# The Diaries of Merlin Puffsbottom and Naja Seraphina



## whiskylollipop

"Honestly, Mother," he says with a wry lip curl. "You can't possibly believe that this diminutive lady with such odd pointy ears could ever take the place of my dearly departed brother."

"Shut up, Merls," I respond politely.

Welcome to the blog of Merlin and Sasha. (and their devoted slave Laura.)

*Merlin*: A bratty, grumpy runt. Nicknamed XiaoXiao ("little little") for lack of size. Pale sable point minilop, 1 year old. Very entitled. Will step over anyone to steal their food. Loves food. All food.

*Sashanajasajanasha*: Queen Naja Seraphina. Darker sable point Netherland Dwarf, 1 year old. May be addressed as Naja or Sasha. But never GenXiaoXiao ("even littler little"). Must receive pets when it is demanded of thee. Watches her waistline, is not a big fan of carbs. Possesses tiny feet. Is very courteous to peasants offering pets, but highly offended by imbeciles attempting to pick her up.

*Devoted slave*: :sweep, :bow, :faint:and ullhair:

So! Here we are. My sweet Rosebun snatched away from us in a freak accident and my poor grieving grump trying to find a new friend in our newly adopted rescue, Naja.

This is my blog of their crazy adventures, starting with the balcony.










"I did not like that. Merlin was mean, and he didn't even let me near the food."





"Yeah well, my house my foo- what are you holding, can I have a taste? Just stay still a minute."


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## Aubrisita

Yay, a new blog to read! Your buns are adorable!


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## whiskylollipop

Aubrey: Thank you! Always loved your Luna blog 

-
It's been 3 days since Sasha came to live with us, and I haven't been permitted to pick her majesty up once. I suppose I should accept that it will take some time before she trusts me enough to let me do that, but it's annoying. I want to check her bum and cut her nails. On the plus side, she is getting more and more comfortable approaching me and eating near me. Still won't let me hand feed her or touch her without permission, but we're working on that.

Apparently the rescue got her from a pretty bad neglect situation and she was a very angry bun. You can honestly hardly see that now. She is such a well-behaved, attention-loving bunny, she puts Merlin to shame. I can't believe it took 3 months waiting in the rescue before someone picked her up.

Meanwhile, we have divided the house in two. The last couple days we have been taking turns giving each bunny their out time, but it was upsetting Merlin to have stranger bunny scents all over his digs. So now Merlin has the living room and bedroom to roam in, and behind a pile of boxes is Sashy's area, the kitchen, hall, and second bathroom (where she lives for now).

It occurs to me that they might start getting territorial over their "areas". Would it affect their bonding once we feel safe enough to remove the barrier? :x


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## whiskylollipop

Sasha ninja-slipped through the boxes somehow. I caught her having a confrontation with Merlin, who was thankfully(!!!) locked up in his cage at that particular moment.

It was like

"Yeah? Yeah? You wanna go? You wanna come get me?"
"I'm gonna smash you up, just wait, you're lucky I'm locked up-"
"Oh yeah? Big talk. I'm out here and you in there. COME AT ME."
"**** STRAIGHT I'M GONNA COME AT YOU"

:disgust:


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## pani

I am so excited to see this thread!! 

They're such a cute pair! I can't wait until they can play together all the time. They both seem a little headstrong, so I guess they might butt heads for a while at first.

My bond is a little different, since Clementine is a lot more relaxed than Felix, but I was able to introduce them on neutral ground and then Clementine moved in on Felix's ground with no problems.


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## whiskylollipop

Charlotte: Thanks Charlotte, they are such characters aren't they.  Merlin's used to bossing Rosey and us around, and Sashanaja is, well, used to being the unchallenged queen as she's never had a bunny buddy before!






Merlin found the hay bag, and had himself a feast. He is getting to be quite the chubster. Or maybe it's seeing him beside the Teenyweeny Queeny that makes him look fat? >.>

I can't figure out if Sasha's being submissive out of fear or just really loves pets. If you put your hand out to stroke her she sort of lunges at it, puts her ears flat on her back, and flattens herself to the ground. That strikes me as something a scared bun might do. But then she stays there for ages as I pet her. Wouldn't she run away if she didn't want to be pet?


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## whiskylollipop

Omg I feel so guilty! I DID A BAD. :cry2

I put Merlin in his cage and took Sasha over to his side of the house in an effort to get them "used" to each other. A previous attempt the other way around had seemed positive, with Merlin eventually ignoring Sasha in her pen.

But they had a confrontation AGAIN, stupid me should've seen it coming! Merlin was sticking his muzzle through the bars trying to get at Sasha, and before I could stop her she darted at him and bit him! He jerked backward and pawed at his muzzle but winced. My poor baby! He looked so shocked.

There's no visible bite mark or blood on his muzzle but he keeps cautiously pawing at it. Ohhhhh my baby boy I'm so sorry, I should never have done that! I just want to cuddle him sorry.


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## whiskylollipop

Well hubby decided to bring them out to the balcony to reconcile over neutral territory and some veggies. That did not go as planned. They started fighting and Sasha was biting at Merls again. She doesn't bite humans, I don't understand why she's being so aggressive toward Merlin today. 

Oh well.

I think I'll give them 1 or 2 days apart to cool down. I hope this hasn't made a lasting impact on their bonding prospects.


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## whiskylollipop

Interesting development - I gave Sashanajybun Merlin's toy rabbit that had been keeping him company after Rose's passing. SHE BEAT IT UP.

I move it toward her, she boxes at it and bites it. She'll let it groom her head, then she'll run away from it.

What does this MEAN.

Is she just really hating Merlin and his scent right now? Or does she view every bunny as a threat? We may have human-only bunny on our hands.


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## pani

It sounds like she might be a little bit aggressive towards Merl's scent right now... but she's young, I'd say give it a few days and hopefully she should calm down.



whiskylollipop said:


> I can't figure out if Sasha's being submissive out of fear or just really loves pets. If you put your hand out to stroke her she sort of lunges at it, puts her ears flat on her back, and flattens herself to the ground. That strikes me as something a scared bun might do. But then she stays there for ages as I pet her. Wouldn't she run away if she didn't want to be pet?


Felix used to do this when I first brought him home.  I was worried about the same thing, thinking he might just be doing it out of fear. Nope, it seemed like he just really loved head rubs! More recently he's learned to ask for them by nudging my fingers first, and then putting his head on the ground.


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## whiskylollipop

Man! Merlin never stays still to let me pet him like that. He only loves me for my food.

It's good to know she isn't afraid, thanks.


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## whiskylollipop

Najasashybun is making huge progress in human bonding. Today I spent a couple hours with her, moving her toy rabbit, remembering how much I hated playing baby toys with my younger brother, and feeling bemused that I'm actually finding it quite fun with Sasha. "_Wee! Here comes Mini-Merlin! Oooh Mini-Merlin wants to nuzzle Sashybun yes he does, he wants some snuggles, come here and snuggle us Sashybun!_"

She still kinda hates that toy, but she's attacking it less. What really stood out was how attached she is to humans. Even with Mini-Merlin hassling her, she never really left my side. Hopped circles around me to escape him, but never wandered more than a foot away from me. And she doesn't flinch and spin around when I touch her anymore! She's getting used to handsy mummy. I think she's lunging less too. I can pretty much pet her whenever I want now, she's cool with that.

And she really likes cheek rubs. Got some tooth-purring from her for that.

Regular-Merlin is shedding like Prince William's head. Lately he can fill up a slicker brush with fuzz twice in one day. Speaking of brushing, Sasha doesn't like it one bit. She boxed it out of my hand when I tried it on her. I've only been able to brush her a couple strokes, but it seems like it doesn't work with her fur? Merlin's got thick soft wooley fur that comes off easily with the slicker brush, but Sasha's fur is shorter and coarser and the wire bristles don't seem to be able to grab on to the hairs. If anyone has recommendations for short-fur brushes I'd appreciate it. Furminators are like $99 here so that's out of the question. :/

Happy Easter yall :bestwishes:


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## pani

Same boat as me! Brushes grab Clem's fur but not Felix's. I started using a comb recently on Clem since she's shedding heavily, but I expect it should work well on Felix come his next shed.


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## BabyMiyo

Awe how adorable. Sasha sounds like a dear. Miyo doesn't let me stroke her much!

Have you tried those round rubber grooming discs with nubs on them? I haven't personally, but they're supposed to be for short hair pet breeds.


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## whiskylollipop

Babymiyo: Ooh, I'll look for them at my local pet store, thanks!

-
Merlin is angry at mummy right now. 

Normally when we let him out, all he cares about is food and can't wait for me to put the food down so he can tuck in. And then I'd brush him as he was eating. Now he's agitated, doesn't like being brushed, and runs away before he finishes his food. He goes to all the spots Naja's been to and acts _weird_, like flopping and shuffling around like an angry child. Sort of like how you'd be if you were trying to send a SUBTLE MESSAGE that you were mad about being forced to go to bed. Or, if you're more mature than I am, maybe trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in. 

Probably trying to re-establish his scent there.

But he looks SO UNHAPPY about this state of affairs. I go to console him and he just stares grumpily at me, gives me the bunny butt and continues on his business, like it's all my fault. I try to pet him, he wriggles away.

I feel guilty as all hell.  How do you guys get through this? Having two stranger buns in the same territory? I feel like I'm pulling my poor baby's teeth here.


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## whiskylollipop

Another bonding attempt. This time, I've got them out on the deck like this:





Neither were interested in the veggies at first. Plus it was a bit cold. So I put some boxes up to block the wind.





Placed their litterboxes in there, and their scents comforted them enough to finally start going for the veggies.





At the 2-hour mark. Merlin can't stop stuffing his face. Sasha takes nibbles here and there. There have been a couple of nose-to-nose grrrr moments, but nothing major. I just want them to get comfortable in each others' presence.


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## pani

That looks like a good setup for getting them used to each other. 

Come on, Merlin and Sasha!!


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## whiskylollipop

It's been rainy the past couple of days, so bonding was frustratingly put on hold. Until hubby came up with the idea to set them up in our main bathroom for an hour or two! Sasha was a perfect lady about it, but Merlin just hated the pen and kept trying to get out, so we ended the session after an hour. There was no aggression this time, so I'm counting that as a win anyways.

Here's how we set them up, a little awkwardly:




Mesclun mix'in it up.





Merlin giving me the stink-eye as I coo over Sasha being a good girl eating her veggies.





A hilarious picture. _*nomnom* This sucks. *nomnom* Let us *nom* out Mum. *nomnom* Now. Or *nom* else.

_I'm thinking another good long session of this out on the balcony without aggression, and we can start putting them in the same space again. I'm a little worried about Merlin still. He just seems depressed to me. He grooms himself less. He'll eat when I'm making him eat, but left to his own devices he'll just leave his pellets and run off elsewhere. Don't get me wrong, his appetite is HEAPS better than the first few days after Rosey's death, but it's slowly dropping in gusto again. He's really not taking the territory invasion well. Hubby thinks he's just moody and basically fine, and I'm just reading too much into his grumpiness. _But a mother knows._

I'm so desperate for Merls and Sashy to bond! I miss the bunny duo so much. Following me around, fighting over food, stealing, hiding treats from each other, getting into trouble together... those were happier times. I can't wait for Merlin to have that again with Sasha.

Anyhow, stop whining Mummy. Lol. It'll happen when it happens. Let's end off with a sweet pic of the two naughties sharing a carrot.


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## pani

That picture of them sharing a carrot is just too cute!!


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## Chrisdoc

They are just so cute. I really hope they get together, they make a lovely couple


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## whiskylollipop

Charlotte: Isn't it?? Their love for carrot overrides all the enmity. But only as long as the carrot's there.

Chris: Aw thanks, I sure hope they do! It would be super embarrassing to have to go back to the rescue and be like, "Um, uhh, so... turns out it didn't reeeeeaally work out, heh... here's Naja back...er." :baghead

-
Big Momma, our anemone, is splitting! It looks gross but she's still all bubbled up so I guess she's happy. I thought she'd snaggled herself on a rock somehow and it really freaked me out for a second there.

Back to flufflebutt news - Sasha keeps trying to nip Merlin on the nose. This is not encouraging progress at all. We were sitting down watching TV, with a pen fence up separating me holding Sashybun, and hubby holding the Murly Wurly. For once Merlin was behaving himself and seemed only mildly concerned and interested in her presence, which is surprising because she was technically in his undisputed territory. He went to look/sniff at her, and she slipped her tiny face through the bars to nip at his nose. Twice!

They weren't bad bites, he's not hurt, but this does get me worried. Will I ever be able to put them together again?? How do I discourage her from nipping? Do they make tiny bunny muzzles? Lol. Oh Sashybun. Merlin's such a groucho grump normally, it would be great if you didn't discourage him when he's actually being nice.

Here's what I don't get. In neutral territory, she mostly ignores him or runs away from him. Both times Sasha bit him, she was in his territory, which the total opposite of what I'd expect. Why is SHE being the aggressor in his territory? Is she trying to execute some sort of bunny coup to take over his kingdom, maybe. Ugh, I feel so clueless and helpless.

:duck:


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## pani

Maybe in his territory she's trying to assert herself as top bun, so even though she can smell his scent she wants to make him aware that she's in charge? It's a tough situation, I'm sorry their bond is coming along so slowly.


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## whiskylollipop

That's what I'm thinking. Ah well, I'm expecting bonding to be a long hard road anyways, given her history and his bratty personality. Hopefully we get some sunshine so they can go out on the deck for a nice long session!


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## Chrisdoc

Bonding is sometimes a real headache but you just have to perservere, you will learn to read the signs and let them sort out the pecking order. Sometimes it's the bun who you least expect who ends up ruling the roost. I have just finished today changing my set up to house all three together again, it has been a long road back but we finally got there. I am sure your two will work things out.


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## BunnySilver

I know I'm a bit late, but the picture of them sharing that carrot is just too cute!


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## whiskylollipop

Chris: You're right. Though at this point I would be very surprised if Merlin ended up being the boss, lol.

BunnySilver: Heh thanks 

-
Well, we did get some sunshine and balcony bonding time! And after lots of nips and heaps of work, we moved around some furniture and made a tight co-living space for Sasha and Merls. Really hoping this gets them used to each other, so we can open the cage door, expand the pen and put in their tunnels, toys, huts, and other fun stuff for a sweet bunny duo pad.

First, the bonding:
Same old setup, but with one divider panel instead of two. Yes, this did allow Sasha to nip at Merlin one or nine times. He's not got any bite marks, which is miraculous. Hubby wanted to let her nip him so he learns to be quicker at evading her, and so she learns that nipping doesn't achieve anything. I squealed and held her head down whenever she nipped. Hubby rolled his eyes at me lots.






What a chubster.

The living room setup:
Put Sasha in Merlin's old cage to mix the scents up, and put Merlin in a small pen area right outside her. Right now we left their toys and Sasha's cardboard hut out, so that they'll hopefully interact with each other lots and lots. She still nips him through the cage when he goes up to sniff at her, but he doesn't seem too fazed about it. I keep checking his nose for marks. He's like, _Mum it's sweet bro. I got the moves. She ain't catching any of this smooth ass Bunny Lightning_.






I just keep staring at them like a creepy stalker. Hehehehehehhhehhehhhehehheh.


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## whiskylollipop

On closer inspection, when she nips at his face she pulls out fur. Which she then eats. Why Sasha whyyyyyy?

Imagine Merlin with bald cheeks. That would be so weird. Don't do that to my Murlybun Sashy


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## BabyMiyo

Lmao! Sorry, you're just so funny the way you write them, haha. Poor Merlin! I hope he learns to keep his face out of reach! Bonding is a long process. Sending you good vibes, hope they start getting along.


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## pani

Oh Sashy! Leave Merlin's cheeks alone!!


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## whiskylollipop

Sasha's teaching the Murly Wurly BAD HABITS. Now he tries to bite her through the fence too! But he's not very successful. Actually it's kind of cute, like watching a child meekly pick up his toys after Mum told him to. Sasha's nipping is intentional, fast, calculated, she engages the enemy and always lands her shot. Merlin goes up to her while she's sitting nonchalantly by the bars, cautiously sticks his mouth in and opens and closes like he's biting through rubber, and he only reaches the tips of her fur but he tries anyway. It's not aggressive at all, not a "GRRR I WANT TO BITE YOU" bite attempt. It's almost like Merlin thinks she's teaching him Proper Etiquette and now he's politely trying to reciprocate.

:headsmack

UGH it's supposed to be the other way round! Merlin's supposed to teach Sasha how bunfriends socialise and you know, not bite each other?? I don't even know with these two anymore. I'm throwing in the towel for today.

They seem relaxed with their co-living arrangement though. They eat and drink, and flop out in their respective areas. That's a good sign, right?


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## whiskylollipop

OWWW! My first whopper of a bunny-related injury! Neither rabbit is to blame though. 'Cept maybe Merlin for being a fatass.

