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A surprise rescue. . .?

22 9:42:57

Question
QUESTION: Hi there,
I hope hope ( yes I meant to say it twice lol) you can help me. This morning I didn't have a rabbit or gave a thought to wanting one, but I did have a rabbit, and guinea pig cage in my garage just waiting perhaps to be in use again. My neighbor has dogs and the dogs found the little rabbit but thankfully did not harm it, but stopped by to see if my family had a rabbit that got lost or anything. We don't, and I live in a desert region so..I very much doubted a small rabbit would survive the day easily ( it's should be pretty hot today.) So..I have..a rabbit now. I am pretty sure it's old enough to be away from the mother if it came from a breeding place or probably was a pet that got lose.
I have minor concerns though, one being s/he has a slightly wet nostril on the left side, but I did my best in reseaching and it doesn't have dried snot on it's paws as if from grooming.. I think it could be from being outside in a hot, dusty enviroment? I live in desert hot springs, california and for the past two weeks it has been a heat wave with tempts being like 103 . So..do you think the slightly damp nose is from the heat or something else? Also..If I don't feed pellets, is that bad, or should I run out to get a bag? Its the one thing I don't have at hand..but I do have vegetables and have given it some. So far s/he has liked zucchini and cabbage. I have a water bottle in the cage but have not seen her use it yet..but that could be because s/he is still settling in. It has been an interesting morning to afternoon I think ,lol, thank you for any  help.
Also..I can send a picture of the rabbit if you like.

ANSWER: I would love to see a picture of the rabbit so i can tell you what breed it is.
I live in Arizona myself,and to be honest it gets ridiculously hot here.In the heat. just like humans sweat,rabbits will get a runny nose in the heat.Is she outdoors?if she's outdoors immediately make her a home indoors instead.Being that in Californa,many rabbits are upon the hills,and of course you and me both know the easter trend is to give a rabbit to someone,and after time that bunny becomes some old rabbit in the corner and people dump them on the street,thinking they'll survie and frankly domesticated rabbits don't so be glad the rabbit got into your garage!most bunnies can squeeze easily into small spaces,maybe a crack or whole somewhere along your home..

A rabbit that has been dumped,won't use the water bottle at first,but its ok shell take to it soon,possibly you could show her how or just get a plain bowl and fill it with water and try that.Most bunnies don't eat pellets when they first come home,but buying her wild harvest rabbit food i highly recommend!

Try to stick to more common veggies because rabbits can't eat certain things such as the following
-rhubarb
-romain lettuce
-ice berg lettuce
-onions
-garlic
-tomato leaves or stalks
-milk products
-potatoes
-pepper seeds
-Any wild growing thing that has pesticides
-and frankly ANY wild thing,at all


Safe veggies include
-melon with or without rind
-cilantro
-spinach
-curly parsley
-carrots with or without leaves and stalks
-tomato without leaves or stalk
-dark lettuce such as mango lettuce
-bananas
-strawberries with or without tops and leaves
-raisins
-ANY dried fruit without added sugar
-Black berries
-raspberries
-corn husks
-bell pepper skin only
-peaches
-Pears
-plums
-Apples without the seeds
-cherries
These are what rabbits need in the diet

Feed veggies and fruits at night and dry food in the morning.
One key ingredient that rabbits solely need is timithoy hay its something rabbits really need.



I will be waiting for the picture!
Best bunny wishes!


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

small black rabbit
small black rabbit  
QUESTION: Hi Anastasia ,
well the picture I managed to take probably isn't that good since I was using a web camera that is mounted in my laptops lid, lol, but..s/he's the size of my hand so about...8 inches or so perhaps. Her ears are about 2 inches long and stand up sometimes when I am petting her or she hears something she likes. S/he black with the faintest showing of white on her feet..like she has white toe socks on, lol.

IF I cannot get timothy hay right away, could I give her grass from my backyard or is that all bad for her GI? My yard is not treated with anything so pesticides wouldn't be a concern i think. In fact i'm trying a backyard garden so hopefully my bean patch will do well, can they have string or green beans?

Thanks for the help.

ANSWER: She looks like a drawf rabbit!
Drawf bunnies only weigh about 2 pounds at full size.
shell need lots of exercise because of their 'peanut' shaped bodies,and they can put on weight very quickly!
Check her teeth dailt due to drawf rabbits having dental problems,to prevent problems give her untreated pine cones or untreated wiker baskets.
She might be a lions head rabbit too but she looks more drawf to me.

shes proably about 6-9 weeks old and needs to be kept from jumping around and hurting herself.
check for lice,ear mitse,and ticks.

and bathe her.
but only a quick dip in your sink!
Fill the sink a quarter of the way with warm water and just rinse her a bit.
then brush her and dry her.

it could be a male and the only way to check is to
put your finger on the 'private area' and feel for anything.
you'll feel the penis extrude and if its a girl of course a penis cannot extrude.


Best bunny wishes!:)

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

up close
up close  

up close
up close  
QUESTION: Hi Anastasia,

I managed to get some more pictures of rabbit when I had her out for some cuddles. I think it might be a Polish rabbit, but I certainly agree it must be a mini or a drawf. Perhaps the extra pictures could help, sorry I couldn't get myself out of the shot though lol
This rabbit is either pretty cuddly or likes affection, I'm not sure which but i had a rabbit before ( i adopted it and knew it wasn't super social) but it didn't like me much. I'm not sure how to 'cuddle' a rabbit really but she likes to be stroked . I noticed she tenses or lifts her front paws up when i stroke ther though but doesn't outright pull them away. Should I be worried or anything or is it normal for rabbits to do that?
Also..I checked the bottom as best I could and the only thing I could feel down there I think was the tail..so I think it's a lady. Should I check again in some weeks to be sure?

Answer
sasha
sasha  
I know that polish rabbits have grey rims which she doesn't so i was saying she was drawf.
Green beans aren't ok but snap peas with the pod are ok.to snuggle a rabbit simply put her in the crook of your arm where your bending joint is and snuggle her,bunnies love it!Most girl bunnies are affectionate so there's a good chance she's a gal!
She looks very much like my rabbit but unfortunately i don't know how to upload pictures!

Another way to check if shes a girl is to look for nipples only girl bunnies have them.

Rabbits put there paw up when it feels nice or maybe your stroking back to hard.
most bunnies especially babies do this its normal!

I've included this answer with a picture of my bun,sasha.
when she was little but overtime she got very furry!
She's now 5 months!