Awww...Simon and River are so adorable! I’ve been visiting your blog for a few weeks now and can’t believe what unique personalities they both have! Your blog has actually helped convince my husband and me to adopt a bonded pair of Holland lop brothers who are about a year old. We’re picking them up on Saturday. We’ve never had rabbits before, so it’s going to be an interesting ride! I’ve been doing a ton of research, but I had one question for you: where did you get that little truck that Simon loves so much? I just love how cute he is with it!
Aww, thank you so much! I'm so glad our little munchkins could inspire you to help save the brother buns! That's great that you're looking into everything beforehand. Some things that may also be of help:
1. When you first bring them home, try to spend as much time on the ground with them as you can (even if they're in their cage/enclosure). Being on their level and quietly talking to them and letting them come up to you before you try to pet them will go a long way to earning their trust. Treats are very welcome at this stage too!
2. A change in their environment may cause them to fight a bit to find out who is alpha bun in their new home. This is normal, but it's amazing how no one ever seems to mention this fact even with happily bonded pairs. Same thing applies if you go on a road trip with them, so keep this in the back of your mind. If you ever need to stop a rabbit fight, NEVER use your bare hands because buns will go all Lord of the Flies and with their blind spot right in front of their nose, there's a good chance you'll get bitten if you do that. Grab something like a piece of cardboard or a soda box and place it between them to distract them enough to be able to separate them completely.
3. When you pick them up, they should give you a bag of pellets or at least ask for what type they're used to so you can slowly transition them to whatever type you already bought or find near you. Try to avoid the 'fiesta mix'/'gourmet' type of pellets that have a lot of candy stuff in them. Always have Timothy hay in their cage/enclosure (an amount equal to their body size is the amount you should offer per day). I've had really good luck with staving off GI stasis issues by always giving Simon and River one stalk of celery per day each. It has enough roughage/fiber to prevent issues that just romaine, parsley, and mint combined couldn't offer. Some sources say to limit celery to a tablespoon or two per day, but I've done this for over a year and saw a marked decrease with the GI issues, so experiment with it and see what works best for your boys. Offering a variety of other greens is always good.
4. Find contact info for a rabbit savvy vet/emergency vet in your area so you have it before you need it. Rabbits are considered exotic pets and most dog and cat vets aren't equipped to deal with them. Also, for emergency first aid/medicine/supportive care until you can get to a vet, you should pick up/purchase online: small medicine dropper/syringe 3ml capacity that has 0.5 or less ml increments, infant simethicone drops (for GI stasis--it's an anti-gas medicine), critical care (powdered food for force feeding--12 hours without food can kill a bunny because their GI tract shuts down and there should always be something moving through it) and a second larger feeding syringe 5ml capacity for ease of use. I have a few posts covering GI stasis and what signs of pain look like (or do a Google search). Buns do their best to hide being sick, so knowing what is normal for your buns will clue you in to them not feeling well.
5. Bunnyproof all the things! Leave no wire/cord un-hidden!!! As an idea as to how small a space a bun can fit into: River can squeeze into a 1.25" space (basically the area between a sliding door and the screen). Bunnies are 90% fluff--don't let their size fool you. If their head can fit, the rest of them will too.
6. Toys keep buns from being destructive--just rotate which ones you have out each time to keep them engaged in play-time. Boxes of all kinds, packing paper, toilet/paper towel rolls, old towels, tunnels, hard plastic baby keys, mouthwash caps, hard plastic cat toys are good options.
That little dump truck toy I have was found at a Michael's craft store in their seasonal section. I'm sure you find something similar online if they don't have it come springtime where you are. Enjoy your new additions and please let me know how you're doing! :)
Thank you so much for all of the advice! I definitely hadn’t thought to get some pellets from the shelter to transition them to the kind we bought. We are planning on finding out what kinds of greens and treats they have been eating also to help as well. We know they like kale (they were having some when we visited them), which I believe has a good amount of fiber, so we plan on getting that for them for sure. We also bought some of the toys that they have at the shelter so there will be a little bit of familiarity for them in our house.
