Update on my little Rfur

Hello Everyone

Thought I would just post an update. He is around 7 months+ now and we are getting on well. If you remember I was sulking as I couldnt hold him. Well this simple solution was not to pick him up anymore. Today though out of the ordinary he jumped up on the sofa I was sitting on and came toward me. He has great days where he will run across the room doing his spinny jumps and zooming back into the bedroom. He then comes running in again and then retires for a long rest.
So I am really glad I have him and have come so attached to him. He bites snacks off me without biting my hands and he as never intentionally gone to me.
Anyway, as usual another question about treats. Are there any outward signs that would show that I am overfeeding him on treats. I can still feel his ribs and he shows no sign of being overweight. Is that a good or poor indication. I seem to give him a little bit each day however I left one of the pop corn sticks on the floor and he pops in has a bit and then comes back later. What do you think please. Am I overdoing it. He is around 8 months now and I feel awful when he comes in and I do not give him anything. He does always eat his pellets though.

Many Thanks

I'm so glad to hear things have smoothed out with Rfur!

The jumping on the sofa and coming to you thing may become the norm over time. All the binkies mean he is a happy bunny.

As far as treats go, as long as he's getting just a little daily, that should be okay. One big (and relatively quick) sign he's getting too much would be soft poops, so pay attention to those. (Soft poops can mean other things, as well.)

I don't know about feeling his ribs, but you can feel his spine. Run a couple of fingers slowly down his back, and concentrate on how it feels. You want to feel gentle bumps, not spikes or no spine at all.

Thanks for your reply Miss M. I didn't realise you had replied as I usually get an email alert. Anyway what I should have meant was his vertebrae. Now regarding his droppings they are quite dark and hard. Also yesterday as I have a giant snail that I feed Romaine Lettuce to I tried it to him. I put a bit about the palm of my hand. He sniffed for a while and then he went away. So I left a bit on a red book that I use to put his treats on. Later on in the afternoon he spotted it and wolfed it down.

So can I give him a whole leaf today and do I need to take him for a check up sometime soon. He seems very healthy to me but Im not a specialist.

Thanks again Miss M

Those droppings sound completely normal.

(There is another kind of "dropping", called cecotropes. They are soft, sticky, stinky, and look like lots of small poops stuck together like grapes. These aren't actually poops, but rather incompletely digested food. These are eaten, much like cud for a cow. You may never seen one, and that would be a good thing. If you ever start seeing them regularly, his diet is probably too rich.)

I wouldn't jump from a small bit of Romaine to a whole leaf, as some rabbits have more delicate constitutions and can't handle that. You can give him a little more, and a little more, for a while to let his system develop the flora needed to handle it properly. It's the same with any new food.

As for checkups, most vets are not what we call "rabbit savvy"... meaning they know dogs and cats just fine, but they don't know a lot about treating rabbits, or what is and is not normal for rabbits. If you manage to find a rabbit savvy vet, you could take him for a checkup, if you want to. There are some members here who will take their rabbits to vets. Most members, however, do not. We pretty much help each other keep our rabbits healthy on this forum, and help treat them if they get sick.

It's entirely up to you what course you want to take.

Sorry I have not posted but there has been no change to report really but since xmas I have brought him into the living room and he has started to jump on the sofa next to me. But it finally happened and there was witness's that see him step on my stomach and stayed there while i fussed him. I also caught him nicking a chocolate biscuit.

So glad I kept him now as you might have seen on other threads i was so disappointed but after 4 years Im getting some comfort and company.

only problem now is some fur missing and very small white lumps.

Blessings

I think a lot of people choose a rabbit as a pet because they look so cute and cuddly, but as you found out, many of them really prefer not to be picked up. Rabbits are prey animals and it is natural for them to be alarmed by something taking hold of them, no matter how affectionately and gently it is done. In time, some of them learn to trust, but very few start out as trusting.

There is a website that you might enjoy that teaches how to understand what your rabbit is trying to communicate. Rabbits don't usually vocalize much, but they have a rich repetoire of body language that we can learn to understand. We can also mimic it to convey our wishes to the rabbit.
http://language.rabbitspeak.com/

If you tell us more about the missing fur and white bumps, we will try to help you figure out what the problem is and how to treat it.