In January, i took in a young bun as a foster for rescue. The rescue then disappeared and stopped returning calls (!). Finally i got a different rescuer (dogs) i know to list the bun online in a pet website, and found a home just in time. My husband and i are becoming foster parents for human children <g>, and we're losing the room that formerly housed the rabbit. But the adopter cannot keep Checkers any longer, and i'm at a loss for what to do.
My husband is allergic to rabbits (not just the hay, but the fur/dander). If he's in the same room for more than 10 minutes, even if he doesn't touch her or her stuff, he gets sick. The guest room worked before because he rarely went in there (consequently Checkers is under-socialized, which is probably part of why the adopter can't keep her - ugh). AllerPet and time have not solved the allergy problem.
My only other options are the dogs' room, which is the bonus room over our attached garage and where we keep the dog crates, outdoors, or the garage. i will not consider outdoors because i had a rabbit as a child that died from exposure. i am not fond of the garage idea because there are still extremes in weather and there would be almost no chance for socialization or "hopping around time". The room over the garage is possible, but the negatives are that it stays warm in that room (well over 70F), and we have very large dogs who may bark at her. The dogs were good with her when she was here before, but it was always thoroughly and constantly supervised, and they will be in their crates unsupervised at times. i fear for Checkers to feel overwhelmed and frightened. And she will have little to no "hopping around time", though i'll have more space for her to have a nice-sized run.
The setup would be a 4-story NIC condo with a run of about 3.5' x 5.5' attached that she can go into anytime she likes (unless i shut her in the condo for cleaning of the run, or vice versa). The run will not be covered and will have walls about 2.5' tall, which has held her before. The run will have her litterbox and food/water crocks, and the condo will have most of her toys and things. The floor will be peg board (to allow zip ties to hold the NIC in place), with some towels and things for softness. There will also be a small dresser set up at the back of the condo to provide some screening and privacy from the dog crates. i also bought her a nice igloo that she can hide in if she gets frightened, and will establish some boxes for hiding as well.
In a pinch, do you find this acceptable? If not, what would you suggest in my circumstances?
i cannot put the bun in the guest room again because it will become the foster child's room, and the foster child may have issues that could put the bun in danger, so they must be supervised together, at least for a while.
Thanks, and sorry this is so long!
My husband is allergic to rabbits (not just the hay, but the fur/dander). If he's in the same room for more than 10 minutes, even if he doesn't touch her or her stuff, he gets sick. The guest room worked before because he rarely went in there (consequently Checkers is under-socialized, which is probably part of why the adopter can't keep her - ugh). AllerPet and time have not solved the allergy problem.
My only other options are the dogs' room, which is the bonus room over our attached garage and where we keep the dog crates, outdoors, or the garage. i will not consider outdoors because i had a rabbit as a child that died from exposure. i am not fond of the garage idea because there are still extremes in weather and there would be almost no chance for socialization or "hopping around time". The room over the garage is possible, but the negatives are that it stays warm in that room (well over 70F), and we have very large dogs who may bark at her. The dogs were good with her when she was here before, but it was always thoroughly and constantly supervised, and they will be in their crates unsupervised at times. i fear for Checkers to feel overwhelmed and frightened. And she will have little to no "hopping around time", though i'll have more space for her to have a nice-sized run.
The setup would be a 4-story NIC condo with a run of about 3.5' x 5.5' attached that she can go into anytime she likes (unless i shut her in the condo for cleaning of the run, or vice versa). The run will not be covered and will have walls about 2.5' tall, which has held her before. The run will have her litterbox and food/water crocks, and the condo will have most of her toys and things. The floor will be peg board (to allow zip ties to hold the NIC in place), with some towels and things for softness. There will also be a small dresser set up at the back of the condo to provide some screening and privacy from the dog crates. i also bought her a nice igloo that she can hide in if she gets frightened, and will establish some boxes for hiding as well.
In a pinch, do you find this acceptable? If not, what would you suggest in my circumstances?
i cannot put the bun in the guest room again because it will become the foster child's room, and the foster child may have issues that could put the bun in danger, so they must be supervised together, at least for a while.
Thanks, and sorry this is so long!