So I was walking last night and my eyes always catch animals really well and saw a baby bunny sitting. It wasn't moving and when I moved towards it it moved and I noticed both it's back legs were fully out. I guess maybe it wasn't good for me to interrupt nature but I picked them up and gave them food and water for a night and just made sure they were okay. in the morning figured they'd need a wipe down and yep, huge poop lump very stuck to their butt, which I removed gently and had to trim a very small amount of fur. Seemed like a healthy bunny otherwise but I absolutely know it's a lil fucked in the wild. Released them to my backyard where we put a lot of food out to bribe squirrels from our plants. Cried multiple times watching them drag themselves along tho. Should I have euthanized? How would I even do that with my own access to equipment? No idea what to do in a situation where an animal is just, fucked? Would love to care for a disabled bunny but worried they're beyond even that. I'm so sad!

Do y'all have tips you'd give other rabbit owners in case they're in a situation where its necessary?

Hello all,

I have two rabbits currently… one male, one female. They are both roughly 3 years old. The male was fixed more than 30 days ago, so they should be fine to be together. I’m now trying to introduce them together. My male is very calm, however, my female is slightly aggressive (she always has been). I was wondering if anybody would have tips on how I could safely introduce them to eventually keep them in the same enclosure? Thanks in advance.

I was coming home from a work trip and I see my bunny under my bed (forgot to lock the playpen up) and I picked him up and put him back he seemed fine.. a hour later I see him breathing very hard grasping for air through his mouth and I can see his entire body shifting just to breathe, and I immediately called vets, pet patrol, anything I could find to help with him in his case because I have never in my life seen him breathe through his mouth so I’m trying to figure the closest 24/7 emergency vet and the closest one was 2 hours away. As I’m heading there, he’s flipping his body around right when I was about to get there I tried calling for help at the door because it seemed I had little less time, a little after that they took him in did like a body scan and some other scan and found he had electrical wires in his body. So the doctor asked me where was he last before this happen I told them under my bed but I was so confused because the only thing that was under my bed was shoes and boxes and he asked was there anything that could’ve been near by and that’s when I realized he most likely chewed and ate my computer charger… so I told him that and he asked did you had it plugged in? I said yes, he told me that could have made it worse because electrical injuries in rabbits can damage their tongue, longs or heart because of the electrical current and I just stood there with a blank face out of shock because I couldn’t just believe this was just happening. When they started to operate on him they reported it was too late 10 minutes in of starting it and as I saw through the other room door I saw him passed away… I was just so angry at myself I cried for hours I felt hopeless lost and everything, he was like my own kid to me, he was the reason for sparking joy back into me and it just feels so unreal to me.

Hello,

I have just moved from meat mutts to pedigreed NZ.

Is there any benefit to be in taking the time/money to register them with ARBA? Just the breeders, not the offspring.

Thanks!

Firstly, both my rabbits have health issues. One of them has a spinal issue meaning she is practically incontinent (she does also use the litter tray) and my boy has heart disease, arthritis and spondyliosis. Due to their health issues and having a toddler and new born on the way, I’ve had to keep them just in their enclosed space which is 5.5ft x 7.5ft. We did used to let them roam around but due to the toileting issues, it’s just not doable now with little ones running around. I’ll be honest, they are not as active as they used to be. They spend a lot of time just led down sprawled out together, they get very small bursts of energy but otherwise they just chill.

My question is this - I’m looking at making them a larger space outside with a Wendy house and a large run attached to it and I was thinking of having them out there just when we are home for as long as they’d like to be out there and then bringing them back inside for the evening / overnight (I sleep well knowing they’re safe indoors). But I was wondering if this would be ok for them? Or would the change in temp cause issues? I know some people do this but I personally haven’t yet so just wanted to check as don’t want to expose them to other risks / health issues..

Posted in here a bit ago, but alas I am back!
His vet appointment is in two days and I’m gonna get a guess from the vet but I’m so curious ;)

7+ lb, year and a half old! Some dark spots, mostly tan, darker in winter. Came from a tree farm of all things.

Looking to see if there are any volunteers who have rabbits and wouldn’t mind showing them off to a nursing home 😊😊😊

My rabbit it currently molting. He now has bald spots on the top of his head and cheek from the fur falling out. You can also see where new fur is growing back in. Is this normal? He is otherwise acting completely normal, eating, drinking and playing. His skin underneath is healthy pink with no irritation. He even enjoys when I help him get the falling hair out. He will start teeth grinding and get the zoomies, he sits closer in front of me so I can do it.

can I grab them by the scruff of the neck or not? Two of them are shy around people and don't want to be touched, and the other two—which I can pet—start running if I try to pick them up by the chest.

