lucyeleanor
New Kit
Hi all! I am a big believer in forums like these, I joined a similar one a few years ago when I was a novice to hamsters and I found it so useful. By the end I had 6 rescue hamsters who have all now sadly passed, but I am sure that I gave them the best possible little lives.
I am also a fundraiser and the Welfare Officer for my local branch of Cats Protection. Me and my OH share two rescue cats Bee and Elektra. Bee is nearly 2 years old and Elektra is just short of 1 years old. They are best friends.
I have been thinking about having a rabbit for about 2 years now but lacked the space. Now that me and my OH have our own home, with a pets-approved landlord, we thoroughly talked it over and decided it was time. We wanted to find the right match for us, we were thinking of adopting one from a rescue or unwanted from gumtree, neutering them and finding them a partner. But we didn't have any luck finding the right match. Last Saturday we were browsing in P@H and spotted these two rather large bunnies in the Pets for Adoption section. This is where we met Jack and Jill, now known as Max and Daphne. They had been abandoned in the store infested with mites. They spent a few months in the vet area of the store before being placed in the adoption section. They are now approximately 18 months old, mite-treated, both neutered, both wormed, microchipped and to be vaccinated for free once I book them in. I wanted to wait a while before taking them to the vets to make sure that they were as stress-free as possible.
We were talked in to buying a Bluebell Hideaway Hutch. We had them in there for 2 days but found that they didn't seem very happy. I also had concerns as it was quite soft wood, the floors were very thin, it didn't seem to fit together very well and the cover to help preserve it would be another £75. I was also worried about them getting damp and cold. I returned it two days later for a full refund. That day the bunnies lived free range in our bathroom (very messy!) whilst I got hold of a 48" dog crate for £20 from eBay which they moved into that night. They have been living inside for five days now, seem much happier, braver, they don't seem at all fussed about the cats and, if anything, seem to be following them around.
They have a small litter tray which we fill with wood-based cat litter. They seem to be fairly well pee-trained and seem to poo anywhere in their cage, but go back in during playtime to poo so that's one small mercy! We did have a bit of an accident yesterday as I replaced their fleece blanket with a clean one and they peed on it, despite having not peed at all on the other blanket since Monday. I suspect that is probably a scent marking thing. I have taken it out to see if they pee anywhere else in the cage and will put it back in once I am sure they are re-trained. We haven't given any greens yet as Max did have some squishy poos during his first few days, I believe from the stress, but they have both dried up now.
They have a wooden comfy-cave hideaway, a wooden hay rack, two wooden chews attached to the bars and three plastic play balls which they bounce around. I have also bought nail clippers and a brush ready for grooming once they are more settled.
We feed them a weighed amount of rabbit pellets and hay every day. I did buy some treats, but this almost caused a fight between them as Daphne was very keen to steal Max's treat. I think we will wait a while to treat them again as they may still be a bit stressed out. I was advised against feeding many greens due to their breed - I'd like to see what other people seem to think on that one.
I'm going to buy some Xeno-450 (I found Xeno-50 effective in mite-treatment for hamsters) which I hear will also treat internal parasites. I will do this quarterly at the same time as the cat's quarterly flea and worm treatment.
Behaviour wise, they groom each other and snuggle most of the day. Max is more confident exploring but Daphne is definitely the boss and a little stroppy. Daphne will chew at the bars briefly if you are in the room, but I think she is just trying to open the door. They explore confidently around our laminated (thank goodness) dining room during their daily exercise. We haven't handled them much in this time as we wanted them to settle well. We had a small cuddle yesterday evening but that has been it. They have been very keen to nibble at shoes, jeans and my OH's hand though! My OH did notice what we think was a mating ritual two nights ago. Daphne was honking a lot, circling Max and then grooming him. My OH certainly felt like he was interrupting something! I hope this means that they are feeling settled.
I'd like to see if anyone has any advice for me, anything I might have forgotten about or I am doing wrong, please do shout! I'm attaching a few photos to show their set-up and hopefully someone can advise on the breed? I think Max looks like a lop, but Daphne is missing the characteristic ears.
