Rabbit Owner Chat V.2

[Blue_Aussie]

Good news, I bonded Romeo and Gem and they are sharing a pen now! Bad news, Echo is still aggressive towards Romeo.. but I’m hoping that after a few weeks his hormones will settle and he’ll be easier to bond.

I also mentioned that I’m writing a rabbit care book a little while ago, small update: wrote a chapter on spaying and neutering XD i have been really busy lately with my business and bunnies so I haven’t really worked on the book much 😬 I’ll finish it eventually...

[Winstalgia]

hey guys, I am struggling, to put it bluntly.

We got two rabbits so we could bond them w frop overtime. Not sure what breed they are, but I imagine one that will get up to at least 4 lbs. We named them annie and eri, eri being mine. Unfortunately we had to rush to the emergency vet for Eri, she was having diarrhea and acting lethargic. They couldnt save her and ended up having to put her down. I still feel terrible but I've been taking care of annie all the same, and checking in on froppy like I typically do during the day.

Annie seems healthy atm, shes active; running everywhere, exploring the house, responds the appropriate rabbit way to loud noises or annoying people. Actually, I put her in my room last night with a barrier she cant get over but woke up and she somehow got over it. She was sleeping under my bed. I guess she ate some apple too, (no seeds or stems) cause someone (probably my young siblings) left an apple in my room

I'm stuck at a point with annie and froppy. Annie isnt outside w froppy 24/7 (we have a separate pen for annie outside next to froppy) she is only 2 months old and I dont want her to scare easily, considering we live next to a busy street in a city. Froppy is used to everything from dogs barking to fireworks and thunder. I'm just unsure of where to continue. Froppy cant come inside. Annie is inside more and more, also bc my mom doesnt want her outside w how small she is. She is definitely a person rabbit, shes not shy in the least and loves walking up to people. I should also note when I did start bonding the two, froppy would chase annie around the pen she was in, annie was scared of her. She didnt care much for eri, but now I think that's because she was ill and froppy could sense it.

@blue_aussie - that's awesome you bonded them!
And the book is actually rlly neat.

[Blue_Aussie]

^im sorry to hear about Eri, that must have been awful..
As for Annie, don’t put Annie in Froppys pen while bonding. Use a neutral area where neither rabbit has been before. Froppy will get territorial in her pen.

If there wasn’t any nipping/biting when you let them meet, that’s an excellent start though! C:

[Winstalgia]

I havent made any progress since a couple days ago but thank you. Froppy has been fine this past month living by herself, shes shown no signs of sadness and I spoil her rotten aha. My mom wants to keep annie inside as the house rabbit, I guess shes concerned about her size. Shes super little. I still want to try bonding her with frop tho. She seemed depressed today, I assume bc of eri, and everyone has given her a lot of love. Turns out, she likes car rides. It was the happiest point in her day; I drove her and my sister to the pet store and she flopped down, ears up, laying on my sisters lap. Her vet appointment for an exam is tmrw, which is relieving. I did go to put her outside but after a bit her ears got a bit cold so I pulled her back in and warmed her up. Its 50° out rn. She did keep outside the other dy but I'm being extremely cautious.

I wonder if the place we got them from was just unhealthy. The rabbits were stored in a small area near a whole bunch of birds, and I'm just going to make an assumption that bird poop isnt all too healthy for them. She said she fed them pellets but I wonder if she gave them hay too. For one of the first times ever, my mom has actually been undergoing a lot of research for a pet.

[Blue_Aussie]

That’s adorable that she loves cat rides! That would also be an excellent way to bond them as well. Just put both rabbits in a smallish carrier and go for a drive. Froppy will most likely be nervous so she won’t do anything that would scare Annie.

I hope bonding then won’t be too hard for you if you do continue to try.
What breed is Annie by he way? I think it’s awesome you guys are considering keeping her an indoor rabbit!

[Winstalgia]

hey, annie passed away a couple hours ago. She got sick but we caught it early this time, and the vet gave us medicine and told us to keep her warm. We stayed up w her and kept her warm, she was standing, she was able to drink water herself, and then within 20 minutes she just... she got sick bc of the parasites she contracted from the place we got her. Needless to say I'm calling the owner of the shop AGAIN to tell them the rabbit they gave us was sick and died. I'm heartbroken rn.

She was a lionhead btw. I feel terrible. She was a seeet baby. I know she was happy with us tho, and we did the best we could for her.

[nervousdog]

You took all the right steps in getting Annie help ! It's heartbreaking to lose a rabbit, especially one so young . Did the vet tell you what kind of parasite Annie had ? How close has she ever been to Froppy ? If the parasite was contagious it might be a good idea to take froppy into the vet ASAP, even if she isn't showing any symptoms .

[Raire]

Ah, this is also heartbreaking... almost the same as my Sir Mallow last year, so sorry this happened to little Annie.

[Blue_Aussie]

I’m sorry that happened to your little bunnies... a few years ago when I bred lion heads, both kits in one litter passed for no reason as well. I’m sure it wasn’t contagious and Froppy will be perfectly healthy but it’s probably best to get her looked at just in case...

[Winstalgia]

thank you guys! Sorry for my late response, forgot chickensmoothie existed for a day there aha. And yes, we took froppy to the vet and shes actually very healthy, no signs of any illnesses, but the vet recommended I get her a probiotic so I'm doing that today.

The parasite the little ones had was coccidia, as well as something else but the vet didnt know what it was and they were waiting to hear from someone last I asked.