Rabbits Need a crash course on bunnies ASAP please

I don't have much time to write too much but here are some great links to read! For the ride home he will need to be in a cage of some sort. No boxes! It's too long of a trip for a bunny in a box. He will need unlimited grass hay just like guinea pigs. Let us know if you have any specific questions. Sorry I can't type more. =D

Rabbit Proofing:
FAQ: Rabbit Proofing

Differences between Rabbits and Guinea Pigs:
https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/about-guinea-pigs/68146-gp-care-compared-rabbit-care.html

General Rabbit Care plus tons of info!:
House Rabbit Society Rabbit Care Guide

Litter Training:
FAQ: Litter Training


How to build a Rabbit Condo:
(3/4 inch ply will not bow under his bunny weight)
How to Build a Rabbit Condo - YouTube

Thanks! We just put together a 3x4 2 grids high. I'll read through your links, thanks so much!

Thank you for taking him in

Cage - I'd keep his tiny bunny cage and use it as a home base. If you have a spare room that he could free range in that would be optimal. The bunny cage can be used to store his food/litter box (if he is litter trained; most bunnies train easily) and general "safe area" for bunny to go to. If a spare room isn't an option, could you build him a C&C cage? A 2x5, 2 grids high with some free range time on top of that would also be ok (especially as it is only a temporary thing).

Food - much like guinea pigs really. My buns get unlimited hay, 1/8 of a cup of pellets each per day and the same veggies the guinea pigs get. The only real difference is there seems to be a stronger emphasis on hay and less on veggies and pellets with rabbits, perhaps because rabbits can formulate their own vitamin c.

Bedding - If he is litter trained, a litter tray with suitable bedding (I use kitty litter made from recycled paper products but carefresh etc will also work) is needed. I like to give my two a fleece blanket to lie on but if he is a chewy bunny this wouldn't work! One of my buns puts holes in everything, so I'd suggest not giving bunny a new blanket in case he is the same!

Drive - similar to as you would with guinea pigs. Try to keep radio/music down, temperature comfortable, perhaps cover carrier with a towel so its nice and dark, offer plenty of hay.

Other - if you opt to let him free range (whether its confined to a room or a larger area) be sure to bunny proof! They will get anywhere you don't want them to go, they will chew things you don't want them to chew, they will generally get up to mischief if you don't bunny proof. If possible, find out whether bunny likes to chew, dig or destroy. If he likes to chew, offer alternatives; sea grass mats, cardboard boxes, apple sticks. If he likes to dig, maybe try a digging box. If he likes to destroy, give him things he can destroy. Hopefully that helps protect the rest of your house a bit!

The best advice I got for bnunny litter boxes is to put the recycled paper litter down, and cover with hay. Mine is really good with his litter box since I started doing this. ALWAYS make sure there is food in his cage-hay is best, pellets can be fattening. Bunny's need to forage throughout the day; if they don't eat pretty much constantly (small amounts, not full meals) , their intestines will stop moving and they can die. Bunny's and piggies are very similar, I hope you don't have to re-home this one. I find keeping piggies and a bunny low stress because I can care for them almost the same way. Good luck!

Thanks everyone, great advice! We did build a 3x4 with 2 grids high, we set out a large shallow plastic box with carefresh and LOTS of hay (we have a 100lb bale in the garage) as well as a low "dog bed". I don't see much in the way of floor coverings in the photos I've found of cages. We have "wood" laminate floors, our guinea pig C&C sits on a clear shower curtain to protect the floor from moisture damage. So far I didn't put anything on the bun cage floor, I guess we'll see what he does tomorrow. We'll grab some of those boxes with the side openings that they have at Costco tomorrow. We used to use them before we had pigloos.

He is a free roamer at his house, and we will see what he does when we've had him around for a couple of days. I think we can block off our hallway and let him roam there, UNLESS he chews on door moldings!

I just need to get some pellets tomorrow if he doesn't have any where he is right now, but I'm sure he does.

Petlovr, we won't be keeping him, but then again, that's what I said about our first pig, which we found abondoned in a park... haha!

I had 5 bunnies when I was a teenager, so I look forward to some bunny time!