I was lifting him out of his pen. I had to step inside to do it because I'm short. For the same reason, I have to tiptoe to get over the pen fence. Well I got inside fine, but once I picked him up and went to get out, I misjudged the extra weight, lost my balance and slammed my @%$$#%@@#%@&%$# crotch down on the fence.

Now I'm bleeding a bit and walking around like a penguin with toilet paper stuffed down my undies. **** you, Merlin.


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## pani

Ohhh, ow! Laura!! That sounds so painful!!  Those pens can be dangerous. Everyone in my house has tripped on ours multiple times.


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## whiskylollipop

Oh ouch! :S I'm SO paranoid about tripping over the pen and breaking a toe! Not to mention sending it crashing down on top of an innocent bunzo... :cry1:They are dangerous. Was thankful I wasn't a dude, impact could have torn out quite a bit more than just some skin.

Anyway, we tried out a face-to-face bonding session. There was some charging and nipping, as expected, but no humping yet. Hubby is quite protective of his matey potatey (his words!) Merlin, he kept blocking Sasha off with his hands whenever she tried to charge at him. And vice versa. So to be fair, they couldn't really get near each other even if they did want to hump. Should we have let them?

I mean, I know they should be allowed to work things out on their own, including all the chasing, humping and other shenanigans, but it seems like she wants to do is CHOMP CHOMP. I'm torn between wanting to let her get at him to work **** out, and wanting to prevent injuries. Merlin bit out a tiny hole in Rosebun's ear in a fight once, that traumatised me more than Rosey. Ugh, you bunnies. Peace, man. Not war. Peeeaaaaace.


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## whiskylollipop

As a politics and criminology student I'm a seething nihilist at the best of times, but there's something about bunnies that just makes everything bad in the world go away.

When I'm sitting in the pen, giving Sasha head rubs and Merlin strokes, it's like I'm suspended in a microcosm of happiness. Like a bunny's aura encapsulates its own little refuge of warmth and serenity, and with every little nonchalant foot scratch they're extending me an invitation to join in. I feel so incredibly, amazingly fortunate that they let me join them in their gentle little world, that every time I step into the pen Merlin welcomes me by trying to get underfoot, and every time I open the cage door and reach in, Sasha welcomes me by demanding pets in her usual way.

Cage territorial behaviour is so common and natural with bunnies that I'm surprised Merlin, and even more so Sasha, doesn't display it with me. For someone who's dealing with so many emotional and social barriers that I barely have a close friend in the world, to know that not just the bunny I raised but also the one I just met are always happy to have my company in their home.. you could melt aluminium on my cold black heart.

Today I was sitting in their cage, stressing out over school, and talking to Merlin. He was loafing in his little man cave, I reached my arm right in for a cuddle and he didn't mind at all. Here I should note that his man cave is his Room, his Batcave, his castle, and countless times he has defended it bravely from my hubby's prying hands. He sat up, scritched his nose and did a dead bunny flop, with my arm right there and my face inches from his.

The bastard fell asleep.

I wanted to cry. Ok maybe I did cry.

I felt so accepted. And his soft sleeping face with eyes almost shut reminded me of Rosebun, and how lonely it felt without him, for both of us. The last we saw of Rosey was that crescent moon flop, the soft peaceful face, the eyes almost shut. I am a lonely mother.

But now I feel braver, for Merlin, for Sasha, and there are new challenges to be met. Not least, to begin with, extricating my arm from Merlin's little body without waking him up.


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## whiskylollipop

I don't understand what we're doing wrong. Today we took Sasha and Merlin out for another face to face bonding sesh. This time hubby stayed out. There were big fights almost right away. At first it was Sasha going after Merlin while he kept running for cover, but then he got mad and went for her too. Honks, tails up, it was bad. Bubs got REAL cut up stopping this one. He's got a huge bite on his wrist where Sasha bit and held on. I am feeling quite guilty and I know he's feeling a bit ill towards Sasha now.

What are we missing? Merls and Sashy seem fine living side by side, apart from the odd nip. I feed them vegetables together through the bars. I don't want to stress bond them because I KNOW there will be a bite-fest going on in the carrier.

Sigh, I know bonding is difficult but it's hard not to like a failure. They were doing SO well the first time they met, I don't know how I fecked it up.

Feeling quite discouraged.


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## pani

I'm sorry you're having such a rough time with their bonding.


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## whiskylollipop

Oh Charlotte, how did you do it? So jealous of Felix and Clem! urpletongue

Spending some one on one time with Sashybun today. She's loving the out time, although it's in our dinner area, which is where Merlin has his happy dinnertimes with daddy sneaking him hoomin foods. Is the scent mixing good or bad? I dunno. Merlin's got the run of his pen and her cage while it lasts, so I guess that evens things.

She's so good with me, but so bitey with hubs and Merlin. Why do you have to be so difficult Sashibibunny, they're the ones you have to charm, not me! I'd honestly be happy to keep her separately if it never works out with Merlin, but hubs wouldn't want that. The whole point of this was to find Merlin a buddy, and that's what he's focused on. :/

It's hard to equate the sweet tiny bunny binkying everywhere with the evil bite monster that scares both a grown man and a rabbit twice her size.


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## whiskylollipop

15 minutes later...






I think there's enough poop on my floor to make at least one life-sized Sasha poop sculpture.






We must replenish the poop stocks!

-


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## BabyMiyo

Yikes, that's a lot of poo for 15mins.

Sorry to hear they aren't playing nice.  Don't give up, it's only been what, 2 weeks? I'm sure they'll surprise us all!


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## whiskylollipop

Eeep. Got my first nip from Sasha.

BabyMiyo: Hope so! :bunny22:


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## pani

whiskylollipop said:


> Oh Charlotte, how did you do it? So jealous of Felix and Clem! urpletongue


I wish I could give you more advice! I got exceptionally lucky with these two, and I hope nothing significant changes after Clem is spayed. I'm sure once you get past the difficult stage their bond will be SO strong!

Come on, Merlin and Sasha! Stop being tough and start playing nice with each other!!


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## whiskylollipop

So, soldiering on, Sasha and Merlin had another face-to-face today. I think it went okay! There was still some fighting and skirmishes, but we managed to get some moments of calm too. I'm a little worried that although they might be comfortable enough to groom themselves in each others' presence, whenever they get close to each other a fight breaks out. No humping or dominance nipping, just - full on fighting. It's almost like they just hate each other, they're not even bothering to work out dominance issues.

But what do I know, I'm just a silly hoomin. A silly hoomin who really wishes we can get past this fighting stage already! Sashybun is my little nugglewugglebullet and Merlin is my woogieboogiebun and they will gET ALONG, DAMMIT. I'm this close to making a big bowl of banana puree and slopping it on their faces when they fight.

Water squirts and loud noises do NOT work.

Anyways. We ended the session after 20-30 minutes and put them back in their pen/cage, sneakily swapping the litterboxes. Hopefully we won't wake up to pee everywhere.


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## whiskylollipop

Today we had a visit from Sasha's very nice foster mum to see how the bonding was going, so we decided to take them out to bond again. After the first half hour Merlin jumped up into her lap to get away from Sasha and decided he was going to stay there forever. 

:bunny16

But all in all, it didn't go too bad. No one got injured, except for a little bite on Merlin's nosey. There was still no humping, but lots of chasing and nipping. Poor Merlin sulked in a corner up on the couch for ages afterward. He's a strutty chav and talks a big game, but he's getting his arse kicked regularly by a girl half his size and it's not sitting well with him at all. I think we'll take a break from bonding the rest of the weekend and let Merlin's ego recover. :spintongue


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## whiskylollipop

I just spent maybe 20 minutes petting the Queen as she bunloafed and tooth purred. My arm got really tired, but I felt I should keep it up until politely dismissed. I both love and am afraid of her, and her bristly independence. But sometimes it almost feels like she loves me too.

Twice we saw her and fluffybutts (I suddenly realise I neglected to mention that the fluffybutt's full given name is Mr Merlin Bunniculus von Puffsbottom - remember that) lying fairly close to each other. I hope that means progress. Merlin looks much happier today, although that could be because SOMEONE gave him a whole crisscross fry today at dinner. 

We're going to have a go at bonding again tomorrow. Night everyone.


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## whiskylollipop

Turns out Merlin is a big fan of undies! He jumped up on the bed to see what I was up to, as usual, and I'd just done the laundry so there was a pile of undies in the corner waiting to be put away. Merls hopped over to it, dug at them, then happily started dragging them around and rearranging them. He was going nuts over it, doing tons of little binkies like a popcorning guinea pig. He looked like a kid surrounded by Christmas presents, not knowing which one to play with next. Oh I wish I could've filmed it! My silly boy.

:roflmao:


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## whiskylollipop

Something doesn't belong here...


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## whiskylollipop

We haven't been bonding lately because I've had such a busy week! Merlin and Sasha are still living side by side and I've just been swapping their stuff every couple of days. They are still biting each other through the bars though. Sigh! Sasha's such a strong-headed Nethie. We're having a friend who I hear is great with rabbits come over on Sunday to see if she can help us with this tough bond.

Anyway, in lieu of a real update, here are pics of the bunnies eating their veggies last night. Of course Sasha made me chase her to the hallway before wedging herself between the hay and rubbish. "Oh! You wanted to give me veggies, I thought you might be trying to pick me up. Why yes I'll have some."










And here's Merlin this afternoon, sleeping in his mancave, his little face twitching animatedly. Looks like he's having a big argument with someone in his dreams.


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## pani

I love seeing pictures of these two! They have such big personalities.


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## whiskylollipop

Aaaagh I'm down with the flu. This is all hub's fault.

Sasha had some dark reddish brown pee just outside her litterbox today. I'm a little worried. She's done red pee once before that I know of, it was a really scary red paint-like pee. I took away her litterbox to observe her pee, and her next one was pale yellow, so I figured it was a fluke. I'm guessing it's dehydration? But she has a bowl in her cage, why would she forget to drink. Gah.


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## Chrisdoc

That looks like one of the normal colours to me. Bandy's was that colour a few weeks ago and I also.took.the paper soaked in it to the vet. She did say that if it was red, it would be bright red. That looks like a rusty orange colour. Colour can depend on what they're eating as well.


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## whiskylollipop

Oh thanks Chris, that's a relief! I was starting to worry she might have a urinary infection. I have read that red urine is normal for rabbits, but to actually see it from your bun is quite unnerving.

Speaking of urine, this morning I caught Merlin backing up way too far in his litterbox, sending a stream of pee over the side and through the cage bars. It landed neatly in Sasha's litterbox.. as it dripped down her face.

Way to go, you nasty little man.


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## Chrisdoc

Urine can vary quite a lot in colour so sometimes your buns urine might not always be a,uniform colour and of course when they pee in the litter tray, difficult to tell. Just keep an eye on her but I'm sure she will be fine.


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## whiskylollipop

^supposed to be a hilarious almost-split pic but Merlin moved.

:bawl: Lots of biting through bars and general aggression today. It's hard not to feel like these two are never gonna get along. Merlin's being a jerk and even scratching at Sasha with his paws. It makes me apprehensive for the times when we do have to put them in the same area for bonding. Grawrrrr. You two! One day I'm just gonna lock you both in a bathroom to duke it out and when you're all tired of fighting THEN mummy will let you out.

I may just have to give stress bonding a try, even though I'm 99% sure they will brawl in the pet carrier before we even get to the car.

Here's Sasha discovering that she can jump onto the couch.


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## whiskylollipop

Today's post is dedicated to Merlin's feet, because I'm the kind of mum who does embarrassing stuff like that.






When I started looking for a new friend for Merlin, I noticed something "off" about the other bunnies - all their back feet were so slim and long! Like, how do they balance on those baby snakes they call feet?

After seeing enough bunnies with huge long thumpers, I arrived at the conclusion that it was my Merlin who was the one with unusual feet. His feet are short and fat, getting broader at the toes like human feet. I am super obsessed with them.

In fact, his adorable feetsies were what made me set my heart on him in the first place. We went to see an unwanted litter that was going to be sold to a petshop the next day. The babies were all curled up in a big group huddle, asleep. "Get a healthy one," hubs had said. "Don't fall in love with the smallest. They're weak." Merlin was the little grey runt. I wanted not to get him.

But amidst the neat huddle of bunloaves, the little grey runt had one tiny back foot sticking out behind him, short and broad like a human baby's. That was it. I was getting him.

But I couldn't leave all the others to sit sadly in a petshop just because they hadn't thought to leave one foot out! Of course I had to get a second bunny. I picked out a sad looking white and grey fluffball, who would become my big sweetie Rosebun. We had a year of love and happiness that I wouldn't trade for anything.

Anyway.
















They are the cutest little fuzzles. They are my everything. I would probably chew on them if he'd let me.

:inlove:


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## whiskylollipop

This week is so shyte. Not only do I have like 3 essays due, bubs and I are down with the flu and haven't been able to work on bonding the two naughties at all. Not that we would've made much progress, I don't think. I am so jealous of people who get their bunnies to bond within a couple weeks. So, so jelly.

But here's something I'm happy about. Sasha is SUCH a people bunny. She's come really far along since she first got here. I'd even say she's gotten more friendly and personable than Merlin, who was raised in a very attentive home, thank you. Unlike Merls, who is basically an entitled little brat (we love him for it...really, we do), Sasha is a complete charmer. She'll come up to you quietly requesting some loving, and stay for AGES as you pet her. She'll even graciously accept walk-by pets. Recently, she's started jumping up on the couch frequently to be with us hoomins.

She's also learnt my "Comehereeeee" voice for nummies.

I am soooo ready for her and the Murly Wurly to bond already so we can be a big happy family. It's awful to see them having punchy bitey confrontations through the cage bars. If only Sashy was a bit less demanding, and Merlin a bit less proud. Just our luck to have two dominant bunbuns warring in our home!

Come on, guys. Come on. Be cool.


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## whiskylollipop

WHAT'S UP WITH THIS PIC?

.

.

.

.

.

DING DING DING!






Merlin put himself away on the shelf like a good little soft toy.

:bunny19

He hangs out in there all the time these days. I guess he likes pretending to be a shelf ornament.


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## pani

:laugh:

Silly little Merlin!

I hope your week starts to look up soon Laura! So cute to hear how Sasha is a little lady who loves attention. Clemmie's gone the opposite way recently!


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## whiskylollipop

Charlotte: Oh, I'm sure Clem's just being a moody teenager who wants her space right now.  My two boys went through a grumpy stage before they were neutered. It did lead to a minor scuffle or two - keep an eye on your bunbuns just in case!

-
I'm going to take a leap of faith into homeopathy, as once suggested to me by Sophie's Humble Servant. I can't shake off the feeling that Merlin's been moodier than usual. During his times out he's been hanging out a lot in the TV shelf, in the second bedroom, in our bedroom - like he just doesn't want to be near where Sasha is. Maybe I'm projecting human feelings onto him, but I just keep picking up erratic vibes from his behaviour. My Merlin is not happy. 

I suppose the stress of having a stranger bunny in his home that he doesn't trust yet must be taking a toll on him. So I ordered some rescue remedy, and I'm going to try it out on both bunnies to see if it helps diffuse the tension any. Can't hurt to have calming scents around! Especially during bonding sessions.

Will report results.


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## thisisfliss

Oh they're so adorable!


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## whiskylollipop

Thought I'd try letting them out together for 2mins to eat their veggies side by side. It did not work out. Here's all the fur left behind from like 30secs of the two naughties being together:






:foreheadsmack:


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## whiskylollipop

The fuzzies are out of food! :sigh:

It's astonishingly hard to get Oxbow, the pellet they're on, in New Zealand. Only one place in the entire country stocks it, and they always run out. This is the first time they've gone out of stock for so long that I've used up their last bag and now we're clean out. I would get another pellet brand if only there was aNOTHER TIMOTHY-BASED PELLET SOLD HERE EVER. *shakes fist*

Rabbits in NZ are primarily agricultural, so all the other rabbit pellet brands are the low-fibre, high-alfalfa, coccidiostat-medicating farm breeding kind, which I don't really want to have my pet bunnies on. I can't import US/UK rabbit feed either. Siiiiiiiiiigh.

Well, looks like we're on a pellet-free diet for now. I've stocked up on silverbeet, parsley, broccoli, watercress and cilantro. I do hope that's nutritionally sufficient to get the buns through the week.


----------



## pani

It's hard to find Oxbow here, too, although not as hard as in NZ from the sounds of things.  I used to order it online but WA recently introduced a $50+ quarantine fee for hay/hay-based products entering the state, so it's out of the picture now. I hope you find one soon!


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## whiskylollipop

Aw ****, what pellet do you feed now?

Oxbow needs to be less stringent about their stockists! I hear they won't let pet shops sell their products, not in NZ anyway...it has to be a vet practice, and a rabbit specialist vet practice at that. And we only have one. Yay us. I don't understand why though, isn't it a good thing that a great rabbit pellet is widely available, to encourage all rabbit owners to feed their buns the good stuff? I bet a lot of NZ rabbit people are feeding the farm rabbit feed due to how expensive it would be to get Oxbow from this one place up in the North Island.

