My sleeping beauty.

Sleeping Beauty., originally uploaded by jess sully.

Zuri's doing even better today. As you can see, she is still calm and unaffected by strange noises, smells, and movements.
Her poos are still soft, and she has the habit of peeing in whichever far corner I moved the litterbox from, so I put in a giant cat litterbox with a homemade grate, like Flynn's. The grate is made of 1/2"x1/2" coated wire, so that when she eats the poos fall safely through. The grate has also stopped her from eating her litter, which I was concerned about.

Excuse me, I was TRYING to relax!

Since Zuri's poos have been a little firmer, I decided to let her run around the bedroom for awhile. And BOY, did she RUN! Baby binkies galore! She was hilarious to watch... she routinely tripped over herself and faceplanted :)


Flynn wouldn't stop looking at her, he paced back and forth and followed her every movement. At first, I intended to steer her away from his cage at all costs.


But Flynn just looked too pathetic, so I let them greet eachother through the bars. Flynn, surprisingly, was calm towards her and even presented his head to be groomed!


Hello, there.

Zuri desperately needs her feet and bottom cleaned. They are caked with poop and urine, from wallowing in her soft poos, and it's quite disgusting. I'm just not quite sure how to do it without stressing her out. One idea I liked was soaking a towel with warm water and putting it in the kitchen sink, with about an inch of water, so she can walk around in it and let it soak in for awhile. Then, is there anything anyone recommends to scrub those little feetsies with? She doesn't mind being held and actually seems to like being close to me, but her feet simply gross me out!

Zuri's here!

Pretty peepers., originally uploaded by jess sully.

We picked up Zuri today. She is one RELAXED bunny- not jumpy at all, which is a big difference from Flynn, who would be sent skittering away at the slightest movement or noise for weeks after we got him. She even flopped in her carrier and fell asleep on the way home while I was massaging her cheeks.

She has settled in quite nicely here. At first, she had some very sloppy, diarrhea poops. After filling her belly with hay and pellets, however, she is now leaving nice, round, mostly-solid poops. She seems a bit thin- her belly is a bit bloated/squishy, but you can feel her spine and ribs beneath her skin. I'm trying to remember if Flynn felt that way too? Well, either way, she has unlimited access to hay and pellets so hopefully she will put on a little weight soon! She's not really much smaller than Flynn- they are about the same length, but Flynn is much more filled in and muscular-looking. She's awfully scrawny, lanky, and awkward looking at the moment, especially with those crazy ears! I'm sure that will change in time.
It adds to her endearment ;)
Flynn is going absolutely crazy with the new baby in the house, but unfortunately they will not be allowed to meet each other for at least a month.


One relaxed baby. (Sleeping)

The Dog Bone Encounter.

100_3199, originally uploaded by jess sully.

Zuri's cage and all of her things are all set up in my room. Her cage is above Flynn's, and he seemed very anxious about it so I brought him up there to investigate. Well, I had completely forgotten this peppermint puppy bone that had come as a free sample with some of the supplies I ordered online. Flynn was quick to find it and enjoyed it immensely.
What a strange bunny!

Hey, give it back!





Flynn's face after my boyfriend Eric burst into the room. They have mixed feelings about eachother. Sometimes they get along, sometimes they don't.





Zuri comes home tomorrow! We just got our first major snowfall of the year today, so hopefully the roads won't be terrible tomorrow. We have to drive 1 1/2 hours to pick her up.

Working on his disapproving face.

Trying to sleep, here!, originally uploaded by jess sully.

I disapprove of mismatched socks on my doorstep.


Don't you dare zoom that thing in.


What?! How dare you disobey me? I dissaprove.

Making great strides!

THIS is amazing., originally uploaded by jess sully.

Flynn's behavior has improved so much lately.
I'm not sure if it has to do with his hormones, his age, or his new cage, but it's wonderful. He's much happier in his cage now... instead of pacing back and forth by the door, he is content to play and nap happily in his cage even WITH the door open. (Although he still runs to greet me and expects some food when I walk in the room).
He doesn't struggle anymore when I lift him off the ground, and he smooshes down for pets quite readily now.
He seems more lethargic in his cage now, as well. I'm not sure if that's because it's cold outside, because he's getting older, or because he has a bigger cage now.

An unexpected bonding moment!

aw., originally uploaded by jess sully.

Flynn was being especially smooshy today... he kept pancaking down to the floor for pets. During one of our long petting sessions, I realized how long his nails were (I've been avoiding clipping them- he HATES it).
So, I did it. I cornered him, wrapped him up in a bunny-burrito, held him on his back, and did those back tootsies.
I let him sit on his butt against my belly to do the front toes... and he just sat pleasantly with me for awhile :)
It was such a nice surprise!

