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Susan - I am probably just worrying / paranoid

Susan is really low, she is not eating her veg / hay. Susan is usually a real glutton. She is not really moving from her litter tray. When she has venture out she is scanning like mad. Might this be cos of Dilly?
Susan doesnt see or hear overly well - maybe thats the scanning.
Should I have taken Susan to see Dilly when he was pts so that she knows he has gone.

I dont know whether I should look for a companion for her asap or if she needs to grieve. (I dont want to rush this but if she needs it)

If I was to get a friend for her, will she let the friend into "her" house.

I am in such a pickle sorry for all the questions. Thank you for your support and yet again I am asking for more - sorry.
 
I’m sorry Susan is worrying you :cry: I think you said (I probably got muddled) she wasn’t eating so well before Dillon had gone? I would call the vet and see what they say, she might need some gut meds to get her guts moving again. Her teeth might need checking over to see if everything is ok with them too.

My bridge house bunny, Boots would scan especially if I changed anything in his room, or if he came into another room. His sight didn’t seem to be great either. So it could be her feeling a bit unsure of everything.

If you do get her a bunny friend you would need to bond in a more neutral space and then move them back to the house area, I bonded Frosty and Fern in a room Frosty hadn’t been in much, and then when I moved them back to the bunny room where Frosty used to live, I restricted space using the same bonding pen, and I didn’t give them Frosty towers (the double cat tower) until they had been living in the room for a while. Because Frosty used to like spending a lot of his time in the tower I wondered if he would be territorial about it but it has always been fine.

Perhaps she might like a cuddly toy to snuggle? Frosty dug and chewed at the bear I gave him so I had to remove it! Will she eat her favourite treat food?


Sending lots of vibes and hugs xx
 
Susan is really low, she is not eating her veg / hay. Susan is usually a real glutton. She is not really moving from her litter tray. When she has venture out she is scanning like mad. Might this be cos of Dilly?
Susan doesnt see or hear overly well - maybe thats the scanning.
Should I have taken Susan to see Dilly when he was pts so that she knows he has gone.

I dont know whether I should look for a companion for her asap or if she needs to grieve. (I dont want to rush this but if she needs it)

If I was to get a friend for her, will she let the friend into "her" house.

I am in such a pickle sorry for all the questions. Thank you for your support and yet again I am asking for more - sorry.

It sounds as though Susan is feeling the loss of Dilly as much as you and your family are. Some Rabbits need time alone to come to terms with the loss of a partner. But a sight impaired/deaf Rabbit may need the companionship of another Rabbit friend sooner rather than later.

I am assuming Susan and Dilly are/were House Rabbits ? With regards to introducing a new friend for Susan, you would need to try to establish a 'neutral territory'. So in preparation for this it would be a good idea to close off at least one room of the house and give it a good steam clean to make it 'neutral'.
It is usually easier to introduce a baby Rabbit to an adult Rabbit, but given that Susan has some sight/hearing problems a gentle older Buck may be more appropriate. I dont know what part of the UK you are in, but maybe you could contact a local Rescue to see if they have any potentially suitable friends for Susan and if they offer help and support with bonding.

In the meantime, as hard as it will be, try to act in a relaxed and not upset manner around Susan, dont make an unusual fuss of her (which may reinforce her belief that something bad has happened), keep to her usual routine with feeding/cleaning out etc and try to give the impression that all is OK. Although of course I know that 'OK' is the last thing you must be feeling :cry:
 
Boo scans, more when she is unsure / anxious. The one thing I'd always do (in addition to the good advice already given) is give my grieving bun panacur (if she has not v recently been treated) as her immune system will be lower she'll be more vulnerable. This is born out of a sad experience that when Myrtle died her bonded sister had her first EC episode, she had nystagmus that evening & the following morning she was uncontrollably rolling - all within 24 hours of her loss :(


Lots of vibes for Susan & you xx
 
First of all sending you massive hugs,

I agree with what others have said. I think you first need to consider whether Susan was eating completely normally before the loss of Dilly. If she wasn't, then possibly a vet check would be best to exclude any other reason for her current behaviour. If she is OK health-wise, then a cuddly toy might provide some reassurance for her.

As you know, I have a 'scanner' here too in Tui. Anything which upsets her routine/environment makes the scanning worse.