Piggin out on beggies.







Am I crazy or does Sasha have eyelashes?? You can see it right? It's not just forehead fur like silly hubs says right?

Sashybunny's great about pacing her food intake. I can pop a whole plateful of veggies in her cage and she'll gradually work her way through it over half the day. A bit of broccoli, then a nibble of silverbeet, then she'll go have some hay, then maybe later come back for more veggies.

Merlin is a simpler bun. He'll snarf up the cilantro first. Once that's done, the bok choy leaves, then the parsley, then the broccoli, then the watercress. All his favourite veggies gone within 15mins. Then he'll rest. And then when his belly's a bit emptier he'll eat the bok choy stalks. He's never been a big fan of silverbeet, so he leaves that.

So in about an hour, Sasha's various veggies would all be delicately nibbled like Gordon Ramsay trying a bit of everyone's food in Hells Kitchen. Merlin would be wandering around his pen like a forlorn child looking for food, trying to ignore the silverbeet leaf. When he does finally sit down and grumpily eat it, I'll know he's hungry enough for the next portion of veggies! By then Sasha would've finished her veg too. It's the Silverbeet Indicator - when Merlin's silverbeet is gone, it's feeding time.

I'm seeing small poos from both buns today though. Tough call - lower the veggies and up the hay? I don't want them to be undernourished..


----------



## pani

Right now I'm feeding them pellets from Petstock, a pet store here. They don't seem to like them as much as Oxbow, or as much as the last brand I had (another pet store's), but this was all I could get this time. 

My bunnies are trying silverbeet and broccoli for the first time tonight.


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## annabelle00

Pet Doctors Terrace End stock Oxbow  ...not sure which type though. Have heard their rabbit savvy and they should be able to post to Auckland too.
-https://www.facebook.com/PetDoctorsTerraceEnd


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## whiskylollipop

Charlotte: At least over in Oz you have the variety to choose from if one goes out of stock! Hope the broccoli and silverbeet introduction went well, bunnies can be so picky. Merlin hates silverbeet but loves broccoli. Sasha only likes the broccoli stalk, but happily eats silverbeet. Lol.

Annabelle: Oh wow thanks, I didn't know that! Only Lynfield Vet is listed on the Oxbow stockists page. That's excellent, I'll have to keep those guys in mind if Lynfield run out again. Luckily they got some stock in today and I've ordered two bags. So the bunbuns will have pellets soon! :hyper:


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## whiskylollipop

The rescue remedy came! I thought it would smell like perfume but it just kinda smells weird. I sprayed both Merlin and Sasha with it a few times - not sure if they're calmer now, but they sure weren't pleased about being sprayed. Lol.

Oxbow came as well. Good thing too, I was running out of veg.






Bubs and I have been throwing around a few ideas for minimising the fighting. One was putting them on the kitchen counter where it's really hard for buns to walk. Another was semi-crippling them by tucking half their bodies into socks so they can't kick/lunge. Or similarly, putting them in organza/mesh baggies.

Silly ideas, but we're pretty desperate. I definitely want to keep Sasha and hubs is warming up to her too, but keeping two bunnies separately for the rest of their lives is not something we'd have the space for in our apartment. :/


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## JBun

Those naughty buns. They just need to get along and love each other already 

Bonding is tough work, and can be quite complicated with certain pairs. It's looking like you have one of these complicated matches. Lucky you huh  You may need to take a step back at this point and re evaluate how to go about the bonding process with them. It sounds like the fighting has lead to them developing resentment towards each other, and this isn't good for a potential bond. It's not usually considered a good idea to allow fighting to occur at all, for this particular reason, as well as the risk of serious injury, though in some cases you do have to allow some minor bickering to allow them to work out who will be in charge. But you have to be able to know where the line is between minor nips and bickering, and serious fighting that could escalate into resentment and possible injury, and that can be hard without a lot of bonding experience to draw from.

It's hard to know what is the best way to go about bonding these two. There are different methods for bonding, and these methods really have to be tailored to the individual rabbits and bonds. There is the slow gradual method of introducing rabbits to each other, but there is also a fast track method. One may work well for one pair, but cause issues for another pair. I have a trio that I'm attempting to bond. I've been doing the slow method. The fast track wouldn't have worked for them as my old bun has needed time to get accustomed to a new rabbit being around. In the beginning when first introducing Penny and Dakota(old bun), I didn't allow any fighting or even any nipping, because I just knew that I needed to give Dakota a chance to get used to Penny, and if I had allowed any nipping, it would have escalated into serious fighting. And there were a few times that they started circling and were getting agitated, and it could have ended in a fight if I hadn't intervened. I would press both their heads down(gently but firmly, like a dominant rabbit would do) to stop them when they were on the verge of wanting to nip or bite, then with them next to each other I would start giving them both head rubs. After that when ever they got near each other I would start giving head rubs to both. In the beginning I wanted them to look at the other rabbit and associate good things. They started to get more used to each other, and at a point I knew they needed to work out their relationship with out my intervention. They did sort out who was in charge without any fighting, but I know if I hadn't stepped in at the beginning, that they would have ended up fighting and bonding would have been much more difficult or impossible if that had occurred. 

With bonding, you in part have to kind of start and go with what feels like the right direction, but you also have to be able to change and adapt how you are going about things when you see something isn't working. That's basically what I have had to do with this trio. I started to bond and when I saw their reactions to each other, I've had to adapt what I did along the way. At first I was thinking I would allow some nipping in the beginning, but as I saw how they reacted to each other, I changed my mind and didn't think allowing it at the start, would be good for their developing relationship. 

I'm thinking that it's possible your two may do better with the fast track method. Sometimes the slow method can cause issues for some buns, because they start to sort out the hierarchy and who's in change, and then they get separated til the next bonding session, where they have to sort out who is top bun all over again. One good example of this is RO member Troller, and him bonding his two flemmies. If you haven't read his blog you may want to as it is a really valuable bonding experience, and may give you some ideas on how to work things out with your two. He started out with the slow bonding method, and it just didn't seem to be working out well and the bonding was getting more difficult as it dragged on. It is quite lengthy so may take some time to get through, but is worth it.
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f18/conan-bunbarian-xena-bunnier-princess-73217/

You also may need to give your buns a couple weeks break with zero contact or interaction. In some cases the other rabbit needs to be removed to another room entirely, to break the cycle of resentment that has developed, and sort of 'reset' the relationship. 

Best of luck with their bond. People always say that it's better for a rabbit to have a buddy, but sometimes what is left out is the difficulty that can occur when trying to get those rabbits to be friends. Some rabbits just won't ever get along, and sometimes it just takes lots of perseverance. I have a feeling that your two can find a way to get a long, but it's just going to take finding the right way to go about it.

http://www.wheekwheekthump.com/2013...rs-guide-rabbit-bonding-everything-need-know/
http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/articles/bond.shtml
http://cottontails-rescue.org.uk/bonding-bunnies/


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## whiskylollipop

Thanks Jenny! Really appreciate the advice. But what do you mean by the "fast track method"?

You're right about the resentment. I'm starting to feel Merlin getting more and more depressed the longer he has to share his home with a bunny he doesn't like. I wish I'd known now to be more of a dominant presence in their bonding - I'd read before that some scuffling, nipping and chasing should be allowed so they could work things out between themselves. I did stop the big fights, but I'm afraid allowing the early scuffles to happen just made things so much worse, now they can't stop fighting when they're in the same space.

I can't tell who is going to be the dominant one... I fear both of them are. Sasha is definitely the main aggressor, but when Merlin gets fed up he can get really scary too. He was the definite dominant of his and Rosebun's bond, even though Rosey was larger than him.

Also Jenny, thanks for the links! I hadn't seen that Wheekwheekthump one, and it did have a bunch of helpful advice I hadn't read on other bonding pages. I spent last night reading Troller's blog too. I'm up to page 30. He's had to do so many dates! I think Merlin and Sasha have had around ten, but our dates are a lot more vicious than most of his. 

I think I've done a lot of things wrong in this bond process. Sigh! I never made sure to end on a positive note, for one thing. I held the bonding sessions on the tiled balcony, where Sasha finds it easy to walk/run but Merlin doesn't. I never stressed them. I can't seem to distract them from fighting with treats. And of course I've let them fight, chase and nip. I don't believe they HATE each other, but I think that at this point they're both lashing out out of fear that the other will beat them up.

I'm not giving up though. I haven't tried nearly all things I could possibly try. We haven't been holding dates the past couple weeks, and I think for the next week I'm gonna make extra sure they have as little interaction as possible. A relationship reset is just the thing they need. Then we'll take them on a car ride, and try bonding them in a fresh location. I don't think the balcony can really be considered neutral anymore, they've had so many fights out there.

I so wish we had a bathtub or a washing machine that wasn't tucked into the wall, for easier stress bonding! Oh well.

In other news, Merlin has been shedding for nearly 2 months now. What's going on there buddy? He constantly looks ratty and unkempt. And his appetite seems to have lessened. He doesn't hoover up this new batch of pellets like he used to. He nibbles then leaves the rest for later, like Sasha. Hmm. A little worried, gonna have to keep an eye on him.


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## BabyMiyo

Bonding really does require lots of patience. Rodney and Miyo took 2 months to bond! Sending you good vibes, keep persevering and I'm sure you'll be successful


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## whiskylollipop

BabyMiyo: Thanks  It's good to feel like I'm not alone in long drawn-out bonding difficulties!

-
Hubs wants to adopt a cat. I'd LOVE one, but seeing as I'm forced to be the adult in this situation, we have to consider the difficulty of adding another member to our little apartment family. Not to mention the current stress of bonding the two bad bunnies. And we aren't exactly in the best financial situation to be buying all the stuff cats need, like towers and scratching posts and whatnot. But cats are so adowables! RrrRRRrRrrrrgh. I don't like being the adult.


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## squidpop

whiskylollipop said:


> The fuzzies are out of food! :sigh:
> 
> It's astonishingly hard to get Oxbow, the pellet they're on, in New Zealand. Only one place in the entire country stocks it, and they always run out. This is the first time they've gone out of stock for so long that I've used up their last bag and now we're clean out. I would get another pellet brand if only there was aNOTHER TIMOTHY-BASED PELLET SOLD HERE EVER. *shakes fist*
> 
> Rabbits in NZ are primarily agricultural, so all the other rabbit pellet brands are the low-fibre, high-alfalfa, coccidiostat-medicating farm breeding kind, which I don't really want to have my pet bunnies on. I can't import US/UK rabbit feed either. Siiiiiiiiiigh.
> 
> Well, looks like we're on a pellet-free diet for now. I've stocked up on silverbeet, parsley, broccoli, watercress and cilantro. I do hope that's nutritionally sufficient to get the buns through the week.



Hi, I'm in NZ too. Have you looked at Little Chinta's rabbit pellets? The ingredients look good I think and they are 30% fibre. http://littlechintas.webs.com/food-and-treats I thought they looked really good but kind of expensive. I was also looking at all the ingredients to a bunch of different pellets and it seemed like Country Harvest topflite had more fiber (but way less than 30%) than the others if that helps. I've been feeding NRM which is one of the farm pellets, chose it based on the fact that one of the best breeders of Netherland dwarfs who regularly wins all the NZ rabbit shows uses it. But its really fattening so thinking of switching brands. As it is now on the NRM my rabbit are really healthy- no ones had any gut issues but I only feed a really small amount and lots of hay.


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## whiskylollipop

You know, I always hear that Nethies are skittish little things, more fearful than friendly due to their vulnerable size. But it's hard to imagine a bunny braver, tougher and friendlier than Sashabun. She was such a good sport for her nail-clipping yesterday, especially for somebun more than capable of raising hell if she wants to. And she's really bonded to me these past few weeks, almost always follows me around the house. Rosebun and Merlin used to do that, but that was because I used to be a soft-hearted treat dispenser who always gave them little nibbles and scraps to reward them for being near me. I don't do that anymore, and since Rosey's passing Merlin has reverted back to his independent self, lounging in his favourite hidey holes and generally ignoring everyone. But Sasha just adores nosing around me, sniffing at whatever I'm doing, and putting her head down to demand pets. And she can make me feel so guilty for leaving her locked up when Merlin gets his time out.

I've been putting rescue remedy in their water. While I don't think it's done much to quell the rivalry fires (they still have bitey confrontations through the bars), I get the sense that Merlin's been feeling better of late. He tears around the house more and just seems more enthusiastic about life. I'm happy about that. 










Sasha totally has eyelashes.






Mr SnakeBunny






Ms SnakeBunny


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## whiskylollipop

squidpop said:


> Hi, I'm in NZ too. Have you looked at Little Chinta's rabbit pellets? The ingredients look good I think and they are 30% fibre. http://littlechintas.webs.com/food-and-treats I thought they looked really good but kind of expensive. I was also looking at all the ingredients to a bunch of different pellets and it seemed like Country Harvest topflite had more fiber (but way less than 30%) than the others if that helps. I've been feeding NRM which is one of the farm pellets, chose it based on the fact that one of the best breeders of Netherland dwarfs who regularly wins all the NZ rabbit shows uses it. But its really fattening so thinking of switching brands. As it is now on the NRM my rabbit are really healthy- no ones had any gut issues but I only feed a really small amount and lots of hay.



Hi!!! Where in NZ do you hail from? 

I used to have Merlin and Rosey on NRM before Oxbow started exporting to NZ. I wasn't very happy with it because it caused some mushy poos, but that was probably because they were only babies and I was feeding them lots of it. When I switched to Oxbow they loved it and their poops improved so I never looked back.

I have checked out the Little Chintas pellets (actually, I just hopped on Trademe to have a fresh look and I don't see any listings - they must be sold out?). It's definitely on my to-try list if I ever fail to get my hands on Oxbow again! And hey, it's half the price of Oxbow. :thumbup


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## BunnySilver

Omg Sasha just looks more and more like my Silver is these pictures! Too cute!


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## whiskylollipop

Merlin today:














I'm on the other side of the bed with my laptop. He jumps up here to romp around a lot, but this is the first time he's ever flopped out on the bed with me. :hyper:

Had an argument with bubs last night. We're not ready for a cat... sigh.

Update: Merlin just peed. Little shyte.


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## **SRonchi1

I'm in Nz and give my buns Country Harvest rabbit- it's the one without Coccidiostat and is a good quality basic pellet- the little chintas I found had a lot of seed and colourful bits which I wouldn't feed to my buns.

My buns just nibble abit of pellets but prefer their edible weeds, dried rose leaves, branches & dried herbs with fresh herbs and lots of hay & they have been doing great. I to looked into Oxbow but the only place that stocked it was the exotic vet in Auckland & I have 7 buns so


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## **SRonchi1

**so I would need lots of bags each time!


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## pani

Aw Merlin, so cute flopping with mum!! 

Sorry to hear about the cat.


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## Ana_The_Dreamer

Just wanted to say how much I enjoy reading your bunny blog! I hope Merlin and Sasha start bonding soon, I imagine that's tough. Oh, just for the record, Merlin looks SO much like my girl Nessa.


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## whiskylollipop

Thanks Ana, glad to be of some entertainment. 

Haha! I can't believe both my bunzos have opposite-sex twins on here. Merlin&Nessa, and Sasha&Silver, separated at birth! Ana and BunnySilver, I must've gotten stuck with your buns' evil twins. Lucky me.

Well, on Sunday we are going to take the two of them on a nice long car ride, here's hoping they don't annihilate each other on the way. I've been waiting for this day for a week - cuz I've got a sneaky present lined up for bubs! Hee hee. I'll just casually direct him to drive to the hobby store where we can pick it up. It's been a stressful year for him, he deserves a toy. We fight so much but I know he's the man for me because once, I shat my pants, he found my poop-filled undies on the bathroom floor, and he's still attracted to me. Heck, he'd probably change my tampons for me if I asked. He's cool that way. Still a mega arsehole though.

Anyway, so. On the drive I'm going to be in the back monitoring the box o' bunny. If the box doesn't become a Bunny Blender, I might even get to take some pics for the blog.

Oh speaking of which, adorable Sashybun pic I forgot to post earlier!







She is MUCH more willing to flop out and even DBF near mummy than the Puffsbottom is. This time I was on the floor to be around her, because Sasha really doesn't like being on the bed. Lookit all those exposed wires! BAD BUNNY MUMMY. Yes. As you can see, that Apple charger covered in green electrical tape is testament to my imprudence. That was all Merlin and Rosebun though - Sashy for some reason doesn't chew on stuff.


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## pani

whiskylollipop said:


> We fight so much but I know he's the man for me because once, I shat my pants, he found my poop-filled undies on the bathroom floor, and he's still attracted to me. Heck, he'd probably change my tampons for me if I asked. He's cool that way. Still a mega arsehole though.