Project FFF Update

About a week ago, my landlady agreed to let me get another bunny. She did, however, put strict stipulations that I had to make sure all of my housemates agreed. After talking to my housemate Kate, who is EXTREMELY allergic to basically every animal on this planet, we both decided that it would be best to get a rex/mini rex because neither of us are allergic to rex fur.
At first, I was a little bummed, because this ruled out most of the breeds I was looking at. I really wanted a lop, but all lops have regular fur... right? WRONG! I discovered a lovely breed called the "velveteen lop" which is a miniature english lop with rex fur! Velveteens are hard to find in the US, since the breed is still very new and on it's way to becoming accepted by the ARBA. I managed to locate a breeder about 1.5 hours away. And now I have a baby on reserve :)
Here she is: (broken blue velveteen doe)



Isn't she beautiful? The pictures aren't the greatest quality, but it was nice to see her, anyways.
She will be coming home on November 25th, the day before she turns eight weeks old.

Flynn's new NIC cage.

Flynn's new NIC cage., originally uploaded by jess sully.

After looking at all of the beautiful NIC cages online for awhile, I decided Flynn needed one, too. After all, his litter habits have been so wonderful that he needed a reward! I also haven't been able to let him out of his cage while I'm not here anymore, because he's been destroying the carpet, and I couldn't stand leaving him in his old dog crate for long periods at a time.

His old 36"x24" dog crate, and the towels surrounding it to deter him from pulling the carpet. It looked rather cluttered.


Close up of the old cage.


Supplies: 3 boxes of grids (on sale- $14.99/each) and zip-ties from Target, fleece from Jo-Ann Fabrics


After clearing out Flynn's old cage, but before construction- look at all that empty space!


The finished product. It took me about two hours to construct, and I did all by myself! (I'm not a handy person so I'm quite proud). It is 56 inches long by 28 inches wide. The loft in the corner is nice because it utilizes empty space, hides his litterbox, and gives him more opportunities to stretch out and play.


View with top door open- it hinges up and flips onto the top of the cage for easy access.


Cute binder clips that hold the doors shut and prevent him from escaping.


Flynn's loft- every bachelor's gotta have one ;)


Left side.


Right side.

The new cage is great. Flynn has so much more room to run and stretch- he can even do binkies! Also, it looks much better in my room.

Flynn goes outside.

Om nom nom leaf., originally uploaded by jess sully.

It was a very warm day today... almost in the 70's! I decided to take advantage of the nice weather by taking Flynn outside. It was his first time on his harness and leash (he was too small for it before), and I expected him to be nervous, but he wasn't at all.

I live on a pretty busy road, so he WAS boggled by the noise of the traffic. He kept trying to run near the road!


He loved eating the dandilion leaves.


Crunchy leaves = rabbit delicacy.


Foraging like a wild bunny :)

Whatcha doing up there?

Whatcha doing up there?, originally uploaded by jess sully.

Flynn doesn't jump on anything. Ever. The closest thing I've seen him do to jump are his binkies, but usually he shoots sideways rather than up. Good thing Flynn isn't a basketball player... he has no vertical! :) He won't even jump OFF things. I suppose I shouldn't complain. It makes bunnyproofing easier!
FRIEND FOR FLYNN (Project FFF) update:
I'm terrible at making decisions. Right now, I'm trying to decide what kind of bunny friend to get for Flynn. Unfortunately, I found out that the two gray lionhead sisters have been bonded together, and since I can only have one new rabbit (per landlady), they are out of the question. I'm not sure about Amber, though, and there are other adorable buns at Midwest Rescue... except they still haven't replied to my adoption form. I'm hoping they got it!
I would love to rescue a bunny. The adoption fee covers spaying (and spaying here is EXPENSIVE), and they are in desperate need of homes. However, there's something about not knowing the rabbit's past, exact age, etc. that would bother me. I like having the opportunity to raise a baby rabbit and thus "mold" them. Who knows what terrible experiences rescue rabbits have had? Although, then again I would love to be the one to show those poor abandoned/abused/neglected rabbits that something good can come from humans.
The other option I'm considering is a dutch. I was very, very, very close to getting a little blue dutch this summer instead of Flynn- I even had one reserved - but decided not to because of allergies. However, nobody in the house has had allergies to Flynn, despite our many other allergies. Dutch are classified in the "relaxed" category rather than curious or exciteable (mini rexes like Flynn are "curious"). I think a dutch would give me what Flynn currently can't- more affection. I love Flynn and his challenges, don't get me wrong, but I just keep meeting all of these wonderfully affectionate buns and wishing Flynn was more lovey. He's still young though, so neutering and aging could help.
The dutch breeder is a wonderful person! She has beautiful rabbits, and unlike many other breeders, she sincerely cares about them, even insuring that the mismarked pets get good homes. (Many other breeders "cull" (kill) them or sell them for snakefood. She would NEVER do that! She has worked with me very extensively over the past several months and I feel as though I owe it to her. Besides, her rabbits are supposed to be the sweetest!
I also have always loved Hollands, but I'm scared of the potential allergy problems with that breed (they have longer, fuzzier "rollback" hair). Dutches have "flyback" hair, so it's shorter and probably better for allergies.