've got her up to date with her injections. Would this make her any friendlier? Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Sarah

Hiya :wave: I'm so sorry about Dexter

Firstly, rabbits in general do not like being picked up. They are prey animals, and their instinct tells them that if they are lifted off the floor it is a predator that is going to eat them obviously there are exceptions, a few rabbits don't mind cuddles, but the reason most of yours have been unfriendly is probably due to being picked up. You have to accept that your bunny is one of those who hates it, and start doing things differently. Just sit with him and offer him treats, and when he seems to trust you more, give him little strokes. Eventually you may be able to do what I do with mine (and they all love it), which is giving them cuddles while they are sitting on the floor they love being snuggled and kissed, but all of them detest being picked up.
Also, neutering should definitely help too, it will get rid of a lot of the aggression at feeding time and generally make him more relaxed. Hope this helps! :wave:

Aggression when you put hands in the cage, and particularly when you touch the food bowl is often territorial aggression and the good news is neutering often improves this a lot. It's down to their hormones saying protect your space.

If your are thinking about a second rabbit, my suggestion would be to get him neutered and then wait 6 weeks (I know that seems like a long time!) that way the hormones have a chance to go down. Then go to a rescue and look at the adult neutered rabbits (doesn't have to be old just old enough to be pre-neutered). You'll find at that age their personalities are much clearer and you'll be able to select one that is okay with being picked up etc. You'll hopefully find that having a very people friendly bunny will actually encourage your bunny to be more friendly too

Hi, welcome to the forum Im so sorry about Dexter at least on here even if not in real life you will be understood by people with regards to all things rabbit.

As has already been said hopefully neutering will help calm Slipper down. With one of my pairs of rabbits who were a bit aggressive with each other over their bowl, I left out the bowl and scatter fed the food on the hutch floor. They are much better now. Or if that isn't an option for you, you could try feeding the pellets in a treat ball, then they will trickle out gradually as the ball is pushed around. And for transferring nervous or aggressive rabbits from hutch to run, before I got runaround tubes to permanently attach the runs to their hutches, I used to coax them into a pet carrier, and then you can safely get them from A to B without picking them up. It helps getting them back in from the run too
Now you have Slipper back with you, you might find s/he settles down a bit with a routine. Good luck, and keep us posted on progress :thumb:

Hi all,

Thank you so much for the advice, I will definitely take it all on board and try it out. And re Dexter, thank you very much for that too. I hated when people said oh it's just a rabbit, or worst of all, you have a new rabbit now so forget him and concentrate on this one. It may be 18 months since he passed, but sometimes it just sneaks up and it's just like yesterday I had Slipper at the vets this evening for her injections and the last time I was in that particular surgery was the Tuesday before he died and it was so hard. He had an appointment for the following Tuesday and having to call them on Monday to cancel his appt and no I don't want to make another one was the hardest phone call I've ever had to make, and I've had to call someone and tell them a close relative has died.

Anyways, before I start crying again, Slipper is booked in for Monday morning at the vets to be neutered so fingers crossed she calms down then. I may not have explained her particular quirks, when I first got her back, I couldn't go near her, but I talk to her whenever I'm in the room with her (she's in my living room, so quite a lot!) so she'd get used to my voice and I stroke her several times each day. I've now gotten where I can hand feed her carrots, but the lettuce is a bit more fragile so she rips that straight off me :lol: When I stroke her now, she flattens right down like a squished bunny which is so cute so I know she doesn't object to me too much. She's also gotten to the stage where she's perfectly happy to be picked up out of her cage when I put her outside in the garden to play, although catching her is interesting! Although the past couple of times, she's backed into a corner and I can stroke her and then pick her up with no issues whereas before I had to chase her all over the garden and "grabba-bunny" which I know won't have endeared me to her much. Any other suggestions for garden retrieval?

It's the sitting down on the sofa and cuddle in front of the tv which she objected to on Saturday. I know historically she's not been keen, but I was so upset over Dexter on Saturday, I just wanted a cuddle from my little furball and hoped she'd calmed down enough to allow it, but no. Have a nice bruise on my arm where she told me off for that :lol:

I've also been thinking today from what I was reading on the internet last night and I'm going to ask my other half if he'll convert this large viv I've got going spare. Yes I keep snakes too, but they are in a separate room, upstairs from Slipper and none eat bunnies! I would never allow the two species to meet as I don't want any nasty accidents so please don't freak out. But this is a large wooden 6ft long viv by about 2ft wide, I think, and maybe 2.5ft or 3ft tall so I think with a bit of work, it could be perfect for her and it's much bigger than her current cage. I did buy her the largest cage in the shop, but it seems to have shrunk :lol: she's a big girl despite being a dwarf lop. The first dwarf lop I had gave me a shock when she got so big as I was expecting a small bunny being a dwarf and all, but it's now been explained to me that dwarf lops are smaller than the lops they descend from, but if I wanted a small lop eared bunny, it should have been a mini lop.

Re the second rabbit, I was thinking if I could get Slipper into this 6ft cage, that would leave her old cage free for if I did go for a second bunny and they could live separately until they got to know each other and, fingers crossed, live happily together one day. I think she might be happier with a friend, she does thump a bit in the night and I don't think it can be fun for her, home alone when I'm at work. I work at home two days a week so it's not too bad, but there's still three days a week where I'm gone for up to 12 hours and when I am home, it's dinner, shower, bed and repeat.

