# Our new bunnies â Rex and Ruby blog



## bunnylove7782 (Dec 27, 2011)

Last evening we both got two baby bunnyâs home. They are so cute and adorable . We have loads of questions:? â¦.. so we would be using this forum to post our questions and request all yall help to understand our babies betterâ¦.plzzzz :innocent


We named them Rex and Ruby, how will they recognize their name?:?
Rex is 4 months old and Ruby is 2 months, iam now feeding them hay. When can I start with veggies?:confused2:
When is Spaying / Neutering procedure performed! We have an appointment with the vet on Saturday, will that be fine !! 

Tnxxxxxxray:


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## bunnylove7782 (Dec 28, 2011)

Ohhhh we are at work ,but our mind is just on our bunny babies..Hope they are fine...Just counting mins to be back home with them!!!!!!!:biggrin:


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## LakeCondo (Dec 28, 2011)

*bunnylove7782 wrote: *


> Last evening we both got two baby bunnyâs home. They are so cute and adorable . We have loads of questions:? â¦.. so we would be using this forum to post our questions and request all yall help to understand our babies betterâ¦.plzzzz :innocent *Congratulations on your new pets.*
> 
> We named them Rex and Ruby, how will they recognize their name?:? *I have only one rabbit & she doesn't recognize her name, so I don't know if they will. Pointing & other hand gestures work, though.*
> Rex is 4 months old and Ruby is 2 months, iam now feeding them hay. When can I start with veggies?:confused2: *Not quite yet. In another month you might give Rex* *a bit of greens [romaine maybe] , but watch his pebbles & stop if they change.*
> ...


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## bunnylove7782 (Dec 28, 2011)

Hmm tnx buddy, we have an appointment with the vet on Saturday, will fix him then.


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## JjGoesBounce (Dec 28, 2011)

Um I hate to say it but Rex and ruby should be a bit older before getting altered. If Rex is spraying time to get the snip but if not save yourself some time and wait just a bit. The vet will tell you when it's time to go snip but Ruby definetly won't need spaying at two months old. At least 4 months or even later is the best time...
JJ


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## bunnylove7782 (Dec 29, 2011)

@JiGoesbounce : hey noo,we are just taking to the vet for a general check up this weeknd.Depending on the vetz suggestion we would get them operated accordingly. But thanks for letting us know :mrsthumper:


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## bunnylove7782 (Dec 29, 2011)

Hea, we have one more question...as of now we are giving only flower hay with dandelion petals (from witte molen - natures select); is that all....can i substitute it with anything else!!!! Pls advise.


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## LakeCondo (Dec 29, 2011)

The vet should know about food. I have no idea what is available in Bahrain, but they should if possible be eating alfalfa hay, which has the calcium that growing bunnies need. Generally they shouldn't be eating dandelion [dried or not] or any greens at that age, but if it doesn't give them diarrhea, it's probably ok to continue. Don't do any sudden changes though. Add some new to the old & phase out the old.


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## OneTwoThree (Dec 29, 2011)

You need to separate them both, for starters. Rex is old enough (assuming he is a boy) to procreate and be altered. Ruby (assuming she's a girl) is young, but its not unheard of for a 8 week old to get pregnant, and the act of mating will get her pregnant, as bunnies don't have "seasons". She can get spayed at about 5-6 months, but she can be put back together with Rex 1 month after he's been altered. Any time before that and she'll get pregnant. 

Rex is old enough for greens, start with Romaine (never iceberg, its all water and no nutrition). After about a week, you can introduce others, one at a time, and watch for poo problems. There's a list of good veggies here on RO, under the care section 

Ruby cannot have veggies until she is about 4 months as well, *unless* you know for a fact that her mother was fed varied vegetables while pregnant. 

They need hay, you'll have to do some googling, or contact your vet or wherever you bought the bunnies from to find where you can buy it. Timothy is good, Orchard works as well, even Oat hay. I mix all 3 

What pellets are they eating? Make sure there aren't any treats in it, sunflower seeds and such, they are marketed for rabbits but they are really unhealthy for them. 

What are they living in? 2 bunnies need a lot of space, store bought cages are much too small. Are you planning on litter training them?


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## bunnylove7782 (Dec 29, 2011)

Man, they are just hogging on the hay all day long lmao  We slowly introduced a small quantity of carrot, extremely small qty of apple and some normal grass; no complaints till now.

We also have a bottle of water hanging on the hutch, yday we applied some apple on to it and when it goes for it, we squeeze water. They don't seem to understand )) lol...How do we get them realize the water bottle? Bcos in summer here they need loads of water !!!!


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## MILU (Dec 29, 2011)

Do you have pics of them? They must be so cute!


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## bunnylove7782 (Dec 29, 2011)

@Onetwothree: Hey buddy ,Thanx a lot for ur advice.At present we are not giving them any pellets.Its only Hay and water.

We got them a 1 meter long cage .As of now they have pretty decent space to hop and move about .

