Changes in the Past Year

I noticed this evening while trimming Umbra's nails that she no longer run and hides behind/under the furniture afterwards (or during if she gets particularly squirmy, and then I have to catch her all over again). She wouldn't even come out for a "please-forgive-me" treat.

Now she expects, even demands, a treat. A first she will run off, kicking at me (so rude), but she quickly comes back grunting and biting. "Give me a treat.. and then I will consider lessening your punishment".

Parkour Bunny

This rabbit has skills. I can't imagine all the trouble Umbra would get into if she learned to do this.

There is nothing like..

Free lettuce.

My mom scored a bunch of left over lettuce as well as celery and carrot tops from a church event. She can blame Umbra for clogging the vacuum all she wants but deep inside she loves her too.

Rabbits and Animal Testing

Its no secret that rabbits have long been a popular test subject. According to the American Anti-Vivisection Society, rabbits used in medical research  more frequently than any other species, currently about 200,000 per year. Many sources cite that the reason for this is that rabbit are easy to breed and easy to handle (I should say non of these "researchers" ever tried to trim a rabbits nails). You may have also noticed that your rabbit hardly ever blinks; this made them convenient for the Draize eye irritant tests. Rabbits have also been the subject of pregnancy testing.

So why am I bringing all of this unpleasantness up? I just saw a PETA campaign against the testing of tobacco products on animals, including rabbits. Among all the arguments I could raise against animal testing, what bothers me most about this is that the dangers of smoking has been known for decades. I can't imagine the usefulness of this research.

I took a class in communications research last semester, and while this differs in many ways from scientific or medical research, one of the first questions you have to ask yourself when starting a project is "is this useful/important?" In this case I say certainly not. I wonder how this was approved/ funded. We already know how bad smoking is; we know that quitting is the only way to avoid the repercussions of smoking.

You can learn more about PETAs campaign against testing of tobacco products here, or contact your government representatives and request legislation against animal testing.

Various Rabbit Items

Over the weekend I went to a bridal expo with my friend and future maid of honor. To my surprise I won a door prize: a $50 gift certificate to a little boutique. Of course only I would spot all the bunny merchandise they had to offer.

 For some reason they downloaded sideways and I am unable to right them.

This last one was not at the store, it was made for me by a IHRS member. She has started selling these pom-pom bunnies to raise money for IHRS. This is my little Umbra pom-bunny. It's pretty cute and soft, but of course no comparison to the original.

Wood Pellets as Litter Update

So I am on my second litter box of wood stove pellets as alternative litter. It absorbs so well, I discovered I have to use less. Umbra's litter box was filled with droppings before even half of the pellets had gotten wet.

The only drawbacks are that Umbra kept snacking on them at first, but I haven't seen her do it since. However, whenever I fill up her litter box she comes running because she thinks I'm getting her food. I don't mean to tease her, but they aren't those kind of pellets. I give her a treat anyway, just so she won't go insane (and plot my murder).

The verdict: thumbs up for wood stove pellets. Inexpensive and super absorptive; what more could you ask for?

Hay Update

I picked up my 50 lb box of Oxbow hay yesterday. It looks great: nice and green and fragrant. I was pleasantly surprised to be refunded almost $6 for my purchase, but this has lead to some internal conflict. In my previous post "Small Pet Supplies Rant" I mentioned that Pet Supplies Plus and Small Pet Select sell 50 lb of hay for the same price. Because of this I was going to buy my hay from Small Pet Select in the future. I would like to support a small business dedicated solely to the well being of small animals, especially rabbits, but I also like to save money.

Quite the predicament. Any suggestions?

An added benefit to buying from Small Pet Select is I don't have to get depressed whenever I see bunnies for sale at the pet store (although Pet Supplies Plus seems to be not as irresponsible as Uncle Bill's). I saw these little guys the were on "sale". I really hope they end up in good homes, I wish I could save them all. They seemed so happy, the little flopped one was grooming his/her dutch friend and flopped over making a little bunny ying yang. I couldn't help snapping a pic even if it made me sad. Good luck little guys!