Laura's Critters

Gaia and Babies (photos above and below): This little Syrian hamster came from a local shelter; I bailed her the same day she was to be euthanized, and as I was picking her up out of the cage, I discovered that in the past 12-hours she'd given birth to 14 babies! (Oh, joy.) So she and the babies came home with me - she's still here, as are four of her children, but the other 10 were adopted out, thank goodness!

Hiya Ned - the little ones' squeaked a bit, but now that they're all grown they're quiet, for the most part.

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Gaia%20and%20Babies/060907-BabyHamsters20-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Gaia%20and%20Babies/060913-BabyHamsters8.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Gaia%20and%20Babies/060910-BabyHamsters60-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Gaia%20and%20Babies/060915-BabyHamsters55-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Gaia%20and%20Babies/060915-GaiaandBabies20-LowRes.jpg

I love how Gaia is using one of her brood as a stepping stone.

And yes, I love that photo, too - she stood on them a lot in her attempts to escape from their incessant demands (I also like the photo of her sleeping in the wheel while the babies stumbled around the habitat - she was so upset when the babies got large enough to climb into the wheel with her!).

I bailed these babies out of an OC shelter - there were apparently 11 in the litter, but these five were the only ones that survived. When I found them (in a back shed at the shelter, covered with diarrhea) there were two dead siblings in the cage. GRRRRRR.

Now they're healthy and happy and driving me batty (in a marvelous way, of course).

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Baby%20Bunnies/061020-OCACSBabies3-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Baby%20Bunnies/061020-OCACSBabies18-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Baby%20Bunnies/061019-OCACSBabies24-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Baby%20Bunnies/061019-OCACSBabies11-LowRes.jpg

This is Nod - sweet and innocent looking, but a great explorer and escape artist.

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Baby%20Bunnies/061103-Nod3-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Baby%20Bunnies/061103-Nod4-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Baby%20Bunnies/061103-Nod7-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Baby%20Bunnies/061103-Blynken6-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Baby%20Bunnies/061103-Blynken14-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Baby%20Bunnies/061103-Wynken6-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Baby%20Bunnies/061103-Wynken10-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Baby%20Bunnies/061103-Wynken17-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Baby%20Bunnies/061103-Mischief4-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Baby%20Bunnies/061103-Mischief12-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Baby%20Bunnies/061103-Mischief15-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Baby%20Bunnies/061103-Trouble6-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Baby%20Bunnies/061103-Trouble24-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Baby%20Bunnies/061103-Trouble18-LowRes.jpg

Um, yeah, that's the downside of bunny caretaking - but we've gotten pretty good at bunny-proofing the place (though not before D. lost his drum machine, two VCR's, quite a few books, and his Les Paul).

Exactly my sentiment!

Btter man than me. I would have been making terrine de lapin at that point. How old are they?

Best guess is that these five are about eight-weeks' old - possibly up to 10-weeks' but that's pushing it.

good to see you posting again Laura! :)

Anyway, bunnies make excellent (though challenging) house pets. They're like cats in how they're more standoffish than dogs, but some do like to hop into your lap for snuggling. They can be incredibly destructive (books, carpeting, anything with wires, wood, furniture, etc.) but bunny-proofing isn't horribly difficult, so long as you can think like a bunny *laughing*.

We've three buns that free-range - the others are in habitats/large pens in the house. Check out the house rabbit society: http://www.rabbit.org for more information. Oh, and some (not all) bunnies can be house-broken to a litter box, which helps.

I'd never really thought about having buns as pets, but now I'm hooked - they're intelligent, curious, complex, goofy, and adorable. But they also have health issues and can be expensive to treat.

There's a whole lot to rabbits - they have an intricate social structure and do best with a partner; once they have bonded with another bun, they'll spend hours grooming each other and playing chase, and then they'll curl-up together and just watch the world.