My husband and I have both been doing a ton of research and I think we have most of the things we need to start. I’m sure once we learn their personalities we’ll discover more. The shelter put us in touch with a nonprofit group called Rabbit Wranglers that has been very helpful with information and local resources for us.
We’re so excited for tomorrow! I’ve already set up an Instagram account for them (snugglesnjack) to share the bunny cuteness if you’d like to see them. There aren’t any posts yet, since the only pics I have are from the shelter website, but I’ll definitely post some tomorrow!
Again, thank you so much for the info and advice. As first time bunny parents, we really appreciate it!
You're very welcome--glad I could offer something that would be helpful! That's definitely a good idea to ask what veggies they've been eating up until now. It may not hurt to ask if there are any that they reacted badly to/just generally dislike (saves you seeing them ignore/toss it in the litter box like Simon does with foods he rejects out of hand).
Those little munchkins are so lucky to have you come into their lives! Doing all the research you have will be a huge help with getting them used to their new home. I'll have to check that site out--thanks for telling me about it. Another you may already have heard of is rabbit.org (lots of info on care, diet, behavior and training as well as vet lists, adoptions, and bunny socializing/group playtime in the form of 'hoppy hours' in different locations across the country).
You'll have to take lots of pictures! A camera with a very high shutter speed setting is a must to capture a non-blurry bun. Doesn't have to be an expensive one (we just have a little point and shoot), just look through the manual on whatever you have and adjust the settings. They are crazy fast when they're that young! You generally have to 'lead the shot' and have them hop into the already focused area and hope for the best.
Give the little ones a noogie for me once they're all settled in! :)
7 comments:
I would pay a million to receive their kisses.
How much for a snuggle? :D
Awww...Simon and River are so adorable! I’ve been visiting your blog for a few weeks now and can’t believe what unique personalities they both have! Your blog has actually helped convince my husband and me to adopt a bonded pair of Holland lop brothers who are about a year old. We’re picking them up on Saturday. We’ve never had rabbits before, so it’s going to be an interesting ride! I’ve been doing a ton of research, but I had one question for you: where did you get that little truck that Simon loves so much? I just love how cute he is with it!
Hi Mónica, Anon1!
The bunnies would be VERY happy with the treat situation if you did that!
I think snuggles would be a package deal with the kisses. Kinda like a buy one, get one type of deal.
Hi Anon2!
Aww, thank you so much! I'm so glad our little munchkins could inspire you to help save the brother buns! That's great that you're looking into everything beforehand. Some things that may also be of help:
1. When you first bring them home, try to spend as much time on the ground with them as you can (even if they're in their cage/enclosure). Being on their level and quietly talking to them and letting them come up to you before you try to pet them will go a long way to earning their trust. Treats are very welcome at this stage too!
2. A change in their environment may cause them to fight a bit to find out who is alpha bun in their new home. This is normal, but it's amazing how no one ever seems to mention this fact even with happily bonded pairs. Same thing applies if you go on a road trip with them, so keep this in the back of your mind. If you ever need to stop a rabbit fight, NEVER use your bare hands because buns will go all Lord of the Flies and with their blind spot right in front of their nose, there's a good chance you'll get bitten if you do that. Grab something like a piece of cardboard or a soda box and place it between them to distract them enough to be able to separate them completely.
3. When you pick them up, they should give you a bag of pellets or at least ask for what type they're used to so you can slowly transition them to whatever type you already bought or find near you. Try to avoid the 'fiesta mix'/'gourmet' type of pellets that have a lot of candy stuff in them. Always have Timothy hay in their cage/enclosure (an amount equal to their body size is the amount you should offer per day). I've had really good luck with staving off GI stasis issues by always giving Simon and River one stalk of celery per day each. It has enough roughage/fiber to prevent issues that just romaine, parsley, and mint combined couldn't offer. Some sources say to limit celery to a tablespoon or two per day, but I've done this for over a year and saw a marked decrease with the GI issues, so experiment with it and see what works best for your boys. Offering a variety of other greens is always good.
