House Rabbit

[anothersam]

My pride and joy My moody precious princess toddler.

It’s a pleasure to meet you and yours.

you can't be angry at them when they're so cute.

Quite impossible, I know. The closest we’ve ever come is exasperation, which dissipates immediately when addressing the culprit of manifold misdeeds.

This morning I set up a sting operation on some drapes:

View: https://youtu.be/Wm7dwmi202Q

View: https://youtu.be/UZ1XWSMvIK4

Early on, we realised we had a choice: you can have a house rabbit, or be house proud, but not both.

(On a side note, YouTube has ruined the subtitling for me. It's harder to get the words exactly where you want them now, and appearing for your preferred length of time – AARGH! My heart's just not in it anymore.)

 

[oreo_muncher]

It’s a pleasure to meet you and yours.



Quite impossible, I know. The closest we’ve ever come is exasperation, which dissipates immediately when addressing the culprit of manifold misdeeds.

This morning I set up a sting operation on some drapes:

View: https://youtu.be/Wm7dwmi202Q

View: https://youtu.be/UZ1XWSMvIK4

Early on, we realised we had a choice: you can have a house rabbit, or be house proud, but not both.

(On a side note, YouTube has ruined the subtitling for me. It's harder to get the words exactly where you want them now, and appearing for your preferred length of time – AARGH! My heart's just not in it anymore.)

Adorable My rabbit chewed the curtains, wallpaper, walls, carpets and has peed on the bed and couch a few times.

 

[anothersam]

All that's left to do is to sign the deeds over to her.

 

[oreo_muncher]

@anothersam does your rabbit also jump on the bed to wake up at night? Or does it ever pee on your bed or couch? Or am I the only person with this issue? I have been waken up in the past at night 6+ times by my rabbit jumping on the bed waking me up. It's relentless with begging for treat it will follow me everywhere even to the toilet, but then it has a dodgy belly if it has too many treats so I have to just watch it begging me all day..

 

[anothersam]

No, we keep the bedroom door closed. This is mostly to avoid stepping on him should we go walkabout in the middle of the night, but it would also be a disaster if he jumped and put a paw in my wife’s eyes, as she’s had glaucoma surgery and really doesn’t need a trabeculectomy à la Chompsky.

He’s never wet the couch or bed or us, but he does get what we’ve diagnosed as spring fever (though it’s more in the summer), when he starts getting careless and leaving patches outside the tray and sometimes further afield.

Has she been spayed? If not, that can cause the behaviour you describe. I would add that we’re extremely careful about treats. For example, we don’t even give him carrot, except for the tops, as we don't want him to develop a sweet tooth. They get addicted and it can be ruinous for guts & teeth, or so we’ve read. (If only my parents had done the same with me <sigh>.)

View: https://youtu.be/K-vusR74mqw

 

[oreo_muncher]

No, we keep the bedroom door closed. This is mostly to avoid stepping on him should we go walkabout in the middle of the night, but it would also be a disaster if he jumped and put a paw in my wife’s eyes, as she’s had glaucoma surgery and really doesn’t need a trabeculectomy à la Chompsky.

He’s never wet the couch or bed or us, but he does get what we’ve diagnosed as spring fever (though it’s more in the summer), when he starts getting careless and leaving patches outside the tray and sometimes further afield.

Has she been spayed? If not, that can cause the behaviour you describe. I would add that we’re extremely careful about treats. For example, we don’t even give him carrot, except for the tops, as we don't want him to develop a sweet tooth. They get addicted and it can be ruinous for guts & teeth, or so we’ve read. (If only my parents had done the same with me <sigh>.)

View: https://youtu.be/K-vusR74mqw

My rabbit is addicted to bananas- I only give her a very tiny bit- like the ending of the banana. She likes blueberries, strawberries, dill, raspberry, watermelon, apple, celery, peppers, carrots, cucumber, tomatoes, broccoli. But I give very tiny pieces of sugary treats. But she's so cute it's hard to say no. She loves following me to the kitchen and to the bathroom. She has not been spayed.

 

[anothersam]

We get followed around too, somewhat. I think when you have a single rabbit, they crave company, and you’re it. Often we’ll be chatting and he’ll come into the room honking, then settle down nearby, a silent part of the conversation. But he also spends a fair amount of time on his own, perhaps contemplating the mysteries of the universe.

