The next day, we heard he had been taken to a veterinarian for x-rays. They kept him overnight, and the next morning, his bowels still had not moved. Later in the afternoon, we got another phone call and we feared the worst. As it turned out, the news was both good and strange. The good news was that the bunny boy finally had passed a very large fecal mass. The strange news was that it happened immediately after acupuncture needles had been removed from him. Yes, the veterinarian had done an acupuncture treatment on the rabbit!

We do not know any details at this time. We would like to know if it is even possible that this Traditional Chinese Medicine treatment can be used to stimulate the nerves that activate a rabbit’s lower digestive tract, but that certainly is the theory.

We are going to do some research on acupuncture for rabbits to learn more on this fascinating topic. But wouldn’t it be wonderful if it is true that the expert use of tiny needles can be used to “un-stick” the digestive system of a bunny who has gone into G.I. stasis?

If you have any knowledge or experience regarding rabbit acupuncture, please contact us by email with the details, so we may share the information.

Here is a picture of the wonderful rabbit condo that was raffled off as a prize, along with its lucky winner. You can click on the picture to see a larger size version.

It’s a little hard to see all of the details because of the sign, but Rob, who designed and built it, told me he experimented with using ramps to connect the different levels, but after trying it both ways, he eventually decided it’s better not to use ramps, but to let the rabbits simply jump from one level to another. He said that the ramps took up too much space and were unnecessary. Furthermore, it is good, healthy exercise for the bunnies to have to jump between levels, and none has had any problems doing so.

It is also interesting to note that this condo is open at the top. Rob told me that his rabbits were smart enough to know that jumping out over the top walls would be too dangerous, and that none of them has ever tried. There is another view of the condo in the video posted below.

There were three vets who gave up their time as free volunteers this year, and we are extremely grateful to Dr. Ruack from West Boulevard, Dr. Burnstyn from Arbutus West and Dr. Martinez from Little Paws for so generously taking part.  The health checks and grooming were by donation, as were the cookies and beverages.

If you would like to get a sample of the flavour of VRRA’s Rabbit Fest 2011, here is a YouTube video:

If you know somebody who is considering adopting a bunny, it’s important they learn the pros and cons of being the parent of a house rabbit. I have just discovered the perfect educational tool that does just that. It’s a video Amy Sedaris made with the House Rabbit Society. It’s very short — less than two minutes long — but it does an excellent job of telling the house rabbit story in a nutshell.

It’s available from YouTube, and I encourage you to share it with others in the rabbit community. It really does cover all of the points that people need to be aware of before they make a big commitment…

The first product the doctor recommended is Florentero paste. It comes in a tube, and I’m not quite sure how they recommend getting it down a rabbit’s throat, but our big voracious rex who eats pretty darn everything would not eat the stuff. Even when we tried mixing it with pumpkin baby food or mashed bananas, she just thumped and hopped away.

After that failure, we tried Florentero tablets. These are the size of products that you would probably feed a horse, and — especially since Priscilla doesn’t have any incisors — we had to break off small portions and pulverize them in a mortar and pestle before trying to feed her. Again — no way. Whatever is in them, it’s a flavor our bunnies just won’t eat.

Imagine our delight recently when, perusing the array of rabbit food on the shelves of our local Tisol shop, I found a cylinder of American Pet Diet probiotic pellets. They go under the brand name “Critter Be Better” or CBB, and they’re a bit on the pricey side, but after all they are only supposed to be probiotic supplements for rabbits and not something you feel them a lot of every day.

We usually mix a teaspoon of them with the quarter cup of Oxbow Bunny Basics with Timothy she gets every other day. The good news is that she and her partner, Ryan, love the flavor. They are as crazy for them as they are for their pellets. I think if we gave Priscilla all the pellets she wanted, she’d explode like the fat guy in the Monty Python sketch. But don’t worry. We are pretty strict about limiting our big girl to only 1/4 cup per day.

Obviously it’s too early to tell whether these new probiotic pellets are actually improving their intestinal flora, but that is what they are intended to do. My wife has recently been reading about the benefits of probiotics for humans, and she’s convinced that a lot of health conditions from irritable bowel syndrome to allergies can improve by taking acidophilus, eating lots of yogurt and generally encouraging the growth of healthy bacteria in the gut. So I am pretty confident our dear bunnies are going to have to make fewer trips to their vet now that we’ve finally figured out a way to get probiotics for rabbits into their little tummies.

I’m not sure how widely available the American Pet Diner CBB probiotic pellets are at various pet shops, but you can now get them online from Amazon. Here is a link if you’d like to give them a try.

