How to rehome a rabbit when no rescue centre or vet can help

GwylimT

Really you shouldn't have a lone rabbit, they are social animals who really need the company of other bunnies.

Really there is no excuse for not checking on the rabbit and not even bothering to check if the rabbit has fresh water each day, if you have time to watch television, read, go on the internet etc you have plenty of time to clean, feed and attend to your rabbit.

krlyr

reehsetin wrote: »

AFAIK you're not meant to keep with with Guinea pigs, the buns can hurt them e.g. a powerful back leg kick

This is one of the reasons. I very sadly had to take a guinea pig (not mine - it was at the petshop I worked at) to be euthanised as its bunny companion had caught its back during a binky (they'd got along very well) and paralysed the piggy. We didn't really mix them as a matter of course, but separated all rabbits and guinea pigs after that, and never advised they went together.

There are other reasons - e.g. illnesses that one can carry without problems yet can severely affect the other. And their nutritional requirements differ - rabbits should be on a large amount of hay with only a very small amount of pellets to substitute that. Yet guinea pigs don't produce their own Vitamin C so require a food with provides enough of this.

They also "speak" two very different languages. Guina pigs chirrup and cheep away to each other, with grumbles and squeaks to express their feelings. Rabbits, however, don't generally make much noise, but use body language (e.g. their big ears!) and gestures (stamping of the feet, binkying, etc.) to communicate. The difference can result in two animals that can't express their discomfort with a situation, or misinterpreted language that results in a fight.

http://www.guineapigcages.com/rabbits.htm

UKTigerlily

If you can get him to Leicestershire I *may* have a good friend who can help, she's a very experienced rabbit owner & has several however she almost always keeps in bonded pairs & it'd not only depend on if she has room for another but if she has a female to bond him to or not, the only one kept alone refuses to be paired & they have tried & tried!

Personally I think a second may be a good idea, it'd still only be one hutch & one litter tray & would probably help with his chewing everything. I wonder if so busy why he was bought in the first place & why if life became busier you didn't think of that before taking more on but at least you are trying to find him a home, what breed is he?

~Chameleon~

Have you attempted to rabbit proof your home? I assume as he is a house bunny you'd have looked into this prior to getting him? I agree with others, he's far better off staying in your spare room than ending up in a cold, damp and very lonely hutch at the bottom of someone's garden. I also second getting him a bunny companion. His destructive behaviour could have been due to boredom. Does he have lots of toys to play with that are safe to chew? Plenty of hay to nibble at and wear down his teeth during the day? You will probably find once he has a mate he'll no longer try to destroy your home.

Hope this link might have some useful pointers... http://bunnyproof.com/

dandelionclock30

I think you need to rehome and your son sounds really lazy and selfish. I bet you were buying him big xmas presents, whilst he couldnt even be bothered with providing his rabbit with the basics.
You should be ashamed of yourself really as a human being that sometimes you have not even checked that your rabbit has water. Basically theres no excuse for animal neglect really.
You could explain to your colleagues and your sons friends that your family are neglecting a rabbit and could anyone help out? Surely someoe will come forward with a lot more compassion and kindness than you two. People like you and your son make me really sick.You should have thought about all this before you got the rabbit.

Dozey_crow

I don't think that it is necessary to berate CATS over this issue and I am not going to join in with a barrage of personal insults. Imo being irresponsible would be putting the bunny on Gumtree already, abandoning him outside an animal shelter, letting him loose in a field or as someone recently did in Nottingham putting the live rabbit in a bag in a bin on a high street (luckily and by some miricle as the bag went to the bottom of the bin early evening the rabbit was rescued early next day). Cold and thirsty but otherwise fine). Asking a question on an internet forum whilst the rabbit is warm, fed and otherwise provided for falls far short of these for me.

I would take him but I am miles from London. The other problem is that he would have to go outside and he probably wouldn't cope too well with that.

I hope that some of the organizations that people have suggested on here can help you CATS.

paulineb_2

The rabbit might be warm and fed but if its not getting let out, and people arent even checking if it has water? I have cats, it takes me two seconds to fill up their water bowl. I dont think theres any excuse for leaving an animal without water and yes I understand that the responsibility lies with the son, but hes not doing that and thats ok???

Its not ok. Animals rely on owners to look after them and this animal isnt being hurt, but I bet its not comfortable, if no one is providing it with fresh water and its in its hutch in its own droppings from week to week.

No wonder its running around destroying things, its probably really upset and thats how the animal is choosing to show it.

Please dont put it on gumtree. I really dont have much sympathy for people who cant be bothered with animals. I have indoor cats and I worked shifts for a long time, I still came home and made sure they were fed, watered and their trays changed and I was on my own.

You could also have considered paying a small animal sitter to come in even a couple of times a week and deal with the problems you were having.

~Chameleon~

paulineb wrote: »

Its not ok. Animals rely on owners to look after them and this animal isnt being hurt, but I bet its not comfortable, if no one is providing it with fresh water and its in its hutch in its own droppings from week to week.

As I understood it, the rabbit has free run of the spare room and quite a large one at that. Far better than many rabbits' lives of being cooped up in a tiny hutch outside. The OP also mentioned he's house-trained so definitely isn't sat in his droppings from week to week.


ETA: my only worry is that if he's receiving insufficient water, hay & food every day he could develop a fatal condition called gastrointestinal stasis. Death can occur in as little as 12 hours.

arbroath_lass

CATS wrote: »

My son is supposed to let him out when he gets home from school but almost never does. This means the rabbit is stuck in the room for a few days at a time on his own. There is no way I can get another one for company. His cage gets cleaned out once a week if he is lucky as my son has to do this and he always forgets. Weekends we are almost always out so that means he is again stuck in the room again over the weekend. At times no one has bothered to check if he has water or not. To be honest I feel really guilty about having him there but I just dont have the time to care for him properly and no one else does either. I feel really sorry for him and would like someone who can be at home with him

You need to sort your son out if the rabbit is his responsibility. If you take on any kind of animal they need to come first.


No tea for your son until he has made sure the rabbit has food and fresh water. No playing for son until he has played with the rabbit. If your son is supposed to let the rabbit out remind him. He wanted the responsibility it's time he stepped up to the plate.


What a lesson to teach him - that he can absolve himself of responsibility if it is inconvenient.

olivetrees

Have you tried Cuddly Critters or little angels rabbit rescue - both are on facebook and have websites. Is the rabbit male or female and is it neutered?