Help- my buns changed colour overnight

[Jemma&Theo]

ok

 

[Freakles]

I have just googled the zoo-zone cage and the biggest one I could find was 3ft 3" in length. Is this the one you have got?

 

[Jemma&Theo]

I dont know to hand- im at work.

All i know is like you said yourself- rabbits arent active in the day, this is when he sleeps.

I have the time for him, I have the effort , and I have eough money

His basic needs are met- as well as many others-

I understand your point on him having space- which he does- whernever we are at home.

the only place i could leave him ( after much proofing) is the computer room, but last time i bunnyproofed it he still managed to chew an internet cable through some bars i had used to block access.

Also, if he chewed the carpet - id loose my £500 deposit to my landlord.
and again- he cant walk to laminate so cant leave him elsewhere.

when he is supervised- he gets plenty of excercise- and im sure 50% of people on here dont allow they animals free roam when they are at work- id be too scared of him hurting himself. but he does get as much free running time as he wants when i get in from work.

this is his run

he is in this at least 4 hours a day

this is him enjoying freedom in the double room he has acess to at least twice weekly.

he isnt a battery hen

 

[Jemma&Theo]

this one sorry

 

[Freakles]

His run looks excellent, why can he not live in that all the time he would normally be in his cage? This would be much more suitable and he would feel much more able to exercise when he wants to. Yes they do sleep a lot during the day but you have also shut him in at dawn when he would like to be active. I don't know about you, but I would not get out of bed at 4am to let my rabbits out!!

If you are worried about him jumping out you can make a lid. Also I had a cube cage for two of my rabbits before they where bonded with my other pair. I used thick zip ties to attach the panels together incase you are worried he could push his way out. I then did not fasten them in one place and used dog lead clips so I could undo them to make a door.

 

[Jemma&Theo]

they are zip tied together- and he cannot jump out

( well he tried once and ended up like a starfish stuck to the side with no way down- i had to pluck him off- was quite funny)

im scared to leave him there in the day- ill leave him in if i pop out for half an hour but my worst nightmare is him getting injured - trying to jump out.

we left him in his run when he got neutered so he would have more to do than sit there and pick stitches. he was ok but i was scared all day- at least i know he is safe in his bed.

 

[Freakles]

If you put a lid on the top of the run it may stop him from trying to jump out, but I completely understand your concerns if he has aready tried and would have seriously hurt himself if you han not been there to help him. Mine never tried to jump out, but they always had a top on it.

Maybe you could line the inside of the run with either mesh or perspex so he couldn't get his legs through the holes?

 

[Jemma&Theo]

will try to make safer this evening- will post further when i know what im doing about it

 

[Freakles]

Please feel free to either PM me or email me with any questions, or advice needed on how to improve Theo's accomadation.

 

[Freakles]

I cannot see the picture of the run too clearly, so I may well be wrong, but I cannot see any hay available for him to eat in there. It is the most important part of a rabbits diet and is essential for rabbits to have unlimited access to good quality hay at all times.

 

[sophy]

Freakles, I appreciate that you are trying to give helpful advice here but I have to say I can understand 'jemma' getting a bit upset at your comments. You may not realise but some of the things you say are very patronising which would automatically put my back up. The presuming negative things about her set up also is not helpful. Its great trying to help someone out and give advise and I am sure you have plenty of useful things to say but it would be taken better if a little more consideration was given to the way its phrased. Please don't take offense at this-I'm sure you did not relaise the way in which you may come across to people. Also apologies to Jemma if you feel its not my place to say this-I've no doubt you can stick up for yourself

 

[Freakles]

I have never meant to patronise Jemma, only help her, and more importantly Theo. If I sound negative it is only because I deal with so many people who have been given such poor advice from where they got their rabbit from that their rabbit is already in a condition which is too far gone to be easily sort-outable. The only negative thing I have said is I thought she had not put any hay in the run for Theo. Now in the same post I said I could not see the picture very well so may be wrong, but if I am right, is it not the responsible thing to do to tell Jemma that she should supply hay and why. I am sure she would much rather read that than Theo to end up with teeth problems.

You personally may not like the way I have phrased things, but it is the life of a rabbit I am trying to improve. Jemma has continued to talk to me all day and is going to have a look at how she can make the run safe for him so that he has more room during the day. This is something which will benefit both Theo and Jemma.

I could have tried to beat around the bush and not made it clear to Jemma that she could (and should) improve Theo's accomadation. She could then have gone away not thinking that this was too important and Theo could have carried on living in a 3ft cage for 20hours a day.

I hope Jemma appreciates the time I have put into helping her today, and feels able to come to me for advice in the future. Sometimes you need to just get to the point, please notice at no point in this thread have I insulted Jemma, just told her the facts.

 

[Jemma&Theo]

no- of course there is no hay rack (circled)

feeding ball or parsley toy (circled)

im a failure

 

[Jemma&Theo]

please also notice the water- and mineral lick-

he gets this in both his run and cage.

ive only been keeping rabbits for 16 years- i havent a clue

 

[Jemma&Theo]

hes got a willow ball for his teeth- and some natural sponge.-

 

[Freakles]

As I said I could not see on the original pictures you posted, I thought the hay rack cube was a toy. I am not saying you are a failure. I do not know where you got Theo from, but if it was a pet shop a lot do not explain the importance of hay, infact I have heard P@H selling rabbits to customers and being told the rabbits only need "complete" food and no hay is required. Because of this I feel it is always necessary to tell anyone who has a rabbit that hay is essential as far too many people do not get told this. We have just taken n a rabbit at the rescue who was fed hay as an occasional treat, she thought she was looking after the rabbit well.

 

[Spacegirl]

Hi Jemma.
As far as the change of colour goes - my first guess would be moulting. Does he have any other signs of being unwell? If not then I would guess it isn't anything to be too concerned about. Does the skin underneath look ok?

I would think that run would be safe for him to stay in all day - it looks like a nice set up If you're concerned about it then why not try him in it for the whole day on a weekend when you can observe him. Then if he's OK, there's no reason why he shouldn't be OK on the days you are at work

 

[Jemma&Theo]

true- the patch has grown today- larger and paler. he hasnt even fnished his last malt-

maybe hes just changing his spots?

 

[Freakles]

Does the lighter hair look healthy and soft or scuffed and split ended? And does it look like his hair is getting thinner on that patch? You said the skin does not look sore didn't you?

 

[Jemma&Theo]

here- took this just