I worked at a local pet store during the summer of 2000 and of course my favorite thing to do was take care of the baby bunnies.  During the middle of July, a tan rabbit arrived in the store.  She reminded me of Flopsey when she was a baby.

   To make a long story short, I convinced my parents to let me have another rabbit.  I bought Mopsey, her giant wire cage, and her first vet visit with some of my salary.

    Mopsey was not an affectionate rabbit when I first brought her home.  She was so high-strung that she would attack every time someone tried to touch her, and she seemed petrified of her big new house.  Thinking she would be better off in a smaller house, I moved her into the 10-gallon aquarium which had been used as Flopsey's first home.

    This seemed to do the trick.  Mopsey seemed less afraid and, with constant attention, she grew into an affectionate little bunny who would rub my hand with her chin every time I reached for her.  (Chin rubbing by a rabbit is like cheek rubbing by a cat; it's a rabbit's way of scenting its territory or owner.)  Unlike Flopsey, Mopsey stayed small--only four pounds--and I had successfully determined that she was female right from the start.

    My two rabbits met with each other for the first time on Mopsey's second day at my house.  Flopsey was jealous, and Mopsey thought that Flopsey was her mother.  Mopsey would try to nurse, and Flopsey would in turn start to fight.  I decided to keep the rabbits together in Mopsey's cage for awhile, since the space was too small for them to fight in.  This method eventually proved successful because their skirmishes became fewer and farther between.

    In the meantime, Flopsey fell sick with flystrike and the vet told me she would have to live indoors for at least two weeks.  This meant that she and Mopsey would have to share Mopsey's house for this period of time.  They grew to love each other and by the end of the two weeks, when they both had to be moved outside, it seemed cruel to room them separately as I had originally planned.  Mopsey's expensive cage went into storage and she and Flopsey both moved into Flopsey's hutch.

Flopsey and Mopsey's Photo Page

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