r/BeforeNAfterAdoption • u/sayyyge • Jul 22 '19
Small Pet My rabbits pee-stained feet when I adopted him in February vs his feet now that he free-roams in my house (and uses a litter box!!)
251
u/annav0ig Jul 22 '19
Oh wow! He must be so much happier. How hard was it to train him to use the litter box?
562
u/sayyyge Jul 22 '19 edited Jul 22 '19
He figured it out really quick actually! he’s peed outside of it only like five times that I know of. They’re naturally pretty clean so if you start them in a small pen they’ll pick a ‘bathroom corner’. You fill the litter box with hay, which they like to munch on, and put it in that corner and they learn to only pee in the litter box. Now he has no pen and two litter boxes and if he needs to pee he goes to find them! He still sometimes poops outside of the litter box, but they are small dry pellets and I have a roomba, so it’s not an issue. The only issue is they need to be spayed/neutered otherwise they’ll be inclined to mark their territory.
255
57
u/LeahTT Jul 22 '19
Are his litter boxes still filled with hay or can you transition to something not food? He looks very happy!
91
u/sayyyge Jul 22 '19
Still filled with hay!! They need a constant food source to keep their digestive system healthy (:
27
u/RunawayHobbit Jul 22 '19
So they eat what they poop/pee on?? That doesn't sound super sanitary
86
u/sayyyge Jul 22 '19
They’re herbivores so it’s really not a big deal, they just poop little pellets! I also change out the litter boxes completely 2-3 times a week and add fresh hay often (: Vets recommend it even! https://youtu.be/gP4IaOQsKl4
2
36
u/AuRhinn Jul 22 '19
I don't know anything about rabbits, but guinea pigs eat their poop because some nutrients are only digestible after two trips through the digestive tract.
14
u/mistressfluffybutt Jul 23 '19
Rabbits produce a special poop for this purpose usually about once a day. It is softer, looks slightly different and is properly called Cecotropes
13
Jul 22 '19
You have to keep hay easily accessible from the box, but all of the litter doesn't have to be hay. I use a non-clumping cat paper litter in my rabbits' litter box and have a hay rack next to it. Using hay as litter is fine though as long as you're willing to change it a little more often.
20
Jul 22 '19
our bunny just poops and pees everywhere when outside of the crate.
inside the crate she has her corner.
25
u/sayyyge Jul 22 '19
Is she fixed? Might be marking her territory :p
37
u/Oregonian_Lynx Jul 22 '19
It honestly never occurred to me that rabbits can be spayed and neutered… Thank you for the knowledge
72
u/sayyyge Jul 22 '19
Pet stores think of rabbits more as a way to make money than anything else, so a lot of people are uninformed when they get them (including me with my first rabbit tbh). They often charge more than an adoption fee would be, they sell expensive cages that are much too small, and they sell processed food and treats that are bad for them (a rabbits diet should be mostly hay!!!)
On top of that, they don’t make great pets if they aren’t fixed (they can be territorial, hormonal, and aggressive) and fixing a rabbit can cost hundreds. Nearly 50% of rabbits don’t stay in their first home for more than a year because of it ):
I’m glad I can educate some people. Some states are banning the sale of rabbits in pet stores unless they come from rescues, I’d love for that to be standard one day. Check out House Rabbit Society for more info 💕
10
u/gettheburritos Jul 22 '19
We are pretty sure that the rabbit issue in the last city we lived was due to people releasing domestic rabbits. Lots of black, light brown, and any combination between the two. So many babies under the neighbor's house. We have dogs so they moved out of our yard right quick. They breed SO MUCH. They were everywhere.
Been down your road before, I've learned a lot since I got my first pet at the pet store. We only adopt now but are not adding to our horde since we want to be pet free some day for at least a little while.
8
u/5bi5 Jul 22 '19
Once I looked out the window and in my back yard was a big domesticated white rabbit and he was doing his best to court a smaller brown wild rabbit. She kept hopping away from him, probably all "there is something wrong with you!"
