Rabbits We are considering a rabbit, info needed!

[aspecht]

The husband and I have been considering a rabbit. We have heard they can make great pets and would be willing to give one a great home. However, I don't know much about their care! I want to do as much research as possible before deciding. We really want to know what we are getting into and what to expect. I know that they can be litter trained, and would LOVE to have a house rabbit. So, throw it at me. Let me know EVERYTHING I need to know before we get one. What will we need, what do they eat, what kind of bedding. HELP! Please and thank you!

 

[SqueakyPig]

Getting a house rabbit sounds great! I'm glad you're ready to offer one a good home.
I was considering adopting a rabbit a while back, so here's some information I picked up:
- Rabbits can be litter trained quite easily. Get a litter tray/box big enough for the rabbit and fill with lots of hay, shredded paper and an absorbent bedding (wood pellets and paper pulp bedding works well). Put some used litter in the tray - this way your rabbit will smell it figure out where to go.
- Rabbits LOVE herbs and leafy vegetables like lettuce, parsley, basil, cilantro etc. I've heard carrots have too much sugar in for bunnies so only a small amount is recommended.
- They will need at least 10 square feet or so to live in, including upper levels as they like to jump and it helps strengthen their back legs. NIC cages, or "bunny condos" are good choices for housing - they are similar to C&C's but have taller walls and grids on top so they don't escape.
- Some good toys are willow branches, willow balls, wooden chews, treat kabobs and other natural chews/toys.
- Lastly, your rabbit will need vaccines against myxomatosis and RHD (they should also be spayed/neutered to prevent territorial behaviour: spraying, aggression and to prevent other health problems).
Sorry if you already know this information - these are just some basics and tips.
Good websites: www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk
https://happyhoppers.forumotion.co.uk
(These are UK websites but are very reliable and helpful!)
Good luck!

 

[aspecht]

Thanks! Some of this I already knew, but I don't mind reading it all again honestly. We want to know what we are getting into and what to expect!

 

[Rayen]

I find rabbit care to be very similar to guinea pig care. They eat relatively the same things, they need daily vegetables, limited pellets, unlimited hay. They need as large of a space as you can possibly give them, with a cage tall enough that they can stand up completely on their hind legs without touching the top. They should have a second level in their cage (it doesn't have to be a complete level, just as long as they can reasonably hop up onto it). They should have as much time out of the cage as possible, again with as much room as you can safely rabbit proof.

Rabbits are way more destructive than guinea pigs (at least, in my experience) anything left within reach should be expected to be chewed on. Even if it happens to be on your person at the time. Mine have destroyed laptop chargers, my favourite sweaters, wired controllers for my gaming systems, cords for my headphones, clothes I've been wearing, everything in their cage. It's very easy to fall back on 'oh, it's not too close to the cage, they can't get it!' (they totally can).

Litter training does really help with rabbits, but at the same time it does take some upkeep. There are rabbits that will use their box almost 100% of the time, and then there are ones that will occasionally decide that it's too much effort to wander all the way over there to do their business. Make sure to try and keep their hay located in or around the litter box, anywhere with hay in my cage tends to eventually become a prime location for poop. They are usually really good with using their box, but if I forget to thoroughly check all of the hidden little corners, they can start up a new litter box on their floor that can be a pain to stop them from using. I'm not sure if this is actually a thing, but I recently changed their litter box to a slightly different cat litter box and for weeks they would not use it. At all. I had to toss the new one and go out and buy the exact same model as my old one before they would go back to using it (they were the same size and general shape and everything! the new one was just like five dollars cheaper).

You will need to get a lot of things for them to chew. I really, really do not find buying them the little grass/wood/wicker toys worth it. I'll get them on occasion as just special treats, but for the most part I will just toss large cardboard boxes or tubes into their cage, maybe several sheets of newspaper, safe wood sticks, some horse hay cubes. They're equally entertaining in their eyes, while being way more worth it to invest in. They will shred that fancy pet shop toy in a matter of hours. I also buy hard plastic baby/dog toys for them to toss around.

Lastly, your rabbit will need vaccines against myxomatosis and RHD

Depending on your location, this may or may not be true. My rabbits have never needed any vaccinations, just general yearly checkups.

 

[Rabbit_Lover]

The best litter boxes are the bottoms of extra large superpet cage.
Rabbits can be very messy. They love to dig and chew up carpet.
I suggest you build a cage and put plywood on the bottom with wheels because no matter what. You will get hay and litter behind the cage, that will need to be cleaned.
Rabbits can smell pretty bad. There pee smells absolutely horrible and if there not litter trained you are in trouble.
Air purifiers work wonders, you should consider getting one of these.
They need lots of hay, I go threw a 100 lbs bale of hay for my three rabbits about every three months.
Hay consist of 80% of there diet.
They need veggies at least every two days. Some feed them every day.
Young small rabbits need levels. My large english lop loves his levels even though he is huge. My lionheads love them as well. You can't go wrong with levels.
3 grids wide is great by 3 or 4 grids (more is better) with at least 2 or more levels.
If you have any questions let me know.

