# I may adopt a rabbit and update on Cocoa's illness.



## Bun~Bun (Sep 26, 2006)

Sorry, haven't been here for quite a while. I really didn't know where to put this thread.
Of course many of ya'll know that I'm on a continued downfall. But lately I've been earning more cash becuase fall is here andtheir is alot of land scaping/garden work avaliable for side job. I gotCocoa to vet and was put on anti-biotics and he's doing better. It justseemed to be a "bunny flu" that Bun-Bun caught and passed to Cocoa. Ifinally found out why his eyes water - he scratches them toomuch. I'm taking him back for medicine for it, and he will probablyhave to wear a bucket collar( Good lord is that going to be annoying tohim.). Local Vet said that he was most likely born whith it. BothBun-Bun and Cocoa are soon going to be vacinated.
Any ways, my friend says he whants to get rid of his rabbit. She's abrindle Mini-Rex. I bred her whith Bun-Bun one time, but did notconcieve. She's not a very healthy looking rabbit as well. She's reallyboney and ate alot when she came to my house. Overall "illness-like"she's fine. Good thing is that she's not a "picky" eater. She ate thesame food that Bun had(It was like Hartzs.). $4 for a 10 poundbag. But here comes the annoying part. I don'twhant Bun-Bun to have bladder issues issues again so he's on anexpensive Timothy Hay Complete Pellets. Cocoa is EXTREMELY picky andwill only eat "Kaytee" based pellets(The only Timothy Hay Pellets arefrom that brand.), so Bun-Bun and him share the same food. But the foodshouldn't be a problem. If she has bladder problems I'll switch her tothat food. Whith the grasp of newer payment, this shouldn't be aproblem whith the house - infact, the rabbits are probably the mostignored animal in my house - cause their mine and they live in my room.
So, is this a good idea? I'd hate for her to end up in the wrong hands.Pet stores only take in rabbits that are very young and she's about 2years old. The rescue center is quite a bit away from where I live andso is the ASCPA and my parents work long hours so that would be alittle hard.


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## naturestee (Sep 26, 2006)

I'm so glad you were able to get Cocoatreated! And vaccines? Are you in the UK?I always assumed you were in the US. There aren't anyvaccines available for rabbits in the US.

I think there are a couple things you need to figure out before youdecide if you can take this girl. First, are you makingsteady money? It sounds like it was mostly a seasonalthing. What happens during winter if somebun gets sick?

Second, can you get her spayed? You really don't want anaccidental pregnancy, especially since you might not be able to afforda vet if she has complications. And small breeds like minirexes are more prone to stuck kits, which require c-sections.Not to mention having to find homes for them. I know so manypeople who tried really hard to keep their intact males and femalesseparate and still ended up with an accidental pregnancy.It's a big risk. Doesn't help that they can mate through cagebars.:?

Third, could you keep her in a separate room until Cocoa'shealthy? It might be a good idea to call the vet and ask ifhe and Bun-bun might still be contagious. You wouldn't wanther to get infected too.

Do you know anyone else who could take her? Maybe we couldhelp find a new home for her.If that doesn'twork,maybe someone could help drive her to a no-kill rabbitrescue.


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## Pipp (Sep 26, 2006)

Hi Bun~Bun! 

Are you feeding your bunnies a lot of hay and veggies? Thosethings are really good for them and they can be very cheap!If you buy hay by the bale, and if you go to the supermarkets and askfortheir throw-a-wayslike carrot,beet andraddish tops anddark celery leaves, most willgivethem to you for free. You just havetoask. They can eat a LOT of veggies, so it reallyhelps. 

My guys are on mostly hay and veggies with just a handful ofpellets,and it's helping with their bladder and other issues.

Actually,my healthiest bunnies are the ones who eat the mosthay. The unhealthist one is the one who won't eathay. (Pipp!)

I hope your vet knows what he's doingre: the itchyeyes.There really should be a reason for beingitchy, it's not usually acause,it's aneffect.

And as Naturestee said, rabbits in North America don't get vaccinated,so I'd really like to know what your vet is talking about. 

Hope everybunny's okay, and I hope things work out for themini-Rex. Myharlequin mini-Rex is the most awesomebunny on the planet. No household should be without one,IMO! :biggrin:

sas  and the gang :bunnydance::bunnydance::bunnydance::bunnydance::bunnydance:


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## Bun~Bun (Sep 26, 2006)

I was talking about vassionations whith a personaccociated whith my "local" vet, not my rabbit savvy. You really can'tget vaccinations for rabbits in US? Why not? That's a real bummer. 
And I only had enough for the antiboitics. I will get Cocoa to the vetwhen I have the time. Don't worrie. My rabbits come first!! I'm goingto Dr. Kittermen next week.


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## naturestee (Sep 26, 2006)

We don't have anything available that rabbitsneed. Some non-rabbit savvy vets give rabies shots, butrabbits aren't carriers and I don't think the vaccine is approved foruse in rabbits. The UK has vaccines for myxomatosis and VHD,which are serious problems over there. We rarely haveoutbreaks in North America, and they're controlled by testingpotentially infected rabbits and putting them down. Thevaccines would make a rabbit test positive even if he wasn't infected,so they're illegal in the US.


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## Bun~Bun (Sep 29, 2006)

Unfourtuantly, my friend's rabbit died 2 days ago. Presumely, starved to death. Poor thing.  
I really whanted her and maby pass on the Bun-Bun generation.
But he's giving me the cage, which is great, for that Cocoa's getting wayyyyyyy too big for his cage. 
Cocoa will be tooken to the vet some time when we get the time - mostlikely this weekend. He's O.K. for the time being. We arebusy whith a terrible flea issue. We had to bomb our whole carpet. I'mgetting better flea and tick shampoo. Bun-Bun's getting a specialshampoo cause he continues to bite at his bald scared patches. The onlyway to get him from biting it is whith a "bucket collar." I know it'sgoing to be a pain in the ass for bun, but his bald spots are gettinglarger and more scabbed up - even bleeding at times. I askedthe vet about drops - and they said, "NO!!" For right now,I rub his spot whith a wet cloth - in which he likes. Hefalls asleep and makes his "rabbit purrs."


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## Michaela (Sep 30, 2006)

Aww that is soo sad that thebunny died!:bigtears:You seemed excited about getting her.


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## BACI (Oct 1, 2006)

I am so sorry about the bunny dying. Make sureyou clean the cage really well when you get it just incase there was anillness no one was aware of. I am sure you already thought of that butjust incase. 

Did you have your heart set on breeding maybe you could rescue one thatneeds a home. There are so many in need of loving knowlegable rabbitparents. :brownbunny


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