Happy 2nd Birthday!

When we adopted Ruddy and Buddy, no one could tell us exact day of their birth. Their foster mom knew it was some day in September. As we adopted them on 12th day in February, I decided to celebrate their birthday on September 12th.
So today it’s their very special day. I can’t believe that our bunnies are already two years old.

Happy Birthday, Ruddy & Buddy!
We wish you were happy, playful, relaxed, healthy, full of curiosity, joy, and cuteness. Hope to see a lot of binkies and flops from you :)

Our present for Ruddy and Buddy is a homemade birthday gift bag filled with several types of hay and toys for chewing and tossing.

Different kinds of hay

Toys

Gift bag :)

There is something new in the apartment.

I wonder what it is..

I’m sure it is something for us..

.. and it is full of good stuff.

It looks like it is enough for both of us so we will share ;)

Don’t worry, there will be no mess on the floor. I will eat all the hay to the last stem.

What? I wouldn’t promise that.

I’m tired now but I will stay close and keep an eye on our treasure.

Maybe Ruddy doesn’t know that there is one more hole in the back.

I think there is more than just hay inside.

I’m sure I’ve seen something on the bottom of this bag.

Oh, really? Let me get it.

Yes, there was a hay cube and it’s mine!

OK, I think I had enough.. for now :)

Is that all we get for our cuteness? You should add more pellets next time.

Double flop

Flop is one of the cutest and funniest things that bunnies do. It is a small jump to a relaxed position on bunny’s side.
Ruddy and Buddy are great performers of flops. They usually flop when they have to take a break from running and jumping or when they need to save all the energy for food processing :) And, of course, when they want to take a nap and relax. In the afternoon, when bunnies are the least active, I see Ruddy and Buddy flopping all the time.

By watching my bunnies, I figured out some basic rules of flops. Bunny has to feel safe – that’s the most important. Before the actual flop, bunny checks the place where he’s going to fall over. He makes sure there are no obstacles on the floor – although, as I found out, other bunny lying close by is not considered any problem :) I saw my bunnies flopping on each other’s head without any concern.

This video features flops of both Ruddy and Buddy and it also shows some of the rules I’ve mentioned. Enjoy!

This banana is mine!

Our bunnies love banana. It is definitely their favorite treat. Wherever in the apartment they are, when they smell banana, they will run to me and beg for it :)
I give them just a very small piece of banana. Since it is so scarce and yummy, they don’t like to share it with anybody.

This video shows how Buddy wants his banana only for himself.

Although Ruddy looks as he didn’t get his piece of banana, it is not true. He had his one before Buddy. Here is the proof :)

Litter box

Before we adopted Ruddy and Buddy, I didn’t know that bunnies can be litter box trained. I expected that indoor rabbits live in a pen and poop everywhere inside it. I was prepared to clean their living area as often as it would be needed although I couldn’t quite imagine how much work and time that would take.
Then I found out that bunnies can be trained to use the litter box both for peeing and pooping. They like to keep their space clean and after spaying/neutering they have no need to mark their territory. Ruddy and Buddy were already trained by their foster mom how to use their toilets. For us, that was one important unexpected advantage which helped us decide for their adoption.

The way I prepare litter boxes for Ruddy and Buddy is explained in the pictures. Some people don’t put hay in the litter box but I found out, that for my bunnies, this works best. The hay in their litter boxes is not the only hay they can eat. During the day, when Ruddy and Buddy run loose in the apartment, they have a wicker basket full of hay in their “dining” area.

A grooming time

One of the favorite activities of Ruddy and Buddy is grooming each other. Grooming starts by presenting one bunny to the other one. When Ruddy presents himself to Buddy, he lowers his head and puts it under Buddy’s chin. Buddy then starts licking Ruddy’s face and ears. Watching bunnies grooming each other always makes us saying “Ooh” because it is just so cute.

Sometimes, both bunnies want to be groomed at the same time. That’s when the real fun begins. Buddy presents himself to Ruddy so Ruddy licks Buddy’s face a couple of times. Then Ruddy pushes his head under Buddy’s chin and Buddy has no choice than start licking Ruddy. It looks like bunnies are playing a game: “And now, it’s your turn.”

This game usually ends when one bunny decides that he is tired of grooming so he breaks the chain of presenting and grooming :)

Ears, ears, ears

Ears are one of the most important parts of a rabbit’s body. They are radars that are scanning all the sounds and informing about potential dangers. When there is anything new in the apartment, Ruddy and Buddy approach it with their ears pointed forward. We call this approach “Ears first” :)
It’s also very funny to see how they turn their ears towards the sound. When bunnies hear a noise, they just raise one of their ears to find out whether everything is safe. Why should they get up from the relaxed position when they have those two radars always at their disposal?

We’re all ears

Ears never sleep :)

Are you saying something?

Hm?

If I were a lop..

Is it a dinner that I hear you bringing?

How many ears do you see?

I’m listening

Radar’s ON

And now, turn right

When Buddy is dreaming

It is rare to see a bunny in his deep sleep. Rabbits are prey animals, so they always need to be aware of their surroundings. Bunny has to feel very safe or be very tired to close his eyes and forget about the world around him. Our Buddy knows how to relax. I see him enjoying his nap much more often than Ruddy.

Today’s video captures Buddy’s REM (rapid eye movement). I saw him in this stage of sleep couple of times. It always lasts just a minute or so. Not only his eyes are moving, but also his ears, nose, mouth, tail and legs.
In this video, you can see how it looks when Buddy is dreaming. My guess is, he dreams about something truly yummy, like a banana (especially at 0:58 :)