Hershey

PALMERSTON NORTH: Hershey, desexed, vaccinated (Filavac) 4 1/2 year old (b. Dec 2018) male Rex

Hershey is the sole rabbit in the house. He lives with two other animals in the house, a cat and a dog. He gets along well with the cat (though the cat doesn’t really want anything to do with him). The dog doesn’t like other animals so they don’t ever interact directly anymore, however Hershey is very used to his presence, barking, and smells of the dog. 

Hershey is mostly an indoor rabbit, he has a enclosed pen for himself, and gets supervised time out of the pen around the house (while the dog is put away, and the cat is free roaming around the house). Occasionally he goes out to his outside pen for sunshine and grass. He is only put out during the day when the weather is good and never left out to sleep outside overnight as the area isn’t suitable (garden isn’t enclosed), and generally someone is home when he is left out during the day. 

He is not used to children, I don’t think he will tolerate them initially, may require a bit of conditioning and training. Hershey is litter trained, is generally very good at peeing and pooping (mostly) in his litter box. However, when stressed, he has marked around his pen/when free roaming. 

Hershey just wants love and cuddles. Once out of his pen, he loves to do binkies and zoomies around the house. He will then come up to a human for pats/cheek rubs. He is relatively chill. He is very used to the sound of the vacuum, dog barks and the presence of a cat and an aloof dog. He will laze around his pen and sleep on his side even when we have the vacuum going just outside his pen or when the dog is running around just outside his pen with the ball. 

He absolutely loves the warmth from the gas heater, he will floop and sleep in front of it during the winter months. He loves to jump on the couch and loves to explore higher up spaces (if he gets the chance, he will jump onto the dinning table). He loves to sleep on top of his hidey house (not in it! Haha) 

He hates being picked up and will thump and run away if you try to do so. The only time I pick him up is when I’m checking his hocks, bum/underside, and to trim his nails. I try to keep it brief and treat him when I do so. 

Currently 90% high quality timothy hay, 5% burgess pellets, 2.5% weeds/dried sticks and 2.5% veges/fruits. He gets a handful of grass once in a while/ he will eat fresh grass/weeds during his outdoor time. However, this is limited as he is on the heavier side. He drinks water from a deep water bowl. 

Generally healthy. Gets yearly vet trips for vaccination and checkup. He’s had one episode of colic/bloat and was in hospital for 2 days for this. I think he had some sort of tummy upset (eating too much spring weeds?) and then worsen by eating too much cardboard. He has mild pododermatitis (hock sores) due to his breed (rex are predisposed to this due to the lack of guard hair over the hocks) and also he’s slightly overweight. This is managed with soft bedding (blankets and padding in this pen), maintaining good pen hygiene, and weight management. This hock sores has never deteriorated to becoming open wounds or infected. 

Since he is mostly indoors, he doesn’t get regular ectoparasitic treatments. I do check his fur for signs of mites or fleas. If he’s been out on grass more frequently during the warmer months, I will use a topical broad spectrum ectoparasite treatment. He’s never had any infections from fleas or mites, thankfully. 

He sheds a lot! I think that’s an understatement. He has very velvety soft fine fur that just goes everywhere. Absolutely everywhere, and he has white fur. Brushes doesn’t really work and he doesn’t like it. So his excess fur is ‘brushed’ off with patting/ brushed with a hand.

The main reason for rehoming him is that he needs another bun friend. Ideally, someone who is looking for a male companion for their female bun. Unfortunately, our current living situation doesn’t allow another rabbit and I haven’t been able to provide him with the attention he badly needs. 

Just by observing his behaviour, he will definitely accept a companion, however, the usual process and cautions for bonding exposure should be used. Ideally he goes to someone who can house him indoors and/or free range.

Equipment: Negotiable.

He has the indoor pen, food (hay, pellets, dried weeds etc), toys, bedding, litter (paper) and litter boxes etc that are used specifically for him that can go with him if you require these items. 

He’s outdoor pen is quite old and he will need a new one. 

To enquire about adopting Hershey please contact: Christine at Christine.st.tan@gmail.com or +642108215982

Any questions feel free to ask. 

I absolutely love this boy, unfortunately, he needs more than what we can provide for him atm :/