4. Find contact info for a rabbit savvy vet/emergency vet in your area so you have it before you need it. Rabbits are considered exotic pets and most dog and cat vets aren't equipped to deal with them. Also, for emergency first aid/medicine/supportive care until you can get to a vet, you should pick up/purchase online: small medicine dropper/syringe 3ml capacity that has 0.5 or less ml increments, infant simethicone drops (for GI stasis--it's an anti-gas medicine), critical care (powdered food for force feeding--12 hours without food can kill a bunny because their GI tract shuts down and there should always be something moving through it) and a second larger feeding syringe 5ml capacity for ease of use. I have a few posts covering GI stasis and what signs of pain look like (or do a Google search). Buns do their best to hide being sick, so knowing what is normal for your buns will clue you in to them not feeling well.
5. Bunnyproof all the things! Leave no wire/cord un-hidden!!! As an idea as to how small a space a bun can fit into: River can squeeze into a 1.25" space (basically the area between a sliding door and the screen). Bunnies are 90% fluff--don't let their size fool you. If their head can fit, the rest of them will too.
6. Toys keep buns from being destructive--just rotate which ones you have out each time to keep them engaged in play-time. Boxes of all kinds, packing paper, toilet/paper towel rolls, old towels, tunnels, hard plastic baby keys, mouthwash caps, hard plastic cat toys are good options.
That little dump truck toy I have was found at a Michael's craft store in their seasonal section. I'm sure you find something similar online if they don't have it come springtime where you are. Enjoy your new additions and please let me know how you're doing! :)
Thank you so much for all of the advice! I definitely hadn’t thought to get some pellets from the shelter to transition them to the kind we bought. We are planning on finding out what kinds of greens and treats they have been eating also to help as well. We know they like kale (they were having some when we visited them), which I believe has a good amount of fiber, so we plan on getting that for them for sure. We also bought some of the toys that they have at the shelter so there will be a little bit of familiarity for them in our house.
My husband and I have both been doing a ton of research and I think we have most of the things we need to start. I’m sure once we learn their personalities we’ll discover more. The shelter put us in touch with a nonprofit group called Rabbit Wranglers that has been very helpful with information and local resources for us.
We’re so excited for tomorrow! I’ve already set up an Instagram account for them (snugglesnjack) to share the bunny cuteness if you’d like to see them. There aren’t any posts yet, since the only pics I have are from the shelter website, but I’ll definitely post some tomorrow!
Again, thank you so much for the info and advice. As first time bunny parents, we really appreciate it!
Anon2 (aka juliebunny9)
Hi juliebunny9!
You're very welcome--glad I could offer something that would be helpful! That's definitely a good idea to ask what veggies they've been eating up until now. It may not hurt to ask if there are any that they reacted badly to/just generally dislike (saves you seeing them ignore/toss it in the litter box like Simon does with foods he rejects out of hand).
Those little munchkins are so lucky to have you come into their lives! Doing all the research you have will be a huge help with getting them used to their new home. I'll have to check that site out--thanks for telling me about it. Another you may already have heard of is rabbit.org (lots of info on care, diet, behavior and training as well as vet lists, adoptions, and bunny socializing/group playtime in the form of 'hoppy hours' in different locations across the country).
You'll have to take lots of pictures! A camera with a very high shutter speed setting is a must to capture a non-blurry bun. Doesn't have to be an expensive one (we just have a little point and shoot), just look through the manual on whatever you have and adjust the settings. They are crazy fast when they're that young! You generally have to 'lead the shot' and have them hop into the already focused area and hope for the best.
Give the little ones a noogie for me once they're all settled in! :)
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