Saturday, August 13, 2011

The mystery box is opened

You may have seen this bunny cardboard playground box in the background of some other RR pictures. It is maybe 8-10" high, but wide and fairly long. It has several doors, which they nibble on, and windows, which they enlarge regularly.

They all disappear into it often, sometimes more than one at the same time. We can hear ripping noises coming out of it.

Bunya was having an off day, feeling very pooky. We kept an eagle eye on him because his behavior was atypical, for him. He was not eating much, except treats (which we took as a good sign - nothing super-critical yet). But he was laying inside a box in the pen most of the day and wasn't trying to get his usual loving from the girls.

At one point, he went into this box and stayed there. So, I opened it to see him and the results of what they had been doing in there for weeks and weeks. And this is what I saw:

Basically, they behaved as expected, eating the cardboard. The floor of the box was torn up in little curly-cues of paper. (The smaller box inside is to help support the "roof" of the box when the flaps are closed ... the buns, especially Ethel, like to jump on top.) They do not go to the bathroom in it.

Bunya was off the whole day but the next day was a completely different bun, his old self. He binkied out of his pen the next morning, hounded me in the kitchen for an advance tasting of breakfast, chowed down on his greens, pooped in the litter box, put his head under Lucy and Ethel to get licks, and chased the girls away from the treats - because he is alpha bunny and was feelin' fine.

Bunny care - Know your bun's personality and pay attention to their behavior. Watch carefully if they do not seem like themselves. If it's a blockage or problems with their teeth, you will want to get them to the vet ASAP. Check the Rabbit Resources link in the right-hand column for more on bunny health issues.

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