Some rabbits do well with other pets, some don't - out of the three that are free-range here, two get along well with/ignore our cats. But one chases and terrorizes the cats, to the point where the cats panic when she hops into the room and hide way up on the furniture (or in the windows, where they miao to the passers' by, complaning about the harassement they're undergoing).

I have eaten rabbit sausage, in the past month or so. I suppose in retrospect bitching about musical gear seems relatively petty.

I was actually surprised that she didn't cannibalize any of the babies, especially since I had to handle them they day that they were born. She was an excellent mother.

when i shared a place with my brother several years ago, his girlfriend moved in for a couple months and she brought her bunny with her. often it woke me up in the middle of the night CHEWING ON MY BED. and then one time i caught it and almost strangled it (you know, night rages and all) but i did not. how could i really? but i still remember its beady eyes staring back at me, and its little heart pounding away. and i was like, damn, you are dumb and i am going to fix your stupid cage so you can never escape again. which i did. i think the bunny's owner had the cage purposely rigged so the bunny could escape, y'know, and "be free". :/

outdoor bunnies, i can deal with.

did you just admit to eating them?

Willie's young - maybe five-months - and he's a blue-eyed white dwarf, so he'll top-out at three- to four-pounds. When he first came in he was about a pound-and-a-half and you could count his vertebrae. Now he's putting on weight and is full of energy. He's also a complete love (as I type this, he's sprawled over my feet) and jumps into my lap for pets and snuggles. I cannot believe the hell some human put him through!

Willie's supposed to be just a foster, but I've a feeling that he's going to stay - he's just worked his way into all of our hearts (even the S/O who isn't a bunny person) and we're all pretty crazy about him, though I'm the worst of the bunch.

Anyway, here's Willie Boy the Wonder Bunny:

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Willie%20Boy/061019-WillieBoy8-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Willie%20Boy/061019-WillieBoy43-LowRes.jpg

Look at that face:

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Willie%20Boy/061019-WillieBoy44-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Willie%20Boy/061103-WillieBoy3-LowRes.jpg

And again:

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Willie%20Boy/061103-WillieBoy7-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Willie%20Boy/061103-WillieBoy14-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Willie%20Boy/061103-WillieBoy24-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Willie%20Boy/061103-WillieBoy22-LowRes.jpg

Toby came from a local city shelter, where he was scheduled to be euthanized because of a tumor on his back. He was just the sweetest, most playful little guy, and I fell in love with him, so home he came. We had him neutered and had the tumor(s) removed (they were benign) and now he's fine. He's a goofy guy and I love his semi-lop ears. Toby's free-range and not at all destructive (unlike the two female buns he lives with, who are monsters!).

Toby at the shelter a year and a half ago:

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Toby%20Bunny/050626-TobyatShelter1.jpg

And again:

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Toby%20Bunny/050626-TobyatShelter2.jpg

And this little face is why I couldn't let him e killed:

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Toby%20Bunny/050626-TobyatShelter3.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Toby%20Bunny/050930-Toby5-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Toby%20Bunny/050930-Toby5-LowRes.jpg

Aren't they perfectly silly?

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Toby%20Bunny/060905-TobyBunny25-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Toby%20Bunny/060905-TobyBunny5-LowRes.jpg

And here's why I call him the Butterball Bunny:

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Toby%20Bunny/060905-TobyBunny12-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Toby%20Bunny/060905-TobyBunny21-LowRes.jpg

"Rabbits. Another eater of green vegetation who may possible visit or take up residence in the garden is the cottontail rabbit, of which varieties are found throughout the U.S. Here is another case of the gardener's choice: Is the company of this timid and beautiful little creature worth his board in bark, grass, foliage and vegetables? He has nothing in his favor except attractive appearance and engaging manner unless it is the fact that he is nobody's enemy. He is not an insect eater, nor does he prey on foes of insect pests."

xpost to stanm: night rage only happens when woken up from deep sleep by anger-making things. okay but being woken from deep sleep is anger-making to begin with, so, okay, i see your point. i have yet to kill. plus, bunnies are so squeezable - the line btwn friendly squeeze and killing squeeze gets thin in night rage.

