New Family Member

We still have a lot to learn about caring for our bearded dragon. He is definitely the most unusual pet we've ever kept.

He's getting used to us.

Bunny Condo

Poor Princess Pepper was sadly in need of a larger cage. Since I've been working she's have very little time in her playpen for exercise.


However bunny cages can be very expensive. Especially when you need multiple layers for vertical jumping and room enough to stretch out. I came across this website for the Bunny Condo.

I was intrigued by how simple the supplies were. The plans seemed easy enough. I had no idea just how easy!

Leon and I made our condo in about 2 days. There were several moments of trial and error. My first attempt went exactly by the plans on the website. It was HUGE! Way bigger than anything I needed. I bought 2 large packs of storage cubes. Turns out this set would be more than enough:

I purchased it at Bed Bath and Beyond for about $20.

All of the grids are attached with 8" zip ties. 

This is the cage when we were almost done. We still needed to trim out the bottom (so bunny makes less mess with bunny berries and hay) and add plywood to the top shelf. I used one of the grid squares to make the shelf then I drilled holes into the plywood and attached it to the shelf with zip ties. My bunny weighs less than 3lbs so this was more then enough support.

You can see the door swings open. We also left a top piece hinged so that we can reach in from the top of her cage.

Some other things in the cage with her:

• litter box (yes she's fully trained)
• a box to chew
• a tunnel (larges pvc pipe I could find) 
• some dangly bells (I usually find nice ones in the bird section of the pet store - just make sure there aren't any plastic pieces that could choke her). She likes to shake them and make them ring.
• large water bottle (bunnies drink a large amount of water)
• salt and mineral licks (one of each hung from the top shelf)
• food bowl
• plenty of hay (we give her a large handful a day)

Other things I'd like to add/change are a hidey-home and a larger tunnel (she can get through the one I have, but I think a larger one would suit her better.

Thursday Tips - Bunny Care

Do you have a house bunny? Does clipping her nails terrify you?



I used to be afraid of clipping my bunny's nails. But it was a necessary evil. Pepper is about as placid as a bunny can be as long as she doesn't think you want to eat her. If you get clippers near her toes...she assumes you want to use them to eat her. I learned a new trick and I'm not afraid anymore.

First you wrap your bunny up in a towel like a burrito. It's a good idea to get someone else to help you in case you need a second pair of hands.



Then you lay her gently on her back. It's very important to be gentle and move slowly. Your bunny's spine is extremely fragile. One wrong jerk of the leg to break free and your rabbit can snap her spine. When my bunny is in a burrito wrap she doesn't fight. Her arms and legs are completely held against her body. It's also good to have your helper hold her down firmly during the process. I've gotten quite good at it, and she stays pretty still now.

I gently pull one leg out of the wrap at a time and gently clip the nail with giant toenail clippers (the fingernail clippers don't open wide enough). Be extremely careful not to cut bunny's nail to the quick. This could cause bleeding and your bunny doesn't have a lot of blood. It can also be difficult to stop the bleeding once it starts.



Once you get into a routine with your bunny she will no longer be frightened. I still burrito wrap my bunny so that I don't take any chances with her spine.

If your bunny gets away from you, you can catch her by throwing the towel over her. This will cause her to pause. Then quick as you can scoop up your bunny, towel and all.

After it's all over, be sure to spend some time rubbing your bunny down. She will associate the burrito wrapping with good lovin' and will look forward to her next mani/pedi.

Poor Callie

Our poor kitty went to the vet today. She is an outdoor kitty so we were a bit worried about her running away with the move. We planned to visit Leon for the night in his hotel room. So Callie boarded at the vets while we were gone.

She also needed to get all of her vaccines. Well, the vet called very concerned for Callie's health. She's gotten so skinny and the vet didn't want to give her the shots. She would not metabolize them well. She is a bit concerned that Callie may be in renal failure. She also thinks Callie is much older than we originally thought. She came to us as an adult and we never really knew how old she was. But she has been our kitty for over 5 years and we've grown rather attached to her.

It is just really bad timing. So many sudden changes for our family. The kids were taking the news pretty hard. I just can't seen spending the kind of money it would require to treat our poor kitty if she is does have a kidney disease.

We decided to bring her home and see if we couldn't fatten her up a bit. We'll give her a few weeks. If she hasn't gained any weight, then we may have to put her down.

She's still a very silly cat. And is not behaving like she is sick at all.



She did pout for after her dr visit and ran off for a few days. But she is back now and seems pretty adjusted from the move.

Princess Pepper

We've had to update our baby's equipment. It's very hard to keep up with her when we let her run loose through the house. I'm afraid she's going to hurt herself. And not only that, I think the freedom was going to her head. She was getting quite ornery.

So how else do you set limits for an active, curious, and sometimes destructive baby?



You put her in a playpen.



Notice that there are 2 potties. Bunnies don't have very strong bladders.



I love that her cage opens up to the playpen. We give her 4 hours a day of playtime. And Princess Pepper is so content now. She begs us to pet her and even likes to be picked up every now and again (as long as we don't overdo it).

Happy Princess Pepper is a Girl Day!!!

So with baby bunnies you really have no way of knowing their gender. I think it's when they are 12 weeks old that their gender specific anatomy is apparent.

Today we have officially identified girl parts!!

Hooray for Princess Pepper!! If she were a he we would be calling her Dr. Pepper.







Pepper on her first day and now.

You can sorta see how much she's grown. I know we can tell a difference especially in her eyes (they are MUCH bigger). I think this is the biggest she's going to get.

Pepper REALLY HATES the camera.

What's Everyone Up To?

You know how you can get so absorbed with whatever you are doing on the computer that you look up and realize A LOT of time has gone by. So then you wonder where everyone is and what they are doing.

Kelsea was being a sweet big sister and playing Electronic Battleship with Ishmael.





Joshua and Jeremiah were buddied up in Kelsea's room watching The Aristocats.



Leon was watching tv in our bedroom. He had made himself comfortable (forgoing pants) so I'll spare you a picture.

Princess Pepper was being a bunny. She's very good at it.

Princess Pepper

Princess Pepper went to meet her Nana.



She thought Nana's house was the coolest!



Bunny Speed


Did you know bunnies are very very curious in nature? I don't think she knows what curiosity did to the cat.

Raising a Bunny

I've been doing alot of research on the web about caring for a bunny. I knew going into this that bunnies needed alot more care than a dog or a cat. Really I was wanting another baby so while a bunny is alot of work...a baby would be more.

I've improved her cage quite a bit since we first brought her home. I installed a shelf and bought her a "tunnel" made of plumbing pipes.

She gets a couple of hours a day to play in the hallway. I sit in there with her and she jumps into my lap, she likes to have her back rubbed. She has even bestowed bunny kisses a few times.





I'm finding that taking pictures of a bunny is very hard. She doesn't like the camera sounds and she moves way too fast for even the fastest shutter speed.

Look Who's Here

It's adoption day at the Baker House.



The kids spend some time guessing who we will bring home.



Will it be a bunny? A guinea pig? Possibly a ferret?



Bringing out baby home.









Her name is Princess Pepper. We are 50% sure she is a girl. We won't know for sure for a few more weeks. If she is a he we will call him Dr. Pepper.

So far we are just getting to know our bunny. She's very curious and full of energy. She seems pretty social and will hop from one lap to the next to be petted.

Everyone is being extra quiet, and extra extra gentle as Little Pepper gets used to us.

The Bakers are Expecting

My Poor Kitty

I have a very sick little kitty on my hands. Apparently she has an intra-nasal mass. Last night we spent a couple hours in the vet er. They couldn't do anything for her and it was basically a stinkin' waste of money that we could have saved to use towards testing. Her breathing was labored and she just didn't look right (probably lack of oxygen).

I don't want to say goodbye to my kitty. We buried my my brother in law exactly one month ago today. I can't take losing my kitty right now. Ugh. I just feel so awful. I can't believe my bil is just gone. I miss him. He was such a fun guy and loved us all very much.

Anyway, my friend is coming over and we are supposed to go walking but it looks nasty outside so it looks like we will just have lunch together. Still it will be a nice visit. I need company right now.