TH E B U N OL OGIST

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September 2012
World Animal Day Rabbit saves family from fire Myxo warning Dr Bunny Firefighters rescue rabbit off roof Hurricane rabbit evacuees Life at the Do Hop Inn Rabbits are getting fatter! Keeping your rabbit healthy

World Animal Day

Rabbit saves family from fire

August 2012 Channel nine (Australia) A bunny is a hero in Melbourne after waking up the members of a household when a fire broke out in their house. The rabbit, who happened to be housed inside the house at the time because the outside cage had been recently damaged, thumped when the fire started. The residents woke and all were saved from the building.

Edgar's Mission 365 McHargs Rd Willowmavin VIC 3764 11am to 4pm

If you havent been to World Animal Day at Edgars Mission, this is one of those events that is really fun! Come and meet all the rescue animals!! There are also two bunnies called Brenda & Jacqui who live at Edgars Mission that were part of the Big Ears rabbit farm shut down in March 2012. Radical Rabbit will also be there giving out responsible information about rabbit care and highlighting all the issues that domestic rabbits face in our world today. There will be stalls full of really interesting information, lovely people to talk to, cruelty free products to purchase, heaps of yummy cruelty free food, a vegan bbq (if you havent tried a meat free sausage, they are fantastic & no animals were harmed!!).

Myxo & calici warning

At this time of the year in Australia, the weather is warming up and the mosquitoes are breeding. Please ensure that your rabbits calici vaccination is up to date and insect proof all outside enclosures. If you allow your bunny to play outside, avoid dusk & dawn when mosquitoes are at their most active. The danger time for rabbits in Australia is between October to May so make sure your bunny is safe from biting insects.

Dr Bunny
Do you have a question that you want to ask about your rabbit? Dr Bunny is a new Facebook page that answers questions about the behaviour of your rabbit or whatever else you need to know. http://www.facebook.com/pages/DrBunny/304130963027885

http://www.edgarsmission.org.au/6367/meet-rabbitsbrenda-and-jacqui/

Firefighters rescue bunny from roof of flats

24 September 2012 www.dailymail.co.uk (UK) A runaway pet bunny rabbit was rescued by firefighters after an adventurous escape bid from his hutch that saw him climb onto the roof of a three-floor block of flats. Logan Witchell, aged three, was distraught when he found Barney the bunny had gone missing from his second-floor flat in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, before his mother spotted him above their home.

He said: We had to bring it down as it belonged to a threeyear-old little boy. Weve got two guys on the watch who are retiring soon and theyve never been to anything like it in 30 years.

Normally, when we work at heights, we have the aerial ladder platform out but we couldnt get it in so that proved to be a problem. Working at height is a problem in itself. We have to make sure were safe as well. After a bit of a run-around, we managed to corner the rabbit and grab it. The child and his parents were obviously thrilled to get it back. Two firefighters used the ladder while residents held towels between balconies to block any escape routes. The crew cornered Barney, placed him in a pillow case and returned him to his owners.

Hurrican Isaac evacuees

Sophie Witchell, 28, and her partner Grant Wyatt, 29, spent nearly two hours attempting to entice the white and grey one-year-old bunny to safety using lettuce leaves and carrots. But the couple were forced to call for help from firefighters battling a blaze in a neighbouring street. Miss Witchell said: Barney was hanging on for dear life. I kept thinking he was going to fall down because he was slipping down the roof tiles as he got higher and higher. I was really worried about Logan too. He was saying we werent going to be able to get him down and was trying to reassure him. Afterwards, he was giving the firemen high fives though and saying Fireman Sam saved Barney, which was really lovely. Barney is thought to have escaped from his hutch before climbing onto the gutter and up to the roof. Ricky Jones, of Southend Fire Station, explained that firefighers had trouble because they could not get the aerial ladder platform in, so instead had to use a roof ladder to get to the stranded bunny. The Houston SPCA take in pets from shelters in Mississippi and Louisiana who have been hit by Hurricane Isaac. The latest group of evacuees welcomed by the Houston SPCA were 12 rabbits. 4 September 2012 www.myhouserabbit.com (US)

Life at the Do Hop Inn

By Karen (www.boingonline.com)

Charlie was much happier when he saw his sister. His temperature returned to normal and he was happy to sit with her whilst she gave him a well earned kiss on the ears. The next day Charlie was back at the Melbourne Rabbit Clinic for some more fluids. He was being critical care fed for a few days until he started to eat some washed grass on his own. When bunnies are not feeling well, the best thing I find to offer as food is washed grass dripping with water. This means that the bunny gets even more fluids when they are eating. They often prefer very simple food like grass instead of their usual vegies. Charlie improved over a few days and is now back to eating his normal veggies and munching on his oaten hay. Charlie & Missy are now due for a very short hair cut!!

Charlie
I was hoping for a quiet month and not too much drama but no! This month we had more issues and it was Charlie again.