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Hedgies/061012-HerbieCheetahdog10-LowRes.jpg

Above and below is Boris the Bedraggled - he appeared to be the oldest of the males (best guess is that three generations were dumped at the shelter) and was being housed with two younger males. He's been pretty badly beat-up and went straight to the vet; he's now on antibiotics, pain meds., and a topical antibiotic eye ointment. Boris is sweet little guy who spends a lot of his time sleeping/recovering right now. He is eating on his own and starting to explore, though, so I think he'll make it.

Oh, his fur is brown in patches - it's actually been "bleached" by the two other hamsters' urine. Charming, eh? And yes, his ears have been torn and he's covered with scars.

I want a job at your house as HEAD CUDDLER.

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Boris%20the%20Bedragled/061114-Boris25-LowRes.jpg

And here's some of the face scars - poor little guy!

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Boris%20the%20Bedragled/061114-Boris27-LowRes.jpg

Like an idiot, I said "So what happens if no-one adopts him?" and was told "Oh, we'll take him in the back and dispose of him" (how's that for an euphamism?). So he came home with me. And has shown his gratitude by biting me several times.

It's odd, these dwarf hamsters tend to be sweet, but every now and then one'll be surprisingly aggressive. Dwarf hamsters have a cute "defense" trait of standing on their hind-legs and boxing you with with front legs - lots of times they'll fall over backward while doing so. Anyway, this little guy stands on his hind-legs and then jumps at you, sinking his little fangs into your flesh.

He's been named Vlad the Vicious.

Isn't he adorable?

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Vlad%20the%20Vicious/061117-VladtheVicious14-LowRes.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Vlad%20the%20Vicious/061117-VladtheVicious1-LowRes.jpg

Oh, the beady eyes!

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Vlad%20the%20Vicious/061117-VladtheVicious8-LowRes.jpg

Boris has a lot of character...he's probably happy/overwhelmed wo be in such a nice situation. Me and my boyfriend adopted this obviously ill-treated cavy a month ago & he's just now starting to popcorn & do other joyous cavy things. He took a while to get used to a nice environment/clean cage. :(

"

So endearing!

"

He's getting switched to a tank cage today, 'cause I don't have the time to be sweeping-up his messes every couple of hours.

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Vlad%20the%20Vicious/061117-VladtheVicious4-LowRes.jpg

And yet again:

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Vlad%20the%20Vicious/061117-VladtheVicious5-LowRes.jpg

Have you thought about getting your little guy a companion? I know that lots of older boars will bond with baby boars and that they'll then spend hours doing cute cavy things - and, from what I've read and heard, the older cavy'll live longer and be healthier (in general).

Molly - Yep, little Vlad is round. The S/O calls the dwarf hamsters "morsels," which always cracks me up. I'll try and find the photos of some baby dwarf hammies that I ended-up with last December - someone dumped 15 of them and several were pregnany - baby dwarf hammies are just too cute! Thankfully, I was able to adopt out all of those little guys.

And yes, Boris likes his PVC tube - most of the little rodents like to have things to run through and climb around on (in addition to their wheels and hiding places, of course).

The two other males that Boris was housed with are now with another rescuer - they're a lot better off, healthwise, than Boris, but they're still heavily scarred. I was also able to place an older female out the bunch with another rescue, who'll midwife her and then adopt out the babies. So now I'm looking for homes for four young males and three young females. I've faith it'll happen.

Willie's bare legs:

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Willie%20Boy/061110-WillieBoy2-LowRes.jpg

Sexy legs:

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Willie%20Boy/061110-WillieBoy5-LowRes.jpg

I do so wish I'd been able to get his whole head in this photo!:

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Willie%20Boy/061110-WillieBoy8-LowRes.jpg

I just <3 <3 <3 this thread.

