Bunny Blogger Break?

Hello bunny bloggers! As you can tell, the frequency of my blogging has really tapered off lately.  I will definitely be posting much less often now for a few reasons.  First, I just started grad school and as you can imagine, it's totally overwhelming on its own. Add a full-time job and an active social life, and it turns out that I just don't have enough hours in the week to blog!

Second, it seems like Walter and I have really hit our stride.  We've got our routine down pat, and aside from the occasional rabbit revenge for my lack of attention, Walter and I are getting along just fine.  He seems happy and comfortable in our digs here, though I've been trying to prepare him for another move this summer.  

That's right.  Another move.  My bunny and I are moving to the Big Apple! (Sidenote: I hate when people call it the Big Apple.)  More details to follow, but let's just hope I don't have too much trouble finding a nice studio apartment on the Upper East Side that is rabbit-friendly.

Walter has his annual check-up with the veterinarian this weekend and we'll get an update on his e. cuniculi, so I'm looking forward to that. He'll also get a long overdue nail trim, which my scratched-up skin will appreciate.  I can't seem to trim his nail myself! This rabbit has a mind of his own; he's definitely not going to stay still long enough for me to clip his nails.

Welp, that's about all the time I can spend blogging today - I have a rabbit staring me down:

Give me cheek rubs!

Why did you stop paying attention to me?!

PLAY WITH ME!

Gotta go!

Playtime and a New Friend

Walter made a new friend yesterday, in the form of a stuffed giraffe that I have. In lieu of getting a second rabbit, I’m determined for Walter to become BFF with a stuffed toy.  He’s already rejected Little Blue Bunny, he shows very little interest in Eeyore, and he only occasionally grooms Moley Lamb (a stuffed lamb that also looks like a mole).  So last night, I tried the giraffe, whose name is Woodrow.  It seemed successful! Within a few minutes, Walter was giving Woodrow a good sniffing and, subsequently, a good cleaning.  He didn’t freak out when I positioned Woodrow so that he was snuggling up next to him.  And when I “hopped” Woodrow around the room, Walter got pretty excited and showed off some hops of his own.

Woodrow!

To be fair, the excitement could have been more from Walter’s enjoyment of having me pay him a lot of attention.  This morning, he wanted my attention so badly that he cuddled with my shoe while I was trying to put it on my foot.  And then he followed me to the front door and tried to hop out into the hallway of my apartment building and come with me to work!

I don’t know what it is. It’s not like I’m never home or never trying to play with him.  Last night, I lured him out of hiding and we sat together for a long time, watching TV.  But, on a typical night, by the time he’s done hanging out by himself in his box fort, it’s time for me to go to bed!

Do you have a playtime schedule for your rabbit?  Do you ever find that your schedules are out of sync?

Scritch Scratch

Walter's been scratching at his face and ears a lot lately.  I've gotten much better about not projecting my hypochondriac neuroses onto my rabbit, but this has really grabbed my attention. Every few minutes, he stops running laps around the apartment to scratch at his cheeks and ears.  On top of that, he's been shaking his head a lot more than what's normal for him.  So, I think it's about time we go back to the vet. It's been a while and he needs to be retested for e. cuniculi anyway.

Other than that, Walter's been in a phenomenal mood lately!  I've never seen him run, jump, binky, or flop over for naptime so much before.  He's gotten much better about interacting with strangers, too. I had a friend over for dinner last night and Walter was very interested in her, even flopping on his side right next to her and letting her roll him around on the ground a bit.  Friendly rabbit!

Bunny Flop

The cutest thing my rabbit (any rabbit!) does is the “bunny flop.” Walter rarely does it, so I doubt I’ll ever catch it on camera, but it’s adorable. Basically, the rabbit starts sitting upright and then suddenly flops down on his side, curls into a small semi-circle, and then stretches back out in total relax-mode.

It always catches me by surprise, because one minute, Walter is sitting there looking at me, and the next minute, he’s nestled into a perfect napping position. It’s a sign of true rabbit comfort, I’ve read, since it puts the rabbit in a position in which he can’t be on high-alert for danger. His stomach is exposed, which is rare, and unless something is going on around him, his eyes are small slits while he sleeps.

Walter did the bunny flop twice this weekend. Once on Saturday evening after my mom and I got home from our adventures in DC. I was lying on the living room floor, petting Walter, when out of nowhere – FLOP! – right onto me. The next instance was on Sunday, when Walter was locked in his cage for a time out. He was sitting awkwardly halfway in his wooden cave when he suddenly flopped onto his side, ready for a good nap.

Hands down, it is my favorite rabbit movement (closely followed by the process of Walter washing his face and ears). I found a couple videos on You Tube of someone else’s rabbit doing the Bunny Flop, in case you aren’t sure what I’m talking about:

Now, in this video, picture me as that cat, because this is basically what happened with me and Walter on Saturday night:

Awww!