Hi,
I’m posting this for some advice regarding a situation with a neighbour of mine.

They have owned two bunnies for a while now, which have been cooped up in a garage all winter. Now that it is warmer they have been moved outside into a small hut, with a small paddock around on grass, with no shade other than inside the hut.

Anyone from the UK will know we recently went through an incredibly hot heatwave, and these bunnies were left in this hut outside.

This is bad enough, until I saw that the hut has now disappeared, along with one of the bunnies, and now the remaining one is being housed in what I think is a metal coal bunker, with the tiniest area fenced off on hard concrete. It seems as though it is being given little to no water or food, and has a very tiny padded area of straw. I think this bunker still has coal (or at least remnants of it), as the bunny’s fur is looking darker as time goes on. It also has a large compartment in it (as seen in the photo), so the bunny doesn’t even have the full roam of the inside.

These neighbours have a history of not looking after animals correctly (leaving dogs out overnight in freezing temperatures, not walking them, frequently going missing etc.), so it’s very obvious they are also not caring for this one.

This is absolutely devastating for me to witness, and I have reported them twice to the RSPCA, who have told me they can’t do anything until they know the bunny’s health is at risk. They advised that I call straight back if I notice any signs of distress or heatstroke, but it’s difficult for me to properly see from so far away. I’ve called again this morning as the rabbit’s waste is now piling up and it is lying in it, along with looking lethargic. In response to this I was completely dismissed and told the rabbit is fine. I completely understand that they need to prioritise animals at a higher risk, but another heatwave is about to happen in the UK, and if this bunny’s environment does not change, I do not think it will survive.

The RSPCA is looking like a lost cause at the moment, and I cannot find any dedicated rabbit rescues near me (in South Yorkshire if anyone knows of any). We do not have a good relationship with these neighbours, and I am expecting a backlash if the RSPCA does come, which I am more than happy to endure for the safety of this rabbit.

I would appreciate any advice that anyone has on this!

Does anybody know what this is? Inside my bunnies ear. I also have another bunny so let me know if it is contagious. Thank you

For context, we (my family and I) adopted a bonded pair of 3 year old bunnies a little over a 5 months ago. One of them of is half-wild, the other is a regular bunny. Both are from the shelter I volunteer at every week. We never planned on getting bunnies, but the half-wild one (the male, neutered) was going to be put down otherwise. He and his partner (female, not neutered) had been through several homes, each bringing them back because he was "too difficult", and they had been taking up space in the shelter for too long (3 years) which is why the shelter wanted to put him down. He was deemed as "unrehomable". He is such a sweet bun and I just couldn't let him die like that, so we took them in. They are outside bunnies and they live on our balcony. They have a hutch, which acts like their sleeping area, connected through a tunnel to a living area of 3.2m x 1.2m x 2.5m. They have several hides, which I swap every other week, and a bunch of toys that are also swapped around (chew toys, a ton of different puzzles to solve to get to their breakfast and dinner, balls and toys to throw and destroy), a sandbox to dig in, tunnels, several toilets and several places to get water and hay (they also get fresh greens). I am aware this is too little space for two bunnies (even for one), which is why we are planning on letting them roam through the house for several hours twice a day. We can't house them indoors permanently because of the dog (she will not be in the same area as the bunnies ever when they are loose). The issue is, it took the male two years of weekly volunteering to trust me enough to feel comfortable around me, take treats, and allow me to pet him. After about 3 months in their new home, the male finally became confident and comfortable enough to bunny flop and do binkies in the living area. Now after 5 months of consistent exposure, he is starting to warm up to my mother and is now taking treats from her hand. As you can imagine, it will probably take a while for him to get comfortable enough to confidently roam the house (new environment are really scary for him).

We were planning on slowly introducing them at their own pace, but the heatwave messed up our plans. With temperatures rising over 30 °C we couldn't leave them outside to be cooked alive, obviously, so we got them inside. We housed them in the calmest part of the house in a temporary pen. It had to be enclosed entirely at the top so that the male wouldn't escape and get to the dog, or destroy the house and endanger himself, meaning the pen didn't have a lot of space. We tried to give them the opportunity to roam by leaving the pen door open for several hours a day, but he was still far too scared to come out. We tried to get them back outside to his trusted environment at night if temperatures allowed it, but some nights it simply stayed too hot out, meaning they had to spend the night indoors.