Me too!
Pigeon wins! Oh wait, not a poll. :-D

A sad update:

I was actually going to post more critter photos, but in reviewing this thread I realized that I first need to update on who had crossed over the bridge -

I lost Gaia, the mother to all of the baby hamsters, two weeks ago. She aged fast in her last month of life and I knew she was getting ready to die - thankfully, she went in her sleep and I didn't have to make the decision to help her cross. We miss her dreadfully.

Hedge-A-Saurus actually died last summer - he had to be euthanized after developing severe pneumonia and then prolapsing an eye (not uncommon in hedgehogs with WHS) - his necropsy showed pneumonia and the lesions common to Wobbly Hedgehog Syndrome.

Sad update finished, now onto happier things.

What new dames 'n fellas do you harbor?

Two months ago I found this little one stumbling around a parking lot - she was obviously in distress and kept narrowly missing being run-over. So I scooped her up and took her to a wildlife rehabber - an extensive exam found no obvious injuries so she came home with me to see if she recovered.

We think that she might have been someone's pet - she was very well-fed and well-groomed and didn't mind being handled. And when I'd come into the room where she was being quarantined, she'd stand on her hind legs and make a squeaking sound until I came over and scratched her head.

Sadly, she died after several days - the necropsy showed neurological damage / brain trauma. I'm really glad I got to spend time with her before she died.

Gertie the Gopher:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Gopher/071204-Gopher3-LowRes.jpg

Hiding from the camera:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Gopher/071204-Gopher5-LowRes.jpg

Look that those teefs! (And ignore the pooping happening while I took the photo *sigh*.)
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Gopher/071204-Gopher13-LowRes.jpg

Her fur was absurdly soft and she was meticulous about grooming. She died in her sleep the third or fourth night here. Hope she's having a good time in the next adventure.
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Gopher/071204-Gopher10-LowRes.jpg

The same week that Gertie arrived, I also found this little gal (well, we think that she's a she, based on her tail) crossing the road in a residential neighborhood. I had to crawl under a car to get her out and then went door-to-door looking for her owners. No one copped to owning her, so she came here and went to see my regular vet.

Named Parsley, she has some weird dry hell rot problems that you can see in the plates on her back - we're treating that with daily warm-water soaks in a water/betadine solution. She also had some screwy bacterial infections which we treated with antibiotic injections (giving shots to torts is NOT fun!). So far she's eating very well and is quite active. Once we're through the nine-month quarantine period she'll either be moved into a shared habitat with my other Russian tort or she'll be placed with a tortoise / turtle rescue group for eventual adoption into a screened and approved home.

Isn't she beautiful?
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Thyme/071204-Thyme16-LowRes.jpg

Shell issues:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Thyme/071204-Thyme7-LowRes.jpg

Hiding:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Thyme/071204-Thyme6-LowRes.jpg

Tortoise Tummy!
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Thyme/071204-Thyme12-LowRes.jpg

Showing leg as she stomps away:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Thyme/071204-Thyme11-LowRes.jpg

Remember Willie, the bunny with the severe urine scald and the shaved front legs? And Pigeon, the one-eared bunny? Well, we've been working since July to bond them and it finally took in mid-December, and they're now inseparable.

Bunnies on their own are adorable - two adorable bunnies cuddling and licking each others' ears are painfully adorable.

It's hard to believe that Pidge is now a year old - we're thinking that she's going to spend her life here, now, bringing the total resident bunnies to five.

Here's Pidge demanding that G. stop brushing his teeth and pet her:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Orphaned%20Bunnies/071026-PidgeandGlenn2-LowRes.jpg

And here she is investigating some toys:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Orphaned%20Bunnies/071029-Pidge2-LowRes.jpg

All sprawled out:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Orphaned%20Bunnies/071029-Pidge18-LowRes.jpg

Grooming Willie:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Orphaned%20Bunnies/071029-PidgeandWillie16-LowRes.jpg

Willie and Pidge, nose-to-nose:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Orphaned%20Bunnies/071029-PidgeandWillie15-LowRes.jpg

Oh MsLaura, you are the very best.