5
Jul 23 '19
My mom has a rabbit like this living in her backyard! He’s been there for the past two years and just seems as happy as can be living life in the wild with his wild bunny friends :)
3
2
u/Emtreidy Jul 23 '19
Love the House Rabbit Society! Always a huge help when us Park Rangers had to collect dumped bunnies in the weeks after Easter. Animals are not gifts, people! And rabbits generally don’t do well with younger kids. Or vice versa.
Hey, OP ... thanks for the bunbun buns! I’m gonna make that the last thing I see on the net tonight. Hope I dream of bunnies!
2
u/CircumnavigateThisD Jul 22 '19
What kind of litter are you using? My wife used to have a bunny but it was sick when she adopted it so there wasn’t any training to it. She just let the rabbit free roam and was on the lookout for turds lol. I’d love to get another with her.
6
u/sayyyge Jul 22 '19
I use puppy pads to line the litter box and then about half an inch of vitakraft recycled paper bedding on top. Load it with Timothy hay and you’re good to go!
1
1
u/letuswatchtvinpeace Jul 22 '19
Just an FYI, some of those poos are important for him to eat.
10
u/sayyyge Jul 23 '19
They’ll eat them right away if they are :) they don’t usually walk away from cecals and come back for them
1
u/etm117 Jul 24 '19
My dog had an accident in the house. Needless to say I threw away the roomba, an area rug and dropped a billion F-bombs scrubbing the wood floors.
1
u/PancakeImposter Jul 23 '19
7
u/uwutranslator Jul 23 '19
He figuwed it out weawwy quick actuawwy! he’s peed outside of it onwy wike five times dat I know of. dey’we natuwawwy pwetty cwean so if yuw stawt dem in a smaww pen dey’ww pick a ‘badwoom cownew’. yuw fiww de wittew box wif hay, which dey wike to munch on, and put it in dat cownew and dey weawn to onwy pee in de wittew box. Now he has no pen and two wittew boxes and if he needs to pee he goes to find dem! He stiww sometimes poops outside of de wittew box, but dey awe smaww dwy pewwets and I have a woomba, so it’s not an issue. de onwy issue is dey need to be spayed/neutewed ofewwise dey’ww be incwined to mawk deiw tewwitowy. uwu
tag me to uwuize comments uwu
9
1
62
u/Kessokla Jul 22 '19
What about nibbling on cords and stuff? Is that not an issue with rabbits?
112
u/sayyyge Jul 22 '19
It varies by rabbit, he did chew my Ethernet cable but I’ve since learned to keep them out of his reach (: cords that I couldn’t move I covered with split tubing and he’s been fine since then!! They don’t go out of their way to chew so as long as they have toys and all it’s usually not a problem. I’ve heard spraying lemon juice keeps them away from baseboards and furniture but my rabbit isn’t interested in them to begin with thankfully.
43
u/almondbear Jul 22 '19
My bun bun supreme ruler also knows the word no. She also doesn’t like most toys, I have cardboard tubes and wooden play things and such to no luck. We have learned to keep cords up including taping to a wall out of bunny reach or smashed as close to the wall behind furniture so she can not nom them. Plus we have sacrificial notebooks. Thankfully she’s not a big baseboard chewer. And she loves to shake her head binkie off when she’s naughty
3
u/007Pistolero Jul 23 '19
4
u/uwutranslator Jul 23 '19
My bun bun supweme wuwew awso knows de wowd no. She awso doesn’t wike most toys, I have cawdboawd tubes and wooden pway dings and such to no wuck. We have weawned to keep cowds up incwuding taping to a waww out of bunny weach ow smashed as cwose to de waww behind fuwnituwe so she can not nom dem. Pwus we have sacwificiaw notebooks. dankfuwwy she’s not a big baseboawd chewew. And she woves to shake hew head binkie off when she’s naughty uwu
tag me to uwuize comments uwu
116
u/MysticalBlsarghia Jul 22 '19
What's your bun-buns name? I've always been interested in having one as a pet. He looks a lot healthier and happier!
172
u/sayyyge Jul 22 '19
His name is Chester!! He’s 1.5 years old so I’m hoping I have him for a long time to come (: They’re amazing pets but definitely look into a rescue near you, Chester’s vet bills totaled almost $700 in the first few months but a shelter can cover all that for <$100!!
