Posted by Melony on 21/3/2005, 6:37 pm, in reply to "How do to tell if a bunny is healthy?" All that being said, this particular girl may have some underlying problem or she could just be a very laid back rabbit. Two of mine would scare the pants of most people with their relaxed behaviour.. in fact there have been times they've scared me! They sleep on their sides with their eyes half rolled and don't move for anything. A number of times I've actually had to go up to them and prod them before they've reacted. They are both very, very calm bunnies, not given to jumping around, running or even investigating. They just like laying around. Others literally bounce of the walls. Bottom line is, you just never know and each time you open your heart there is a definite possibility that you're going to get hurt. Even picking out a healthy rabbit now is no protection as there are any number of problems that can arise at a later date. It sounds as if you're quite taken with this little girl so maybe you should go with your feelings. My philosophy is that things happen for a reason. Each rabbit that I have shared my life with has left something behind. I may not realise until after which one of us was in need at the time, but I usually do after and I have never had any regrets, except, of course, wishing we could have had longer together. Forgive me if I've rambled, but I lost my Sophie yesterday and I all this feels relevant to me right now. Melony
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Rabbits, being prey animals, are very good at hiding illness. Sometimes the first sign of problems is that they will find somewhere to hide out, the back of the cage, under a bed etc. Sometimes it's as ambiguous as 'something's just not right'. I have had rabbits that ate their tea and were gone a few hours after. Granted, this was from calici, which is very quick, but sometimes you just don't know. To make themselves less of a target they will try to
act as normally as possible, eating, drinking, moving around. One of my buns must have been sick for a day or two, but I just didn't see it at the time because he came out for tea and was loafing in a different position in the pen each time I saw him. I realised later, much too late to help him, that this was actually his way of protecting himself. Now I trust my judgement and instincts. If I feel that somethings not right then I try to get to the bottom of it. I advise everyone to get to know their rabbits and ACT if they're not happy with their behaviour. Even that is not foolproof, but it's about the best option with buns unfortunately.
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