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Please Help; New Rabbit With New Rabbit Owners

SJ_R

Mama Doe
(Mods, hope this is in the right section; do move if not. Tara, if you're reading this, hi! It's Stef. You're in the right place)

Okay, so, some background: my brother David and his wife Tara live in Thailand and recently (as in just a few hours ago) he got her a baby rabbit from the market. They are very unprepared; this is his (I think it's a he; he is very young, probably only eight weeks old, I'm actually a little worried he's underage, called Jimmy) set up right now:

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I've been texting Tara and told her to get a big cage, preferably a dog crate. I've told her to give him pellets (they were given some when they got him) and Timothy hay; however, since everything in the pet shop is Thai, we'll have to work out a way, probably using pictures, to get what he needs. He's not drinking water, but I don't know if that's because it's out of a bowl and he's not used to it or not.

I've also told her that rabbits live eight to twelve years if cared for properly, that he'll need a good vet and to be neutered once his testicles descend, to handle him gently, and that she would be good joining this forum and getting help from all of us. She's gone to bed now and says she'll join tomorrow. I'll be sending her to this post, so we have some time.

Hi Tara!

So, let's get some easy-to-understand-to-a-newbie information together, okay? Things she'll need, how to care for him, how to deal with my brother when he makes 'dinner' jokes etc etc.

Bonus pics of Jimmy and my brother:

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He is a so cute and sweet little bunny but he should drink, I suppose he has not tasted greens and vegetables yet ? Slowly as he seems very very young. Maybe they can buy rabbits food via internet zooplus unless Timothy hay and pellets such as Cuni Complete (verse laga)are sold locally in Bankok or any big cities for example
 
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I would guess closer to 6 weeks. Hay and the pellets he's used to will be the best things. They might not have timothy but any good looking green hay will do.

He's little looking so a dog crate might need the bars covered to stop him sqeezing through. If they've got a spare room or cupboard that would work instead of a cage.

Rabbits usually drink from a bowl fine, I imagine they just haven't seen him do it. Easier to watch that he's weeing/pooping and use that as an indicator :)
 
She can only find something called 'pangola' hay, buy she'll try another pet shop. She's been trying to join us here but the internet isn't very good over there, so I will pass along everything for now.

Bonus bunny pic:

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Ah he is so cute. I hope they can find a decent vet out there, if so they can hopefully advise where to get the food locally.
 
Googling it looks like pangola is just another variety of grass and is fed to horses so that should be fine, at least as a temporary solution whilst they track down where sells the best options :)
 
Yes I've just concluded the same thing as Tamsin on the pangola hay! There are sites that say it's fine for horses and bunnies and horses tend to be pretty similar in what they can eat.

I would say that the little one looks nearer to 4-5 weeks old, he's absolutely teeny. At that age, his guts will be very sensitive and delicate so I think the most important thing right now is to make as few changes to his diet or routine as possible for several weeks while his body makes the transition from baby guts to mature guts and while he gets used to his new house without his mum and siblings. I don't know what sort of plants grow out there but the most ideal diet would be one as close as possible to that which wild bunnies eat, so lots of tasty foraged things...I know what they are in our climate but I'm not sure about in Thailand! How easy is it to bulk buy stuff online and get it imported, could that be another option once they're into a routine?
 
I've given her links to a couple of sites; she'll be going to an Internet cafe tomorrow. I've just been sharing everything I could think of, and told her to look for a cage with small bars and to remove a couple of things, not to give him any fruits/veg yet, and to get him neutered in about two months (unless Jamie turns out to be a girl...) He has a water bottle now, a soft bed and she change the blanket with a fringe with a towel. I've recommended that she gets him a smaller box to hide in too, but I don't know if she's given him one. I've told her rabbits teeth are constantly growing, and that he needs to chew; I'm not sure what she can give him over there

My parents and I will be going over there in January; I'll be leaving my bun in the care of my uncle to go and play with another one! So I'll (hopefully) be able to bring stuff over, depending on regulations.

Thanks for clearing up the hay issue; I'm not too sure about the flora there either. She was given pellets when she got him, she'll send me pictures of what's in the pet shop to make sure it's alright.

He is really small; I hope he was fully weaned. She got him from the market; I'm not too sure if he was sold as food (for another animal or to be fattened up and eaten by a human) or as a pet, but she was told he was a lion head so she texted me to ask if he was, so I'm not sure what he was being sold as.

I've also told Tara to make sure he doesn't get stressed, not to hover over him or let dogs near him etc (the neighbours dog was sniffing about) and not to pick him up too much. Dave keeps dropping him. He is no longer allowed to handle him, or I'll kill him once I'm over there.

Picture of Jimmy sleeping:

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(She's removed the plastic grass now)
 
Do they live in a large city with a kind of RSPCA or animal welfare or rescue ? Because they could enquire on the possibilities of getting proper food for rabbit . Although I believe they are for butchery, let's face it. That poor little thing was on the market ..
 
He's a cute little guy, and I agree, very young. Don't think he's a lionhead, or at least doesn't have the typical attributes of one. He's vienna marked, so may be at least part dutch rabbit or may just be vienna marked of another breed.

They may not be able to get him neutered. Just depends on what the vet situation is there. But I would be a bit nervous about whether or not vets there have adequate experience in treating rabbits. I know in some places with poor vet services, there have been issues, even with a simple neuter.

She'll want to keep a really close eye to make sure the little bun is drinking(and eating). I took care of a 4 week old rabbit that wasn't weaned properly, and she had no idea how to drink water at all, or even how to eat hay or pellets, and it was actually quite difficult to teach her these normal rabbitty things.
 
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