Very cute!

However, I can't believe you have a one-eared bunny and did NOT name him "Bongo"!!!!!

That is a remarkable tortise!

Yay BUNNY BONDING!

MsLaura and her critters RULE !

And now for something different ...

Last spring I worked with a couple of local rabbit / small animal rescue groups on a 600+ rabbit rescue in Orange County (less than two-miles from Mouse-town). This took place in an empty lot that had been a retaining pond at some point in the past. Owned by the county, they'd fenced in the area (for litigation reasons) and then people started dumping animals there - chickens and ducks and geese and ... rabbits! These were not wild rabbits - they were house rabbits, and many of them had little or no fear of humans. They also had almost no wilderness survival skills and the mortality rate was fairly high (predation from wild animals / raptors, feral cats / dogs, and cruel humans).

Rabbits, being rabbits, began to procreate - and procreate - and procreate. By the time the rescue groups were allowed in to start the trapping (live traps), there were 13 separate warrens established on this property. The rabbits had also managed to tunnel (they LOVE to dig) into the slopes around the retaining pond, successfully undermining several buildings in a strip mall - and they'd started leaving the pond area and venturing out onto a nearby high school athletic field, digging and pooping and tunneling.

Obviously a problem that needed to be addressed.

The rescue groups went in and started trapping the rabbits in groups of about 20 at a time. The rabbits would then be placed in temporary foster homes, where they'd be scheduled for neutering and vet exams. Once found healthy, the rabbits would then be put up for adoption or placed with various rescue groups throughout the country (as far east as VT) - we had to coordinate transportation for all of the rabbits, too.

Eventually, over several months, we pulled out over 600 rabbits from this area (that's not counting the pregnant does who gave birth before we could have them sterilized - final count, with kits, was over 750, last I heard). We also pulled the farm birds and placed them with a couple of local farm animal sanctuaries.

Anyway, what follows are some photos from this project.

Looking down toward the pond:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Pond%20Rabbit%20Round-Up/070520-PondRabbitRound-Up7-LowRes.jpg

Rabbits and roosters:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Pond%20Rabbit%20Round-Up/070520-PondRabbitRound-Up8-LowRes.jpg

Rabbits like to dig holes!
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Pond%20Rabbit%20Round-Up/070520-PondRabbitRound-Up10-LowRes.jpg

Kind of bucolic looking, eh?
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Pond%20Rabbit%20Round-Up/070520-PondRabbitRound-Up12-LowRes.jpg

These were really cute rabbits.
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Pond%20Rabbit%20Round-Up/070520-PondRabbitRound-Up17-LowRes.jpg

This is a "Silver Martin" rabbit - I love the coloring, but it's not great fur wilderness survival (better than white, though).
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Pond%20Rabbit%20Round-Up/070520-PondRabbitRound-Up23-LowRes.jpg

Back of the strip mall - the rabbits tunneled under and the tenants threw their garbage over the fence.
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Pond%20Rabbit%20Round-Up/070520-PondRabbitRound-Up26-LowRes.jpg

Another shot of the back of the strip mall.
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Pond%20Rabbit%20Round-Up/070520-PondRabbitRound-Up31-LowRes.jpg

A very pregnant doe - she's actually white - the yellow staining on her back is from urine (a territorial / ownership thing).
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Pond%20Rabbit%20Round-Up/070520-PondRabbitRound-Up30-LowRes.jpg

Ducks and rabbits
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Pond%20Rabbit%20Round-Up/070520-PondRabbitRound-Up32-LowRes.jpg

Rabbit checking out a box (rabbits like boxes, go figure)
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Pond%20Rabbit%20Round-Up/070520-PondRabbitRound-Up36-LowRes.jpg

Assortment of rabbits
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Pond%20Rabbit%20Round-Up/070520-PondRabbitRound-Up38-LowRes.jpg

Rabbit and graffiti
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Pond%20Rabbit%20Round-Up/070520-PondRabbitRound-Up39-LowRes.jpg

