# What breed is Pepper?



## Becca1605 (May 13, 2014)

I adopted Pepper a week ago and asked the people in the shop what breed he was, they didn't have a clue. But as he has such lovely colouring and markings I took him. He's very friendly, doesn't bite and he's a year old, apparently!

He was left abandoned and I'm now left wondering why! He's brilliant, he lives indoors and has been litter trained already. He quite happily hops around our living room and even my Labrador doesn't mind him! He sits on the back of the sofa and lays down, he's almost half cat I think.

Hopefully someone can help me narrow down what breed he is, I done some research and when I typed in all the different breeds on images, the only one I can find where there was a perfect match picture was a Golden Glavcot, but as they're so rare I don't know if he is and if he is I'd like it confirmed.

Here's some pictures of Pepper:


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## catherine09 (May 10, 2014)

I'd say he was a mixed breed  most pet shop buns are either lops, lions, dutches or mixed from my personal experience (although I now refuse to go into pet shops that sell live animals)


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## Lopside (Mar 20, 2012)

He looks a typical cross breed he in variety 
How he was abandoned I don't know, he's so gorgeous x


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## Lil Miss (Dec 11, 2010)

hes your typical heinz 57 pet store mix im afraid, does look like there may be some lionhead in there though from the ears and face shape, he also has a little tuft of a mane going on, so if you really want to narrow it down, lionhead cross cross would be the closest you could really guess lol


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## StormyThai (Sep 11, 2013)

Lil Miss said:


> hes your typical heinz 57 pet store mix im afraid, does look like *there may be some lionhead in there though from the ears and face shape, he also has a little tuft of a mane going on,* so if you really want to narrow it down, lionhead cross cross would be the closest you could really guess lol


That's what I thought when I saw the pic too


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## Becca1605 (May 13, 2014)

Thank you 

I have no idea where he was bought from, he was taken to the pet shop when someone found him abandoned. And this pet shop only seems to sell dwarfs, whereas I knew I wanted a big-ish sort of bunny.
He's around 2.5kgs so he's a fair size, I just really thought he was the spitting image of a Golden Glavcot!


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## StormyThai (Sep 11, 2013)

Completely the wrong colour for a Glavcot, what you have is an harlequin coloured heinz 57


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## sskmick (Feb 4, 2008)

Look at it this way pedigrees are special, mixed breeds are unique.  

...and your little one is just perfect, absolutely stunning.


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## Lil Miss (Dec 11, 2010)

hes both the wrong colour and shape for a GG


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## Becca1605 (May 13, 2014)

As long as I now have if confirmed 

Didn't mind what he was, he was too cute not to have.
And he's settled in well here, he lives with a Labrador and some fish. Lab isn't bothered at all, Pepper will hop past him in the living room and he doesn't care.

How someone could abandon such a cute and affectionate rabbit I'll never know! All I can say is that they've missed out.

I took him to the vets a few days after getting him and got his injections and he's fit and healthy. I flead and wormed him too but the vet said you don't have to do that?


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## MerlinsMum (Aug 2, 2009)

His colour and pattern is Blue Harlequin.


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## Becca1605 (May 13, 2014)

If I knew that was his colour I'd have changed his name to Harley! But when the shop received him they called him Pepper because of his colour so I kept it as that.

He's doing well, and loves strawberries and bananas! He'll pretty much eat everything in sight which is why he has the nickname 'Pepper pig'!

He's got a couple of tunnels and a tent which he loves but finding other things for him to play with is difficult, what else does everyone else use?


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## Amelia66 (Feb 15, 2011)

i don't flea or worm my bunnies as i feel its unnecessary.

I wouldn't treat without seeing some evidence of worms or fleas, had mine 4 years and never had to treat them for either.


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## Amelia66 (Feb 15, 2011)

Becca1605 said:


> If I knew that was his colour I'd have changed his name to Harley! But when the shop received him they called him Pepper because of his colour so I kept it as that.
> 
> He's doing well, and loves strawberries and bananas! He'll pretty much eat everything in sight which is why he has the nickname 'Pepper pig'!
> 
> He's got a couple of tunnels and a tent which he loves but finding other things for* him to play with is difficult*, what else does everyone else use?


Bunnies arent really the sort to 'play' as such. Tunnels are a great idea especially carpet roll tunnels you can get from carpet shops. off cut of carpets, dig boxes. Toilet roll tubes stuffed with hay and things the nibble like willow are favorites of mine.

Just a side note, remember not to feed him many fruits. they are very high in sugar for buns. Mine love them every now and the for a treat too, but they get them very rarely


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## sskmick (Feb 4, 2008)

I tend to buy things for them to chew and rabbits also like a forage area. I use treats or veg or a bit of both.


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## catherine09 (May 10, 2014)

I only flea or worm as a treatment, never as a preventative measure. To date in 6 years of owning bunnies, I've never had to flea treat and had to worm once to treat the onset of EC. There has been some research to suggest loading preventative measures onto them reduces their immunity to other things, for me though, I don't see the point in loading their bodies with loads of chemicals when it's not necessary 

Yes, strawberries and bananas sparingly, the main part of his diet should be sweet smelling, good quality hay


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## Lopside (Mar 20, 2012)

Becca1605 said:


> As long as I now have if confirmed
> 
> Didn't mind what he was, he was too cute not to have.
> And he's settled in well here, he lives with a Labrador and some fish. Lab isn't bothered at all, Pepper will hop past him in the living room and he doesn't care.
> ...


When they are happy and healthy and enjoying life, and expressing their individual characters .... i see it as a proper two fingers up at the selfish gits who dumped them in the first place :001_tt2:


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## Becca1605 (May 13, 2014)

Never thought of carpet roll tubes, brilliant idea! I'll go and see if I can get some of them at some point, saves me buying loads all the time.

