With the summer heating up, I just wanted to make a quick post to remind everyone to "summer-proof" their homes for their bunnies.
This involves:
Chestnut's home is by my window sill. What I do is draw my curtains part-way down during the day so that he has the choice of being in the sun or the shade. When I give him fresh veggies, I also quickly run them through the water. Chestnut is not a big water drinker, so I try to find additional ways to sneak more hydration into his diet. =) Lastly, when deciding what temperature to set your air conditioner, try to imagine going through your home with a thick fur coat. What would it feel like? Wishing everyone a happy summer! Happy Canada Day!
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My rabbit, Chestnut is a funny one. He is full of spunk and completely unpredictable. These past few weeks he has been more laid back, preferring to lounge on his belly near me and follow me around the house.
Last night, when I opened the cage door for play time, he came charging out of his cage and spent most of his time chasing me around with glee. After he was tired, he went to the sofa to lie on the carpet and I proceeded to read a book with my legs crossed one on top of the other. Not long after, Chestnut decided he wanted to play around again and started zooming and dashing on the rug. He started binkying and jumping around and the next thing I knew, he jumped head-first into my foot! I was shocked. Was he hurt? I kept thinking to myself. He was delighted! He did a few more binkies while his owner looked on in utter confusion. I love Chestnut! There is never a dull day with him around! =) One of the questions I am sometimes asked by clients is whether to purchase a water bottle or water bowl for their bunny.
For hygiene reasons, my personal preference is a water bottle. I find it is easier to keep the cage clean - you do not have to worry about water spilling or rabbit hair or litter flying into your rabbit's water bowl. Another reason I like using the water bottle is that it gives rabbits more space in their cage. Water bowls usually need to be placed in corners or wedged between food bowls and litter pans so they do not topple over. Also, I do not know about your rabbit, but every once in a while Chestnut would decide that he does not like where things are normally placed in his cage and would "redecorate" his home (including his water bowl!). This would create a huge mess! When Chestnut was young, we started him out with a water bowl because he was so tiny. Later we moved to a water bowl attached to the side of his cage as he grew and was able to reach. We eventually moved to a water bottle, which he has been using ever since. If you are in the process of training your rabbit to use a water bottle (i.e. transitioning from a water bowl), I would recommend starting by showing your bunny how the water bottle works. Hang the bottle in its cage and press the tip of the water bottle to show him or her that water comes out. There is usually a ball at the bottle tip that makes noise when you press it. The sound might be interesting to your bunny and pique its curiosity. Do this until your rabbit goes up to the water bottle and tries it out for him or herself. Keep the water bowl in your rabbits' cage but after some time slowly start to take it out of its cage so that it is forced to use its water bottle. Be really careful with this process and only start to remove the water bowl if your rabbit shows interest in the water bottle. Some rabbits are just water bowl users while some can be trained to use water bottles. Even with Chestnut trained to use a water bottle, I still place a water bowl outside his cage when he comes out to play. Chestnut is not a big water drinker in general, and doing this is just another added measure of safety for me to ensure he is getting enough water. I also try to change the water in his water bottle every few days to ensure it does not get stale. If your rabbit does not drink a lot of water like mine, make sure to give it lots of vegetables. One trick to help your pet drink more water is to wash the vegetables and not fully pat them dry so that there is still some water on the leaves. In terms of cost, water bowls are cheaper than water bottles. A small dish would suffice which could be purchased anywhere, like at the dollar store. Water bottles for rabbits from a pet store cost much more depending on the size of the bottle and whether it is glass or plastic. If you are using a water bowl, I would recommend checking it often for flying debris and changing the water accordingly. If you have the space, I find that placing it in the opposite corner of the litter pan also helps. Chestnut likes to leap out of his litter pan and when he does, his litter comes flying out all over his cage. Having a water bowl as far away from the litter pan would help reduce the amount of litter flying in the bowl. Hope this article helps! I just wanted to talk about a situation that I encountered with Chestnut in the hopes that it might help some other bunny owners.
