Re-Adjusting

Yes she's still sleeping in her toilet. I wonder if it's too comfortable or she just needs a basket to sleep in. But if I ever get her a "bed", she'll probably pee in it to say: It's mine!

Now that she's back home, she's slowly getting back to her toilet habits of about 1 or 2 spills per day. I'm trying to remind her to be clean by being more conscientious about her grooming. Powdering, cleaning up butts and a few butt washes was all it took. On some good days, i wake up to see a clean floor. So at least i see hope.

Here's a pic of Misty after grooming.

Misty: Look Ma! No ears!

Nanny

Since feeding bunnies is a daily task, what happens when we are out of country? Look for a bunny nanny of course. It is important to find someone who has experience with taking care of bunnies. Some owners will prefer nannies who do not have kids in the house or do not have other animals in the house. This very much depends on whether your bunny is the timid or gungho type. Misty, being the timid one, prefers a quiet environment, with some potential for her to be nosey.

It was easier to bring the cage over to nanny's so i brought her old green cage along. I don't think she likes it that much as she wasn't used to the reduced space. To me, what's important is the care given. Anyway it was only for a short period of time. So as long as the nanny is a savvy one, feeds and cleans, the rest is secondary.

Look at Misty lazing in her toilet, resting her head on the side. But she wasn't very obedient and pee-ed at different areas in the cage.

Headtilt

Misty got sick the other day. Well, not really the other day I guess this post is way overdue. It was around late April/early May when I came back to find Misty behaving weirdly. Her hopping was weird (I could hear her nails hitting the ground going 'click'). I then looked at her closely, and could see that her eyes was rolling to her right, and switching back instantly, rolling right, switching back. Then I saw her head going towards her right at the same time. At times when she's resting, she's ok.

This pic clearly shows her head going towards her right.

Then I knew that this might possibly be headtilt. It might be due to trauma, injury or simply in her genes waiting to happen. This is quite a common illness and I heard of bunnies recovering from it, as well as bunnies' heads staying tilted for the rest of their lives. =(

So I took her to the vet immediately the next morning. Doc gave her some baytril (antibiotics i think), and a jab. I forgot the name i think it started with E. Anyway, she got better a few days after and recovered well. I had to syringe feed her the baytril every night. 4ml per day, preferably at the same time everyday.

The vet did mention that some owners brought their bunnies in late and expect a miracle to happen. It doesn't so if your bunny is not behaving normally, pls bring them to the vet asap. Their condition can worsen within a short period of time, especially if it affects their appetite.

I'm just glad she's back to her old self now.

I'm 3

Misty just turned 3 two days ago. It's been more than a year. Throughout this period:
- she struggles less when carried
- her toilet habits go on & off
- has been to vet thrice?
- she's still timid
- loves bell pepper, raisins, treats in general (who doesn't?)

Happy Birthday =)

All Cleared

It's the Lunar New Year. While I was spring cleaning, I decided to try out something new (again?) for Misty. I wanted to try putting her on the floor, without any floor mat or covering. Previously I was afraid that her pee might cause yellow pee stains. Was told that this method might work as sometimes mats might still have some pee odours left behind even after cleaning.

So here goes, this is her new setup. Simple, clean.

On the first day, there were 3 pools of pee, at 2 corners and 1 in the middle. On the second day, there was only 1 pool. Improvement, I hope. After that, it averaged at about 1 pool a day. On some good days, there were none. I hope that one day she will learn to pee in her toilet only.

By rewarding her with treats, she will learn that the toilet is a good place, thus associating it as a place for input (food) and er.. output (poop/pee). Haa..
She knows that I will only feed her when she is on her litterpan. So whenever I bring food, she will hop into her pan and beg for food.

Misty: Is there food?

Misty: Carrot! *Crunch, munch*

With Love

It's Valentine's Day! Have a happy and loving day. Don't forget to love your pets too! Here's a kiss from Misty...

Misty: Muah!

Level Up

To solve the problem of Misty's yellow butt, I created a higher level ground for her such that the lowest ground is her toilet. Here's a picture of what I did.

I bought some grilles from Daiso and used one of them for the higher level. Plastic mats are then placed on top as the grilles have wide squares and her paws can definitely go through them. With this, I created a pull-out tray at the bottom using choloroplast board and placed newspaper on it to absorb pee and allow easy clean up. Just pack and throw.

However, the cage base is still low and she does pee there occasionally. Look at the yellow stains on the nappy mat. This is her new layout:

She's still moulting right now and having bad fur days. Looking a little sleepy there...

Misty: I'm fighting the Z monster.