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I thought candy was dead

runnybabbit

Alpha Buck
I have just had the most horrible experience. Candy as I have posted before is a house rabbit and when were at home is out of her cage most of the time. This week thought, I am working full time hours which means that candy is in her cage for about 10 hours and again when we go to bed she is in her cage as she is a chewer and digger and cant be trusted if not supervised.

Anyway tonight when I got home although she did come to the front of the cage to greet me she wasn't her normal self and didn't sem to want to come out, so I thought we can have tea first then get her out and give her full attention. After we'd finished tea I noticed candy was lying on her side at the oporsite side of her cage to normal, with her eyes closed and her water bowl on top of her head. I called her and she didn't respond so I put my hand in to stroke her and her fur felt cold and she didn't move or open her eyes, so I gave her quite a firm shake and she still didn't respond, I thought she was either dying or dead and rushed to the phone to call the vet, as I came back into the room she had just started to come round and jumped out of her cage and into her litter tray (I will explain about this in a moment). The vet said I could take her down stright away, which I did once she had finished in her tray.

The vet can find nothing wrong with her tummy was soft, bladder was empty temp was normal, eyes nice and bright but she did agree with me that this was some kind of episode and said I was to take her stright back if it was to happen again.

Now the litter tray bit.

Since candys phantom pregnancy she wont go to the toilet in her cage and is holding herself until she is let out then will run as fast as she can to her litter tray and sit in the for ages and do loads and loads of poo's and massive wee's. Now I'm sure this isn't normal and will do her harm. The vet agrees but said there is very little either her or I can do about it. Candy has her litter tray out of her cage and one in there with her, both have exactly the same things in them, its just the one inside her cage is smaller, the big one wont fit.

So the upshot of this is, candy didn't go to the toilet for over 10 hours today, frightened me to death, got checked over by the vet and given the all clear and is now racing around the house like a mad thing.... normal behaviour for candy.

I am just so scared, was it this toilet thing, how am I going to overcome it and is candy going to kill herself in the meantime by doing this. I wish I didn't have to go to work and leave her but it's just not an option. What on earth have I done wrong to make her think she can only go outside her cage.
 
Not sure why she's decided to not use her one littertray, but could you possibly get a puppy pen to attach on the front of her cage and put the littertray in there? You could put some lino down under the pen to stop her chewing (use a piece a little bigger than the run so she can't get a corner to chew)
I know that bunnies can cause problems like bladder stones by holding in a wee for a long period of time, so I'd try to encourage her to use it as normal asap :?
 
I would buy her a dog crate ASAP, and put it where her favourite tray is, with that big tray inside it - she is poisoning herself by holding it for so long - I can't imagine how she does it when she's so desperate she passes out - poor daft bunny :(
 
Here are some photos of the set up with candys cage, I dont think theres enough room for a run of any kind and I have no idea how I would attach it to this particular cage. There is about 3ft in front of the cage until you meet the dining table with is against the wall on the other side. The one of the litter tray, sorry but thats the amount she did in one go after getting out of her cage.

what on earth am i going to do



cage1.jpg

cage.jpg

littertray.jpg
 
You really need to ge her a bigger cage. Those should not be sold as rabbit cages they are far too small :cry:

The silly thing is a 48" dog crate from ebay costs less than they do :?

I have one and use it as a place to put sick guineas, it isn't even big enough to keep guineas in full time. Freya is in it now with her babies, but I'll get her out of it in a couple of days as they will need more room.

The worst thing about it for rabbits is that there just isn't enough head room. Rabbits need to be able to stand up on their hind legs, and also take a few hops at least.
 
My goodness that must have been scary!! I'm glad she's ok though. No idea why she may think she can't go to the loo in her cage - I agree with doorkeeper, though, that cage is far too small for a bunny to be spending time in, especially if it can be for 10 hours a day as well as overnight. It may be that she is now bigger than she was before the phantom pregnancy and so can't sit up in a good posture to go to the toilet properly, and so she doesn't do so. Or perhaps she associates the litter tray with somewhere that babies sleep and doesn't want to poop on them? I think your easiest option to solve it would be to buy a dog crate for her (the cheapest I've seen them are from here: http://www.dogcages4u.co.uk/crates.htm) you can also add a shelf to give them extra space. In the meantime is there anywhere you could put her where she can't do too much damage, maybe a bathroom or kitchen, if you have to work full time some more?

