Crazybunnylady4
New Kit
Hello Everybun! Thank you for reading my post! Recently (17th March) I rescued 2 male rabbits from a not so good environment (they were living in a hamster cage, that doesn’t meet the requirements for a hamster.). It was a very unexpected rescue, but I couldn’t leave them there! So they lived in a temporary setup with me for a few weeks while I got their full time setup ready! (Please keep in mind their temporary setup was perfectly fine, it did meet requirements, it just wasn’t ideal for other reasons!) (they were also living together at this point! (Uneutered)). I at this point had weighed them and did my personal routine health check (just before the vet did hers!) and I noticed how absolutely tiny they were! I had been told that they were Dutch rabbits, however they don’t look like Dutch rabbits to me! (I personally believe they could be meat mutts!) I was quite surprised by their weight as it seemed quite low, but it was around average for a Dutchie, however you could feel their spines and hips ect, which did make me think they were underweight! Over the weeks after getting them I noticed a decrease in weight, I noticed that they had also sort of introverted and seemed terrified of me! (When I first got them they were weary of us but not to the extent they are now!) at this point they also seemed to be getting on very well, and I think its important for rabbits to have friends and they are all each other had ever known so I kept them together, despite them being intact males! Now at the point I’m at now, I’ve come to the conclusion that moving has stressed them out beyond what I expected, their names are Daffodil and Dandelion and Daffodil (the smaller one of the two) is so extremely scared of us now that when he sees us he begins trembling, its so upsetting to see, I wish I could tell them that I’m not going to hurt them! Dandelion is much more confident, however he is a bit shaky at times too. I’ve had my fair share of rabbits over the years, rescues, all different ages, breeds, backgrounds, ect. However I’ve never known rabbits like these two! I occasionally get them out for a snuggle, so I sit down with them on my lap and just let them realise that I’m not a threat to them, (I only do this occasionally, and not for very long at all as I like to respect their boundaries and not stress them out!) I sit in the run with them, they will happily take treats from me, but the last time I got them out for cuddles, I sat with them just on my lap, and they bit me out of nowhere! I always pay very close attention to their body language to protect both of us! But it was completely out of the blue! Luckily they aren’t too bad at all (the bites), but still I don’t know why they’ve started biting! They have since had to be separated as I found them both covered in scabs and fur everywhere! (Don’t worry they are completely fine!) their weight also seems to be fluctuating a lot, (spoken with the vet, only thing we can put it down to is stress!?) I just really feel as though we are going completely backwards! I’m not going to give up, but I don’t know what else to do! I just know they are such amazing rabbits, and have so much potential! I just need to gain their trust! Has anyone else experienced anything similar? It’s driving me insane! I don’t know what to do next! (Oh and they will be getting neutered!) thank you for any advice you have! X
