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Tuesday, February 7th, 2006 09:51 pm
and i am a needy owner of a rabbit
Apparently, it is not all fun and fur when owning a rabbit. After bribing him with a new bed, a carrot shaped chew toy, and a wooden structure that looks suspiciously like something Child played with as an infant, Reginald the Rabbit deigned to look at me directly before wandering off.
Rabbits are moody.
This is what I have learned:
1.) Do not pick up Reginald. Those claws are not decorative, and they find bare skin like a laser guided missile. He will also leap suicidally from your arms onto any avaiable surface. Yes. I understand now.
2.) Do not willy-nilly pet Reginald. He will sometimes, if you are good and the moon is blue, sit still in your general vicinity long enough to allow you to gently pet his head for a very brief time. He reserves the right, however, to unexpectedly get up and wander off. At a disturbingly fast run. The story of the tortise and the hare now makes some epic sense. Some people might call it *teleportation*.
3.) Do not try to bribe Reginald with bananas--aka Rabbit Heroin. He will eat them out of your hand, but will leave you the second they are gone. You are not buying his love. You are not going to be his dealer that will trade pets for forbidden foods.
4.) You can sit in one stationary place and he will crawl over to you and sniff/rub/mark you with scent, and sometimes, even let you look at him, as a gift for being so still. You would think this would be a good thing, except rabbits also leave scent with droppings. Thank you, Reginald, for that bit of trauma on my back and my lap. No, really. It means so much.
5.) Reginald can teleport. No, really. No, seriously.
6.) See number four, scent markers, and how very much he wants to mark all of the den and dining room.
7.) My rabbit does not love me. I am reduced to reading up on rabbit psychology and rabbit behavior. On *multiple websites*. I am reduced to reading the psychology of a freaking rabbit. Reginald apparently is showing a lot of behavior associatd with, say, deep and powerful loathing, mixed with pity. I am pitied by my rabbit.
8.) The lizard likes me. The scary reptile that I have to feed live crickets likes me. Dearest God. Is this a huge cosmic joke?
For information, because nothing is more fascinating than listening to other people talk about their pets: Reginald is a Netherlands dwarf, about eight weeks old, dusty black, highly intelligent, emotionally manipulative, and capable of making me chase him around the room for attention for two hours while Child and Junior the Freaking Bearded Dragon watch in amusement.
I have been whipped by a rabbit. Somehow, this seems almost inevitable.
Rabbits are moody.
This is what I have learned:
1.) Do not pick up Reginald. Those claws are not decorative, and they find bare skin like a laser guided missile. He will also leap suicidally from your arms onto any avaiable surface. Yes. I understand now.
2.) Do not willy-nilly pet Reginald. He will sometimes, if you are good and the moon is blue, sit still in your general vicinity long enough to allow you to gently pet his head for a very brief time. He reserves the right, however, to unexpectedly get up and wander off. At a disturbingly fast run. The story of the tortise and the hare now makes some epic sense. Some people might call it *teleportation*.
3.) Do not try to bribe Reginald with bananas--aka Rabbit Heroin. He will eat them out of your hand, but will leave you the second they are gone. You are not buying his love. You are not going to be his dealer that will trade pets for forbidden foods.
4.) You can sit in one stationary place and he will crawl over to you and sniff/rub/mark you with scent, and sometimes, even let you look at him, as a gift for being so still. You would think this would be a good thing, except rabbits also leave scent with droppings. Thank you, Reginald, for that bit of trauma on my back and my lap. No, really. It means so much.
5.) Reginald can teleport. No, really. No, seriously.
6.) See number four, scent markers, and how very much he wants to mark all of the den and dining room.
7.) My rabbit does not love me. I am reduced to reading up on rabbit psychology and rabbit behavior. On *multiple websites*. I am reduced to reading the psychology of a freaking rabbit. Reginald apparently is showing a lot of behavior associatd with, say, deep and powerful loathing, mixed with pity. I am pitied by my rabbit.