Good luck, I hope she's none the worse for her day!
 
Awww hope shes ok now
Those cages are far to small for rabbits :( ,i use the base of one of those as a litter tray for mine
do you have room to get a pen like this?
1026.jpg
 
I've just had a look at that site, and checked the dimentions of the 48" dog crate and it would just fit, it's 8" longer than her cage, 10" higher and 11" wider. Would this be big enough ??

Another question is how do you keep all the sawdust, hay, newspaper etc in the cage.

About the only room that is candy proof (apart from digging my carpet and chewing my curtains) is my bedroom. Now she is used to that room as a play room, where will pull quilts and pillows off the bed and burrow in them and generally have a fun time. Do you think there is any chance if I took a litter tray up there that she might settle once the lights are out or am I just clutching at straws.
 
A dog crate or pen is a good idea. Plenty of exercise will help keep her gut moving too. Rabbit can be quite fussy about their poop corner, and it's possible her cage is just too small for her to be happy with having her poop/food/sleeping together.

If you don't have lots of ground space them try going up with a two story cage... or as suggested a dog crate and shelf.

You might be able to pick up a baby playpen or you can get puppy pens that work well.

You just need to work out what will fit in best :D
 
I wouldnt want a rabbit to be shut in a 48inch dog crate for ten hours and then over night unless it had a puppy pen attached too
Yes keeping her free range in your room sounds ideal,but mine would just pee all on my bed :lol:
 
If you took the tray she usually uses and the cage (leave the door open for her) then she would hopefully settle in well. If you find she's settled in but bugs you during the night you could then try getting a puppy pen to put around her cage at night.... like Bluebunny's lovely setup.

If she's free range like that and the cage is open then you wouldn't need to get a bigger cage too.

Tam
 
:lol: :lol: :lol:

That worries me too, it's the only room in the house with no wires, anywhere (they are candys fav to knaw on). I think my main worry at this point is that she might get frightened away from her cage and her room.
 
I have a bun that won't go anywhere in his house, he has to go outside in his run.

I solved the problem by giving him 24 hour access to his run :?
 
I like the idea of the puppy pen round her own cage but candys a climber and would think nothing of climbing on top of her cage and then either onto the top of the puppy pen or over onto my desk (she dose that all the time) and that would be it, free in the house. I darent close a door if candys in the room because she just digs at the carpet until we open it, the thing is if your not in the room with her the carpet stops you from opening the door and you cant get in to her.
 
:lol: Sounds like a typical naughty bunny!! People find various ways to cover the top of puppy type pens, ranging from pegging a duvet over it, to using more pen panels to create a secure lid. Sometimes it just takes a bit of lateral thinking to solve escapology issues - she sounds like a right character :lol:
 
There is not chance what so ever that I will put candy outside. It wouldn't be safe for her.
I dont live in the nicest of areas and teenagers are always coming into the garden (what there is of it) at night..... on friday just gone, my back gate was kicked off beleive this or not by 2 men fighting in the ally way and another vidioing it.... the police said this is going on quite a lot round her, so theres no chance my baby is going out there on her own.
 
After saying what a cheeky girl she is, she's been hopping round from room to room and is now stretched out under the dining table with all her legs stretched out round her just chillin, so she's not always naughty, just when the mood takes her...... :twisted: :lol:
 
Now I don't know wether to go for a dog crate or a puppy pen. I have to order one or the other tonight because I'm so worried about the pooping problem and I know only I can decide which one. I know the crate would be safer not just for candy but also for Amy (my daughter) who is the clumsyest person on the planet and would have a pen over in the blink of an eye but the, but the pen would give candy more space.
 
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