Did I mention that the rabbits pooped - a LOT?
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Pond%20Rabbit%20Round-Up/070520-PondRabbitRound-Up40-LowRes.jpg

Cute baby bunnies
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Pond%20Rabbit%20Round-Up/070520-PondRabbitRound-Up41-LowRes.jpg

Down by the water
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Pond%20Rabbit%20Round-Up/070520-PondRabbitRound-Up45-LowRes.jpg

We'd set-up a pen and then scatter food inside and stand really still. The rabbits would hop up and enter the pen and then we'd dash and close the pen trying to keep them inside. It was a challenge.
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Pond%20Rabbit%20Round-Up/070520-PondRabbitRound-Up61-LowRes.jpg

This thread is the perfect cure for the blooz!

A trio
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Pond%20Rabbit%20Round-Up/070520-PondRabbitRound-Up67-LowRes.jpg

This was a comfortable rabbit - they stretch-out like this when they feel safe.
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Pond%20Rabbit%20Round-Up/070520-PondRabbitRound-Up70-LowRes.jpg

As you can see, though, this doe's back was also severely urine stained (the brown fur is urine-bleached from the normal black).
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Pond%20Rabbit%20Round-Up/070520-PondRabbitRound-Up69-LowRes.jpg

Really cute baby bunnies
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Pond%20Rabbit%20Round-Up/070520-PondRabbitRound-Up72-LowRes.jpg

These rabbits just sat and observed the trapping / penning process.
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Pond%20Rabbit%20Round-Up/070520-PondRabbitRound-Up64-LowRes.jpg

Poorly lit photo of a dam and one of her kits
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Pond%20Rabbit%20Round-Up/070520-PondRabbitRound-Up80-LowRes.jpg

The last photo - bunny at the water
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Pond%20Rabbit%20Round-Up/070520-PondRabbitRound-Up76-LowRes.jpg

omg bunbuns

OH NOOOOOES YOU RAIDED WATERSHIP DOWN

El-alaurah

So we have a new arrival in the house - but s/he's only here for a couple of months - after that, the little one is going to an adoptive family, a foster home, or back to the shelter - I am NOT going to fall in love with her / him. Period. Absolutely not up for discussion.

Anyway, this little one was dumped at a local shelter last night, by a guy who said that he was trapping rabbits and ended-up with this one in the trap. Which begs all sorts of other questions, like why he's trapping rabbits, what he's doing with the rabbits, where in the hell is he trapping these rabbits, what happened to this little one's siblings, and what happened to the mother? Makes me sick to think that he trapped and did something to the mother and that the other kits are in a hole staring somewhere.

I really hate some people.

But back to the little one - right now we don't know sex (can't tell on rabbits until three- to four-months), we're guessing that s/he's between two- and three-weeks old (should still be nursing and just starting on more solid foods). Of course, we can't produce rabbit milk for the little one, so I'm syringe-feeding KMR (kitten milk replacer) mixed with heavy cream and acidophilus. The bun is also getting some alfalfa mush, laced with carrot baby food, and has access to hay (which s/he's already nibbling on). I'm feeding the baby every three-hours, 'round the clock, and will keep that up for two to three more weeks.

Enough exposition - time for photos!

A perfect handful:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Butterscotch%20Bunny/080127-ButterscotchBunny22-LowRes.jpg

In the hay box:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Butterscotch%20Bunny/080127-ButterscotchBunny2-LowRes.jpg

Widdle feet!
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Butterscotch%20Bunny/080127-ButterscotchBunny20-LowRes.jpg

Baby bunny butt!
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Butterscotch%20Bunny/080127-ButterscotchBunny26-LowRes.jpg

Hiding with a stuffed duck (tomorrow I'll purchase a more appropriate snuggle partner for the little one):
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Butterscotch%20Bunny/080127-ButterscotchBunny6-LowRes.jpg

Wet whiskers and chin, following a feeding:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Butterscotch%20Bunny/080127-ButterscotchBunny23-LowRes.jpg

I am NOT going to fall in love with her / him. Period.

impossible

Omg, but s/he's cute!