Thank you!
I am also a fundraiser and the Welfare Officer for my local branch of Cats Protection. Me and my OH share two rescue cats Bee and Elektra. Bee is nearly 2 years old and Elektra is just short of 1 years old. They are best friends.
I have been thinking about having a rabbit for about 2 years now but lacked the space. Now that me and my OH have our own home, with a pets-approved landlord, we thoroughly talked it over and decided it was time. We wanted to find the right match for us, we were thinking of adopting one from a rescue or unwanted from gumtree, neutering them and finding them a partner. But we didn't have any luck finding the right match. Last Saturday we were browsing in P@H and spotted these two rather large bunnies in the Pets for Adoption section. This is where we met Jack and Jill, now known as Max and Daphne. They had been abandoned in the store infested with mites. They spent a few months in the vet area of the store before being placed in the adoption section. They are now approximately 18 months old, mite-treated, both neutered, both wormed, microchipped and to be vaccinated for free once I book them in. I wanted to wait a while before taking them to the vets to make sure that they were as stress-free as possible.
We were talked in to buying a Bluebell Hideaway Hutch. We had them in there for 2 days but found that they didn't seem very happy. I also had concerns as it was quite soft wood, the floors were very thin, it didn't seem to fit together very well and the cover to help preserve it would be another £75. I was also worried about them getting damp and cold. I returned it two days later for a full refund. That day the bunnies lived free range in our bathroom (very messy!) whilst I got hold of a 48" dog crate for £20 from eBay which they moved into that night. They have been living inside for five days now, seem much happier, braver, they don't seem at all fussed about the cats and, if anything, seem to be following them around.
They have a small litter tray which we fill with wood-based cat litter. They seem to be fairly well pee-trained and seem to poo anywhere in their cage, but go back in during playtime to poo so that's one small mercy! We did have a bit of an accident yesterday as I replaced their fleece blanket with a clean one and they peed on it, despite having not peed at all on the other blanket since Monday. I suspect that is probably a scent marking thing. I have taken it out to see if they pee anywhere else in the cage and will put it back in once I am sure they are re-trained. We haven't given any greens yet as Max did have some squishy poos during his first few days, I believe from the stress, but they have both dried up now.
They have a wooden comfy-cave hideaway, a wooden hay rack, two wooden chews attached to the bars and three plastic play balls which they bounce around. I have also bought nail clippers and a brush ready for grooming once they are more settled.
We feed them a weighed amount of rabbit pellets and hay every day. I did buy some treats, but this almost caused a fight between them as Daphne was very keen to steal Max's treat. I think we will wait a while to treat them again as they may still be a bit stressed out. I was advised against feeding many greens due to their breed - I'd like to see what other people seem to think on that one.
I'm going to buy some Xeno-450 (I found Xeno-50 effective in mite-treatment for hamsters) which I hear will also treat internal parasites. I will do this quarterly at the same time as the cat's quarterly flea and worm treatment.
Behaviour wise, they groom each other and snuggle most of the day. Max is more confident exploring but Daphne is definitely the boss and a little stroppy. Daphne will chew at the bars briefly if you are in the room, but I think she is just trying to open the door. They explore confidently around our laminated (thank goodness) dining room during their daily exercise. We haven't handled them much in this time as we wanted them to settle well. We had a small cuddle yesterday evening but that has been it. They have been very keen to nibble at shoes, jeans and my OH's hand though! My OH did notice what we think was a mating ritual two nights ago. Daphne was honking a lot, circling Max and then grooming him. My OH certainly felt like he was interrupting something! I hope this means that they are feeling settled.
I'd like to see if anyone has any advice for me, anything I might have forgotten about or I am doing wrong, please do shout! I'm attaching a few photos to show their set-up and hopefully someone can advise on the breed? I think Max looks like a lop, but Daphne is missing the characteristic ears.
Thank you!



