Rabbits Rabbit cage help and care!

[CavyCrazyLady]

He looks quite overweight, so I would cut pellets out of his diet totally. Unlimited hay and a nice big salad divided into a breakfast and dinner would be fine. Make sure you are giving him a good mix of veggies, just like with guinea pigs. A foster bunny of mine came in recently very obese and with lots of exercise and cutting out pellets, she is now a healthy weight.

The butt mats are probably due to him being overweight. You can give him a butt bath, where just his butt gets a little wet, and try to massage the mats out. A furminator works wonders with grooming.

As for a cage, as long as his litter box habits are good, you don't need a cage at all. If you do need an area where you can close him off, a large bathroom with a baby gate works great (as long as there are lots of blankets and beds to keep his feet off the hard floor). A large puppy exercise pen is what I suggest as bunny cages though. They are easy to fit in any area of the house and give a lot of room. If your piggy cages are large you can also build the rabbit cage under it. I have some examples of my own cages built this way in my gallery.

So glad you will be getting him neutered and getting him a girlfriend!

Oh, and The House Rabbit Society (House Rabbit Society Rabbit Care Guide) is a wonderful resource for any bunny owner!

 

[KristenMatejka]

Okay! any ideas on how to get him to run around some more? I don't want to chase him around the house to get him to move but he does love laying on his little bed alot!

 

[KristenMatejka]

Does 150-190 sound like the right amount to get him neutered? Thats the price the vet told me.

 

[Inle_Rabbit]

That price sounds about right for around my area.

I never did the x-pen cage thing because my rabbits were mischievous. If I left them alone they destroyed something. Wires, carpet, baseboards, that ficus, etc. I could never trust them to behave while I was gone. Each bunny is different though if yours is good then you could easily do an x-pen or baby gate, it might be a lot easier!

 

[KristenMatejka]

Okay cause he only sleeps in his cage. He is never home alone during the day unless im out going grocery shopping or running errands of course but he is a pretty good rabbit when it comes to going in his litter pan. time will tell more though

 

[CavyCrazyLady]

If you feel comfortable and good about your vet, I would go with them, as they have already met your bun and you have spoken with them. $150 is a good price most places. I pay $75, but that is because we called around to low cost clinics who eventually could direct us to another low cost place that does bunnies.

As for how to get him moving, try playing the cups game. This is where you divide his salad into very small portions, and place those all around the house under cups. He will run around and push cups over to get the veggies, making sure he gets a workout with his meal As he loses the weight, he will be more inclined to run and hopefully start to binky.

 

[RubyRain]

It cost me $125 plus the basic checkup fee of $30 to get Leo neutered so that price sounds right.

 

[KristenMatejka]

That's a great idea! I'll try that when I come home after work this afternoon. See if hell like it. Cause he does like chasing a ball around. Got him a tennis ball and he pushes it with his nose and hops after it

 

[Inle_Rabbit]

I love the cups idea. That is very creative! You could try attaching a ball to a string, he might like to chase after it if you pull it around. I had a rabbit that like that sort of thing. =D

 

[KristenMatejka]

Still trying to figure out a cage size for my rabbit. I was thinking since how big he is ....maybe a 4x6 and adding a second level once I get a ramp that would be sturdy enough and make the base out of wood so it wont bend under his big butt

 

[RubyRain]

If you have a 2nd level, be sure to put a top over that section because they will try to jump out when you least expect it!

4x6 sounds like a pretty good size though.

 

[Inle_Rabbit]

He doesn't need a ramp if you give him some sort of step half way up a grid. Watch that cage video I posted, even if you want to do a bigger cage it will still give you some good ideas as far as support and different levels. Also I love the flooring they use. Very economical and easy to do.

 

[KristenMatejka]

So my rabbit has started bumping his head against my leg lately. Does that mean he wants me to pick him up cause when i do he runs off all crazy lol

 

[RubyRain]

Is he bumping the top of his head on you or is he chinning you? Because "chinning" is a territorial thing and means he's marking you for his own LOL
We had a rabbit that did this all the time to my husband.

 

[Inle_Rabbit]

If he's rubbing his chin on you he's marking you. If you haven't neutered him yet he may try to hump your leg or nip you as part of the mating ritual. I had one that did that until I got him neutered.

Otherwise he's just loving you! You're doing something right if he's that happy! =D

 

[KristenMatejka]

I got him a ball woven out of straw and timothy hay! He'll will push it around, pick it up in his teeth and throw it around! He also will kick it with his front paws shove it under his belly and send it flying under his butt and turn around to do it again! Im going to try to get a video of him doing it! Its hilarious! He also loves the cat toys with the feathers! He'll chase it for hours if he could!

He hasnt humped, nipped or rubbed his chin on me. Just comes over and bumps his nose and head against my foot and leg and looks up at me with those big brown eyes! It's super cute.

 

[Inle_Rabbit]

Mine went nuts over the cat toys with the feathers. They loved them! I'm so glad he is so happy with you. Bunnies really are a one in a million pet. A very unique animal. I love them!

 

[KristenMatejka]

I'm glad I got him! He loves to cuddle when we watch movies and when I'm at the computer. Only bad thing is he loves to hide between the two legs on the elliptical and i have to put him up when I'm working out! Otherwise he runs around all day and I recently made him a litter box/ hidey out of a huge cardboard box that has a waterbottle I attached. and timothy hay and newspaper for him! He loves to lay in the timothy hay and eat ) But he really has opened up and relaxed. He runs all over the apartment exploring and chasing his toys around.

 

[KristenMatejka]

He's much happier now

 

[KristenMatejka]

So... BIG Problem. I think it may be because he isn't fixed....BUT he has started BITING me and my boyfriend alot! He bit me so hard the other day he broke the skin and left a huge bruise on my arm! It looks like we are being abused by our pets!! He has now started to act like he isn't litter trained. HAs chewed through every cord in our bedroom and has become a complete terror. Scratching, biting, you name it.

We haven't done anything differently and he was really lovable and cuddly at first but now I have no idea what to do!