Just before we got him castrated (which we put off for quite a while, nervous as hell), he went into hormonal overdrive and practically became a stalker. A seemingly incontinent stalker. If you get her spayed, it’s likely she’ll calm down a bit. By all accounts, it will also prolong her life considerably, as females are particularly prone to cancer otherwise.

 

[anothersam]

It's relentless with begging for treat it will follow me everywhere even to the toilet, but then it has a dodgy belly if it has too many treats so I have to just watch it begging me all day..

I would suggest you have a hard look at her diet and introduce gradual changes. Personally, the only thing I would allow on your list is dill (though ours happens to disdain it) and a limited amount of peppers. Very small portions of fruit may be OK for treats, but fruit is completely unnecessary, and as you have discovered, difficult to ration once they get a taste for it.

Brother can you spare a blueberry

I think it’s better for them to come to the conclusion that a regular healthy diet is treat enough.

Hay, greens, and maybe some nuggets. That’s all they need.

5 grams? You’re joking, right?

There are lots of resources out there, and not all of them agree on every particular with each other (or with me). Here’s a good one: https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-care-advice/rabbit-diet/greens-veg-herbs/

The pickier you are on their behalf, the longer they’ll be around to bring you joy.

View: https://youtu.be/7Kf3CA1IZTU

 

[anothersam]

One more thing and then I'll shut up: this is your only chance to play god. When she comes begging, try putting this on your mental turntable. The refrain is spot on:

View: https://youtu.be/FQdxGpV5aV8

 

[oreo_muncher]

My precious baby turned 4 in June, do you think it's too late to neuter? As she got older, she's more grumpy and moody and less cuddly She likes barking and charging more.

 

[anothersam]

That’s a tricky one. I don’t think she’s too old yet, but it depends on her overall health. Her risk of developing a fatal tumour is probably much higher than dying from the operation, but that’s a discussion to be had with a vet who’s very experienced with rabbits. Caveat emptor: I remember someone at a Pets At Home telling us to fast rabbits before surgery, which is exactly the opposite of what you’re supposed to do!

Check out this page for the sort of questions to ask.

 

[oreo_muncher]

That’s a tricky one. I don’t think she’s too old yet, but it depends on her overall health. Her risk of developing a fatal tumour is probably much higher than dying from the operation, but that’s a discussion to be had with a vet who’s very experienced with rabbits. Caveat emptor: I remember someone at a Pets At Home telling us to fast rabbits before surgery, which is exactly the opposite of what you’re supposed to do!

Check out this page for the sort of questions to ask.

Thank you. I'll try find a suitable vet to do it. Maybe this will stop her peeing on the bed all the time and that aggression that is coming out of nowhere recently. It's usually very loving and cute and cuddly but lately not as much.

 

[Beebo]

Our rabbits live outside all year. They eat far more in winter to keep warm. That’s when the pellets become useful. They almost fight each other for the food bowl.
I suspect a house rabbit needs very little to eat when living with central heating.

 

[anothersam]

Good luck @oreo_muncher.

Our rabbits live outside all year. They eat far more in winter to keep warm. That’s when the pellets become useful. They almost fight each other for the food bowl. I suspect a house rabbit needs very little to eat when living with central heating.

We estimated his caloric intake at one point, and it was more than we expected for such a little fella. Here he is showing his usual enthusiasm for peppers. Spoiler: poetic licence has been taken with the title.

View: https://youtu.be/KLNDiLcexGY

I just scrolled back to have another look at your very impressive setup. Adjusted to human scale, it's bigger than many places we've lived.

Although there were always some who snuck inside,



No bunnies were harmed in the making of this video

house rabbits only really started to catch on in the 80s with the publication of Marinell Harriman's House Rabbit Handbook.

 

[Notafettler]

My dog shows no interest in domesticated chickens and ducks, even though ducks are on the top of her list for catching. She is discouraged from chasing anything with fur but she will still start a chase on rabbits. I have always wondered what she would do if she came accross a domesticated rabbit.
Is it the fact that they ignore her the reason why she doesn't go for them. One day I hope I don't find out!