8.) The lizard likes me. The scary reptile that I have to feed live crickets likes me. Dearest God. Is this a huge cosmic joke?
For information, because nothing is more fascinating than listening to other people talk about their pets: Reginald is a Netherlands dwarf, about eight weeks old, dusty black, highly intelligent, emotionally manipulative, and capable of making me chase him around the room for attention for two hours while Child and Junior the Freaking Bearded Dragon watch in amusement.
I have been whipped by a rabbit. Somehow, this seems almost inevitable.
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From:*imagines Reginald snapping his lipps paws*
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From:dear god, what is wrong with my hands?
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From:I -- oh, Jenn. *pets you* Deep and powerful loathing is such a strange thing for a rabbit to show. At least he has more emotional range than my brother's rabbit -- that's pretty much limited to KILL KILL KILL and RUN THE FUCK AWAY BITCHES RUN FOR YOUR LIVES.
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From:Well. Not *yet*. But God knows what other darkness it will display under its soft, immensely furry hide.
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From:No, really. One time, I was feeding one at this job I had, and for no reason whatsoever it lunged for my arm and latched its evil teeth onto my wrist. Now, this cage was about chest height, so I pull out my hand and I have a full grown rabbit dangling from my wrist, kicking its evol feet at me, and I'm not even making noise yet, and I have to slam it against the cage a few times to make it let go.
It was fine.
But evol.
My mother has also been attacked by rabbits. They don't like my family for some reason. I'm sure yours is lovely but....
Evol.
I have met nice rabbits, and when they are friendly, they are a soft little bag of hugs, but...mostly evol.
Watch Reginald. I think he wants to suck your soul out through your ears while you sleep.
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From:*terrified*
Oh man. My Rabbit is going to try and kill me. I can feel it.
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From:Perhaps you should have named your rabbit Brian instead of Reginald.
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From:Little bastard refuses to have anything to do with me unless he needs something only I can provide -- food dish filled, wheel set back up, water refreshed.
Then, while my hand is in the cage, he'll come close enough for my fingers to accidentally brush against him.
He is the biggest fucking tease.
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From:*fumes*
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From:why...yes! Yes, it really is.....
Eventually it will leave the Child for you & you will be its little lizard buddy. And the Bunnyrabbit will fall in love with your next door neighbor or something...
Animals are perverse like that....
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From:*shocky*
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From:Well ::puts on rabbit psychiatrist outfit:: after reading your post, it is clear to me that Reginald is clearly attempting to let you know that he wants you to change his name to Dr. Rodney McKay, and please be sure to address him as "Dr. McKay", although, if you are very good and very patient, you will one day be allowed to call him Rodney on alternate Thursdays, if there is really good carrot juice involved.
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From:*stares at cage*
I am so screwed. Though it explains *so much*.
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From:*keels over laughing*
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From:We had rabbits who lived in an outdoor hutch. They were soft and fuzzy and big. Dad wanted to cook them, but Mom wouldn't let him.
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From:*friend list surfing*
You have my Tupac. No, seriously, that sounds exactly like my little(okay, cat-sized) Tupac. Sounds exactly like her, except she was big and white. My brother found her by a river(happens a lot apparently).
But, yeah, personality and all. Just remember, your rabbit is not your pet. You are his.
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From:*makes note to watch rabbit carefully*
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Laughing helplessly, here.
From:*claps you supportively on the back* Good luck with that. ;)
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Re: Laughing helplessly, here.
From:...though you have a serious point on the slinky/Asgard technology. That teleportation trick....
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Re: Laughing helplessly, here.
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From:Would it be bad to link to that entry on my lj? Because you would brighten untold days with it. :-)
And the lizard likes you! Don't knock the lizard love!
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From:...yes, the tiny, scary lizard likes me. Seriously, irony so *high* here.
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From:It took a while, but I think he finally likes me. The good news is he has decent taste in music, although he loathes DMB and glowers and pushes at his docking station if I play it for too long.