Speaking of which, time for me to log off for the evening. Thank you once again for all your comments and advice, it's cheered me up from my trip to the vets

Sarah

Hiya :wave: I know how devastating it is to lose a beloved bun, as many of us on here do. So feel free to share with us anything that will help you

I hope Slipper's neuter goes ok. Just a few pointers for you...
Rabbits really shouldn't be given lettuce, it has a very high water content and has a tendency to cause tummy upsets :? Spring greens (cabbage) is a much safer alternative which most bunnies love.

I'm not sure keeping a bunny in a glass vivarium is a good idea, even if it has mesh on top (I'm assuming snake tanks are glass! :?) it would still get very warm and I don't think it would be very nice for the bun, it will be harder to interact with him for starters.

How long is he in his cage for? Because if it's for more than a couple of hours at a time, it would be a good idea to attach a run to his cage so he can run around when he wants to :wave: this is easy to do with puppy panels for example. And if you are thinking of getting another bunny in the future, that would be essential - you couldn't keep 2 in a cage with no run for any length of time, it wouldn't be fair on them, bunnies need lots of space 24/7 :wave:

I hope you don't mind me pointing these things out, lots of people aren't aware when they first come on here of lots of things, but we all started somewhere! X

Hi Sarah :wave:

So sorry about Dexter. Unfortunately most people in the real world don't understand about bunnies, that's why RU is so great. On here we know how devastated you can feel about losing a bunny even years down the line.

I hope neutering helps Slipper to calm down a bit. I don't know whether it's any help but when we got Freda from the RSPCA she was a vicious little thing - she'd been a stray and she was really aggressive, biting all the time, scared and unhappy. She's gradually improved until she's now a lovely little bun who loves being stroked and snuggled on the floor - I lie down and stroke her and she reverses in to my shoulder She'll never be a bunny who can be picked up and cuddled but it's just as satisfying on the floor, if not as comfortable for me!

Hi all,

Thanks again re Dex, it's nice to be able to talk about him with understanding people who are probably fed up due to lack of understanding. I have some friends at work who have lost pets, but those have been dogs & cats so they sympathise, but I don't think they understand the rabbit thing.

Hi Ripminnie

No I don't mind at all, I'm quickly realising that despite 15 years on and off experience of keeping rabbits I don't really know very much about how to properly care for them. So all advice appreciated

You can get all glass snake tanks, but none of mine are, pretty much for the same reasons you pointed out. The one I'm thinking off is a really heavy solid wooden one, which is open on one side as I haven't used it as a viv for some years now. It used to be glass but I'm going to ask my other half if he can convert it into a nice big indoor cage for him and we'll get some proper bunny mesh or wire for the open bit so he can look out & his water bottle & hay rack can go there too.

Thanks about the lettuce tip, I'll double check if its lettuce or cabbage I have. I don't eat veg so it's all green leafy stuff to me lol. If so, I'll make sure I only get cabbage in future. It hasn't affected him and he loves it, but better safe than sorry.

Hi Jolysium,

Thanks for sharing the story re Freda, she's very lucky to have you looking after her after what's happened before. I really don't get how people can hurt any animal really, but bunnies are so cute, little sniffly noses, twitchy ears and their cute little bunny hops when playing in the garden. I will definitely try cuddling Slipper on the floor, though knowing her she'll be like "go away, I'm playing!" Lol she's a proper little madam at times but I still love her. She was very subdued last night after her trip to the vets last night, I even missed her nightly attack at feeding time lol at least then I know she's ok but she ate her carrot from my hand this morning so I think I'm forgiven lol.

Sarah x

Hi Sarah!

I don't have any advice because I am new to rabbits. But, I wanted to tell you I understand your sorrow over Dexter. I had a beagle who had cancer and lost the battle to it and I still mourn that dog.

Hi all, :wave:

Thank you for your responses and for your reassurances re Dexter, it is much appreciated It's a lot better to know there are some people out there who do understand and do care. Everyone I know in "real" life give the attitude it was two years ago, get over it already, or it's a rabbit, not a person so who cares etc etc etc.

So Slipper update:
He was neutered last Monday, and apparently caused some chaos at the vets :lol: I took him back for his checkup on Wednesday and the vet took the lid off his carry case and said something like "oh it's you" Apparently there was fun and games trying to pick him and then he was not happy for the vet to check out his wound on Wednesday. The fur was literally flying! :lol: He's not been a happy bunny recently, but that's understandable - I knew something was wrong when he was happy to see me :lol:

Anyhow, I've been looking around for possible bunny friends and on Saturday I reserved a gorgeous pair of blue eyed white mini lion lops. They're only four weeks old so I can't collect them until 31st August and I cannot wait!! They're going next to Slipper so they can see each other and hopefully keep each other company whilst I'm at work, even if they're not actually living with each other. Not sure what sex they are yet as they're so young, so I have provisonally called them Sapphire and Diamond. The other half is not impressed with their names, but my little balls of fluff so there :lol: