#A046158

Please ready update from Chocolate's foster mom at the end of this paragraph!

Chocolate is an adorable one-year-old male rabbit that was surrendered to the Animal Refuge League because of overgrown incisors… This sweet boy is full of fun and, although he’s not yet neutered, his litter box habits are very impressive. The bad news is, Chocolate needs help! The staff in the rabbit room is trying to raise $200.00 to have Choc’s front teeth removed. Rabbits have teeth that grow continuously and poor Chocolate’s jaw does not line up correctly and his teeth do not grind down when he eats. All he wants for Christmas are his four front teeth… Gone! After these are removed, we hope the back teeth will then be able to grind themselves down without needing regular trims by a veterinarian.
Come meet Choc at the ARL and it will be love at first sight!

UPDATE: Chocolate has been neutered and is now ready for his forever home! His top two teeth have been removed completely. His two bottom teeth were broken below the gum line and will grow back. His new family will need to have those teeth trimmed every 4-6 weeks or have them removed completely by a vet. Chocolate remains extremely sweet and outgoing and should do fine with gentle children, dogs and cats.

UPDATE FROM FOSTER MOM 2/6/09:

Chocolate's appetite is not affected by the loss of his teeth. He does need his lettuce broken into pieces, apples and carrots peeled so he can eat the shavings; strawberries were OK; he didn't bother with radishes. Herbs like dill, parsley, mint, etc he can eat as is, and he becomes the most animated and feisty if he has problems with his food, such as... not being able to get it in his mouth, or humans that take too long to fill his pellet bowl. No problems with hay.

He likes to be up high. The bed is the best bunny exerciser you've ever seen. He will start racing around the living room, leap on the bed, zip on top, leap down, and do it all over again. He also likes to be on top of his crate. I put a sheet over it for privacy while he's in the cage, and he likes to hop onto the bed, then onto the crate so he can investigate the bunny supply box on top... which also has the rodent pellets inside. He once managed to roll the cylendral guinea pig food container off the crate, across the room, and into the kitchen!

He does not seem interested in toys, nor does he seem to need them. He never touched the rabbit toys I have. His big thrill during outside-the-cage time is taking a nap in the sun, taking a nap in a litter box, and stretching out in the middle of the floor. He had a hidey box here, but he didn't use it. For variation, I gave him small paper bags filled with hay for him to disassemble. I had to slit a hole in the bag in order for him to get a start on it. He will then dig and dig and shove his nose inside to tear it open.

His favorite hobby was behind my living room door. (My living room is my bedroom, is my living room...) Since the door stays open all the time, he discovered he could go behind the door and dig. I put a paper bag in the corner and he'll stay there for hours, crashing and thrashing and making great confetti out of the bag.

Chocolate's motto in life: I live so you may adore me. He is not shy about begging for attention. He desperately wanted to be friends with my two cats, and he tried really hard, but they avoid all rabbits, so this time was no different. He did make friends with my guinea pigs. Chocolate likes to get on top of a stool that's next to the guinea pig condos and "visit" with the pig in the bottom condo. He leans against the cage, and the pig inside will lean against it, too. It's so cute to see them nose to nose, but I've not been successful in getting a photo of that because Chocolate is also a camera ham! The pigs bullied him around when they interacted on the floor & there was hay to be had. Chocolate even didn't seem to mind that one of them bullied him out of his cage so the guinea pig could eat Choc's fresh pile of hay!

Litter boxes make great beds, too. His litter habits are fabulous; however, he will "re-mark" his territory each time the guinea pigs come out, and he has consistently urinated in spots marked by previous fosters. He is very respectful of barriers; when I've put up fencing to keep him out of a couple places, he quickly gives up going back to that spot.

He also likes to keep a clean cage. As soon as he sees the cleaning items comes out, he is quite the pest under foot, "helping" me change the sheets, clean out the litter boxes, and put his cage back together. He's even "helped" me prepare for shampooing the rug. During the time it took me to type this email, he got behind my desk and unplugged the power strip that my computer, printer, TV, and desk lamp are connected to!

He's been the best bun I've fostered! I return him with mixed feelings, because if I could, I'd adopt this little guy in a heartbeat!

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