I'm not convinced it would have made any difference if you had let Susan see Dilly's body. I know that others have had different experiences, but all of the occasions I have done this, the remaining rabbits have paid absolutely no attention to the bodies. I supect she will have been very aware that Dilly was very ill.

I think that female rabbits will be more territorial than males, so planning ahead with a neutral area, as Jane has suggested, is what I would do. I would also be looking at potential rescues to see what they have currently, as a suitable bunny might take a while to be available.
 
First of all sending you massive hugs,

I'm not convinced it would have made any difference if you had let Susan see Dilly's body.
I know that others have had different experiences, but all of the occasions I have done this, the remaining rabbits have paid absolutely no attention to the bodies. I supect she will have been very aware that Dilly was very ill.

I have to agree with this. Although mostly my bunnies have seen their partners body it hasn't necessarily been positive or helpful (aforementioned Noodle & Myrtle for one). Its my personal belief as rabbits are such intuitive creature that they will know when their partner is sick & they will know when their partner is gone. I think its only humans & elephants that have 'ceremonies' (need better word) relating to lifeless bodies
 
Thank you for your really kind replies. I will try and answer questions

Zoobec, Susan had her MOT at the beginning of December. She has a small spurr on one tooth which will be reviewed in 6 months. Having said that she really loves this new hay with flowers in it and has increased her hay intake considerably. I can now further reduce her pellets - due to Dilly being so thin they were on perhaps more than was good for her.

Jane - we do think that Dilly was her confidence and she would bounce up to him and follow him around. We would look to leave her in the lounge and have another bunny in another room until we could get them booked in at Mere Moggies for bonding. I am too much of a coward to do it myself.

J&B - panacur now will be given to Susan. Thank you for that.

Omi, yes Susan was eating normally before Dilly. She has a very hefty appetite, Susan attended all but the last appointment with Dilly and was checked her the syphilis etc - she can not catch the syphilis and was given a clean bill of health in early December.

J&B yes we think she did know he was sick, for the last couple of days she didnt sit with him which was unusual.

Omi - we have an appointment tomorrow at Colwyn Bay RSPCA (where Susan came from) to look at Rabbit De Niro - and 2 others who are not on the website. I am worried I am rushing and truth be told dont want to replace Dilly but I think Susan needs somebun. https://www.rspca.org.uk/findapet/details/-/Animal/RABBIT_DE_NERO/ref/198640/rehome
He has been chosen for his age as Susan is approx 5 years old too,
 
Has her hay intake increased since you started this thread do you mean? Or since she has been eating the new hay? It may be worth checking the spur out as their teeth can soon change within a very short time, especially if they aren’t eating hay in sufficient quantity.

Rabbit de Niro is lovely:love: you are not replacing Dillon, no bun could ever do that, but you will be making Susan and another bunny very happy :love:
 
Has her hay intake increased since you started this thread do you mean? Or since she has been eating the new hay? It may be worth checking the spur out as their teeth can soon change within a very short time, especially if they aren’t eating hay in sufficient quantity.

Rabbit de Niro is lovely:love: you are not replacing Dillon, no bun could ever do that, but you will be making Susan and another bunny very happy
:love:

Absolutely agree 100% xx
 
I also agree, you are not replacing Dilly, nor trying to. You will be giving another bunny a wonderful home and a lovely wife, whilst at the same time making Susan happy again.

Rabbit de Niro has lovely eyes :love: What type of bunnies are the other two?

I hope all goes well tomorrow :love:
 