Ok, so we picked "Carmela" up this morning. She is 8 months old. She is one of those very soft velvety rabbits, a real cutie! She does seem to have a case of bumblefoot on her hind legs, so we're starting epsom salt soaks (we did this with our gp too) and then we'll see the vet on Tuesday.

She's doing something strange with her front feet, she kind of rapidly digs/taps/scratches with her from feet. She started doing that as soon as we got home.

We put her store bought cage inside the C&C and took the caging part off and left the tray in the cage. She sniffs around the edges but hasn't gotten out yet. We're trying to just leave her alone right now.

She wants to dig. Give her a phone book with the covers torn off (most phone books ar printed with soy ink) and she can dig into it and shread it. Some buns like to burrow and this is probably what she trying to do.

would love to see you new addition to you family..I know someone that has keep a rabbit with a guineapig in the same cage..

Thanks guys! We decided to keep her! We must be nuts!

We have 2 pigs, one with stones, he's on pain meds and antibiotics, so he's doing well, but he won't be around much longer. We read some stuff today about them living together, pigs and buns that is, but we're going to have to do a lot of research and pondering before we make that decision.

Here are some pics. We currently have 2 hay trays, one is the bottom of her original cage, she's still spending a lot of time in the original tray. She's not interested in the box or bed or even the floor yet, but she will hop between boxes, so we'll eventually remove the bigger one. We have a puppy pen to do outdoor time in a week or so.





I held her tonight and she pretty much "barked" at me, so I waited for her to calm down then I returned her.. Unfortunately, she jumped out of my arms and into her hay tray, which was not the plan! I have to learn to deal with those strong hind legs! She's eating well and seems pretty happy.

We'll be visiting the vet on Tuesday for the feet, and her nails need a trim too, and since we're not well acquainted with her yet, I will let the vet techs take care of that and let me know how it goes... hehe!

I'm still worried about the front paw kicking thing she does, it's almost like she's boxing, she's not really digging, more like digging in the air. It almost looks like a tick, like we got an OCD bun..

It looks as if she went on a digging rampage last night. There is hay, bedding and droppings EVERYWHERE. We'll need to fashion a digging box of some kind.

She doesn't come running for her food like my guinea pigs do? Should I be concerned. Until now her diet has been carrots and iceberg (I know, yikes!) and lots and lots of pellets with colorful treats in them, so we replaced it with green leaf lettuces and a little carrot as well as cucumbers and green peppers, and new boring pellets. She eats all of it, just more over the course of the day or night. Usually my pigs have yanked off their favs before I can even put the plate down..

She is probably rearranging her space. I also wonder if the "barking" is because she is in heat. Rabbits in heat will sometimes attack hands and growl or bark. She could also be protecting her territory, females are very territorial. Check with the vet though to make sure she isn't in pain. About her feet though, its more likely she has sore hock than bumble foot, (though since I can't see the bottom of her feet this is pure speculation!) Sore hock is generally a raw red or open sore on the heal of her back feet. It's caused by sitting in dirty litter, living on wire, or being board. Rabbits who are bored will rock back and forth on their hind legs. She is a mini rex and their fur is lacking in the thick protective gaurd hair so it wears away quicker than other rabbits. Once the fur on their heals is gone it will not regrow but it shouldn't affect her.

Her rampage last night might have been her trying to rearrange her cage. Rabbits love to rearrange stuff. Give her things she can pick up in he mouth and toss around. Some cat toys and ferret toys work and of coarse bunny toys! Rabbits are smarter than guinea pigs they need stimulation; get toys and trade them out every couple of days. My rabbits really liked the cat toy that was a little ball with a feather attached to it. They would pick that sucker up and sling it all around. I had a Californian that loved hanging cat toys with bells on springs or stretching string. He use to grab them, pull back and let them fly. He thought it was great fun! I had a mini rex that use to chase a feather or ball on a string. For a digging box shred up some news paper or get some shredded paper and put it in a box for her. She will probably love that! Tunnels, paper bags, i had a rabbit that was quite found of cat towers.

She is a beautiful broken steal mini rex but beware she is a mini rex. They are head strong and mischievous but are full of personality and are a joy to have around. Mini rexes are my favorite breed.