:laugh:

Your relationship sounds perfect!!!


Looking forward to hearing about how the car ride goes! Here's hoping the two of them will get along. Good luck! Also, love the flop pictures of Merlin on the bed and Sashy on the floor.


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## ChocoClover

Why is sashy not chewing those wires?! I'm so jealous!


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## whiskylollipop

Charlotte: If you say so! :spintongue Our relationship is super dramz. We're "that couple" who are always cussing and insulting each other and fighting over every little thing. If he's not being an arse to me, it's probably cause he's too busy getting peppered by my punches because he was being an arse 5 seconds ago. If we ever did get married, he would be the Groomzilla, of that I am sure. But I haven't decided if I could possibly bear a lifetime of him yet.

ChocoClover: Hmm, I don't know. She's very human-friendly, that one. Bold with humans, loves being pet, toughs out handling easily, doesn't destroy people stuff...I can't believe some idjits out there threw out my perfect little Sashibibun princess. She is nippy, but only when she's pissed off. I guess Merlin must piss her off royally.

-
UGH I can't believe what happened last night. Mr D. Head Whiskylollipop left the cage door open. I woke up to the lovely sounds of cage bars clanging and rattling, and I ran outside to find both bunnies going at it in the pen. Fur was everywhere, and I could scarcely believe my eyes but most of it was Sasha's. Merlin must've smashed her! Neither was hurt, thankfully, but ugh. UGHHH.

I bought new undies for the first time in probably years, they arrived today. Praise ye Victoria's Secret and your $5.30 per pair deal! I have 10 new pairs to poop in now. Yayyyyy.


----------



## whiskylollipop

Ok so we didn't get to take the bunnies on a drive today. There was a lot of nipping going on in the box before we could even get out of the house, so we had to nix the idea for now. I made the executive decision to put them in the shower instead, for a much more intense stress bonding experience.

And it kinda worked! We had one minor scuffle and 5 nip attempts in total for about 10 minutes of shower time. We actually got to see the two of them side by side in relative peace for minutes at a time! What we did was, turn the shower on and let it wet most of the floor, leave it running threateningly pointed to one side of the shower, put a folded towel on the other side to force them to sit together, and block the exit. No violence whatsoever. The most intervening we had to do was hold their heads down when they tried to nip at each other.

That was fairly encouraging. We stopped it after 10 minutes because they were just looking miserable and slightly damp from the one scuffle. They weren't being aggressive when we pulled them out and dried them, so I like to think that was a decent note to end the date on. We're going to do the shower stressing every day, then put them in a large box and see how it goes. A box is the only neutral space we've got left in the apartment really.

I was too antsy to take pics this time, but I'll try to remember tomorrow.


----------



## pani

Good idea! Sounds very stressful but I'm glad to hear they seemed to get along, kind of.


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## squidpop

The shower sounds like it worked really well. My suggestion is if you try the car again put the empty carrier in the car first with the car running and then take the rabbits to the carrier and put them in. I think the vibration of the car helps a lot.


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## Chrisdoc

These two are just so cute. I love the pic of her with the wires. Mine would have destroyed those in two seconds. I cannot leave anything dangling when they´re out and about. It is such a long process for some and you do get to the stage where you are about to give up but don´t. They will suddenly decide that they´ve had enough nipping and just get on with it. Keep faith and it will happen, I am sure :wink


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## whiskylollipop

Date 2 at the Shower Hotel didn't go quite as well as Date 1, so I didn't get a chance to take pics. Sasha's less afraid of the running water now, so she's gone back to being her nippy self. She's tough!! No matter what crazy stresses come her way, she just rolls with it and stands back up with her fists (teeth?) out. I want to be Sashabun when I grow up. They weren't actually fighting, which is still a win in my book, but she kept nipping Merlin every few seconds or so. He didn't reciprocate, but man he looked like he was STEWING. Like a little boy who was being annoyed by a girl and really wanted to hit back except his mum told him not to hit girls. Eventually my poor baby got so pissed off that he just started thumping.

I tried spraying water at Sasha when she nipped, tried holding her head down, but I tell you Sasha was having none of it today. She was stubborn about nipping, and strong. I was pressing down on her head with nearly all the strength I could muster, thinking Big Dominant Bunny thoughts, and she was honestly lifting my arm up with just the strength of her neck and spindly little front legs. Talk about signs that you need to start working out.

I waited it out till we got half a minute or so of no nips before ending the date. I don't think I'm ever gonna get actual positive notes to end on at the stage, so that'll have to do.


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## whiskylollipop

There's been a large increase in the number of rabbits looking for homes on TradeMe recently. This make me sad.  I wish I had a big house.

The past two shower dates have been more of the same. Merlin sitting hunched down looking miserable, Sasha wandering around and giving him a passing nip every so often. She's not afraid of getting wet at all now. This is a plateau we need to break through! But how??

ullhair:


----------



## pani

On the plus side, you can take Sasha swimming. 

It sounds like they're tolerating each other more on their shower dates, even if they're not necessarily getting alone. Hopefully that's a good sign.


----------



## whiskylollipop

Yeah, just slap a child's arm floater around her body and she'd probably paddle around happily.  I hope we do get some progress soon!

It's amazing how bunnies make you fall in love with them just by being around. You hear the sudden "th-bbh-thh-bh-thh-bh-thbhhthhbhthtbhtbhtbtthtbth" of a bunny 500, and you just have this weird smile on your face. They can boss you around and be stuck-up and give you the bunny butt, and it's STILL adorable and sweet.

Bunnies take themselves so seriously. Sometimes I side-eye Merlin and think, look at that solemn expression on your wee puffy bunnyface. Do you even know you are a ridiculously fluffy plush toy who moves in hoppities. I bet rabbits see themselves as serious businessmen. They're so absurd and ridiculous and I want all of them.


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## pani

I know what you mean!! My bunny space is right behind my computer, and I can't even count the times I turn around and just watch them do their important bunny business. Flopping, bunny 500s, running after each other, chinning a new box... it's all perfect.


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## Azerane

Perhaps with Merlin being afraid, and Sasha not being, it will allow her to establish some dominance and he might follow her? I don't know  Just trying to be hopeful!


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## whiskylollipop

That's what I'm so, so hoping for! But Merlin is a stubborn little dingus and always has been. He was the dominant of his and Rosebun's bond simply by being too uppity to groom anyone but himself. And Rosey was a gentle, giving bun, so he just groomed Merlin and they settled into their hierarchic roles that way.

I think Sasha keeps trying to nip him into submission but it isn't working and it's just making him miserable. I don't know how long I'm supposed to keep this up for, she's showing no signs of giving up and he's showing no signs of submitting. Argh! It's frustrating.

I haven't really had anything new to update on recently. We're stuck in a rut. :/


----------



## Azerane

I think you just have to keep pushing through that rut. It could continue for a while, but eventually, something has to change, one way or the other. It may just take a little bit of time, we all know how stubborn bunnies can be when they want to!


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## whiskylollipop

It's been a busy week for me so we've taken a second break with the bonding. Ugh, we need to stop doing that. Some days I think, just chuck them in the shower and close the door, leave them there overnight and see if they're friends by morning. But then I remember Sasha's teeth start chattering about 10 minutes into a shower session because she invariably walks fearlessly through the warm shower and then ends up cooling out just from being soaked all over.

:nosir:

You'd think she'd cuddle up to Merlin's fluff for warmth then, but no. She's a soldier. She's a Mini Bear Grylls. She's a strong independent bunny who don't need no fluffy man.

Meanwhile Merlin drowns his sorrows in veggies.










Bubs still hasn't finished building his model boat. (The present I got him a while back). The parts and paint stuff are taking up half the lounge, and I'm starting to maybe slightly regret that particular choice of present... but it makes him happy and was a rare find that helps him build up his model ship collection, so that's alright I guess.

Hope yall doing fine this winter! Or summer if you live up north.


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## whiskylollipop

_
Two weeks in, Charles was still the only one of his siblings who had fully mastered the handling of his invisible hover-bike.

-






Having your first kiss last much longer than you imagined because both your braces got stuck together is especially tough when you both have to jump up a high ledge to get to Mum for help.

-






"Bonjour, bonjour. Welcome to ze France. Please follow ze red carpat, I hope you enjoy your evening."

-






"Good heavens," Mary-Anne exclaimed, "How did I end up in this flowerpatch?" Last's night's rock and roll rave party must've hit her harder than she'd thought.

-

_I come across too many rabbit pics because I spend entirely way too much time online. But it amuses me. And I think up funny captions...right? Aren't I funny??


----------



## whiskylollipop

I check the ads for cats and rabbits looking for homes on TradeMe (for non-kiwis, it's a huge online marketplace down under, kinda a mix between eBay and Etsy) at least twice a day, even though adopting more animals for our little apartment would be an entirely bad idea... I must be some hardcore masochist.

Sigh.

In happier news, my skin has never been better! I've suffered from bad acne, extreme combination flaky skin and perioral dermatitis for YEARS, and believe me when I say my parents and I have spent hundreds on dermatologists and expensive creams and such. But the answer was so simple, and so cheap. Handmade glycerine neem soap, available for $4 on TradeMe, plus this little amazing balm thing called Pot of Gold, $35 for 100ml but I've only been using their little sample pot that's $5 including shipping. GUYS. It's truly unbelievable. I started using the soap and the Pot of Gold two weeks ago when I figured heck, my expensive face stuff isn't doing much of anything at all, why should I keep spending the money? So I decided to go all hippie dippie and try all-natural handmade whatevergoo.

In those two weeks, I haven't even gone through half my tiny sample Pot or made a dent in my soap, and my skin has calmed down and cleared up like a dream. I don't know if it's the milder natural soap or the magic bee elixir that is Pot of Gold that's making a bigger difference, but it ain't broke so I'm not fixing nothing. My skin flakes much less. The dermatitis is GONE. I'd say my acne problem is 75% better. I still have oily combination skin, but the dry part is no more. I'll take that!

Almost-perfect skin for less than $10, in less than 2 weeks. Doesn't that sound like a scammy internet ad. But it's FOR REAL. Eat dust, Proactiv! If you can get hold of a good handmade soap maker in your area that does glycerine neem soap (or you can make your own), and if you can find Pot of Gold (they do seem available in a number of other countries besides NZ/Aus), I'd say it's more than worth a shot if you've got similar skin problems.

Anyway, this is Merlin and Sasha's blog really so sorry about that digression my fluffies. Back to bunny news now. I recently found out that my grocery store which delivers (New Zealand is SO great, I never have to leave my house again if I didn't want to) had added to their rabbit feed ranks Harrington's, which is actually a very decent pet feed. I have been supplementing the Oxbow with it, in tiny amounts because it's alfalfa-based. Sasha LOVES it. She goes nuts. She paces herself with the Oxbow so I thought she was simply too fancy to eat like a pig, but she turns into a mini-Merlin with Harrington's. Merlin's enthusiastic about it too, but it's food and he's Merlin, so yeah obviously.


----------



## lovelops

whiskylollipop said:


> There's been a large increase in the number of rabbits looking for homes on TradeMe recently. This make me sad.  I wish I had a big house.
> 
> The past two shower dates have been more of the same. Merlin sitting hunched down looking miserable, Sasha wandering around and giving him a passing nip every so often. She's not afraid of getting wet at all now. This is a plateau we need to break through! But how??
> 
> ullhair:



Good question. It sucks when you have two rabbits that grew up together (like my Chico and Chica which will be 2 years old tomorrow) and then new guys that won't play nice together (like my two rescues Lady and Brooke). It's frustrating. My husband is getting pissed because we have to keep them in different areas of the house instead of putting a large area together on the porch for all the bunnies to play together.

I'm going to have to resign myself to the fact Lady wants to be the only rabbit in the house and did the same thing you listed above, even though she is a Lop and Brooke is a giant mix and Lady beats the heck out of Brooke whenever we try to do the bonding stuff. Like you there was fur all over the place.. I'm giving it up for now and will pick up in another 6 months... but in the meantime I wish you luck. I know you want them both to be friends..

Vanessa


----------



## lovelops

whiskylollipop said:


> Interesting development - I gave Sashanajybun Merlin's toy rabbit that had been keeping him company after Rose's passing. SHE BEAT IT UP.
> 
> I move it toward her, she boxes at it and bites it. She'll let it groom her head, then she'll run away from it.
> 
> What does this MEAN.
> 
> Is she just really hating Merlin and his scent right now? Or does she view every bunny as a threat? We may have human-only bunny on our hands.



I did that to try to bond Lady and Brooke. It means she don't like him very much. I had Lady my Lop do the same thing, beat the heck out of the toy. It's supposted to help bond, but so far I've had no luck either.

Vanessa


----------



## whiskylollipop

Vanessa: *hugs* These bunnies! They're almost as much trouble as they're worth.  Have you ever considered bonding all four of them? Hold a quadruple date on neutral ground? Having two more bunnies to face seems like it would balance out Lady's aggressive nature. At least she wouldn't be able to concentrate on picking on Brooke so much. I realise that could still end up in disaster, but if I had a couple extra hands to help keep things in check, I'd probably give it a try..

-
I had a good day with the bunnies. Sasha was following me around lots and Merlin's really gotten used to hanging out on the bed with me. He even stayed stretched out when I went and lay down right next to him. I'm like, totally one of the cool kids now!
:time:


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## whiskylollipop

Yep. Merlin made an unholy mess in his pen last night. Hay strewn everywhere, water spilled, toys in the litterbox. And this was how seriously he took me when I told him I was getting a mugshot of him in the crime scene. "_Yea sure mum, you can't pin nothing on me anyways_."







What transpired last night? We may never know. But the perp gets away scot-free, as he always does. *mutters murderously while cleaning up hay*

Meanwhile the Harringtons pellets are going down really well with both bunnies, especially Sasha. I worry she's going to ignore her Oxbow and hold out for Harringtons, so I'm keeping the daily feed ratios at 60% Oxbow. Here she is pigging out on her new favourite food.


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## whiskylollipop

A wrench in the plans! Check out our guest:






I took the liberty of naming him Odin. He's a teen cat with one busted amber eye and one striking yellow one. But he's oh so beautiful. He's technically the shelter's ward and will be living in a locked room, but he's so gentle I have a feeling he'd be great with the bunnies. I might have to keep him!


----------



## pani

What a cutie! Hi Odin! :wave:


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## Ana_The_Dreamer

Odin! I love that name.  Such a pretty boy.


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## Azerane

He's beautiful! I can't wait until I can get a cat again, I really miss having one. I often browse the shelter websites just looking at all their available cats, lol. Sometimes I see one that really catches my eye and you can just tell that they'd be such a magic cat to have.


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## whiskylollipop

Bubs pointed out that all three of our animal flatmates are dressed in shades of grey. The monochrome trio! Now we'll really have to keep Odin! Technically he's a lilac tabby and Merlin's a smoke pearl (blue points) and heaven knows what Sasha is, but they're all pretty much greyish so there.

Odie's a shy fellow. Been hiding under the bed for the past 28 hours, only sneaking out to eat and use the litterbox (without any training too, such a gentleman!) at night. I actually managed to lure him out for a few seconds with the help of probably too many treats, but then he went back under. We played footsies with my finger for a while, but his nails were scratchy. 

Meanwhile Merls and Sashy are entirely aware that something is up. I was apologising to them all day today, especially with Merlin crawling around with his nose fluttering madly, looking freaked out. Poor buns, sometimes I really wish they could understand human words so you can reassure them that everything's fine.


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## pani

Three Shades of Grey. :spintongue


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## whiskylollipop

Haha I was trying NOT to make that joke! I've been hoping for some Shades of Grey action with the two naughties for some time now. Bubs thinks Merlin might be gay. My little Anderson Cooper bun. *pets*

I'm having some sort of weird, slow, half-assed allergic reaction to something. My forearms itch, and my lips and eyes itch and are a little swollen. It's not so bad, but the itch is annoying. It can't be Odin right? I'm not sneezing or anything, and I only touched him with my hands and my hands are fine. Besides, I've played with cats before and never had anything happen. I feel like it's something airborne, like his kitty litter dust or toys or... I dunno. Ugh.


----------



## whiskylollipop

HOLY HEART ATTACKS. Merlin just jumped over his 80cm high pen fence, and almost didn't make it! He couldn't balance of course and his foot was caught for a second before he fell down the other side. I don't think he's hurt, but he was being very grumpy when I picked him up for a check over and didn't let me feel around properly. All I know is there's no blood and he still has full range of movement, so I hope that means he's okay...

He'd been in the cage and Sasha in the pen all day today to let Odin explore the apartment and start coming out of his shell, so tonight when I let him out for exercise (and to swap places with Sasha) he was extra happy and cuddly. Well, cuddly in the sense that he was around me much more than usual, in between binkies and bunny 500s.

When his two hours was up I took Sasha out and put Merlin in the pen. Evidently, he wasn't quite done exercising.

