New Baby

Question
QUESTION: My wife just got a mini lop named Lucy.  Lucy seems to love being held and petted.  She will rest her head under our chin for hours.  But if she gets restless she will try to hop to the floor.  We have been told that a jump (Drop) of 24 to 36 inches will cause serious injury is this true?

ANSWER: Hi Bill,

well, 2-3 feet is a big drop for a bunny.  They can break their front legs or something else if they fall sideways.  I wouldn't let her do it from that height.  If she starts to get restless, I would hold on to her and start going down to the floor so that when she hops down the height isn't as great of a drop.  One thing you can do is wear a towel draped over one side of you (over you shoulder) and hold her on that side, and when she gets restless, put the towel over her head (this usually calms them and start to go down to the ground.)  

Now you will also have to be able to hold her long enough to put her in a carrier, as there may be times when you wouldn't want to put her down on the floor.

I would strongly consider holding her while you're sitting on the floor, or sitting on the couch, so that when she wants to hop away, she can hop right to the floor or the couch.  Her jumping down from a couch is fine.

Also, find yourself a good rabbit vet and get her examined to establish she's okay and get her annual physical taken care of.  To find a good rabbit vet, go here:

www.rabbit.org/vets/vets.html

and find a House Rabbit Society recommended vet near you.  Also check out the rest of the site for great articles (www.rabbit.org) and pick up the two books I recommend.

Lee

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

QUESTION: I am new to the rabbit world so I hope this won't sound foolish. When holding Lucy (a mini lop) she raises one ear and then starts licking my arm. If I stroke the inside of her ear she just snuggles against me. When I stop stroking her ear she starts licking my arm until I stroke her ear again. We have been told that when a lop raises their ear they are afraid or mad, but this seems not to be the case with her.
Also, do rabbits ever shut their eyes?

Answer
Hi Bill,

lops have a hard time raising their ears, but generally they are either moving it out of the way to hear better or there is a noise they heard that they want to hear better.  They aren't angry, more likely more curious about a noise.  Half the time one ear is up and one is down.  If they are afraid they generally will THUMP their bak feet and/or you'll see their eyes get bigger.  Ears really don't mean too much without putting everything else going on around them in context.  Just know lops sometimes have a harder time hearing things than other rabbits.  Often this may mean you might actually sneak up on them if you are quiet (I wouldn't on purpose), but it also generally means a little more mellow of a rabbit - not too overly sensitive to every little house noise.

She licks you because she is grooming you.  You petting her is you grooming her, then when you stop, she grooms you.  This is the highest compliment you can get, rabbits only groom their closest friends.

Rabbits do close their eyes.  Some do it less than others.  Some sleep real hard, some don't. Some will completely shut their eyes, some will leave little slits.  Since their normal down time is the afternoon and night, you may not see them doing this so much.  They ae active in the morning, resting in the afternoon, active around evening, then resting at night.

Lee