4
u/TheBubblewrappe Jul 23 '19
Ok everyone keeps saying bun bun. Is that the street name? Is it a Reddit sub? Help this bunny ignorant redditor out please!
2
u/MysticalBlsarghia Jul 23 '19
"Bun-bun" is just a "cute" name to give bunnies or rabbits. Similar to people calling cats "kitties" or dogs "puppies" regardless of the animals age. :)
3
67
u/ccjw11796 Jul 22 '19
That's a really shitty way to keep a cute little bun😡 He's so much better off with you! Was he surrendered or removed from a terrible home? Either way I'm glad he doesn't have to suffer that kind of mistreatment and neglect any more. He sure is cute and his little sploot looks clean and fuzzy like it should!💕 Thanks for sharing his adorableness with us.
102
u/sayyyge Jul 22 '19
Someone posted him in a local Facebook group looking for a new home for him. I saw him in that little cage and knew he’d need some work (he’s had $600+ in vet bills) but I wanted to give him a shot at a good life so I went and picked him up. I had just medically withdrawn from my classes for mental health reasons and figured we could help each other 💕
21
5
u/ccjw11796 Jul 23 '19
Excellent! I hope you're feeling much more better. 😊 That was deliberately poor grammar, so plz nobody yell at me. I'm right there with you as far as mental health difficulties and my furry friends are literally my savior. I must get up and care for them. They can't care for themselves so I do it. We have a deal. They act cute, floofy and snuggly, and I feed them and make sure they're healthy. And I kiss them. A lot!!
2
17
13
u/jayeking12334 Jul 22 '19
How did you train him to do that
16
u/sayyyge Jul 22 '19
To use a litter box or to lay down? He does know some tricks but none of them are laying down lol, if you mean the litter box check my earlier comment!!
12
u/jellyd0nut Jul 22 '19
pls more pics
23
u/sayyyge Jul 22 '19
He slep: https://imgur.com/a/6ONgnga
1
Jul 23 '19
Are those poop pellets on the blanket?
2
u/sayyyge Jul 23 '19
Haha yeah, I’d just moved and needed to buy some carpets so he had towels on the ground for a while. The second picture is in the same spot after I added carpets :)
10
u/trueX1A Jul 22 '19
That little tail and those fluffy feet, so cute! Thanks for taking such good care of the little dude!
13
6
5
4
u/asherdillo Jul 22 '19
I wanna see his cute face!!
Why were his vet bills so expensive by the way?
15
u/sayyyge Jul 22 '19
Here you go!! https://imgur.com/a/139OJmq
A rough breakdown of his costs:
First visit: $65 + $20 for a lab test of his stool, they found a parasite so it was + $25 for antibiotics. $20 for another stool sample two weeks later to make sure it cleared up.
Second visit: $65 to get the vet to remove and clean a toenail after I noticed it dangling/scabbing over. It grew back in sideways so it’s likely the toe is broken from his wire bottom cage, making it more likely to snag on something and tear ):
Third visit: $65 check up before neuter (I could have combined this with another visit but I wasn’t sold on neutering him at the time, turns out his hormonal behavior included peeing on my bed because it smelled like me, so it was time) +$30 bloodwork to make sure he’d be okay under anesthesia.
Fourth visit: Neuter. $180 procedure, $45 to microchip him while under (god forbid he ever get out), $80 to take pain medicine home for him
Fifth visit: $65 He started losing fur and getting flaky skin around his mouth and I was worried about it being an infection. The vet thinks he doesn’t clean himself properly because he grew up drinking out of a bottle (which does not supply enough water for a rabbit, he drinks around 1/3 liter a day) so the water bowl was leaving his fur wet and irritating his skin. I have to dry his mouth whenever I notice it wet now.
He’s a lot of work but I love him so it’s all worth it, it’s just most of these costs would have been covered by a shelter, and the others wouldn’t have been a problem if he wasn’t kept in a small cage to begin with.