This is the first time he's done this and it makes me really nervous he'll try it again (and possibly be a lot less lucky about clearing the height). Gah!! He's locked up safely in the cage now. I guess this means no more pen time for the Merlybutts. You brought this on yourself!


----------



## pani

Oh Merls!! Gotta be careful! 

Felix tried that once before. Like Merlin, his foot got caught at the top and he fell. He was fine - just like Merlin, I'm sure.  I often forget that they can be quite resilient, since I coddle my furbabies so much!

Any interest between Odin and the buns yet? Last time we had another four-legged friend around (a gorgeous chihuahua daschund cross) she stood outside their area and literally just shook (with excitement? Anticipation? Nerves?) the whole time.


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## whiskylollipop

Gosh, I'm glad Felix was fine!

Odin hasn't been brave enough to check them out yet. Every time I coax him out, all it takes is a sound or sign of movement from the bunnies to send him scurrying back for cover. Doesn't help that Sasha always thumps a big booming one whenever he gets too close to the cage/pen. Bossy little bun. 

He's making loads of progress though. Very cautious and polite little guy. And he's a dream to pick up! Handles like a purring soft toy. After the bunnies, I'm not used to this at all! Merls and Sashy, I am disappoint.


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## Aubrisita

Odin is adorably handsome. My kitty, Tonks, LOVES bunnies. Luna isn't too keen on her, however. 

I am glad Merlin is ok, that would have scared the bajeesus out of me! I constantly live in fear that Luna will try to jump her fence. She has been getting on top of things (hay holder, box, etc.) in her enclosure and THAT is freaking me out.


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## whiskylollipop

HELLO MUM






MUM NO


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## pani

Look at that grumpy face!


----------



## whiskylollipop

Need to vent. Bubs just found out that his division in the company is going to be shut down in November, which means he will be out of a job. We're going to have to find a cheaper place to live because as a full time student I make like a couple hundred a week on a part-time job, and we're just barely affording to stay in our current place as it is. The thing is, it's incredibly hard to find a small city apartment that allows pets. Even if we do find one, it will be a really small hole in the wall that the bunnies miiiight be okay in but certainly wouldn't be fair to Odin. He's a big cat and very playful and active, though not destructive at all.

But it's looking like we can't keep him. I feel absolutely crap about everything, I don't even want to put an ad up for him because I'll just cry all through writing it. If there are any Aucklanders on here that would give him a great home, please let me know. He is 6 months old, healthy as a horse, desexed/wormed/vaccinated/deflead, one eye is busted but it doesn't affect his vision, very sweet and smart and responds to his name. He can be very shy at first, but he adapts well and is very free with affection. He'll come with his bed, toys, and about $80 worth of canned cat food I've stocked up. Please continue feeding him wet food (or at least 50% wet food + a little hot water mixed in) as he doesn't like drinking water much so he has to get his liquids through food.

He is an amazing kitten and I don't have one bad thing to say about him. He's extremely polite, great with his litterbox and rather introverted so probably wouldn't approach you for fear of offending you, but responds well to lots of gentle encouragement. Very curious and entertaining lil buddy.

I know a good rescue I can send him to if it comes to that, but I don't want to shuttle him from place to place and would rather send him to a good forever home. Please ask around your responsible animal-people friends and help Odin find a home he can blossom in.

:bunnybutt:


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## BunnySilver

Oh no I'm so sorry. I just read this and feel terrible. I hope that you can either keep Odin or find him another loving home. &#128560;


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## pani

I'm so sorry, Laura.  I know how quickly you bonded to Odin and it's so unfair that you won't be able to keep him around. I'd love to take him in if I wasn't so far away. I'll ask a few friends in NZ if they're in a situation where they could take him into their home.

Do you think there's any possibility you'll be able to keep him?


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## whiskylollipop

I really don't know. 

It all depends on whether bubs can find another job right away that pays well enough so we can afford a decent sized, pet-friendly place. The apartment we live in right now comes with his current job so when he leaves the company we WILL have to move out. Pet-friendly apartments are so rare here, and although I'm not above smuggling in the bunnies (they don't cause damage/smell/noise or anything anyway) a cat would probably be crossing the line as he does stink up the litterbox.

I'm holding on to hope that luck will come our way, bubs will find gainful employment before November and we'll be able to move into a pet-friendly place right away, but in case it doesn't, it would be a great reassurance to know that a good home is open to Odin. He is a massive sweetheart, easiest cat ever, affectionate but not clingy, eats what you give him, just the most accommodating little gentleman and tbh a perfect first cat. Got along fine with other cats before we got him, too.

Thanks for asking around for me, Charlotte. :bunnyhug:


----------



## pani

:hugs:

November's a long time away, I'll have my fingers crossed that it will all work out and you'll be able to keep Odin around.


----------



## whiskylollipop

Thanks  I hope so too. It just feels like an anvil above our heads, and bubs actually wants to rehome Odin as soon as possible before we get even more attached to him. Cause he knows that I rapidly reach a point where I would rather sleep on park benches with my bunnies than ever live without them. Ack lol.

And because life has to be hard, here's Odin 5 minutes ago, in the middle of licking his butt when suddenly a wave of sleep attacked:







Kittehs are natural yogis. How does one fall asleep with one's leg behind one's head? When one is above the laws of physics.


----------



## whiskylollipop

*raises blog from the dead*

Hey! So, um. Yeah. Hi. :happybunny:

It's been a busy couple of months, and I didn't really feel like updating the bunnies' blog because firstly, there wasn't really anything of note happening in their lives. Bonding was put on hold for a looong while. Secondly, Odin left us.  He went to live with a rural family with other kitties to play with, which is probably much better for him that staying in our little apartment. But I miss him, and I'm still feeling pretty mopey about it. Oh well.

Hope you're having a great life, old buddy.






Anyway. We had bonding session last night in the bathroom, and it went much better than expected. We had ZERO fighting, zero chasing, zero lunging! That was awesome progress. It wasn't all perfect though. Sasha was still nipping Merlin in her not-really-aggressive way, I'm not sure what's really going through her little spherical head but maybe she's trying to provoke a reaction out of him. Because seriously, he will not do ANYTHING. When Sasha's around, in neutral ground, Merlin freezes in terror. If he can't find a hiding place, he just hunches down motionless like a statue, head lowered in what I think is supposed to be submission. Sasha doesn't seem to be getting the message though. Still waiting on some dominance humping. Any dominance humping. Any time now, guys.

I wonder how I can get things moving. Merlin seems to have hit a brick wall. I can just feel Sasha's transition from her previous tense, aggressive posturing to something more like, "Really. Are you kidding me? You're just going to sit there. And I actually thought I had a worthy opponent. *bites* Do something ya big weenie." She's cool as a cucumber now, no more fear or animosity towards Merlin besides the occasional nip. I guess that's better than fighting though, right?











Merlin's the cutest little wuffly buggy butt plush toy bunny in real life, but I can never seem to take a flattering pic of him.

I swear, Sashibibun is the Rambo bunny. Once, during her out time (when it's her turn to be out while Merlin's in the pen), she found her way up onto her cage which is adjacent to the pen. Meandered around a bit, exploring the new space. Looked down and saw Merlin bumbling around in his pen. Then she kamikaze'd down into Merlin's pen! Now Merls might be a big weenie in neutral territory, but he'll fight to the death to defend his territory. Due to some mistakes on my part we have seen this in action a number of times before. So Sasha knows. But she went for guts and glory anyway. Luckily I vaulted over the couch and scooped her out before anything happened, but man. She's crazy.

Oh, and one night a couple weeks ago, Merls was digging crazily in his mancave at midnight and it was keeping us awake. So bubs went out, chased him out of the mancave, and zipped it up so he couldn't get back in. Guess what we woke up to the next morning.






Chewed a big hole right through it so he could have his beddy back. Merlin 1, humans 0.


----------



## Azerane

Haha, such a character! That's so funny that he chewed his way in. Unstoppable!

I'm also sad that Odin left, but hopefully he's happy with all the space he has to roam


----------



## whiskylollipop

I know! I was deeply impressed. Made a huge mess though, naughty potato. I've been told that Odin's getting on swimmingly with the other cats, so I'm happy for him.

I've been hit with the gastro bug. For the first time ever. To be honest, I'm surprised at how not sick I feel, considering I'm currently a human hose at both ends if you know what I mean. Just a bit of tummy pain and like 4 showers so far but eh, I've had worse. Bubs has had gastro a few times before and has always described it like it's a frickin horror scene straight out of Saw. It ain't that bad. I guess when your uterine lining bleeds out your genitals every month or so you get desensitized to a little bodily fluid mess down there. The retching is the worst part though, ugh.

The buns are taking care to avoid me. Guess they don't want to catch it. Sasha actually came up to me, sniffed my ankles and then took off running at breakneck speed. Smelled the germs, didja?!


----------



## pani

Oh no Laura! I hope you recover soon.


----------



## Azerane

whiskylollipop said:


> Bubs has had gastro a few times before and has always described it like it's a frickin horror scene straight out of Saw. It ain't that bad. I guess when your uterine lining bleeds out your genitals every month or so you get desensitized to a little bodily fluid mess down there. The retching is the worst part though, ugh.



Wow, you must have a strong tolerance for illness, I absolutely loathe gastro. Then again, stomach related pains and illness have always been my weak point in terms of coping with pain etc. When I get gastro, I'm stuck sitting/laying down with no ability to do anything except literally crawl to the toilet at necessary intervals. Last time I had it I was house and dog-sitting for a friend at the time, got to about 3pm before I remembered to feed the dog who'd literally been staring at me all day, lol.

Feel better soon!


----------



## whiskylollipop

Well slap me with a shovel, I spoke too soon! The start of gastro was pretty easy, but by nightfall I was vomitting every 10 minutes or so and it was a considerably more terrible experience than I said. Stomach pains got worse too. I'd have to say the most face-tearing part was the fact that I was ALWAY thirsty, but couldn't keep any water down. Yuck. 0.2/10, would not recommend.


----------



## lovelops

Merlin is soooo adorable in that picture in his mancave that is priceless!


Vanessa


----------



## pani

Oh Laura!  I'm sorry to hear that it hit you harder. Are the bunnies sensing that you need some extra love? I've got a cold, and was napping on the couch a few days ago, hoping the bunnies might come snuggle up with me... no luck, of course, hehe. 

Hope you're feeling better!


----------



## Azerane

whiskylollipop said:


> Well slap me with a shovel, I spoke too soon! The start of gastro was pretty easy, but by nightfall I was vomitting every 10 minutes or so and it was a considerably more terrible experience than I said. Stomach pains got worse too. I'd have to say the most face-tearing part was the fact that I was ALWAY thirsty, but couldn't keep any water down. Yuck. 0.2/10, would not recommend.



That sounds more like gastro I know  Hopefully it's over now though, it usually doesn't last terribly long, a day or two. But for me at least it then takes several more days for me to recover my strength.

Hope you're doing well.


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## BunnySilver

Oh I'm so sorry to hear that you are not feeling well. I have a bad cold right now, but that's nothing compared to what your going through. I'm hoping you get better as fast as possible.


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## whiskylollipop

Bella: oh I hate colds! Hope you're all better now! :feelbetter:Gastro's done kicking my ass so I'm back to bunsnuggling business now. I have to say colds last ages for me - not fun.

-
UGH I just saw a bug on Merlin! Tried to pinch it out but it just crawled deeper into his fursies. anic: I don't know if it's really fleas we have, the pictures on Google seem to depict tinier specks and this was a pretty big, visible bug...but I flew online and ordered some kitten Revolution anyway so hopefully that kills whatever it is that's hiding in my Murly Wurly. 

But you know what, it's karmic justice that he should suffer a few bites. He's been biting me all month. Not hard enough to break the skin, he just thinks his teensy lil moufies is strong enough to lift and move my limbs that are in his way, so that results in some pretty painful nip-and-pull action every couple of minutes that we're hanging out together. Little fiend. He probably sees himself as some kind of bunny Hulk.

So it looks like we're going to have to get someone in to spray the bejeezus out of our apartment. Sigh. I might contact Auckland Cavy Care (Sasha's lovely rescue people) and see if they're okay with boarding bunnies at their guinea pig ranch for a week or so.


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## whiskylollipop

I wonder how many nicknames I've really got for my bunnies? I almost never address them as "Merlin", "Sasha", or their proper names, "Merlin Bunniculus von Puffsbottom" or "Queen Naja Seraphina".

Merlin: Fluffles, Fluffybutt, Meeooolin, Murlywurly, Meeweeweewee, Mawan, Miwinz, Meerwerls, Molonz, Molywoly, Muppet, Merls

Sasha: Sashabun, Sashibibun, Sheebeez, Sheebs, Sashinabi, Sushibun, Sushibibunny, Sashy, Sashmonster, Sheebybunny, Sheebster, Sashanajabun

Odin was for some reason JubJubs, Jubbers, or JUBSTERRRRR!!! (said really fast and aggressively). I don't know how that happened. JubJubs-and-variants-thereof was just something that suited the mood he brought me when he was around, though I only trained him to come when he heard "Odin!". His new mom named him Stirling, which...is kind of ornamenty, but okay. Lol.

Anyway. No new photos. Bad whiskylollipop. Bad, bad whisky.

Bonding's been more of the same. I really can't figure out how to get Merlin up and at 'em. Sasha seems to have made her peace with Merlin - or rather frozen-icicle-Merlin - which is a decent leap forward, but he's just such a huge wimp he won't move when she's around. She hasn't bitten him (too much) the last 3 sessions but he still can't get over his fear of her. I might have made things a bit worse the last session though, by trying to push their faces together when they were sitting side by side. That resulted in two sharp nips to the nose for my poor boy. Eek. 

We also tried taking his man-cave into the bathroom during bonding to give him some sense of security, but he got cornered in there and Sasha flopped out right across the entrance! Sigh. You win again, Sheebs.

In other news, we haven't gotten round to spraying the house due to an unexpected confluence of bills that's left us pretty broke, but I did get the bunnies some kitten Revolution so they're hopefully flea-less now. Man, Merlin did not like that eh, he was trying his hardest to scratch it off the second I set him down. But his fat little feetsies couldn't reach the back of his neck! Hee.

They're both enjoying some fresh Bok choy right now. Merlin has Sasha's foster mum to thank for introducing bok choy into his life. I originally bought it for Sasha because she said it was one of her favourite veggies. It was then that I discovered Merlin goes totally bonkers for it. Watching him tear into that innocent defenseless veggie, I'm frankly a little scared for my life.


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## whiskylollipop

Today in the life of Merlin and Sasha...

Sasha attempts to work out like Daddy (*coughNEVERcough*) does, but quickly realises that her body proportions just aren't going to work with this stupidly long machine thing. Stomp!







Merlin decides to redecorate. Litterbox by the corner is cramping his style. He wants that litterbox to be _just so_. Mummy hears him pushing and pushing, and tries to help by putting it against the other side of the pen, maybe Merlbuns would like that there? PFFFT NO MUM WTH THIS IS MY ROOM OKAY MY ROOM I HAVE THINGS JUUUST HOW I WANT THEM. Merlbuns pulls the box back to the middle of the pen. Okay then.







Also Merlbuns would like more hay on the carpet, actually a hay-path leading into his man-cave. Yuss.


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## whiskylollipop

I found a dead flea on the top of Merlin's little head. Eugh. Maybe it was trying to Ratatouille my bunbun when the Revolution kicked in and killed him. RIP Ratatouille-flea.

Sasha seems flea-free. Bubs is really growing to love her adorbs little babyface and sassy sassitude, although he'll always say Merlin is favourite. He cleaned up the cages today and unforgivably put Merlin's litterbox back in its old spot. 15 minutes later it was back in the middle of the pen and Merlin was sitting where it used to be, grumpily standing guard to make sure nobody messes with his stuff yet again. Grawr.


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## BunnySilver

Hehe love Merlin with his litter box moving!


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## whiskylollipop

Sasha just binkied right by my head! :happyrabbit:

I love being super up close to the bunnies. Their fussy little movements are always so adorable and lovely. One of the best things in the world is when your face is 2 inches from a bunny washing his face. I was spending some time with Merlin the other night when he did that, and it was magnificent. The effort you put into trying not the squeal him off-balance from the cuteness will make you want to tear your hair out.

On a related note, Merlin and I have been enjoying a relatively bite-free relationship these past couple weeks, which is nice. He just doesn't like my clothes for some reason, he's always chewing/digging/pulling/trying to shred whatever I'm wearing. But that hurtfully critical fashion commentary dates back to the very beginning, when he first stepped paw on these lands. I'm resigned to holey t-shirts by now.

Speaking of biting, Sasha hasn't bitten any human in... months, probably. I'm so proud of her! And being tiny and cute she tends to get mauled - well, handled - quite a lot. Especially by bubs. Who is not very gentle. Not in the I-don't-care-about-this-rodent way, but in the aaargh-she's-so-cute-aren't-you-oh-yes-you-are way. Merls will make your fingers bleed if you hold him any longer than 2.8654 seconds, but Sheebs is the very picture of restraint. She's probably saving all her biting strength for Merlin though.