Chestnut was experiencing tearing in one of his eyes. The secretions coming out of his eye were clear but they were bothersome to him. He would scratch his eye and it made his eye area red. Concerned, we took him to the vet, who told us to keep a close on it as Chestnut's eye area could become infected. We were advised to come back for a visit if the situation continued. The vet's recommendation at that point would be to have an x-ray done on Chestnut's tear duct and possible surgery. As Chestnut was a lop, they have a tendency to develop this kind of condition where their tear duct becomes squeezed by their facial bone structure. This whole experience was pretty scary for me. But I have to say that I am really glad that Chestnut's eyes stopped tearing and that we did not have to go the surgery or x-ray route. What we did was: 1. Change his litter more frequently: I normally change his litter every few days but I started to do this daily. I suspected that the ammonia from his urine might be irritating to his eyes. This worked until this summer came. I'm not sure about the rest of you, but I was hit by really bad allergies this year. And it turns out, so was my dear bunny, Chestnut. This leads me to my next suggestions: 2. Close all the windows and remove dust: After I did this, my allergies began to improve and Chestnut's teary eye issue went away. I must add that on top of closing my windows, I used an air purifier with a HEPA filter to clean the air. 3. Reduce serving size of hay and put in a container: We all know that rabbits need unlimited hay. Usually what that means is we put a large amount of hay in their cage so they can eat it throughout the day. As I became more aware of my allergies, I started to wonder if the hay might not be impacting Chestnut. So I reduced the amount of hay I would give him and increased the frequency. Instead of giving him hay once in the morning, I would give him two smaller servings. I would also put it in a small bowl. Before that, I used a hay rack. Chestnut would rummage through the hay rack, picking the hay that he liked and leaving the unwanted bits on the floor of his cage. The benefit of the small bowl was that it kept the hay contained in it. Chestnut would go to the bowl when he wanted hay and there would be less hay dust and mess! The combination of these three, I am very happy to say, solved Chestnut's teary eye issue! While I would do anything for my rabbit, I really did not like the idea of him going through an x-ray or surgery. He wouldn't know what was happening or why it was happening. It still breaks my heart thinking about it! I must add that if your bunny does have teary eyes, it is really important to keep their eyes clean. Every morning and before I went to bed, I would take a warm, moist cloth and gently wipe his eyes. At first he did not like this and would try to hide, but after a while he very sweetly would lean his head on the doorway of his cage so I could easily clean his eyes. Another important thing is to keep your rabbits' cage clean too. I hope this article helps people whose rabbits may be going through the same thing. Vets know a lot of things and I recognize that there are indeed situations where surgery would be necessary. However, before you go that route, try these few things first to see if it does not fix the issue first. =) Recently I was talking to a client about a do-it yourself rabbit toy and craft I had made for his rabbit while it was under my care. I first made this for Chestnut when he grew disinterested in his chew toys. Every once in a while he goes through a period where he likes to bite at things. We went through a gambit of chewing products from the pet store but none seemed to interest him. One day, I decided to try folding some origami balls out of paper. Chestnut took to them right away. He liked to carry one in his mouth as he ran around. He also liked to pounce on them to squish them, and of course, tear them apart. There are quite a few steps to making origami paper balls, but they are very easy to make. You can also use different sizes of paper to create large and small balls. Try using paper with different thicknesses. The thicker the better. This is a very inexpensive toy and no loss if destroyed by your bunny. Hope your rabbit(s) get as much enjoyment from this craft as mine does! One of my most favorite things about Chestnut is when he comes and nudges me with his nose. I also like his "innocent" face when he's done something he knows he shouldn't have. Either of those things brings a huge smile to my face and makes me want to pick him up and give him the biggest hug ever. Unfortunately, Chestnut does not like be picked up so the closest I can get to a hug is crouching on the floor with my arms circled around him.
What are yours? =) Here's a tip I learned recently which has made Chestnuts' nail trims much easier:
When looking for nail trimmers for your bunny, consider purchasing scissors for cats. They may be more expensive, but the scissors cut and hold the nail in place much better. Chestnut's old pair was purchased from Pet Smart. It was made specifically for rabbits and had a small hole in the centre of the scissors to hold the nail being trimmed. The scissors did work, but I had a hard time cutting Chestnuts' nails quickly. The nail would wobble as the scissors closed in to make the cut and the scissors didn't seem to trim his nails neatly (a few times, the nail split). At first, I thought this issue was specific to me (and that I was just a poor rabbit nail trimmer) but after talking to the staff at Amherst Veterinary Hospital, I learned that I was not the only one experiencing this issue. Even though the cat scissors do not have a hole at the centre to hold Chestnuts' nail, it didn't seem to matter at all. It was surprisingly easy to close the scissors on his nail and each cut was done cleanly. Thank you to the people at Amherst for this useful tip! Clients sometimes mention that they feel pet stores charge too much and ask if I know of any cheaper places they can purchase items for their pet rabbit. My usual response is to try Dollarama or other dollar stores. They have an aisle just for pet merchandise that is often bunny-appropriate (even if it is labelled for a dog or a cat).
During a trip last weekend to my local dollar store, I found: - a pet hair brush* - a low-level rectangular shaped bin - this can be used as a litter pan - small plastic balls with bells inside them - a fun bunny toy! - water bottle - food dish - a litter scooper - the one I found came with little plastic bags in its handle. Please note that not all these items are found in the pet aisle. For instance, the food dish is simply a small dish for humans, re-purposed for a bunnys' use. Lastly, don't underestimate the fun a cardboard box has for a bunny. Take a pair of scissors and cut out a door and some windows and it just might be their new favorite spot to lounge. * I personally use a manicure brush for Chestnut as his hair is so fine. This can also be purchased at the dollar store. Vinegar is one of those catch-all, utilitarian substances that people can't seem to say enough good things about. It's non-toxic, inexpensive, and so effective at removing tough stains and bacteria. If you are trying to litter-train your bunny, dabbing areas with vinegar that you would like them to avoid is a great way to slowly direct them to where you would like them to do their business. The only drawback to vinegar is the odor.
An effective alternative to vinegar is lemon juice. It has the same acidic properties but smells much better. Rabbits also tend to react to lemon in the same way as they do to vinegar so it can also be used as a litter-training tool in addition to a cleaning agent. One drawback is that using lemon is more labor-intensive (to squeeze the juice out) and expensive than vinegar. But if the smell of vinegar leaves you reeling, try lemon. |
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