And yes we want to litter train them.We first noticed where they shat more and kept the litter tray in that edge of the cage with hay on it.However we have nt been very successful in that .They still pee and poop all over the cage.We have tried moving the poop everytime to the litter tray,still no use Plz suggest us something to train them efficiently for this so that we can leave them outside their cage to play about.

N today we left the cage open and Rex came out by himself and completely enjoyed being outside for the 1st time.In between we noticed him jumping with his hind legs 
:biggrin2:...Guess dat was his binky act indicating his happiness


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## OneTwoThree (Dec 29, 2011)

At their age, they need unlimited source of alfalfa based pellets to get the proper nutrients.

Do you use bedding in the rest of the cage?


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## bunnylove7782 (Dec 29, 2011)

@onetwothree: Yep we are using Benelux Wooden chips houtvezel as bedding for them and also put in some shredded paper to make it warm and cosy for them.

We are just wondering on how to litter train them :confused2::?:litterhealthy:


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## bunnylove7782 (Dec 29, 2011)

Hi All,
@hotmaildeal

Pics here in the link:

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/113700985935228154522/albums/5691572066977688401


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## OneTwoThree (Dec 29, 2011)

I asked because if there is bedding/litter everywhere, they wont know what you want  Remove the bedding/blankets/paper from everywhere you don't want them to go, and put the litter in the litter box where you do want them to go.

If they have wire on the bottom of the cage, you can put down cardboard (not shiny/un waxed) or buy some cheap linoleum at the hardware store and fit it onto the bottom.


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## bunnylove7782 (Dec 29, 2011)

Their hutch does not have wire @ the bottom. It's a plastic base, we spread a newspaper at the base, some deodorant, wooden chips and finally hay on the top, this gives them a good cushion. 

Hmmm we thought wooden chips bedding is to keep them cosy and to keep absorbing the pee. Is that the reason they pee and poop everywhere!! If i put them only in the litter place..what do i put at the base of the hutch??


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## OneTwoThree (Dec 29, 2011)

You put nothing  they can sit and lay comfortably on the plastic base. Once they are used to going in the box, you can try to add a fleece blanket, but some bunnies will mark that too. So yeah, thats why they pee and poop everywhere 

I wouldn't use deodorant either, rabbits will tend to eat the litter and that stuff is toxic.

ETA- Put hay in the litter box, on one side. That'll encourage them to use it as well. Don't worry about it being gross, its what bunnies do


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## bunnylove7782 (Dec 31, 2011)

Hmm Day 4; Today we are talking them to the vet. I was preparing the box this morning and was doing it near their cage. I felt that they realized that they are gonna be moved and gave me that look with fear....r they that smart or am i exaggerating 

When i open the cage Rex jumps out instantly, after a while when i force him back to the hutch, he just could not take it..lol...he tries to bite the opening, runs around a bit to look for another way to get out, sits for a while with a angry face and since there is no other way gets on with its munching.. :biggrin: Their behavior is so **** funny  We both enjoy the whole day just watching them :big wink::sickbunny::adorable:


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## bunnylove7782 (Dec 31, 2011)

BTW i want to ask friends here something about Ruby; she is approx 2 months old..and all day she just keeps munching the hay :? Is this normal or do we have to be worried about it..Rex stops after some time...but with Ruby, their is no questions of stopping..like its never tomorrow :anyone::biggrin::biggrin:


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## LakeCondo (Dec 31, 2011)

So are they both eating pellets? They should be. If so, how much? The hay doesn't provide any nutrients, or very few.


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## bunnylove7782 (Dec 31, 2011)

Hi LakeCondo, we took them to the vet today and started them with pellets slowly, they both are weak and skinny. 

We have a clarification with regard to Pellets..which one to buy..most of the blogs asks us to get plain pellets, but the market is full of pellets mixed with nuts nd stuff like that ! We are not sure, so we picked up small quantity of plain pellets from a Birds pet shop...the one they use it for camels and goats !! We just fed them one or two tats all...Are these stuff safe or should we get a branded one!! Pls adv.


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## LakeCondo (Dec 31, 2011)

The pellets here are made specifically for rabbits & alfalfa hay pellets for them until they are full grown, so I'm hoping what you can get should be all right. They should be without nuts. Can you ask wherever you got the bunnies from where they get their pellets? You might have to use the same thing & add the nutrients that is in alfalfa hay that is not in grass pellets. If you can't find alfalfa pellets, can you find alfalfa hay? If so, feed non-alfalfa pellets, and mix the hay so it's 3/4 grass & 1/4 alfalfa. Clover hay is the only other kind of hay I know of that has as much calcium as alfalfa does. Both alfalfa & clover are legumes, so any other hay made from legumes should work ok if it's an edible plant.


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## Wabbitdad12 (Jan 1, 2012)

If the only bun food you can get has corn etc in it you may have to sort that stuff out. I feed my rabbits pellets with 16-18% protiien.

My rabbits know their names, rabbits are smart animals. If I call my bun Daisy she will turn around and the other buns just go about their business.

I have some rabbits that will chew on their hay a little throughout the day and some that nibble on it constantly. The hay is not only nutritional, but also helps to wear down their teeth.


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