These are always the most difficult of times - and I find myself in an almost identical situation to you, but if I may, I would like to add my thoughts for you.
I am a believer in the fact that rabbits know and sense when their partner is poorly and much has been written and evidenced about the perception of animals over humans.
I know from the behaviour of my bridge bun Ben, that he most certainly grived over the loss of his wife bun Georgina. He was with her by her side when she slipped away 2 years back now.
Rabbits, like us, have emotions. They just don't vocalise it but I am certain that they are quite capable of holding a variety of emotions.
Should you have taken Susan with you with Dillon? In my view, as tough as it is, I would perhaps suggest not. What you are feeling, is the frustration of not being able to either change or turn back time. I would suggest that Susan should be given the chance to say her goodbyes. She will do it in th eway she feels she wishes to. But I feel it is right to give her that moment.
Her loss of appetite in my view could be an indication of her grief - a sense of not being able to understand why Dilly is not there. As a comparison. Lillian here has not shown any dip in eating and is more or less continuing to eat (and eat and eat).
I have the utmost respect and admiration for you with your updated information about going to see 'Rabbit de nero'. I am immensly proud of the fact that you feel in a position to move forward, despite dealing with the tragic loss of Dilly. I wish I had an ounce of the strength you had. And again, for each and every one of us, moving on is something we can only chose to do when we feel ready to.
Again, I feel that this is the right thing to do, in the circumstances that you wouldn''t want to find yourself in. And again, you have far greater strength than I do right now because I am still struggling to face each day and know that I must find a path to move forward, but I just cannot find that.
It is I feel, imprtant that our rabbits share their lives with a companion and whilst there are sometimes factors that lead buns to live fruitful and happy solo lives, they benefit immensly from the bond shared with another rabbit. Yes the bonding process has to begin again, but you worked tirelessly and so strongly to bond Dilly with Susan, that you have a very deep and genuine desire to persevere and get the positive outcome that you and Susan deserve.
I feel Susan should have the chance to share her life with another bunny. Dilly was a warm, gentle and unique rabbit, who gave love as well as received it. A new bun won't be another Dilly - as much as perhaps in your heart you would like him to be. This is the very question I ask myself from the moment I wake to the moment I sleep.
I hope you can at least draw some help from my views. I do genuinely share your pain right now and I am so pleased that you feel ready inside to move forward in such a positive way and I hope to read some exciting news in the coming days regarding the potential new bun.
Bless you and I hope it goes well.
Craig x
 
Has her hay intake increased since you started this thread do you mean? Or since she has been eating the new hay? It may be worth checking the spur out as their teeth can soon change within a very short time, especially if they aren’t eating hay in sufficient quantity.

Rabbit de Niro is lovely:love: you are not replacing Dillon, no bun could ever do that, but you will be making Susan and another bunny very happy :love:

No, the new hay came on the 4th January and they loved it, it has bits of forage in. She now has 4 different hays in her house, the forage bail on the ikea bed, timothy stalky in a basket, a cut grass type in one tray and another type of timothy in the large tray.
 
These are always the most difficult of times - and I find myself in an almost identical situation to you, but if I may, I would like to add my thoughts for you.
I am a believer in the fact that rabbits know and sense when their partner is poorly and much has been written and evidenced about the perception of animals over humans.
I know from the behaviour of my bridge bun Ben, that he most certainly grived over the loss of his wife bun Georgina. He was with her by her side when she slipped away 2 years back now.
Rabbits, like us, have emotions. They just don't vocalise it but I am certain that they are quite capable of holding a variety of emotions.
Should you have taken Susan with you with Dillon? In my view, as tough as it is, I would perhaps suggest not. What you are feeling, is the frustration of not being able to either change or turn back time. I would suggest that Susan should be given the chance to say her goodbyes. She will do it in th eway she feels she wishes to. But I feel it is right to give her that moment.
Her loss of appetite in my view could be an indication of her grief - a sense of not being able to understand why Dilly is not there. As a comparison. Lillian here has not shown any dip in eating and is more or less continuing to eat (and eat and eat).
I have the utmost respect and admiration for you with your updated information about going to see 'Rabbit de nero'. I am immensly proud of the fact that you feel in a position to move forward, despite dealing with the tragic loss of Dilly. I wish I had an ounce of the strength you had. And again, for each and every one of us, moving on is something we can only chose to do when we feel ready to.
Again, I feel that this is the right thing to do, in the circumstances that you wouldn''t want to find yourself in. And again, you have far greater strength than I do right now because I am still struggling to face each day and know that I must find a path to move forward, but I just cannot find that.
It is I feel, imprtant that our rabbits share their lives with a companion and whilst there are sometimes factors that lead buns to live fruitful and happy solo lives, they benefit immensly from the bond shared with another rabbit. Yes the bonding process has to begin again, but you worked tirelessly and so strongly to bond Dilly with Susan, that you have a very deep and genuine desire to persevere and get the positive outcome that you and Susan deserve.
I feel Susan should have the chance to share her life with another bunny. Dilly was a warm, gentle and unique rabbit, who gave love as well as received it. A new bun won't be another Dilly - as much as perhaps in your heart you would like him to be. This is the very question I ask myself from the moment I wake to the moment I sleep.
I hope you can at least draw some help from my views. I do genuinely share your pain right now and I am so pleased that you feel ready inside to move forward in such a positive way and I hope to read some exciting news in the coming days regarding the potential new bun.
Bless you and I hope it goes well.
Craig x