Sir Winston of Waverley

After a day at work, I got home to find that Charlie was not eating. Feeling his tummy, there was that familiar lump that has caused my fluffies so many problems. A quick rush back to the Melbourne Rabbit Clinic and an xray confirmed a stomach blockage. It had been caught very early but he still required emergency surgery to clear the blockage. Dr Alice Phan and Beck Allan gently worked on Charlie. Every time this has happened, things have been different. They warned me that if the flush made a woosh sound that there was a high chance that Charlie could reblock as this has occurred in the past with other bunnies. After surgery I was told yes, clearing his blockage did make a woosh sound. I was nervous! As a staff member of the clinic, experienced in rabbit care but not a vet nurse, I gained a crash course in how to use a drip and was Charlies carer overnight. Every blockage so far has been different and their overnight care has been slightly different. Charlie was quite bright after surgery. I think this was because his blockage was caught very early. He was still kept in a humidicrib as his temperature was low. The drip kept him hydrated through an ear vein. I was paranoid about bubbles! Apparently a bubble in the drip to a rabbit, is like a blood clot so making sure that the drip was clear of bubbles was imperative. His temperature slowly increased over a few hours. At about 2am, Charlie was feeling a bit too warm so was taken off the drip and out of the humidicrib to visit his sister Missy in their room. Meet our latest resident!! This is Sir Winston. Hes a 5kg big boy who was living outside with a group of small dogs. Apparently he was harassing the dogs. Whether that was right or not who knows?? Anyway, he has now been desexed and is living next to our Isabelle as a potential new boyfriend. They have a divider between them and are being swapped over into each others homes so they can to know each other without meeting just yet. All is going well so far. No aggression. Sir Winston is a big friendly boy who loves to sleep or chase us around for treats. Before Sir Winston was brought home to the Do Hop Inn, he & Isabelle were tested for EC. Both returned a positive result. Bad luck but at least we know that both have it and bonding them doesnt mean one will pass it onto the other since they already have it.

Rabbits Are Adding Flab to Their Fluff, Study Finds

5 September 2012 http://abcnews.go.com (UK)

* As for bunnies, Becker says a far greater percentage of them than the study reported seem to be trading in their carrots for carrot cake and consequently are tipping the scales too far. Some of them have so much skin and fat they remind me of a bean bag chair. You cant even figure out where everything is on them, he said. Unlike other kinds of animals, its not always easy to tell if your rabbit is roly-poly. According to Becker, they should resemble an hourglass from the top and have a wasp waist from the side. Like other species, they should have just a hint of fat covering their ribs. But this doesnt hold true for all breeds of rabbits. An annual checkup is the best way to tell if your rabbit is at its ideal weight, Becker said. And while corpulent cottontails may be hilarious in cartoons, Becker warned that in real life theyre like little tubby time bombs, their health ticking away with obesityrelated diseases.

Pet bunnies better hop to it. A new study in the British Journal, Veterinary Record notes that, like their owners, their waistlines are expanding at an alarming rate. The review charted the weight of 41 rabbits over a two-year period and found that about 10 percent of them had packed on so many pounds, they needed to seriously consider salads. Females were twice as likely as males to be portly, and neutered individuals of both sexes were 5.4 times more likely to be overweight compared to their virile counterparts. OK, maybe the statistics on bunny fatness arent quite as hare raising as they are for humans, but they are climbing. In general rising obesity rates in our animal friends is a well established fact. For example, an annual Association for Pet Obesity Prevention survey of more than 500 pets revealed that approximately 53 percent of cats and 55 percent of dogs are now overweight or obese. The fact that such an organization exists speaks volumes. Vets say they are seeing increased obesity in their patients of all species. Animals used to have to work hard for a living, said Dr. Marty Becker, a veterinarian at the North Idaho Animal Hospital in Sandpoint, Idaho. Now cats have gone from mousers to moochers. Dogs have gone from guard to lard. Besides getting their pets tails off the couch or out of the hutch, Becker advised owners to help their pets practice the art of portion control. He pointed out that a lot of pet lovers equate food with love, constantly stuffing their fur-andfeathered companions with high-fat snacks and super-sized meals. Pets are happy to eat whenever and whatever you give them and when you give them free choice they will eat themselves into the grave, he said. Often, owners dont even realize theres a problem. Becker said that when asked to gauge their pets body size, most owners rate them as ideal even when they obviously sport too much blubber.

Keeping your bunny healthy

www.boingonline.com

1. Hay
The most important part of your bunny's diet is fibre. Good fibre means good healthy digestion. Oaten hay is the best and you can purchase this from stock feed stores.

2. Fresh Water
Supply fresh water in heavy ceramic bowls so your bunny can access & drink at all times.

3. Fresh Vegies
Provide good quality veggies that you would eat yourself. Wash them thoroughly. Dont introduce too many at the one time. Stick with safe veggies such as bok choy, grass, celery tops, chicory and carrot tops

What NOT to feed your bunny

Bread, biscuits, chocolate & all other processed human food. These foods will make your rabbit fat and cause dental disease. Avoid cabbage, cauliflower, brussel sprouts and broccoli. These can cause bloat. Avoid fresh & dried corn. Corn is indigestible to rabbits and dried corn can carry a fatal bacteria. Dont feed rabbit mix! Rabbit mixes are full of sugar, seeds and is more likened to junk food. Rabbits will choose junk food over their healthy option such as hay.