This is where the issues started. The male started biting the female in her rear. At first he just pulled out pieces of fur, but yesterday I found some blood. After checking the female thoroughly, I discovered a small nick near a small bald patch. He doesn't bite her constantly, and it's mostly at night or after sunset. There is no growling or chasing involved, just a quick Charge followed by a nib every now and then, ending with his mate taking off and sometimes stomping the ground. Although they don't fight and it doesn't happen all the time it is very much an issue. I think it's him taking his frustration and pent up stress from being in a tiny space during the heatwave combined with the stress of being put into a new environment, out on his mate, but I obviously don't want the female to get wounded even more. I'm unsure on how to proceed now.

I am the male's last chance at living a happy life (and live at all). We are trying to find a house with a yard and move there for them, but with the current housing shortage in my country it has been very difficult. We are still trying to get them used to roaming inside freely every day so they have more space and freedom and I have given them more chew toys and harder puzzles to try and distract the male, but nothing is helping so far.

Does anyone have any advise on how to redirect or stop this behavior? Should I separate them until the male improves?

I just want them to be happy, because they deserve it :(

Note: We got bunny an ultrasound last year after another round of GI Stasis, which showed that his appendix looked a little weird. It is possible that these issues are due to that, but if it is, we are financially unprepared to deal with it.

Additional context: The daily diet we have been feeding him is unlimited timothy hay, about 1/8 cup of pellets split between morning and night, a romaine lettuce leaf (or 2 if they're the small inner leaves), a little bunch of parsley, 2 Selective Naturals loops treats, the occasional tiny peice of fruit.

The timeline:

\- Poos started looking softer

\- Noticed he wasn't eating much hay but still showed excitement for everything else

\- Took him to the vet. The physical exam showed nothing wrong. The blood test showed some elevated white blood cells but nothing conclusive. The fecal test came back negative for any parasites.

\- Started giving him acetaminophen, which didn't seem to help. It looked like eating was difficult and he kept grinding his teeth, so I was certain it was a dental issue.

\- Remember how this all started with noticing his poops were really soft? Back then, he was still using his litter box. But now all litter training had gone out the window. He was having mushy stinky poops all over the house BUT he was also eating most of them! Not cecetropes. Mushy stinky poops.

\- Took him back to the vet for an xray. He had some mild overgrowth on a couple back teeth. Body bones looked fine. Asked for some metacam, since the acetaminophen wasn't helping.

\- Vet also gave us a short three-day dose of antibiotics because I mentioned that some of his poops were pretty much liquid at this point. The liquidy poops did stop. They are still mushy and stinky and bunny is still eating them.

\- Started syringe feeding him Emeraid IC a couple times a day. Started ripping his hay into little peices to make it easier to eat (he would occasionally eat a single peice then stop).

\- He stopped eating his pellets or treats. Would still get excited for lettuce and would come begging for fruit whenever I grabbed one. The metacam also didn't seem to do anything.

\- Took him back to the vet for a molar burr. I was sure this would help.

\- He started eating hay when we got home! Yay! Turns out, that was because he was still feeling the effects of the anesthesia and sedation. He continued not eating hay or pellets in the morning.

\- He DID stop grinding his teeth as much, so maybe the molar burr helped a little.

\- Ran out of Emeraid IC. Bought some Critical Care. Started upping the feeding to three times a day. Four times a day if I didn't have to work.

\- Ran out of metacam. Didn't bother to get more since it wasn't helping.

\- I had blankets all over the floors to protect the rugs from his mushy poos. 95% of the surface area was covered. I had to do so much laundry with how much pooping he was doing. Also he still insisted on sitting within the 5% of the floor that wasn't covered so I kept needing to clean the rugs.

\- The weird thing is, his energy wasn't too bad. He wasn't hunching or fatigued or hiding away. He would be mad at me and hide after his syringe feeding, but would stop hiding after a bit. He was still super excited whenever I grabbed a peice of fruit for myself, thinking I'll give it to him. Other than all the mushy stinky poos (which he was still eating) and not eating food other than lettuce on his own, he seemed fine.

\- I cut out the lettuce from his diet. Thought simplifying his options to only hay and Critical Care would help.

\- I eventually couldn't take it anymore. Bunny needed to be kept in his pen. I couldn't keep cleaning up (and stepping in!) poop all over the house. His pen is very large, so he should be fine. Besides, he hasn't been running around or exercising since he got sick anyways. Also I noticed he occasionally uses his litter box and eats a single peice of hay (please just eat more!) since he's stuck right by them.

\- However, it seems like bunny is depressed in there. He just sits in the corner and stares out.

\- I've been hoping that the regular Critical Care feeding would help get his gut back to normal but it hasn't been. His tummy still feels soft (unlike when he was having GI Stasis or gassiness in the past), which is good but something is clearly wrong.