As for the hay, he doesn't stop eating that! He's a hay loving rabbit definitely, he's quite fussy with veg but now I know what he doesn't like I won't buy it again.


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## Summersky (Aug 11, 2012)

He's a handsome bitsa. Like thousands of others, somebody out there just got bored with him.


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## Lil Miss (Dec 11, 2010)

Becca1605 said:


> If I knew that was his colour I'd have changed his name to Harley! But when the shop received him they called him Pepper because of his colour so I kept it as that.
> 
> He's doing well, and loves strawberries and bananas! He'll pretty much eat everything in sight which is why he has the nickname 'Pepper pig'!
> 
> He's got a couple of tunnels and a tent which he loves but finding other things for him to play with is difficult, what else does everyone else use?


the best "toy" for a bunny is actually a bunny friend, bunnies are much happier with other bunny company, maybe it would be something for you to look into in the future, you could get him neutered and find him an already spayed rescue wife bun

other then that any thing they can chew and things to throw around are a bit here


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## Becca1605 (May 13, 2014)

Unfortunately he fights with other bunnies so I can't get another one, when they had him in the shop they tried caging him with another and they just fought all the time. They don't know whether Pepper was doing the fighting or being picked on, but he's quite feisty here already so it wouldn't surprise me if he was the one fighting!

Other than that I think it'll be tubes and other 'toys' for him.


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## StormyThai (Sep 11, 2013)

Ignore what the shop said, if you just put a couple of rabbits together and expect them to "get on with it" then they will fight.

Get your boy neutered and in the mean time have a look at this thread 

It is very rare to find a rabbit that prefers to be alone, you just have to find the right partner for them. Like humans, rabbits do not automatically like every other rabbit out there.


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## Lil Miss (Dec 11, 2010)

StormyThai said:


> Ignore what the shop said, if you just put a couple of rabbits together and expect them to "get on with it" then they will fight.
> 
> Get your boy neutered and in the mean time have a look at this thread
> 
> It is very rare to find a rabbit that prefers to be alone, you just have to find the right partner for them. Like humans, rabbits do not automatically like every other rabbit out there.


^ this

you can not just put 2 rabbits together and expect them to get on, they need to be bonded in a neutral space and both should be neutered too.

i have had MANY rabbits come to me with the label that they "must be housed alone" not once have any of them ever proved the label right.

get him neutered and look for a rabbit rescue near you who will help you find the right partner for him and help with the bonding


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## catherine09 (May 10, 2014)

Makes me so angry that incompetent pet shop staff say that certain rabbits have to stay single, and then commits that bunny to a miserable life of solitary confinement, when actually with proper introduction 99% of them will bond with another


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## MerlinsMum (Aug 2, 2009)

Becca1605 said:


> Unfortunately he fights with other bunnies so I can't get another one, when they had him in the shop they tried caging him with another and they just fought all the time.


Well yes, he would. That's what young male rabbits do - and they can cause serious and fatal injuries to one another.

But as others have said, once neutered, and done correctly, they can and DO bond with other rabbits (usually spayed females are best). There is nothing like seeing two bonded rabbits giving each other affection.


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## Lopside (Mar 20, 2012)

durrrrr the shop needs a lesson in rabbity stuff!

Bonded in a neutral environment by someone who knows what they are doing I am sure the outcome would be different....i have 3 bonded pairs and they all love to be with their partners so much....it certainly is something to bear in mind for the future. Him being feisty isn't a problem...two of mine are the feistiest things known to mankind.....their bond is certainly a rollercoaster of a relationship...but having seen them snuggled up and cuddling it shows how much they love company of their own kind.



taken in my shavings days.....don't use them now ...in case someone hits me over the head with a shovel.. :cornut:


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## Lil Miss (Dec 11, 2010)

Lopside said:


> durrrrr the shop needs a lesson in rabbity stuff!
> 
> Bonded in a neutral environment by someone who knows what they are doing I am sure the outcome would be different....i have 3 bonded pairs and they all love to be with their partners so much....it certainly is something to bear in mind for the future. Him being feisty isn't a problem...two of mine are the feistiest things known to mankind.....their bond is certainly a rollercoaster of a relationship...but having seen them snuggled up and cuddling it shows how much they love company of their own kind.
> 
> ...


we would have to pry the shovel out of your clammy little mits to do that  :thumbup1:


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## Lopside (Mar 20, 2012)

try prying it matey and you will discover my mitts ain't so little! :thumbup1:


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## BunnyHuggingCatLady (May 19, 2014)

He's a mixed breed. Definite lion head and harlequin heritage.


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## lostbear (May 29, 2013)

Handsome boy! Love him lounging on his bed, waiting for his servant to peel him a grape


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## BunnyHuggingCatLady (May 19, 2014)

In terms of adding another, what you have to remember is that rabbits are territorial. They can be bonded with one another, but you have to give them time. A neutered male and a neutered female make the best companions, but you still need to introduce them slowly and in neutral territory. It is also important that they have enough space, or even separate sleeping areas, so they can get away from one another when they want to. This is how it works in a warren - they get along as long as they don't have to live on top of one another.


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## Becca1605 (May 13, 2014)

I'll have to remember that if I get another one, at the moment he's pretty happy lapping up all the attention to himself 

And thank you, he is very handsome I also think he knows this and uses it to his advantage of getting his own way


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## lostbear (May 29, 2013)

Becca1605 said:


> I'll have to remember that if I get another one, at the moment he's pretty happy lapping up all the attention to himself
> 
> And thank you,* he is very handsome I also think he knows this and uses it to his advantage of getting his own way*


He'd be a fool if he didn't. :wink:


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