I just read about the flicking of her front legs - sometimes rabbits will flick their front as if they have water on it. They will do it before they clean themselves as well. I don't think it is anything to worry about. What you have to watch out for is when they are hopping away from you and sort of flick their back toes. It means they didn't like what you just did, are mad at you or it's the rabbit equivalent of the middle finger. You have mini rex so you will probably see it a lot. lol

I am so glad you are keeping her! rabbits make great pets. You can check out this site, it has great info:

House Rabbit Information and Care - BinkyBunny.com

Good luck!

Update: We saw the vet, and he said her sore hock condition is a bad one, but at least it hasn't spread to the joints nor is it infected. So he instructed us to have her on soft dry fabric, towels and fleece and carefresh in our case, for the next 2 weeks and see if they will start to heal. If not we'll start ABs. She weighs 5.5lbs! He wants her to weigh 4, so we're working on that. He said no pellets and lots of exercise, outside, so we got a puppy pen that we cover (hawks and such here in CA) and she loves it! The weather has been unseasonably fantastic, so she gets out almost every day.

She has really warmed up to us over the last couple of days. I climb in her cage every night, because she's not used to being handled and so we're working on that every day. I get on my knees and she hops over and sniffs me, licks my hands and face and I rub her, which she LOVES. She gets flat on her belly and starts sticking her legs out while I rub her back and shoulders and ears.

She's "fairly" litter trained, we find occasional poops around the cage, and we just toss them into the litter box. She has however decided that she likes SQUEEZING into her hay box and pooping to her hearts content in there. It's pretty funny. We're looking to get a hanging rack like the pigs have.

Aw, she's adorable! I used to own rabbits, and I love them. What's her name?

And in case you haven't came across it: saveabunny.org has a lot of great information in the Rabbit Care section.

Thanks for the site. Her name is Carmela. She was born on the day that a nun named Carmela died. So her owner named her after said nun. We just call her Bunny Wabbit (Haha!), and we'll rename her when her owner passes away and we inherit her. My husband wants to call her "Smokey" because she smelled like cigarettes when we got her, since she came from a smoking home (poor baby!).

She sounds like such a sweet rabbit! She should be a joy to have in your home. =D

What an angel you are, Nicolene. Thanks for helping this bunny.

He needs plenty of space. Our organisation recommends that any rabbit needs a home that is big enough to take 3 hops in a straight line, which for average size rabbits is 6ft. They must also have enough space to stretch up on tiptoe, so that they don't suffer painful spinal deformities. This is just their living accommodation and they should have at least an extra 8ft x 4ft exercise area always available. After all, wild rabbits would cover an area equal to 20 - 30 tennis courts per day, so this space is the bare minimum.

We also recommend that they be spayed/neutered and partnered with another rabbit. Scientific study (Seaman et al 2008) has shown that rabbits value company of their own kind as much as they value food. We'd all say it was cruel not to feed them, so keeping them alone....

Rabbits housed in pairs show a decrease in abnormal behaviour patterns such as fur chewing and bar biting. (Khrohn et al 1999, Chu et al 2004)

Domestic rabbits' diets should closely mimic that of wild rabbits. It must be based on hay/grass (forage). The mix should be 80% forage, 15% greens and 5% good quality extruded rabbit pellets. 'Muesli' style mixes are not recommended because they encourage selective feeding. A natural based diet keeps rabbits occupied and helps to prevent boredom. Long fibre in the form of hay or grass is essential for gut motility and dental health. The chewing motion (side to side) against the silicas contained in grass and hay wear down molars very effectively. Other foods are not chewed in this fashion. Rabbits' teeth are open-rooted so they continuously grow: the action of chewing the abrasive long fibre naturally wears the teeth and helps prevent dental problems.

Fruit should be given only in very small quantities. It's high in sugars which are very disruptive to the digestive gut flora. They alter the environment the flora inhabit, and allow more dangerous bacteria to proliferate. This can lead to severe digestive disorder, including diarrohea which causes pain, dehydration and in severe cases can even lead to death if a healthy population of bacteria cannot be re-established.

There are information and advice leaflets here (broken link removed) and more articles both here (broken link removed) and on our homepage here Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund(shown as orange links beneath the video)