I am NOT going to fall in love with her / him. Period.

impossible

Thank you. I appreciate your unwavering support in this matter.

Omg, but s/he's cute!

Yeah, I keep saying that too. And then D. says "Duh, it's a baby rabbit! There's no such thing as a not-cute baby rabbit. Hell, she could be eating the head of another baby rabbit and look cute!" I can't really argue with that assessment. G., on the other hand, keeps saying "It looks like a little Japanese stuffed animal!" (I have no idea what he means.)

Okay, so now the cutest thing that s/he's doing - when I take away the feeding syringe for a refill / rewarming, the little one cuddles up in my hand and repeatedly licks my fingers. Over and over and over. (She's doing what she'd do with her mother and licking to get the milk to come down.)

Tiny baby bunny tongue licking my fingers - GAH!

You have successfully found Nummymuffincoocolbutter

The Challenge:

The little one needs a name! Prefer gender neutral OR something that has similar-sounding female / male equivalents.

Edith / Edmund
Abagail / Abe
Edna
Joplin
Bunniliciousness Squared
Tuppence
Nelson or Nielson

Ideas?

(I kinda like "Nummymuffincoocolbutter" but that'll be a pain to write down on all the paperwork.)

So, um, another baby bunny was dumped at the shelter this afternoon; the little one is now all snuggled up with his / her sibling underneath a plush stuffed Tigger doll.

Photos:

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Butterscotch%20and%20Mocha/080128-ButterscotchandMocha10-LowRe.jpg

Sleeping in a pile:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Butterscotch%20and%20Mocha/080128-ButterscotchandMocha24-LowRe.jpg

More snuggling
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Butterscotch%20and%20Mocha/080128-ButterscotchandMocha9-LowRes.jpg

After a feeding, the new little one fell asleep in D.'s hand:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Butterscotch%20and%20Mocha/080128-MochainDavidsHand1-LowRes.jpg

Now I need to come up with two names. Ideas?

Bun-Bun and Nub-Nub

OMG I AM DYING OF TEH CUET.

Back by popular demand :)

These little buggers spent two months, last fall, living in my bedroom. They're noisy, messy as hell, and just too damn adorable.

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Sugar%20Gliders/081023-SugarGliders13-LowRes.jpg

They slept all piled on top of each other:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Sugar%20Gliders/081023-SugarGliders2-LowRes.jpg

Totally beepable noses:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Sugar%20Gliders/081023-SugarGliders28-LowRes.jpg

And kissable faces:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Sugar%20Gliders/081023-SugarGliders6-LowRes.jpg

What are they? Baby hedgehogs without spines or...?

They sometimes eat hanging upside down:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Sugar%20Gliders/081024-SugarGliders9-LowRes.jpg

And sometimes they sat on the food bowl:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Sugar%20Gliders/081024-SugarGliders12-LowRes.jpg

They'd run so fast in their wheels that they'd sometimes go flying off:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Sugar%20Gliders/081024-SugarGliders6-LowRes.jpg

This is my favorite photo:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Sugar%20Gliders/081024-SugarGliders10-LowRes.jpg

Odd facts about Sugar Gliders:

- The males have a biforcated penis
- The females have two uterus'
- The females can hold an embryo in stasis for 6-months
- The males urinate from the base of their penis so, in events of accidental amputation, they can still urinate
- They live in colonies and the males and females raise the joeys together
- Because they're marsupials, the unformed joeys are about the size of an uncooked grain of rice when they crawl out of the vagina and into the pouch.

These little ones are now living at a licensed animal rescue facility, in a gigantic habitat, where they enchant their caretakers.

Super cuet! In what way are they messy???

they probably shit and piss, for one.

and two

Oh, the baby brown bunnies did grow-up ... and they're still living in my kitchen! I never did officially name them, so they're called "Brown Bunny" and "Tan Bunny." Not terribly creative of me, I'm afraid. I'll track down some photos of them later.

