my little saviors

Hi everyone!

I forgot to post a message about my two little saviors, the ones who keep me smiling from time to time.

 

Meet Fred & Hazel! Fred is the little grey bunny, he is a male and a teddybunny (we think so anyways). Hazel is the Havana-colored one and she is a lionhead and a female, duh. We have them since april (Fred on April, 26th and Hazel on the 29th). They are both so lovable! They are very social and so absolutely sweet. Fred is a little bit more reserved, Hazel is just flat out crazy. She can go from calm to jumpy in a split second!
First of all, they are housebunnies who go in their cage when I'm not around. They both live in my room, which does needs some more maintenance then when they are in another room because I sleep there. They pee and poo in a litterbox, littertraining was not hard at all. I bought biological pellets and did it a litterbox with their hay on top and they immediately understood.

Housing

My bunnies are very small, although Hazel is a little bigger than Fred, so they don't really need large spaces. Because Fred is producing hormones, he lives separate now. He lives in a dog bench (from a border collie so it's big) which is very easy 'cause I can open the gate for him so he can hop out and back in whenever he wants to. Hazel lives on top of him in a normal bunny cage. It's not because their housing is big enough for them to jump around in, that they don't need exercise! I let them out daily in my room to drain some energy and to keep them fit. This is really important, they need this for at least an hour every day! When they are out, I provide them with a little house made out of a cardboard box. They love a place to hide, that's their nature. They also have some toys and wood sticks for nibbling.

Food

It's mostly known that bunnies need a lot of food and with a lot I really mean tons and tons and tons of hay. Hay is their main food, they nibble on it all day long. They can never have no hay, that's really unhealthy for them. Next they need greens; veggies and some fruit. I give my bunnies parsley, mint, carrots (this has a lot of sugar, not too much!!) and herbs from my garden. I also give them grass. As fruits, it's mostly a tablespoon each. When I give them raspberries, which they are fond of, I give them one each. I also give them apple and strawberries. You should always give them three veggies/herbs and a tablespoon of fruit. Sometimes I also give them pellets with extra vitamins especially for bunnies. I try not to give them too much muesli but sometimes I do because that also has some vitamins, although they don't really need these so that's really up to you to choose.
Bunnies also need water, unlimited off course, just like any other animal.
You can give your bunnies treats, there are special nibble bars which you can buy in every pet store specially for bunnies. They love that! I also have raisins and veggiechips, but I am super frugal when it comes to treats, I never give them more than two. Too much sugar is really bad for their health!

Care

Both my bunnies are long-haired ones, so they need grooming. I groom them when I feel like grooming them but I always make sure I do it once a week. This is the kind of groom I use for my bunnies:

I also have a comb for ticks which can be used to do the cheeks a little bit. When you groom your bunny, make sure you're disturbing it. When they don't want it or feel like it, they will let you know by turning away or not sitting still. Just let them be then and do it some other time. My bunnies, just like most long-haired bunnies, shed, so in these periods grooming is extra important.
Bunnies clean themselves, you do not have to give them a bath. Doing this can cause a flu, you don't want that. But it can happen that poo sticks to your bunnies butt (Hazel and Fred both had this) when their poo is a little liquid. Then you have to give their butt a bath, a little bowl with some water and just clean the butt. No soap!!! Their skin is very fragile! I had to cut away some hair because it made really bad nods.. To do this, I asked my sister to help me because as I said, their skin is so fragile, a little cut and they might bleed to death! When you're not sure what to do, always call a vet. I did that too when I saw my bunnies had liquid poo but still a little solid, I called a vet right away.

IMPORTANT
When you see your bunny has liquid poo, real watery, legit diarrhea, you have to go to a vet immediately! Your bunny will sit very still at this point and show no energy what so ever. Your bunny is dehydrating very fast and they can die within minutes!
IMPORTANT


What you also need is a little pair of nail clippers for bunnies, their nails can grow too long and that's not so good. This is how it looks:

And in the image above you can see where to cut. If your bunny has an entire black nail, maybe it's better if you go to the vet to let him show you where to cut.
What you also should buy is a nibble stone, a hard stone where they will nibble on and they will also scratch their nails on it. This can also be found in the pet store, because it's not just any stone..

Socialization

A bunny is no dog, nor a cat, you have to interact differently with them. First of all, keep in mind that bunnies are prey animal. Try to avoid chasing your bunny to pick it up or pet it because this will make them scared and they will think of you as a predator. When you notice your bunny is uncomfortable around you, just go into a room with not too much distraction for the bunny, take a book with you or something, a little toy for the bunny and just be together. Bunnies are very curious so they will come up to you after a while and start sniffing you, you need to gain their trust. Only pet them when they feel okay with it, when you see they startle when you touch them, stop. You can repeat it later on, this might take some time but trust me, it is absolutely worth it. I did it with both my bunnies, Hazel still doesn't like being picked up, but I have to to put her back in her cage. She is always a little bit more quite after I did this but after a while she comes back greeting me, asking for attention. Bunnies are lovely pets, they will come and ask for your attention, they will do the silliest things and with the right toys (cat toys with little bells in them are their favorite), they will be the best thing ever. I'm not saying everybody needs a bun, you have to be willing to be very patient and leave them be a little bit, they are a little more on their own then a dog. They are very shy animals when you don't treat them the right way.

When picking up a bunny, you must follow certain steps. Bunnies are fragile and need to be treated very gently! Here's a little video with a good explanation.

These woman have multiple videos about bunnies on YouTube,
check them out because they go over lots of topics with clear explanations and tricks and tips. 

All my knowledge comes from bunnymama on Instagram and by owning my own bunnies, doing lots of research. You should always consider that bunnies can last up to 10 years when given the proper care. Visit eddyrambo.com for more information about bunnies! This is also a site I saved in my bookmarks: http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-6/chew-stick.html, about bunny habits, psychology a little bit.

I hope this was very helpful and if you have questions, leave them in the comments!

Love, Sinitta
& Fred and Hazel!