Oh Craig, I cry so much for Dilly, I cant seem to get past this but family and well respected people on here are saying what other half is saying that there are loads of rescue who need a home and Susan needs a friend. Trouble is I dont want to choose a new bunny - i know they are all beautiful and deserving but I want to wind the clock back. I have always had rescues dogs, cats, chickens and rabbits and sometimes the urge to buy a healthy properly breed animal - with a full history and no ongoing issues is really strong. That is me being selfish so I will turn to rescue and hopefully give Susan what she needs. You see I am not strong I am angry, sad, resentful and bitter that I did not get a proper amount of time with Dilly. I wish I had your insight in being able to understand our beautiful pets. Like you said we are all different, thank you again for your wise and kind words.
 
Oh Craig, I cry so much for Dilly, I cant seem to get past this but family and well respected people on here are saying what other half is saying that there are loads of rescue who need a home and Susan needs a friend. Trouble is I dont want to choose a new bunny - i know they are all beautiful and deserving but I want to wind the clock back. I have always had rescues dogs, cats, chickens and rabbits and sometimes the urge to buy a healthy properly breed animal - with a full history and no ongoing issues is really strong. That is me being selfish so I will turn to rescue and hopefully give Susan what she needs. You see I am not strong I am angry, sad, resentful and bitter that I did not get a proper amount of time with Dilly. I wish I had your insight in being able to understand our beautiful pets. Like you said we are all different, thank you again for your wise and kind words.

I really am so sorry :'(

I just wanted to say this, Idk it it's helpful or not, but I really feel what you said about wanting to get an animal that's properly bred etc and not just take a chance. I feel like this after I lost my dog to cancer when she was 6. I won't go into it all, but I completely understand what you put.

On the flip side though, Atticus and Clementine are pure bred castor rexes, had them from 12 weeks old... Two of the sickest buns, their health problems are never ending. I don't want to jinx anything but my white buns, random, unknown rescues, are so far healthy. It's made me rethink the dog situation on what we'll get. Idk if this makes you feel any better about getting another rescue, I just thought I'd say that even when you try to make all the right decisions to ensure health, it doesn't always pan out anyway.


Whatever you end up doing I'm sure will be the right decision for your family and Susan, she's so lucky to have you x

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Graciee, thank you, not having none rescue animals I (now wrongly) assumed that a breeder would have health checked before breeding to eliminate health issues. Thank you for your advice.
 
Graciee, thank you, not having none rescue animals I (now wrongly) assumed that a breeder would have health checked before breeding to eliminate health issues. Thank you for your advice.
So did I tbh, obviously I'm sure people have good experiences too with breeders, and I think with dogs you can now find people who breed for health, but in buns it's not great from what I've seen. Just my experience though and not trying to sway you in any direction, just thought I'd add that it doesn't seem to be a guarantee for health, just if you was worried etc x

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I honestly think rabbits from breeders are likely to have more issues not only from people just deciding to breed but not having the experience & knowledge to do so, but because creating pure breeds with "cute" characteristics leads to so many inherent health problems. I think there are specific health problems relating to most breeds.
You can IMO reduce some of the potential heartache of poorly bunnies by choosing uppy earred rabbits of no distinguishable breed & of medium size, regular fur.

Whatever bunny you choose for Susan will be very lucky to have you. I know it will be difficult doing this while you're so heartbroken, its a very kind & selfless thing xx
 
]sometimes the urge to buy a healthy properly breed animal - with a full history and no ongoing issues is really strong. That is me being selfish so I will turn to rescue and hopefully give Susan what she needs.


I just wanted to say this, Idk it it's helpful or not, but I really feel what you said about wanting to get an animal that's properly bred etc and not just take a chance. I feel like this after I lost my dog to cancer when she was 6. I won't go into it all, but I completely understand what you put.


After losing three rabbits in as many years, I've also had this thought enter my mind before, and other people have asked the same question. So you're not alone or wrong in thinking that because having animals that are ill or losing animals does really take its toll. But then I think of all the animals in rescues who have had such unfortunate experiences and I realise why I go for them every time. You just need to do what is best for you and Susan.

I'm sorry that Susan isn't herself. Sending lots of love to you all xx
 
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