Oh, and guess what. There's been a marked decrease in flea-bite sightings and fleaphobic-boyfriend-whining incidents lately. This has strangely coincided with the application of Revolution to the bunnies. Could it be??? Could the marketing hype be real, that Revolution kills not only the fleas on your cat's body, but also the ones in its environment? :O (hurriedly grabs nearest bunny and rubs her all over the sheets and pillows)


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## Azerane

The bunnies, they are so cute!  And yes, being super close to Bandit while he's grooming is so cute, I love when he pulls his ears down to lick them. I'm so glad you're getting on top of the flea problem, I would probably be paranoid about them too, I would find it creepy 

Also, less bunny biting is awesome, sometimes they just go through a phase and try to boss you around but if you get on top of it it can be managed, which is great


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## lovelops

I'm so sorry that you guys are having to deal with fleas and all that now. For some reason none of my buns or dogs have any now. I think all the dogs were treated and
I try to keep the carpet clean as possible and try to do a professional cleaning every once in a while. My buns don't have any. Now when I first got them Brooke had fleas from being thrown outside, but now with grooming and cleaning she is good to go! I'm glad to hear that the situation is improving!

No biting is nice also! I know how that is first hand from when I first rescued Lady and getting bit in the butt every day to now getting kisses. The other day she bit me because I moved my hand too fast around her head to clean something on top of her cage and it scared her, but that's ok. I can deal with that. Marilyn on the other hand is a bite monster, but that is ok. I've only had her around for going on two months friday. She has to learn that she is safe..

It sounds like you are doing a great job with these two!

Vanessa


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## whiskylollipop

Thanks guys! Vanessa, belated congrats on the new bunny. I wish you had a bunny blog so we could enjoy pics of Lady, Brooke and Marilyn. 

I don't know how to quantify Merlin's biting. It's not aggressive, just sort of... bratty. Like if my leg is in his path, and he can't be bothered to hop over it, he'd grouchily bite it instead so I'll move. Sometimes he bites me just cause we're side by side and he's sniffing me and feels like it. Bubs thinks he's just holding a long grudge against us for all the Sasha-bonding shenanigans. 

After reading the posts on people finally getting bonding success after moving to a new house, I'm starting to feel like this apartment is just too impregnated with invisible bunny scent. Maybe that's why bonding isn't moving forward, there's too much territory scents lingering in the carpet. We need to move!

Also, Sasha's pee worries me. It has a salty smell, and constantly has a reddish tinge, I don't know if it's blood. Merlin's pee just smells like pee and is light yellow. She definitely pees less than Merlin, possibly because of the size difference? But I'm worried she has some sort of bladder infection or UTI. Or dehydration maybe. She has a bowl she drinks from and the water level goes down at about half the rate of Merlin's. Nothing else is out of the ordinary, her poops are good (and plentiful), she eats well and is bright-eyed and active. If anyone's experienced something similar do share.


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## pani

Bunny pee can have a red tinge to it. I wouldn't worry too much.


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## Azerane

I agree, reddish bunny pee is perfectly normal, and diet can have a huge influence on colour. Blood in the urine will generally appear as little clots of blood instead of staining the urine one even colour. As for the smell, I'm not sure 

Bunnies are so good at holding grudges, I wouldn't be terribly surprised if it was the cause of the nipping!


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## whiskylollipop

Thanks for the reassurance! I have read about diet affecting pee colour, and that red pee is within normal range. I guess i'm just paranoid because Merls and Sashy get the exact same diet always, right down to treats, and his pee has always been so normal and human pee-like whereas hers has the red tinge and the salty smell. So odd! Sometimes it's an even orangey red while other times it's blood red at the edges and orangey in the middle. No clots though. Her average pee volumes per pee event are also only about 30-40% of Merlin's. I wonder whether that's due to Nethies having a much smaller bladder capacity (even though she's about 3/4 his body size and weight) or some dehydration issue.

Gosh, when I became a bunny mum I never thought I'd be paying this much attention to pee and poop. 

You're right, it's probably nothing since she doesn't seem to be exhibiting any other abnormal symptoms. I just hate to think of her peeing in pain. I had a UTI one time, and it was just the worst. I'd even put it on the same level of NOPE as gastro.


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## pani

Clem does quite dark orange/red pees and Felix's are a lot lighter, and they have identical diets. I think you'd know if she was in pain - less binkies right by your head, and more teeth grinding and sitting uncomfortably.


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## whiskylollipop

Merlin and Sashy had a pretty good date today! The second half of the date, Merlin had somehow managed to summon enough confidence to actually move around like a living thing instead of being his usual petrified-buncicle self. He's still clearly scared of being bitten, and would wince and freeze every time Sasha hopped towards him. But she was being very nice and often only sniffed him before sitting beside him. They actually sat beside each other quite a lot, although facing opposite directions.

When we ended the date, they were sitting together grooming themselves! Considering Merlin's fear of Sasha, seeing him confident enough to nonchalantly clean his butt while she was right beside him is pretty great progress. I think that was the best note we've ended on so far.

There are still big obstacles to overcome though. I notice half the time she nips him, it's when they're face-to-face, both heads lowered. Sasha lowers her head when my hand comes near in expectation of pets, so I think when Merlin fails to groom her head as was expected, she takes offense and nips him. I have tried putting honey on her head to encourage grooming and while she is happy to let him eat it off her head, it's only a temporary solution and he would never lick her head again unless another drop of honey was there. So not a great long-term solution.

Anyway. Just wanted to make a small celebratory post to encourage myself through this long, long bonding adventure. Good job today, bunzos!


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## pani

I was grinning reading your post! I'm so excited about the fairly positive bunny date.  I hope they continue to get more confident to relax around each other. Maybe soon Merls will get the idea that Sashy wants head grooms.


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## whiskylollipop

*Marathon bonding!*

I'm in the bathroom with Merlin and Sasha imprisoned in the shower. It's been an hour. There have been plenty of nips from Sasha and Merlin is looking miserable, but he won't fight back so there have been 0 fights and that is good. I think. He doesn't seem to be hurt, in fact I'm not sure if Sasha's teeth are even long enough to bite through his wooly fur coat. He still seems terrorized though.

I decided on the spur of the moment to turn a regular bathroom session into a marathon one due to.. firstly, some encouraging signs such as Merlin grooming himself and moving around, and Sasha on two occasions grooming Merlin (!!!!) and sticking her head under his although he hasn't groomed her back yet. But secondly and more importantly, I have just about lost my patience with these two.

If they ever want to see the outside world again, they better be wearing matching friendship bracelets.

So far, Merlin's hunkered down in one corner although he's not too frightened to move a little, scratch and groom himself. As long as the business end of Sasha's teeth isn't too near his face, that is. Sasha is unsurprisingly confident enough to saunter around, but spends most of her time in Merlin's corner nipping him when he fails to respond to her groom-me requests.

She seems a little frustrated with him now. He's sulking with his butt to her, and she just scrabbled at his back and went and sat a few inches away. I hope that didn't scratch him up too badly. Eep.

Poor girl, she keeps trying to push her head under him and he just won't respond. Even when she nips and nips, he just freezes and takes it (though as I said earlier I suspect her bites don't even reach his skin). As my mum would say, it's like talking to a brick wall. Come on you fluffy little wimp. Give sashibibun some sugar. She even tried to groom you, a little awkwardly as I don't think she's ever had a bunny buddy to groom before. It sort of looked like she was chewing the fur on his head while drooling copiously. But I am 90% sure it was her unwieldy first attempt at grooming him?

Sometimes he scrabbles at the shower floor trying to dig his way out.

Updates to follow.


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## whiskylollipop

*Update:*

I have now opened the shower door and increased their space to the rest of the bathroom. Good news is that Merlin seems relieved enough to hop around like a real bunny. Bad news is, Sasha now chases him sporadically. Sometimes she chases him to bite his bum. Sometimes she just wants head grooms. Either way Merlin doesn't want any part of it.

Bubs just came in to say "Maybe he's just a buck who prefers the company of bucks". Hardeeharhar.

He's taken to hopping back in the slippery shower to escape her when she runs toward him.

But wait! She just went in after him, he panicked and stomped, she nudges his ear aside and puts her head under his chin, he doesn't respond. Sasha's offering some major olive branch here. Merlin you weenie.


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## Azerane

Perhaps after all the butt kickings he's too scared to groom her? I'm really hoping it just clicks with him eventually and he grooms her and all the tension will just melt away.

I'm cheering for those two!!


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## whiskylollipop

*Final Update:

*I ended the date after 3 and a half hours. Both bunnies were winding down - Merlin decided to permanently bunloaf in the shower, and Sasha had given up, turning her attention to the pellets I'd brought in instead. Oh well. I'm still really happy with what went down. No fighting and minimal chasing in nearly 4 hours together, and I could see Merlin gaining more confidence every time Sasha approached him without biting. Before he set up camp in the shower, he was actually pretty happy to hop around exploring the bathroom despite the constant threat of nip-attacks. The Sheebster just chased and nipped him one too many times I guess.

Pretty much all we need is for Merlin to stop being so stubborn and start engaging. It's pretty clear he doesn't want to be submissive, but he's still too afraid to assert himself. I wonder if he'll actually start trying to be the dominant one as he gains more confidence over the next few dates.

Regardless, I'm super proud of both of them! Sasha for kickstarting relationship negotiations by finally making some grooming and dominance moves instead of just nipping him, and Merlin for being a brave boy today. I'm feeling positive for the next few weeks. :weee:


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## whiskylollipop

Kitten season's coming up, I'm getting the urge to adopt a kitty. Doesn't help that the rescues are all flooding my facebook page with posts on the "incoming tidal wave of kittens" (sounds like the best tidal wave ever). Still, so many get stuck in shelters and it's heartbreaking and sooooo tempting to save at least one. Hope everyone's kitties are desexed!

Haven't posted in a while, so I got my phone out and documented Merlin's morning.







_
Had adventures all around the lounge. Sure is bright outside. I wonder why this slippery force field is stopping me from going out there.







Hi Mummy. What are you doing? That looks boring. I'm gonna run everywhere now and repeatedly jump on and off the couch because reasons.







Iz tireds. Gonna rest a bit. What is this junk in my back-up bunker, ugh. Hoomins.







HaHAAA! Found Mummy's laundry on the hoomins bed! I'm gonna throw all these undies around and chew holes in inconvenient places. She will never suspect me.







She suspecteds me. Hmph._


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## bunnyman666

Great photo journal.


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## whiskylollipop

Do bunnies give love nips? They better, cause if Merlin nipping me is ANYTHING but affectionately-intentioned, that little bugger is never getting on the bed again. He's a terrible study buddy. Especially compared to Sashibibun, who is exceedingly polite and lays out beside me for pets whenever I want, and is also roughly the net weight of a jellybean and can hop across any of my study material without disrupting much.

Merlin is an anti-education juggernaut. He is evil, ruin and chaos. He gets into everything, rips paper, chews up my $100 textbooks, nibbles on my phone, jumps on my keyboard, heaves my freakin laptop out from under my essay-typing fingers because he is pretty much Satanbunny. I yank him from the bed, march across the apartment, and put him in the furthest point from the bed I can, but 5 minutes later - did I unknowingly say his name 3 times? - the Merlingeuse is back and chaos rules again.

In some sense, I am secretly pleased he likes being near me so much. But reason suggests he likes being near me so he can make my life totally miserable. Because there is no love in what he does to me. Even when resting temporarily before continuing on his ruinous rampage, he gives me the bunny butt.

If all that were not enough, he nips. Not the nips of an aggressive bun, or a terrain-inconvenienced bun, or an attention-seeking bun, but the nips of a bored, bratty sociopath bun. Not hard enough to leave a mark, but just hard enough to make me flinch. Why, Merlin. *Why.*

Oh my lord. As I was typing this diatribe he just came over and pulled a small puffy bunny sticker off my laptop screen and bloody ate it. Looking me square in the eye. As he chewed and ate. The ferrrreakin'. Sticker.

Send help.


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## pani

MERLIN :headsmack

Clementine does something similar but not nipping, just nudging with her nose. She doesn't want attention, doesn't want us to move, just wants to acknowledge us, I guess? I taught them both that nipping was a no-no the minute they started doing it... although actually, from memory, Clementine may have never been a biter. Felix was, but I don't remember Clemmie doing it. Maybe Felix taught her well. 

They're surprisingly strong at times! I don't doubt that Merlin could have thrown your laptop across the room with his little teeths if he wanted to. Naughty little guy!


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## whiskylollipop

*dabs at eyes with handkerchief* I just don't know where we went wrong with him! *sniffle*

Rosebun was never a biter except during butt baths. Sasha used to be very bitey when stressed, but we managed to teach her not to do it. Now she doesn't even bite when bubs harasses her, it's quite miraculous how polite she's turned out to be. But Merlin's just an unshakeable rock of jerkitude. He does show he loves me, in his own way, but he's always been a regular little stinker and Rosebun's passing made it worse. I don't doubt there's some grudge-holding involved there regarding Sasha too.

Can I borrow Felix to teach him some manners? LOL

I'm a little concerned about the sticker eating, the more I think about it. It was one of those 3D puffed-out stickers with a little sponge inside. The sticker was about the size of a small fingernail, but I'm worried it might cause a blockage. eep.


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## pani

I'm sure he chewed it up pretty well with those gnashers of his, but keep an eye on his poops.


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## whiskylollipop

Merlin doing the Superbun. Going through some relationship dramz right now, a girl could sure use a superbunny.

Merls is helping mama feel better by aggressively attacking a towel on my bed. I can't tell if he really hates fabric or just violently loves destroying things. Either way, he always jumps up on the bed to wreak his havoc when I'm up here. At least I know he likes keeping me company while he does his thing. Love you too, Meewie.

Sasha is also helping lots by being her adorable, demanding self. Earlier today when I was sitting cross-legged on the floor, I felt something push its way under my knee. It was Sashy's little furry head. She was demanding pets from my knee, and she wouldn't move until she got what she wanted. That was so hilarious I couldn't help but laugh as I very awkwardly tried to pet her with my freakin knee. I ended up having to move my leg out of the way and pet her properly - fwooomph - all down her back the way she likes it. She arched her back into it like a satisfied cat, then primly bunloafed under my hand. I was under direct orders to pet her more. Sigh.

Silly buns. :inlove:


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## whiskylollipop

Worried bun mom just spent last $10 on veggies for little beast.

Merlin's got me on orange alert today. When I woke up his litterbox and hay pile seemed completely unchanged from last night. I know it's slightly weird that I notice and remember the arrangement of hay and the used spots in the litterbox, but I swear it hasn't been touched in something like 12 hours. The water bowl was full. Merlin himself looked normal and would move around if prodded, but didn't seem enthused about it. He wouldn't take pellets from me.

I also saw 5-6 small yellow spots on the carpet that look like half-solid, sludgey drops of pee.

So naturally I dropped everything and ran to get some fresh veg from the market to see if I could at least get Merlin to eat that. I've wet them and given heaps to the buns, and Merlin's tucking into his share like nothing was ever wrong with him.

Gah. I wonder if he was just being a little **** last night, too lazy to eat, poop, pee, and even hydrate himself? The sludgey yellow drops have got me so worried though. They aren't even anywhere near his litter box. What could be wrong with that little stinker!


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## JBun

Could be bladder sludge, could be a UTI. That could cause the urine dribbling as well as some pain and discomfort. Enough to make him seem a bit off but still want to eat when offered veg. A good way to get a look at their urine to see if it is thick or sludgy at all, or off in color or smell, is to line the litter box with layers of newspaper. If you need to, you can layer a bit of hay in there too, and the pee should still collect alright on top of the paper. Then when he pees you can get a look at it to see if there is anything odd about it.


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## whiskylollipop

Thanks Jenny. I've lined the litterbox with newspaper but he had a good-sized pee in his regular wood pellet litter just before, so I'll have to wait a while. He didn't look to be in pain when peeing then though.

The drops have dried to a thick chalky white now. This is definitely not usual for his pee, his pee has always been yellow and barely chalky even when dried. There is an edge in the carpet where he and Sasha have passive aggressive pee-offs during their individual turns to come out, so I'm familiar with each one's pee spots on the carpet. I got a picture, one of the drops was smudged when I picked it up with my finger. It was powdery and smelled off. I'm pretty sure it's bladder sludge.







Could this be a one-off freak incident where he didn't drink enough water last night? There aren't any new dribble spots since the ones I found this morning. He's not showing signs of pain and he did have what I think looks like a regular pee right before I put newspaper down in the box. I also picked him up to examine his nether regions for sludge crust but couldn't find anything. Maybe the extra moisture he got from the veggies cleared his bladder?