In the meantime, here's some photos taken at a wildlife rehab place where I spend time.

Orphaned baby raccoon:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/080406-BabyRaccoon1-LowRes.jpg

Cute little bugger:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/080406-BabyRaccoon3-LowRes.jpg

A non-releasable raven, named Bandit:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/080406-Bandit8-LowRes.jpg

Owl recovering from a broken wing:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/080406-BlindOwl3-LowRes.jpg

Juvenile raccoons about ready to be transferred to an outside habitat and start the hacking out process:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/080406-AdolescentRaccoons3-LowRes.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/080406-AdolescentRaccoons2-LowRes.jpg

Orphaned hummingbird:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/080406-Romulus5-LowRes.jpg

Feeding the hummer:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/080406-Romulus12-LowRes.jpg

Here's a domestic bunny that ended-up at the wildlife rehab place (someone found it in a park - she had severe puncture wounds in her sides):

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/080406-OrphanedBabyBunny8-LowRes.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/080406-OrphanedBabyBunny4-LowRes.jpg

James cuddling her:
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/080406-OrphanedBabyBunny7-LowRes.jpg

She was adopted by a rabbit rescue friend, who named her "Brook" and she now lives with a male bun named Punky, who positively worships her.

Sugar gliders are messy in that they'll throw their food if they don't like it, they tend to be rather indiscriminate about where they urinate and defecate, and one of their main foods is a semi-liquid and sticky mixture, which they spread all over.

But damn, they're cute.

If you google "sugar glider sounds" I think there's some files available with them crabbing and other things.

Juvenile raccoons look like total bros.

<3

Please don't let this thread go unupdated for more than a year again, the critters & you rule! :-(

They are all adorable, this is like the cute overload section of ile.

those racoons look shifty!

More photos!

Here's a good illustration of why it's darn near impossible to wrap presents with the assistance of baby bunnies:

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Butterscotch%20and%20Mocha/080213-BabyBunniesWrapPresents13-1.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Butterscotch%20and%20Mocha/080213-BabyBunniesWrapPresents28-1.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Butterscotch%20and%20Mocha/080213-BabyBunniesWrapPresents30-1.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Butterscotch%20and%20Mocha/080213-BabyBunniesWrapPresents35-1.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Butterscotch%20and%20Mocha/080213-BabyBunniesWrapPresents38-1.jpg

I like the mean mid-leap look in the fourth one there.

And here's the Brown Bunnies, all grown up.

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Butterscotch%20and%20Mocha/080523-BrownBunnies20-LowRes.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Butterscotch%20and%20Mocha/080523-BrownBunnies36-LowRes.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Butterscotch%20and%20Mocha/080523-BrownBunnies37-LowRes.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Butterscotch%20and%20Mocha/080523-BrownBunnies42-LowRes.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Butterscotch%20and%20Mocha/080801-TheBrownBunnies2-LowRes.jpg

Yeah, that's one of my favorites too, Ned. You have good taste *grinning*.

Little Wren (the lighter colored one) and Miss Pearl (the darker colored one - now deceased) -

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Wren%20and%20Pearl/071115-WrenandPearl13-LowRes.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Wren%20and%20Pearl/071115-WrenandPearl11-LowRes.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Wren%20and%20Pearl/071115-WrenandPearl10-LowRes.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Wren%20and%20Pearl/071115-WrenandPearl9-LowRes.jpg

Miss Pidge (one eared) and Wee Willie (two eared):

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Pidge%20and%20Willie/070226-Pigeon25-LowRes.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Pidge%20and%20Willie/080801-Pigeon5-LowRes.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Pidge%20and%20Willie/080801-Pigeon7-LowRes.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Pidge%20and%20Willie/081124-PidgeandWillie21-LowRes.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p257/HedgePigLove/Pidge%20and%20Willie/080819-PidgeandWillie3-LowRes.jpg