When did pets become the new dysfunctional relationship? Seriously. At least you're becoming whipped by something furry. I'm getting whipped by a creature that will sprint (sprint) towards the sound of the Black Eyed Peas, who waits until my back is turned to move. Every. Time. And who refuses to eat his food until it's been in his tank for a full day.
Pets are weird.
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From:It...is. It really is. I was tryign to explain at work--it's like having a hyperactive unemployed boyfriend. When I get home, Iwant to snuggle, but he's like, playtime, then ignores me for more interesting things, like the *wall*.
*dazed* My God.
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From:Unfortunately smaller rabbits, like small dogs, are more likely to be nervous and vicious than the larger ones; they need more attention and require more patience than the larger breeds, but I wish you good luck with Reginald. If nothing else you can develop a meaningful relationship with the lizard :)
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From:*blinks slowly* Did I mention his idea of grooming involves *teeth*?
Yeah, I'm trying to stay on my stomach when I'mm trying to coax him around as much as possible to see if that will keep him calmer.
And thanks for the stomach tip! I'm going to--*carefully*--attempt that this weekend when I have extended time with him. Plus check his claws. Cause whoa, *hurts*.
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From:hope he warms up to you!
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From:*hopeful* Me too.
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From:Lesson Number 1 - Yes, I've also found that my bunnies are much happier interacting with me on the floor and I am happier with scratch marks. It's a win-win, really.
Lesson number three - Hand-feeding bribery treats *will* eventually make him more fond of you - really - though banana and other sweets are bunny crack and shouldn't be fed in excess as he'll get fat. Carrots, dark green leafy veggies, etc. are good motivators too.
Okay, so patience with rabbits? So much more than a mere virtue. Give him time to settle and time to explore (with supervision because wires are a delightful chew toy to rabbits. Telephone cords seem to be favorites for mine.)
Motivational Story Time! I have two rabbits. One I had since he was a baby and he's a sweetheart. The other was neglected and I took him in based on pity and in the hopes that I could re-socialize him and eventually introduce him (carefully) to my rabbit so Abydos would have a buddy. Let's just say bunny number two had his name changed from Brownie to Bunnicula for a reason and he earned the name. He was crazy and untouchable when I got him, which was frustrating because he really was cute, soft, adorable-looking and oh yeah, scary as hell.
But the good part - after a lot of time, patience, band-aids, and careful hand-feeding/bribery he's turned into a nice rabbit who loves to be petted and interacts really well with my other bunny - they cuddle and it's so freaking adorable. You just kind of learn to interact on the rabbit's terms. If he has triggers that freak him out, you work around it. (i.e., being picked up, being territorial about the cage, etc.)
So don't despair because I'm sure Reginald will eventually warm up to you and become a fun pet. And even if you never have a lap bunny, he'll at least be sure to keep you on your toes. (My sister's rabbit likes to wake her in the middle of the night by throwing his toys against the side of the cage so she'll pet him. Then he's happy and they both go back to sleep. Yes, he is spoiled.)
A really good website with info on all kinds of things including which veggies are good/bad, toys, litterbox training, behavior, housing and all kind of other stuff is the House Rabbit Society. (www.rabbit.org) This link in particular will probably be of interest if you value your stuff - http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/rabbit-proofing.html.
Best of luck and remember - Reginald may be cute but you do have the lizard as a back-up companion. *G*
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From:And tahnks for hte website! I've tried to keep him supervised, but it's inevtiable he's going to get to a cord, so I'd better start now in removing temptation.
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From:I am at the place where indeed, I will resort to bunny crack.
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From:we get along now. mostly.
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From:*twitches*
Man. I'm *sorry*!
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From:Can you still get computer pets? Not tamagotchi, the cyber ones that live on your computer monitor? One of those may be your solution :-D
Lovely lizard.
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From:And yeah, computer pets are starting to look *good*.
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