We met Dr. Martinez last fall at Vancouver Rabbit Rescue’s annual Rabbit Fest. He generously volunteered to give free health check-ups to the rabbits people brought in.

Dr. Martinez with Priscilla

Very recently, we learned he had opened a new veterinary practice in the Steveston area of Richmond, just across the river from Vancouver, BC. He immediately saw there was something wrong with Priscilla’s right eye and did some tests to determine there was no scratch on her cornea but rather it was an inflammation. So he gave us a tube of ointment and showed us how to put it into her eyes as gently as possible. That was a few days ago, and now we can tell our big girl is feeling better already.

There are not a lot of rabbit savvy vets in the greater Vancouver area, so we were very happy to know about Dr. Martinez. It is obvious he not only knows a whole lot about rabbits and how to keep them healthy, but also he is a man who truly enjoys rabbits and likes to spend time with them.

If anyone in the area is looking for a good veterinarian to take their rabbit  (or dog, cat or other small animal) to, you will be hard pressed to find anyone better than Dr. Joseph Martinez.

His clinic is named “Little Paws” and the address is 130 – 12011 2nd Avenue, Richmond, BC. Phone 604-241-2387 or email: littlepawsvet@yahoo.ca.
www.littlepawsvet.com

By the way, he even makes house calls!

Here is the YouTube video with Dr. Martinez in it…

There are actually two reasons why it’s a good idea to brush your rabbit to remove loose fur. Of course there is the aesthetic one, of not wanting your guests to see huge dust-bunnies rolling like tumbleweeds across your living room floor. And the rabbits also look tidier when they don’t have tufts of loose fur sticking out of their coats.

But even more important is the health issue. Hairballs in rabbits can be very serious. They can cause blockages in the digestive system that can be fatal. That is why, if your rabbit ever stops eating and stops using its litter box (of course your rabbit never leaves little droppings anywhere else) it should be given immediate medical attention.

Our rabbits spend a lot of time grooming themselves as well as each other. And that means they probably are swallowing some loose fur. So if we can remove that loose fur first, there will be less of it available to potentially form hair balls in their delicate little tummies.

OK. Now that we’ve decided that we need to groom the rabbits regularly, that leaves the question of what tool to use. We’ve got a drawer full of different combs and brushes that either didn’t work very well, or that the rabbits didn’t like having used on them. But we are very happy to have found one brush, or comb, or fur-removing device that works like a charm. It’s called the Furminator. They come in at least three different sizes, each of which is color coded. We use the smallest size, which comes in blue.

There’s a bit of a drawback, though. They work great, it’s true, but they’re on the pricey side. I think that our local pet supply shop retails them for $42 (plus tax)! But there is also good news. We were visiting some folks yesterday, delivering some hay for their rabbit, and noticed they had a blue Furminator — just like ours — sitting in their rabbit supply basket. Our friend said she got hers for about half price from an online auction site. Although it took a few extra days for delivery, it saved her nearly 20-bucks.

Well, this morning I thought I’d see if I could find Furminators for sale on eBay, and I did. 662 of them, to be precise. Most of them were too big, and most of the small blue ones either didn’t tell the delivery price, or they posted a delivery price that was sky high. But, after a few minutes of searching, I finally managed to find one person who was selling them for a very good price.

Merchants and offers on eBay are constantly changing. So here is a general link to help you search for a Furminator on eBay.

And good luck to you in keeping your rabbits well groomed and healthy.

Salad Lady and Tall Guy shot video footage while they were making the condo, and Tall Guy edited it into a video, which he also narrated. All his videos are now on the “Video” page.

Besides giving more details that didn’t fit into the video, this website also has other important information, such as how to support Vancouver Rabbit Rescue and Advocacy (VRRA), the kind people who rescued me and cared for me until I was adopted.

Hopefully, Salad Lady will write an article about bunny bonding, because every rabbit should have at least one other rabbit in their life. But bonding rabbits is a tricky business. Fortunately, Salad Lady and her friends have learned a lot about bonding, so I hope they will share those ideas on this website.

As well, I want to include links to other sources for information about how to care for house rabbits besides their shelter. We’re very different from dogs and cats, you know. Some of us may look cuddly and adorable, but we’re not stuffed toys. We have unique care requirements, and too many of my fellow lagomorphs aren’t as lucky as Red and me.

So, although this may be called the “Build a Rabbit Condo” web site, most likely it will grow to include other information about making sure you have happy, healthy bunnies in your house.