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## whiskylollipop

Morning update. Merlin was very busy last night tearing up all the newspaper in his litterbox. I'm pretty sure he has peed in it, but since it's all shredded now I can't see any chalky residue. Curses.

I thought he seemed a bit lethargic at first as he was flopped over in his mancave, but the moment I let him out, he started bucking and binkying all over the place. Whaaat? This is rather unusually enthusiastic even for a normal Merlin day. What a little weirdo. I feel like he's going, haha gotcha mum! Punk'd!

No more pee spots anywhere, so I'm hoping for the best, but gonna keep an eye on his pees till I'm sure it's back to normal.


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## JBun

Just based on those little drops of urine, that is quite a bit of calcium sediment in just a few drops of pee, and it could have been irritating his bladder causing the discomfort and odd behavior yesterday. And now he may have managed to empty his bladder and got some of it out, and is feeling better. Have you added any new higher calcium veggies to his diet lately? What type of veg does he get usually and in the last week, and what hay and pellets do you feed?


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## whiskylollipop

His daily veg range hasn't changed since the addition of bok choy in May when Sasha arrived, and none are particularly high calcium. His pellets have though, he used to get 1/6 cup Oxbow and 1/6 cup Harringtons daily for the past year, but in the last 2 weeks we ran out of Oxbow so he's been getting 1/4 cup Harringtons. It is alfalfa based so higher in calcium I suspect. We're making the trip to get more Oxbow next monday, may try transitioning him back to 100% Oxbow.

He's in a box right now, with a towel laid down so I can hopefully get some decent pee samples. He hasn't left any more pee spots, but his poos are looking quite inconsistent, some big some tiny, so I'm gonna leave him in the box for a few hours and get a pic of what he leaves behind.


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## JBun

I've got a few buns that seem to have some bladder sludge issues. I switched them onto oxbow adult and feed lower calcium veg. It may be the switch to the other pellets may just have been a bit too much for Merlin. If it were me knowing he may be prone to this, I would put him on all oxbow, and just be careful about the veggies I give and try to stick with the lower calcium ones. 

When I was figuring out the whole diet thing and what would be best, I just kept a close eye on the pee spots on the newspaper. I had the benefit of a grate being over it so it couldn't be shredded. If you put some hay in there and keep the edges from sticking up, it may keep him from getting too interested in it and wanting to shred it. Or the towel may be a better option for him, just a pain to wash  So when it seemed like the spot my bun left was really chalky, I started making the diet changes, and it did seem to help some. I also switched from a bottle to a dish. Also staying active helps. It kind of churns things up in there so it's not all just settling to the bottom and making it difficult to pass. As you see what his urine is usually like, if it seems too chalky even after he's on all oxbow, you may also need to adjust his veg as well. You don't have to keep his litter box like this, just when you want to see what is urine is like and if the food changes have made a difference. So check his urine before you change a food, then check again after to see if there is a difference.

Bunnies! Who'd have um ullhair:


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## whiskylollipop

I'm glad Oxbow and low calcium veg helps your buns, that's good to know! I've finally got my hands on Oxbow and I'm going to transition Merls back to 100% Oxbow in a week or two hopefully.

Merlin hasn't been very cooperative with my efforts to monitor his pee. For starters, he wouldn't even pee on the towel when I had him in the box. He was surrounded by wet veggies which he ate, but apart from a few poos, he just wouldn't pee. After 5 hours I felt sorry for him cooped up in there and let him back out into his pen for the night. Next morning, 4-5 big pee spots in his litterbox. Go figure.

I'm just pushing lots of wet, low-calc veg now to try and flush his bladder out. Also letting him out longer than usual (sorry Sasha!) so he'll run around more and churn things up as you suggested. But he is a lazy little man. If I'm on the sofa he likes to jump up on the backing and perch there like a drowsy alcoholic at a bar. Snoozing with his eyes open.






Sometimes right behind me, like an ominous shadow.










_"Dammit she saw me."_


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## JBun

Lol, your little shadow. He's just too cute! I think somebunny loves you 

I'm sure the diet changes you are making will make a difference. The change back to oxbow and the extra fluids from low calcium veg should all help.


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## whiskylollipop

I just caught Sasha awkward-grooming Merlin's head through the cage bars. She is such a sweetums! She still looks unsure of what to do with Merlin's pouffy fluff, she's probably only used to grooming her own sleek self. But still, she tried. And then when she put her head down for her turn, Merlin turned away and snubbed her. Little stinker.


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## JBun

Aww, what a sweet girl! I hope you gave her a little head rub to make up for Merlin's rude behavior


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## whiskylollipop

I did! I also decided to let her out for her run an hour early so she gets some extra binky time. :happyrabbit:
I have to calm Merlin down every time I let her out - he freaks out when she bounces by his pen, free as a bird while he remains mercilessly imprisoned. Is there no justice?? She knows how mad it makes him. Many a terse stand-off and many a petty taunt has been witnessed by these metal rails. *sigh*

I had a beautiful moment with Merlywerls while petting him in his pen to calm him down though. He vaguely enjoys being pet down his back (not his head for some reason), and when he's in the right mood he'll let me stroke him to sleep. Well he was in the right mood today. He settled into a bunloaf and his eyes slowly closed and fell asleep in minutes as I pet him. Then he started dreaming! At least I'm pretty sure it was a dream. His little face muscles were twitching, then his legs and body made tiny movements. I said his name, and his body tensed up under my hand. He started vibrating like he was running in his dream. His fluffy bunface kept twitching... and then suddenly his eyes flew open and his body went dead still. He realised I'd been there the whole time. He licked his paws and tried not to look embarrassed.

It was so adorable.

I left him to it and went to try pet Sasha to sleep too. But she gives off more actively-enjoying vibes when being pet, and I think my hand would be worn to a stub before she falls asleep. Or lets me stop petting her. Bunnies


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## BunnySilver

Awwww Merlin sounds cuter that ever today!


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## whiskylollipop

Have you ever had a kid-hating bunny? Merlin is quite cool with me being around, petting him (not always, but mostly) and will even do the flop when I'm sitting with him. But when the kid comes near, he tenses up and gets really unhappy. If she tries to pet him, he'll honk and lunge at her. Oddly he's never bitten her, while I myself am very well acquainted with his teeth. He just tries his best to scare her off, and even she can sense that he doesn't like her. I don't know why he doesn't like the kid, I don't think she's ever done anything mean to him. She is quite exuberant and forward, but what little kid isn't.

I would write it off as the kid, being loud and unpredictable, giving him the prey-animal heebies; but Sasha is perfectly fine with her. She'll let her pet her and be near her and is just generally unfazed about the little one stomping about. The man, she'll run at the sight of, but me and the kid are fine by her.

Merlin must just hate kids for some reason, though I can't figure out why as he grew up with us and the kid, so it's not like he has some traumatic history with little kids to explain his fear. At least he doesn't bite her, I guess.


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## whiskylollipop

Spring shedding is in full swing. I still haven't found a brush/comb that works well with Sasha's short, smooth coat. Her dead hair doesn't come off on its own, it sort of tufts up and her coat gets progressively more ragged-looking until I put her up on the bench and manually use my fingers to pull all the dead tufts out. Tedious work, highly offended bunny. Merlin's no better. He's on the opposite end of the spectrum, his fur goes everywhere. You'll just reach down to give him a quick pet and bam - wherever did you get those lush bunny fur gloves? The dark brown carpet is practically grey with his fur, and I just vacuumed yesterday. Luckily he is semi-okay with being groomed. The impression I get is that he secretly enjoys being brushed but won't admit it. Gotta keep up appearances.

In other news, I'm moving out in December! I found an apartment that allows small pets (you know like hamsters, the landlord said. Ayup, I said. I have a couple of biggish hamsters). I'm excited for the buns, the super neutral ground should make bonding much easier.


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## pani

The neverending horrors of Nethie/mini lop shedding. I feel ya.  With Clemmie I plop her on my lap and spend a good amount of time plucking tufts of fur out and trying to loosen as much as possible, then run a brush and comb through it, and repeat until satisfied! Felix gets a plucking which isn't nearly as effective and some brushing, but I really need to get a Furminator or something similar for both of them. 

Yay for moving out! It's awesome that you found somewhere that will let you have small pets.  Way better than hiding them, which I did when I first got Felix (I'd only had him for a couple of weeks and hadn't gotten around to telling my landlord before our inspection, so I figured it was easier to have my friend take him for the night).


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## bunnyman666

Hooray for finding a place!!!!!

Trix is full in the midst of fall shedding- I feel your pain.

Oddly enough, I have had a couple of child-hating rabbits. Some hated children for good reason.


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## whiskylollipop

pani: Ohh I know, I've been wanting a Furminator forEVER! Such a shame they cost so much down in these parts, they're like $90 in stores and $80 online, and I can't justify that kind of money on a brush.  Especially now that I'm on my own. How do you get Clem to stay restrained on your lap for that? My two would never tolerate such impudence. Sasha will escape if it kills her (literally, she has no sense of self-preservation), and Merlin the bunny bruiser will just bite, scratch and kick till you give up.

bunnyman: Whew, shedding buns everywhere! Must be a global conspiracy. Merlsy doesn't have any good reason to hate kids though - we got him when he was 8 weeks old and he grew up with her around. Sasha's the rescue with the shady past, and she doesn't mind the kid, so, Merlin, really side-eyeing you there you big drama mama.


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## bunnyman666

$90 for a Furminator!?!?!? Bloody hell- I should have bought a few to sell to Aus/NZ residents at 2/3 of the price. Seriously- I bought one 9 years back and it was all of $30 in the U.S. Wow...

I only said SOME- one I had peed on adults she didn't deem fit in my presence... AND she was even NEUTERED!!!!!

Some rabbits know that kids think of them as toys, I think. My Trix only lets ME pick her up and play with her. She isn't keen on many other humans; she slightly more than tolerates Mrs. bunnyman!!! She was never abused that we know about, either.


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## pani

I'm lucky with Clem! When she sees me coming to pick her up, she'll run for about 10 seconds, then just loaf up and let me grab her. Once I've got her, she just sits super still, probably because she's annoyed - she won't accept any food while she's being held, or on my lap, and she gives me several foot flicks when I pop her back down.

Felix is a whole other story - will run for HOURS, will struggle when held, won't let me put him in certain positions (which makes trimming his nails a pain!), etc.


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## whiskylollipop

Oh my gosh! I was just in Merlin's pen giving him a good thorough brushing (pens are great for this - nowhere to escape) when he and Sasha were having one of their usual nose-to-nose stand offs through the bars of her adjoining cage. I don't know if it was a triggered reflex from being groomed, but Merlin started licking Sasha's head! Actually licking, grooming Sasha through the bars! I never thought I would live to see the day.

This is so encouraging. I'm hoping this means he's finally willing to start accepting Sasha as his overlord (lol). _Someone_ has to give, and I'm preeeetty sure it's not going to be the Rambo bunny.


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## JBun

Flopsy will do this when I scratch him near his backside. He'll start obsessively licking anything near, himself, the floor, or another bunny. I'll start scratching him back there if I feel bad that he isn't grooming Dakota. She LOVES it when he does this obsessive licking. Usually (without my help) he will only give her a few licks.

Maybe you are going to have to start having more 'grooming' sessions like this when they are next to each other through their cages


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## whiskylollipop

Jbun: I thought it might be that. Usually he doesn't groom other things when I brush him though, he just sort of squirms around, gives me the Butt, scrabbles on the floor, and generally tries to act like I'm greatly inconveniencing him... but he stays right there so I know the bugger likes it.

Maybe it's just the opportunistic combination of being groomed while Sasha's presenting him her head. I should try grooming him when she does that in bonding sessions.


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## whiskylollipop

Just thought I'd post a bonding update: Sasha is getting so much better, she's licking Merlin's head every couple of minutes and then pushing her head under his for her turn - which he doesn't give her, even if I'm grooming him at the same time. Go figure. It's mostly because he's still scared stiff of her. Whenever she hops by he thumps, and he spends most of the bonding sessions crouching down and looking petrified unless she's on the other side of the bathroom. Sigh. I haven't been able to recreate Merlin licking her head through the bars since the other day either.

But what I'm really pleased with is that she's now nipping him only when she's demanded head grooms for ages and he hasn't given in. Then it'd be a small, irritated nip that I'm not even sure penetrates his thick wall of fur. Otherwise she's happy to sit by him, offer him a little head groom every now and then, and just generally being a huge sweetheart. When I move I'm thinking of just chucking them right into a pen together from day 1, baptism by fire, see if they'll work? They haven't fought in the last 10 or so bonding sessions so I'm not worried about anyone's safety, but I'm scared Merlin's anxiety would affect his eating. Why is he still so scared of her? Does he have PTSD from the early angry-Sasha bonding sessions? Is it a phobia? Do I need to call up a bunny counsellor?

Here's a picture of me holding an earless red-eyed demonbunny. Sheebs is a lot cuter in real life. She's a little pudgy isn't she! It's the Merlin diet. He won't put on a gram no matter how much I feed him.


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## Ana_The_Dreamer

Poor Sasha. All she wants are some head grooms. Come on, Merlin; Feel the love! 
Not sure why he's so scared of her, I'm not very experienced with the whole bonding bunnies thing. I personally think that putting them in a pen together could work-- but again, I'm not experienced with that. 
D'aww, that picture of the both of you is adorable. Gotta love those red demon eyes. And just to put it out there, you are very pretty.


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## whiskylollipop

Ana: Aw thanks! 

-
Well, I'm hosting another marathon bonding session, in a second bid to push the bunnies out of their rut and get things moving along. We started in a box. Merlin didn't move much, and Sasha just ignored him mostly. Gave him some head grooms. It was quite boring. Merlin thumped a few times near the end of the couple hours they were in there. I got the feeling that the cramped conditions might be doing more harm than good to Merlin's anxiety levels. Rambo bunny Sasha was fine though, but nothing fazes her. As you can see, she was the only one pigging out on the cilantro. Say hewwo!














It really wasn't going anywhere. So then I moved them from the box to the top of Sasha's cage. It worked splendidly in giving Merlin more confidence to move around, but this location change made Sasha rather more nippy than she's been the last 4 bonding sessions. She lunged at him with her teeth out a few times, but fortunately the situation hasn't escalated into a fight (yet). That's pretty good. He still won't give her head grooms though. Ugh Merlin, surrender already.

I really wish I could let my marathon bonding sessions last like, 6-8 hours, but Merlin just won't eat or drink when Sasha's around and I don't want to risk stasis.

This pic really sums it up, when you remember Merlin is easily 50% bigger than Sasha. Packing himself in all small and anxious, while Sasha pads around nonchalant and confident. Bubs says it was my fault for getting his balls taken off him. Ha. Ha. Ha.


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## whiskylollipop

Hmm, why are my pics showing up so big? How do I downsize them, anyone know?

It's a bit annoying innit, but I've got a couple more cute pics to put up so, sorry about the size!






Merlin flopped! After the first hour or so he seemed to feel much less stressed and flopped a couple of times. But that could've been because it's pretty hot, and there was a bit of direct sunlight on Sasha's cage top. Poor boy, his fur is so thick. So I wet a rag and put it on his back, like a horse. He shook it off at first, but then he realised it cooled him down so after that he didn't mind so much. Stylish eh?










He's still not giving Sasha any loving but he seems more confident now I think. Space really helps. Maybe Merlin's claustrophobic. I also got him to eat some basil. I could tell he really wanted to eat but was afraid Sasha would catch him off-guard and kungfu-kick him in the butt. So I occupied Sasha with pets, and when he was sure that she was distracted, he frantically vacuumed up those basil leaves faster than I've ever seen. Oh, bunnies. You hilarious little things.

Wrapping up the date in 5 minutes! Here's one last shot of Sasha photobombing Merlin's fashion shoot.


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## pani

Merlin wearing a little cooling shirt is SO FREAKIN CUTE. I'm glad the bonding sessions are getting better! I can't wait until these two start snugglin'.


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## bunnyman666

I am in love with your bunnies!!!! They are so bloody cute!!!!


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## whiskylollipop

Heh, thanks yall  

Today, I took the bunnies out to....THE BALCONY. Dun dun dunnn

For those who haven't been following my blog far back enough, THE BALCONY was where bonding Sasha and Merlin started going wrong. They had a bad fight on their 3rd date, and me being a bit of an idiot just kept bringing them back out on THE BALCONY because it was the only true neutral place in the house Merlin had never been to. So, as the early stages of bonding brought more fights, they started associating the balcony with fighting and things just got worse and worse. I'm just thankful there weren't any serious injuries, though Merlin got a bloody nose one time.

Anyway, since bonding's been going so well these days, I thought I'd risk it and see if anything happened. And you know what? Today was the first real sign I got that they are going to be great friends. The wind terrified them at first, so they picked a corner and sat together, staring at me with big hate-filled eyes. Sasha nipped Merlin a bit, and also gave him head grooms. Merlin thumped and postured, and huffed a few steps away when she came near. She insisted on being by him, and once did a cute thing where she pushed her head under his ear like a girl making a guy put his arm around her.