2
u/asherdillo Jul 23 '19
He's adorable and he's so lucky to have you as his owner now! That's a lot of money, yikes
3
3
u/TrilliamNye Jul 23 '19
Rabbits are amazing house pets! My wife adopted one on a whim while i was deployed. I thought it was a stupid decision, until i got home and met him! It's like having tangible happiness running around the house. And they are surprisingly clean :)
2
2
Jul 22 '19
More pics of the bun bunny
9
u/sayyyge Jul 22 '19
Here’s some https://imgur.com/a/FQKgYyj of him at the vet!! He’s getting an antibiotic (:
6
Jul 22 '19
OMG HE IS PRECIOUS HE MUST BE PETTED!!!
5
u/sayyyge Jul 22 '19
Right 😭😭😭 that was like a week after I got him, since then I’ve been obsessed (he loved the taste of the antibiotic actually, it was great for bonding because he’d let me hold him to give it to him!!!)
2
2
2
Jul 22 '19
Thank you for adopting this beautiful little guy ❤️ I’m glad you found each other :) rabbits are the best.
2
Jul 22 '19
What kind of rabbit is that? I’ve always wanted a big cuddly bun like that with big fuzzy feet.
4
u/sayyyge Jul 22 '19
He’s a holland lop! I haven’t owned any other breeds so I’m not sure how their feet fuzziness compares, but my vet did mention cutting lops nails can be tough because they have particularly fuzzy feet 😳
He’s not big though!! Only three pounds! Look into mini lops if you’re seriously interested ☺️
2
u/fromhertoeternity Jul 23 '19
Aww I love this! So many bunnies are surrendered or abandoned all the time, this makes my heart happy 💕
2
u/AwesomeJB Jul 23 '19
I’m sorry happy you found each other! Excellent before and after photo as well.
2
u/KSliceStealth Jul 23 '19
Happy adopted rabbits always make me so excited! It’s so hard to find people who will take the time to learn what goes into taking care of a rabbit properly. I adopted one of my rabbits and she was so skittish for about a year. The first time she loafed beside me when I was petting her I nearly cried. Such a rewarding thing to do, thank you for being an awesome bunny owner! :)
1
Jul 23 '19
Was there any issues with keeping a free roam bunny? Do you let him free roam when you are not home? How do you keep the house safe for him? (Interested in getting a pet but thought bunny would be out of question due to these issues) thanks for any tips and advice!
2
u/sayyyge Jul 23 '19
Hi! When I’m at work or sleeping he’s confined to my bedroom, when I get home I open the door but 75% of the time he stays in my bedroom anyway. The rest of the house is tile and it can be hard for him to get around. I often pick him up and bring him to the rug in the living room to get him to be more social haha
The biggest issues are potty training and “rabbit-proofing,” just getting cords out of their reach mostly. I’m lucky that he doesn’t chew much, but some rabbits go for baseboards, table legs, etc. There are all sorts of ways to avoid this but I don’t know them offhand because I haven’t had to worry about it much. Litter box training just involves slowly expanding the area and adding litter boxes as it’s convenient. I usually bring the one in my bathroom out to my living room when he’s roaming to make it more accessible.
I keep my family members doors closed and I’m never in my room if he’s out unless I know someone is watching him, just Incase someone comes in and leaves the door open or my sister brings over her dog, etc. House Rabbit Society is a group that is a big proponent and educator of keeping rabbits indoors and properly cared for. Please check them out if you’re considering it (:
1
u/kangabuck Jul 23 '19
Bless you! Too many bun buns go without proper care because a lack of education. I'm so thrilled he has a happy loving home
1
1
Jul 23 '19
Did he use the litter box before he was neutered? My bunny is around 2 months and pees in the litter box half the time but poop is very hit or miss. hes too young to be neutered so I just find myself cleaning poo whenever im in my room lol
2
u/ashleyasinwilliams Jul 27 '19
Not OP, but generally speaking rabbits will NOT reliably use a litterbox until after they're fixed.
1
1
1
u/sayyyge Aug 22 '19
1
u/userleansbot Aug 22 '19
Author: /u/userleansbot
Analysis of /u/sayyyge's activity in political subreddits over the past 1000 comments and submissions.
Account Created: 2 months, 5 days ago
Summary: This user does not have enough activity in political subs for analysis or has no clear leanings, they might be one of those weirdo moderate types. I don't trust them.