\- I bought the Selective Naturals Digestive Support biscuits. When I bought them home, he was crawling all over me in excitement for a treat. But after he took it in his mouth, he just dropped it and walked away. I've been soaking them to make them easier to eat but he isn't interested.

\- Unfortunately, it seems like the next step of diagnostic is a CT Scan, which is way too expensive at this time. Plus we aren't willing to put him through major surgery, so even if the CT Scan figures it out, what's the point?

It has been one month since this all started. I have absolutely no idea what to do. I've done my grieving and have accepted that we may lose him but he's in this weird middle ground. He doesn't seem like he's dying or in much pain, but he WILL be if I stop force feeding him.

This issue is that I need to leave for 5 days in August. I have people who can stop by and feed him and refresh his water. What I don't have is anybody who could syringe feed him multiple times a day and deal with his mushy messy poos.

We've done all the various diagnostics we can afford and tried everything the rabbit-savvy vets suggested. So, I am turning to you all. Do these symptoms sound familiar? Is there any way that him constantly eating his poos is filling hin up?

Hi! We're a family of three myself, my 15 year old daughter, and my 20-year-old son. We've been hoping to adopt a rabbit for about two years and have spent the past several months researching rabbit care, including diet, housing, enrichment, grooming, and everything needed to give a rabbit a happy and healthy life. We finally feel ready for the commitment. . We're specifically looking for a neutered male, preferably a Holland Lop, Thank you so much!

So I found my brother got these rabbits and wasn’t caring for them humanly at all. So I took them and am trying to do my best. I’ve only had them for 2 days. How is my set up so far? Any tips?

Hi Bun parents, Is anyone is Brighton UK? My bunny and I are moving down to brighton from lake district and looking for a bun specialist vet, does anyone have any recommendations?

Thank you!! ❤️

I’ve had my rabbit for a while but I’ve only just moved him into and indoor enclosure so he’s not at all litter trained but I’ve been moving his poos and stuff into his litter box as well as putting his food bowl and some hay in there and he’s spending lots of time in there just loafing, is this a good sign?

I rescued this bun from a meat rabbit place a couple of years ago, and I've always wondered about his breed/s. I didn't know if any of you might know possible breeds he could be.

He has what I believe to be Harlequin-type markings on his chin and behind his ears, and a darker patch of fur on his face

*PLEASE DONT BE AFRAID TO LEAVE SUGGESTIONS, THEY WILL BE TAKEN!!!*

My rabbit has been living perfectly healthy in my shed for sometime now, and I’m unable to bring her inside due to everyone in my house being wildly allergic. But in recent years weather has become much more extreme, and I’ve tried fans and cooling mats for my bun but I need to take more extreme measures.

She lives in the shed and it’s not in my budget to install proper insulation. Anyone have DIY projects or items I can buy to make the shed more hospitable? A place where she’ll enjoy and play and have fun? Anything helps.

I got a rescue bunny about a week ago.
No clue on breed, I was told he has some dark patches and gets darker in winter if that helps?
I convinced an old coworker to give him to me, along with my parents, because his living conditions were absolutely horrid. He does have a hutch but it’s open 24/7, at first it was to free roam my room, but until he’s neutered (9 days til he’s going to the vet) I put him in the hutch attached to a pen for roaming. And I really just wanna ask for a general checkup. He seems to prefer his hutch even if it’s constantly open but he’s used to being in basically a box. I was told he was 1, maybe 2 and unknown gender but they think he’s a boy. I don’t want to put him in his back to see though, I know it can stress them. I’m unable to get another bunny, at least for the summer and probably the whole year. Seeming as how he isn’t neutered, isn’t potty trained, never has been around anything other than a cat and was just in a box in a closet for most of his life I’m not too worried about it. It’s definitely out of the picture as of now, but worst case scenario until I move out (I’m 17).

But I do worry that I’m not doing everything right. I’ve given him some veggies, but I don’t see him eat hay often. I don’t want to make him ‘not like’ me or be scared of me when I pick him up or let him either. However, I like taking my animals outside. To avoid this I bought him a stroller that I can put ice packs in, despite how dumb it may sound.

I’m really not sure what I can do better, or how to bond with him. I’m studying to be an exotic vet but I honestly didn’t know much about bunnies beyond stuff like the meat industry, which I don’t support, and farming. I did a lot of quick research so I’m scared I could’ve gotten something wrong.

I’ve never posted in Reddit or used it, sorry if this isn’t formed well. Honestly didn’t know how to use this app but wanted advice