Eventually she got bored and ran off. And Merlin padded after her! It kept happening, whenever one bun decided to go one way, the other would bounce off after them. They would have face-to-face "groom me" stand-offs, then Sasha being a sweetheart would just give Merlin head grooms, and then nip him. I read that rabbit society is matriarchal, and does are much more dominant than bucks. So it's a weird dynamic, but then Merlin grew up being dominant over his brother and Sasha is the first doe he's ever encountered so I guess he doesn't know what to make of not being the unchallenged top bun anymore. It clearly annoys Sasha that he won't groom her, hence the dominance nips. But Merlin has never voluntarily licked anyone in his life, not even me.

They're still out there, and I can see Merlin shooting daggers at me with his eyes as his fur blows gloriously around in the wind. Honestly, why would buns even evolve a med/long coat? It seems like an awful inconvenience in any weather. Rain? You'll take two years to dry out. Sun? You're roasting. Wind? You'll get blown away. Cold? Great, there's lots of fur on you. BUT THERE'S ALSO LOTS OF FUR INSIDE YOU BECAUSE YOU SHED LIKE A MADBUN. There's no winning. I wish I'd gotten a picture of them in the wind, you'd see Merlsy looking like a natty featureless wool ball and Shibi looking like one of the men in black beside him.


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## JBun

I don't know? It looks to me like they are both giving you the evil eye and wondering why you are torturing them. It is progress though, and very hopeful. If they continued to get along, I would be tempted to not separate and try a marathon bonding if you have the time.

I have my own two troublemakers that I'm trying to bond too. It was going well until one bun escaped into the other buns area while I was feeding, and there was a tussle. RABBITS! Remind me why we like them


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## whiskylollipop

Yes the evil eye indeed. It hurts a mother's heart. *sniffle* But we must be strong!

They've been on the balcony 3 hours now, and because I'm a wuss I've gone inside and am supervising them through the glass. I'm thinking that it would be okay to just set up their shared area in my new place I'm moving to, and then put them together right away? It's completely new, neutral space so I'm fairly sure they won't start fighting. It would the marathon bonding session...that never ends. Haha.

Good luck with your bonding, Jenny! Merls and Sashy have had their share of tussles too, but it all works out in the end. Oh bunnies, they are troublemakers, all of 'em.


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## whiskylollipop

Today's balcony bonding session is full of fur. Specifically, Merlin's fur.

I like the balcony for bonding because the glass doors let me keep an eye on them while I remain effectively removed from the bonding process. But every so often, something catches my eye. More often than not, it's a big bunch of fluff flying through the air. Why does Sasha keep pulling Merlin's fur? She's not doing it aggressively as they aren't fighting, and Merlin's showing more confidence around her than I've seen yet, Sasha just keeps going up to him, sticking her head under his bum or belly, and biting huge chunks of fur out. He doesn't seem awfully bothered by this, and if I'm honest I'm quite glad that that's fur that won't be ending up on my clothes. Twice, the little bugger did a dead bunny flop. It definitely isn't hot this time, so that must be dominance posturing?

This bond is so not going according to what bonding sites tell me it should be. For one, there's zero mounting or humping. Just nipping. Sheebster won't stop her dominance nipping but Merlin, a supposed male who supposedly doesn't care about any supposed hierarchy, is NOT submitting. Sasha's the one doling out all the head grooms. All he does is crouch with his head on the ground, which is supposedly a submissive pose but you know what Merlin, I'm not sure you're being sincere about it.

Where is my humping. Where is my grooming. How do I bunny-slap some sense into Mr. Puffsbottom.

I put his mancave out there to see if it would trigger more relationship negotiations, but basically Merlin hopped in, and then Sasha hopped in and chased him out with nips so now it's Sasha's womancave.


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## whiskylollipop

It's been a long, tough moving journey. But here I am, settled in my new apartment, with a couple of pics to share with you all.






Oh my! Is that Merlin, flopped over, in the same cage as a snoozing Sasha?






It IS!

I wanted to wait till I could get a cute snuggling photo, but eh, I was too excited and this'll do.

They're cooped up in that little cage till all the heavy moving is done, but after that I plan to make them free-range apartment bunzos. This concludes our six month long bonding journey! Merlin and Sasha have spent their first night and half a day together, and if you remember how Merlin's tense fear was the main roadblock to their relationship towards the end, I think this wonderful moment of Dead Bunny Flopping demonstrates how far he's come now.

arty0002:


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## bunnyman666

Glad you had moved!!!!!! Good onya!!!!!


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## pani

!!!!!!!

I'm so excited! It's lovely to see them FINALLY getting along and sharing a cage.

Hope the rest of the move goes smoothly!


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## lovelops

Awww. How cute!!!!!! I love the photos!!!!!

Wow, I can't believe I'm seeing both of them in the same cage not killing each other!!!!

Vanessa


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## BunnySilver

Yay! So happy to hear that!


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## Channahs

Awesome! Moving is stressful. Bundo bondo!


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## whiskylollipop

Thanks everyone!! Yeah, moving is hard hard hard....on me! The bunnies have just been enjoying the new place. I wouldn't say they're best friends yet, but as Sasha has mellowed out and become more genially accepting of Merlin, Merlin has in turn gotten more cocky and dominant. She still asks him for head grooms, and he still won't give her any. He actually chases after her every so often, not to fight, but kind of to intimidate her or something. Little stinker. Luckily, Rambo bunny Sasha doesn't bite back, she just shakes it all off and is her usual adventurous, stoic self.

Some moving shenanigans:

I found a piece of chalk dropped on the carpet while stuff was being moved. It had bunny teeth marks on it! I interrogated the fluffies, and held out the evidence accusingly. While Sasha sniffed it and left in disgust, my police work was made easy by Merlin, who guiltlessly chomped right down on the chalk again. At this point I would normally be freaking out about him ingesting chalk, but given the insane stuff he's eaten without terrible consequence, I'm pretty sure he has a stomach of steel. Will still be keeping an eye on him though.

Merlin lost a nail, I have no idea how it happened. It was just lying there in the middle of the carpet. No fur or other evidence of a brawl, just a lone nail, with blood on the end, sitting there. Two innocent-looking buns hopping around exploring. It was too thick and dark to be Sasha's nail, so I knew it was Merlin's. I haven't had time to examine his toesies, but I'm really hoping the wound's healed up and hasn't gotten infected.

Sasha bonked her nose on the cage door. I hadn't realised the cage door had swung close. When I went to herd the bunnies back in, Merlin escaped under the couch but Sasha went straight for the cage door, which was not open as both of us expected, jumped and bonked her nose. She looked so stunned and confused. I know it's such a small thing, but I still feel so bad about it.

Merlin loves the new heater. Straight-up loves it. I caught him trying to roll over on his back in front of it. Now he's flopped out right by it. It's summer, the heater is only on a little bit because I'm a cold-hating wimp, and he has the thickest fur coat on out of all of us. Weirdo. et:


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## whiskylollipop

I have more pictures but I don't know why they're showing up so big these days and it's annoying me and probably you guys too. Rrgh. I'm using tumblr as my pic drop medium and I might have to change it to get smaller pictures...and me no like change.

Anyway, just take my word for it that Merlin and Sasha now spend a lot of time sitting side by side in their litterbox looking much like an old-timey couple posing stiffly for an old-timey photo. LOL. It really does with their serious poker faces, Merlin sitting tall and puffed out over Sasha like a Real Man (tm) and Sasha tucked down primly by him like a round little wifey. I caught him grooming her ears for 3 seconds once. He's cracking! He's cracking! By golly, she's getting to him.


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## pani

:yahoo:

I'm so happy they're getting along!!


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## whiskylollipop

Well, I think I can confidently say that Merlin and Sasha are definitely bonded now. It's been a month living together, and there have been no fights. Some chasing, but nothing serious. Merlin has come round to the idea and is actually quite happy to give Sasha head grooms these days. (Yay!) They cuddle a lot too, which is so nice to see. Sasha is quite independent, so I wouldn't say they're inseparable BFFs yet, but I'm happy with where we are. Funnily, Merlin's become "the Rosebun", following her around, always the timider one. We have a balcony and Merlin frequently stands anxiously at the border wanting to go out on it, you can just tell that he wants to, but he would never dare unless Sasha went out first. She also has him beat by a loooong shot on escapism, wire-chewing and making mama poke around under the couch for ages. Oh Merlywurls, he used to be my bold troublemaker. But Sasha is just a handful of devilry.

I ordered some locally-produced pellets the other day, 30% fibre and lots of nummy good stuff like dandelion and rosehip in them, only to have it roundly rejected by both bunnies! Sigh. I'm a bit concerned, actually. Sasha is normally picky with food but Merlin isn't, and he's also shown less enthusiasm towards his pellets and veggies recently. He is so thin - he has always been bony even during his piggy eats-everything days, but as long as he was eating healthy amounts I'd try not to worry. But if he's slowing down his food intake, how emaciated is he going to get? I'm trying to graduate and Merlin getting ill is the last thing I need right now. EAT MERLIN EAT.


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## bunnyman666

I have had to constantly try to get little Trix to gain weight since her last vet visit. She now gets Kale, Romaine Lettuce, and Corriander leaves along with her spoon full of oats. She's feeling a bit chunkier these days.

Hope Merlin eats a bit more.


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## whiskylollipop

Why is Merlin such a dick? He is living proof not to have kids because some people are just going to be huge jerkwads no matter how much love and discipline they're brought up with.

Exhibit A: Pellet feeding time. He and the Sheebs have a food plate in their cage, plenty big enough for two or more bun heads to fit in. He always, /always/ uses his paws to jerk the plate violently towards himself while moving a step backwards every 10 seconds or so, making Sasha follow the plate around the cage. And then he /on purpose/ eats starting at whichever end Sasha is eating from, so his head pushes hers out of the way and she can't get any food. Also, he hoovers. He keeps his head over the plate gobbling up 3-5 pellets at a time before lifting his head to chew. This means Sasha can't get at any food within reach for ages, and this often makes her give up after a few tries and go sit somewhere else, only coming to eat the leftovers when Merlin's done. Oddly, Merlin is perfectly fine sharing veggies and hay, but pellets make him possessive.

Exhibit B: Mummy and Sasha time. When I give him attention he shows me no love except allowing me to pet his back sometimes, but the moment I start spending time with Sasha, he will come galloping up out of nowhere and barrel straight into Sasha, growling, making her shoot out of the way. And then Merlin, satisfied, will just give me a disdainful look and pad off.

It's good that he's eating more enthusiastically these days, but I wish I had a tiny wooden paddle to give him a good old fashioned butt-whooping sometimes.


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## JBun

It's actually not uncommon for rabbits to feel possessive about their pellets. So you should be happy to know that Merlin is behaving like a totally normal rabbit  It might be better to give them their pellets in separate dishes. Being possessive about the pellets could actually have the potential of leading to fights, so better to prevent this occurring in the first place.

The head butting Sasha is him saying he's the boss. Another RO member a while back had a similar issue, and it turned out her bossy boy bun was jealous of the pets the girl bun would get first. So this member started giving her boy bun lots of attention first instead and this seemed to have a big improvement on the situation. So I would say to fix this you need to give him attention first, but if he's not accepting of head rubs you may need to try something different. You could try following after him when he does this and hops away, and pick him up for pets. I'm sure he would hate this, which is kind of the point, so maybe he will associate harassing Sasha with having mandatory 'cuddle' time and decide it's not worth it. If that doesn't work, if Sasha likes cuddles I would just hold her and give her head rubs so that Merlin can't get to her.


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## whiskylollipop

Oh, I suppose you're right.  I'm not worried about Sasha missing out on her share because I put an excess of pellets in their dish, around 1/3-1/2 cup, takes the two of them 3-4 hours to finish it as Sasha is a minimal pellet eater anyway (she much prefers veggies) and Merlin is boney so I'm happy for him to eat as much as he can fit in his belly. She is the most roll-with-the-punches little character, now that Merlin's off her hit-list nothing harshes her zen these days, so I don't feel she would fight him over pellets thankfully.  She doesn't even try to push back when his big fat head edges her out of the pellet dish, just shrugs it off and patiently sits somewhere else until he's finished.

Neither bun likes being picked up. I guess forced cuddles would work as a deterrent to Merlin then, heh. For now I've been making do with giving Sasha attention when Merlin's off doing his bunny thing in some other part of the house, but I should really get on top of correcting his bratty behaviour!


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## MILU

How are the bunnies, is everything ok?


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## whiskylollipop

Hi guys!

So, as you may have guessed, life got busy and I haven't been on this site in ages. We've got a new family member, Titus the blue tongued skink. He is 7 months old and about 44cm/17in long. Here's a photo of him at around 4 months old.







Happily, Merlin and Sasha are still rocking on. Less happily, their latest shed has synced up and there's fur everywhere! It's especially hard with Sasheebies because she's fearless about escaping at any cost and simply won't stay still. She sheds much less often than Merlin does, maybe 3 times a year, but for a bunny with such short hair she still manages to poof out a unnecessarily mammoth amount of fur. Brushing and plucking her takes lots of chasing her around on the floor, as no table or box on earth can contain the mighty Sheebster.

Merlin, on the other hand, sheds like 400 times a year. It's more like a slight ebb-and-flowing perma-shed. We'd have a couple weeks at most of minimal shedding before it's poofing out of him in clouds again. But he's made peace with being groomed, we have a little routine when he's let out of the cage where he hangs around me for the first 5-10 minutes letting me brush, pluck, and ruffle him up before he decide he's done and zooms off to enjoy his playtime. I don't know if he does this because he appreciates help with the gargantuan task of keeping that impossible coat in check, or if he's just wussing out near mummy while he makes sure the coast is safe and clear of all other humans. (He is a big wuss. I'm the only human he's not deathly afraid of, and even then, he still jumps and runs half the time. To compensate for his blatant wussiness he sometimes growls and chases Sasha, which is just dumb because she can literally run circles around him.)

Anyway, constant fur up my nose aside, things are good! Updates to follow as they come, but we lead a boring life so it's pretty much the same always.

Hope everyone's doing bunderfully!!


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## Azerane

I love your Blue-tongue, he's got lovely colour.

Merlin sounds a lot like Bandit in terms of his shedding, it's quite frustrating to almost constantly have a shedding bunny but I suppose there's not much to be done about it except to keep on vacuuming  I'm glad that both bunns are doing well


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## pani

I was wondering how you were all doing! Titus is super-cute, and Merls and Sashie sound wonderful as always. I'm with you in mini lop shedding hell. @[email protected]


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## whiskylollipop

Nothing better than finding yourself in sitting by the bunny pen for 20 minutes twice a day, hand-feeding pellets ONE. BY. ONE. to two hungry hungry bunnies. Why am I in this special level of bun mum hell, you ask? Why don't you ask Merlin. He's decided to be a little bastard this week and dig/flick the pellets out of the bowl every single time I put them in. I fill up the bowl, I turn to go, and *_scrabble scrabble scrabble_* I whip back around to find pellets flying into the litterbox, landing in the water bowls, and pelting poor Sasha in her little pea face. A spray of pellet confetti going EVERYWHERE as Merlin tries valiantly to burrow out a new kingdom in his pellet bowl. Pellets that cost $30 per 2 kilo bag.

And the mess, oh the mess. Now, there is no pellet bowl. Now, twice a day, I have to hand-feed the bunnies. The pellets are so small and so many. But Merlin cannot be trusted with any more pellets than he can fit in his moufs at one time. Am I doomed to this for all eternity? Probably!


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## Azerane

whiskylollipop said:


> Nothing better than finding yourself in sitting by the bunny pen for 20 minutes twice a day, hand-feeding pellets ONE. BY. ONE. to two hungry hungry bunnies. Why am I in this special level of bun mum hell, you ask? Why don't you ask Merlin. He's decided to be a little bastard this week and dig/flick the pellets out of the bowl every single time I put them in. I fill up the bowl, I turn to go, and *_scrabble scrabble scrabble_* I whip back around to find pellets flying into the litterbox, landing in the water bowls, and pelting poor Sasha in her little pea face. A spray of pellet confetti going EVERYWHERE as Merlin tries valiantly to burrow out a new kingdom in his pellet bowl. Pellets that cost $30 per 2 kilo bag.
> 
> And the mess, oh the mess. Now, there is no pellet bowl. Now, twice a day, I have to hand-feed the bunnies. The pellets are so small and so many. But Merlin cannot be trusted with any more pellets than he can fit in his moufs at one time. Am I doomed to this for all eternity? Probably!



You could try using a treat ball to feed the pellets. That way it requires some effort from them, you don't have to sit there and they only get a couple of pellets out at a time.


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## pani

Sometimes I just scatter the pellets around and let them search them out if they're being messy little stinkers.  My partner likes to hide them under plastic cups.


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