A Bit About Gnomeo

This is Gnomeo.  I thought that since I now know him a little better, you might like to get to know him too. 

When I first brought him home, Gnomeo was painfully shy.  He would stay to the back of his cage all day, pressed flat against the back I suppose feeling safe because of the protection of the wall.  When I opened the cage to feed him, he would cower and wait until I was well back across the room before he would approach the food dish.  When I had to groom him, forget about it!  I had to get on my hands and knees and shove myself as far into the cage as I could to reach him back there.  He would plant his back feet and try to prevent me from getting him out, digging his little claws into the wire.  Once on the grooming table, he would sit petrified as I brushed him out and scramble to get back in the cage when I was putting him back.  I was afraid he would always be a frightened rabbit and might not even mate with Juliet if he were so frightened of everything, all the time.

Today, Gnomeo is still a shy rabbit.  However, he and I now have a bit of an understanding.  He still likes to stay to the back of his cage, close to the wall in the shadows.  When I open the door to feed him though, he comes right over to me and nudges my hand as I pour the pellets into his dish.  He runs over to the manger when I fill it with fresh hay.  When it's time to get a good brushing, he comes out with very little trouble as long as his hind legs are well supported and doesn't squirm to get back in his cage like he once did.  He actually seems to enjoy his grooming and after we are done, seems quite happy to explore a bit and get a good dose of head scratches and cuddles. 

He also really enjoys cardboard tubes (empty toilet paper or paper towel tubes) and his blue hard plastic whiffle ball.  It is hilarious to watch him jump around the ball trying to make it "jump" or pouncing on it and then flopping on his side.  He reminds me of a cat so very often.  My youngest Charlotte has claimed Gnomeo as her bunny.  He is very calm when she tries to pet him and since his cage is on the bottom of the set up, she gets to feed him sometimes.  He is also very quiet.  The only time he makes any noise at all is about 7 am when he does his laps.  He literally runs circles in his cage every morning, right about 7 am and his weight and speed make the entire cage set up shake.  A bunny's gotta stay in shape, you know?

I hope Gnomeo continues to be very happy here and I hope he can "do his job" come December when I plan on mating him to Juliet for the first time.  He is a beautiful rabbit with super soft wool and his offspring should be soft and sweet, just like him!