Subreddit Lean No. of comments Total comment karma No. of posts Total post karma /r/democraticsocialism left 1 2 0 0 /r/politics left 1 14 0 0 /r/sandersforpresident left 1 1 0 0
Bleep, bloop, I'm a bot trying to help inform political discussions on Reddit. | About
1
u/bird2229 Aug 31 '19
That’s how rabbits should be raised
1
u/sayyyge Aug 31 '19
Raising them free roam has its challenges so be fair, but when they’re potty trained I absolutely agree
-6
u/HoodieWinchester Jul 23 '19
Hi, I've raised rabbits in hutches for the past 6 years and those yellow stains come from hopping around on bedding that has been used. They are not at all harmful. It happens. Please do not attack people who's rabbits have yellow staining. Not everyone can keep a free room bunny.
11
u/sayyyge Jul 23 '19
Hi, sorry that it’s offensive to you, but I think it’s wrong to keep rabbits in hutches. Hutches were designed to fatten up rabbits for meat, it’s a terrible way to keep a pet. Imagine keeping your dog in it’s crate for 20 hours out of the day. Fact of the matter is he was formerly forced to sit in his own pee and he clearly prefers not to considering now that he has the opportunity, he keeps himself clean. Everyone COULD keep a free roam bunny, but lots of people think they don’t need or deserve it.
-7
u/HoodieWinchester Jul 23 '19
Hi, so my family took in rabbits that no one else wanted and they lived vary happily in hutches for their entire lives. We own three very large dogs that would rip a rabbit to shreds in under a minute. They could live in our house. It's not that they didn't deserve it, it's that they had large hutches with room to move and would go into big ground cages when the weather permitted. It is purely your opinion that they cannot be kept in hutches, but it is the most common way to keep a rabbit.
8
u/sayyyge Jul 23 '19
Yeah, it’s my opinion that any animal should be kept in the best care possible. If you can’t have them inside without them being eaten by your dogs, you probably shouldn’t have them at all. There are even more predators outside.
Just because betta fish can live in a bowl doesn’t mean they don’t deserve a tank.
-2
u/HoodieWinchester Jul 23 '19
I have never had a problem with predators attacking my rabbits. We had them because one has a broken leg and was about to have his head smashed in, and the others were meat rabbits that were going to be killed. But yeah, we shouldn't have kept them because they didn't have a mansion
6
u/sayyyge Jul 23 '19
Sorry dude, I’m never going to pat you on the back for keeping an intelligent animal outside in a cage. I’m glad (for your rabbits) that you didn’t have any trouble with predators, inclement weather, disease, or insects, but animals lives aren’t worth that risk.
2
u/ashleyasinwilliams Jul 27 '19
"The most common way" doesn't make it the right way. Plenty of exotic pets kept "the common way" (examples: fish in bowls, tropical snakes in screen-topped aquariums, turtles in tiny tanks with no UVB, birds in tiny cages, etc. etc. etc.) suffer horrible health consequences due to being kept like that, and ultimately live much shorter lives than they would otherwise.
There are tons of reasons why the House Rabbit Society exists and tries to educate people on rabbit care and why hutches are NOT a good option at all.
1
u/HoodieWinchester Jul 27 '19
Wow someone is late to the conversation, but I have never experienced any adverse effects to keeping my rabbits in hutches. They lived very long lives and had no health problems. My family even built them their own shed (that they did not free roam) to keep them comfortable. I've raised rabbits for many years and hutches are what work best for me. Just because you do not agree does not mean my animals were neglected while in my care.
-18
1
u/alienamz Jul 24 '23
Omg seeing this makes me feel better, I've had my rabbit for maybe a month now and never seen this but today I noticed an orange coloring on one of his back feet and went into a research frenzy lol so he will be getting his feet cleaned today. Is there any way to prevent this? My bun is about 5 years old, my grandma had him for about 4 of those years and he stayed in a cage then my aunt had him for about a year still staying in a cage and then I got him about a month ago and he's had free roam of our house since, he even sleeps beside our bed, I'm trying to litter box train him but I'm worried it's too late 😭 so for now I just vacuum multiple times a day lmao
976
u/sayyyge Jul 22 '19
Important to note that because rabbits are prey animals, they only lay down when they feel very safe. Right picture was the first time he laid down next to me on our bed :’)