 

[aspecht]

I actually have hard wood and laminate floors where they'd be located. I have baby proofed my house because I have a 13 month old, so it wouldn't take much more to rabbit proof lol. Thanks for all the information! That is a lot of hay lol, but what kind of hay do they need?

 

[Demiba]

Hi - I have had 4 house rabbits over the years so here are my thoughts: If you get a male plan on having him neutered at around 6 months to prevent spraying and other territorial behaviors. My male bunnies got so much better at using the litter box after they were neutered! My bunnies did not like to hop on the shiny floors and much preferred carpeted areas. We did lose several computer cords and an answering machine due to chewing so make doubly sure all wires are hidden or encased in hard plastic sleeves. Check out the House Rabbit Society (https://rabbit.org) for wonderful information on house rabbits and how much fun they can be. I loved the times when I had soft bunny feet around the house.

 

[Rabbit_Lover]

Like the poster above said, rabbits don't like slippery surfaces. You may need to buy a rug or something for the bunny.
From a year and under they need Timothy and alfalfa.
Once they hit a year strictly Timothy

 

[SqueakyPig]

@Rayen @aspecht Woops, my mistake, I keep forgetting the majority of users on here are from America! Here in the UK it's necessary for rabbits to have both vaccinations (in my area it is). Sorry about that!

 

[MommaOfFour]

Rabbits are way more destructive than guinea pigs (at least, in my experience) anything left within reach should be expected to be chewed on. Even if it happens to be on your person at the time. Mine have destroyed laptop chargers, my favourite sweaters, wired controllers for my gaming systems, cords for my headphones, clothes I've been wearing, everything in their cage. It's very easy to fall back on 'oh, it's not too close to the cage, they can't get it!' (they totally can).

oh YES they can! not sure how sometimes but they DO ^^
for example, since the cage for the bunny is somewhat close to the front door, I have one of those shoe trays sitting a few inches away from the cage. last week I found one of my pair of boots (slightly higher than ankle) leaning against the cage with leather pieces splattered all around it and both my shoes missing a good portion - fortunatley, it was the top part which is not visible when I wear the shoes under jeans - plus they were older shoes anyway so I'm almost happy about the oportunity of replacing them soon lol

Depending on your location, this may or may not be true. My rabbits have never needed any vaccinations, just general yearly checkups.

is there any sort of chart or something that shows areas where vaccinating bunnies is suggested?

 

[Inle_Rabbit]

Bunnies need vaccines in Europe. In America we do not vaccinate rabbits.

 

[MommaOfFour]

Bunnies need vaccines in Europe. In America we do not vaccinate rabbits.

I see, that's easy, thanks!
do you happen to know if it is due to diseases that are not as common here or different standards/regulations as far as pet care goes?

 

[Inle_Rabbit]

Ditto the destruction.

Carpet, baseboards, house plants, anything with a cord, dinning room tables, couches, box springs, blankets, food (any food), and the dog's food are all things my past rabbits have gotten in to.

Baby proofing is nothing compared to rabbit proofing! I had boards running under my dressers to keep the rabbits from under there. Boards under my bed, boards behind my desk, boards behind the TV, ect. I had the baseboards and carpet coroners basically painted in alm and Ick spray. Baby locks on the kitchen cabinets. I'm sure I'm forgetting something but it was quite the massive undertaking and a constant battle. While GPs will give up and accept their limitations rabbits will challenge it. Once one figures out how to overcome the obstacle it will show the others and then you have to reimagain and revamp it.

It didn't help me that I had mini rexes which are very intelligent and stubborn. They are the doxies of the rabbit world! Oh and they always hopped around with an almost arrogant "I'm better than everyone else" attitude. I kid you not my bunnies thought they were the greatest things since slice bread. Weird little creatures. I loved them to bits, they were awesome.

 

[Inle_Rabbit]

I see, that's easy, thanks!
do you happen to know if it is due to diseases that are not as common here or different standards/regulations as far as pet care goes?

They have more outbreaks of the rabbit viruses. I'm on my phone so I'm not going to attempt to spell them. Lol. My understanding is that in America those viruses mainly infect wild populations of rabbits. I know that in America if a rabbitry has an out break the whole property will be quarantined.

 

[MommaOfFour]

@Inle_Rabbit Thanks for the good laugh, I'm imagining our bunny doing all those things while going around trying to win the battle of rabbit proofing the place - he's a mini rex too. ours hasn't gotten in kitchen cabinets yet since he doesnt like to be on the hard floor but he does go around trying to nibble on baseboards, the framing around the windows/balcony door. shows off his craziest hops and flips and OF COURSE loves nothing more than challenging the cat - I am not sure if he's just trying to play with her or if he's teasing her on purpose. she's not much of a playful cat and usually runs from him or just doesn't react. oh and he makes it a point to always go drink out of her water bowl lol

how big and heavy did your mini rex get?

and thanks for the info on the vaccines! that is very interesting

 

[Inle_Rabbit]

The head rabbit would always challenge my dog! I recall one time the dog was calmly eating his kibble when the head rabbit hopped right up to him and bit the dog on the nose. Poor dog yelped and ran to me. The rabbit just sat there, ears back, eyes half lidded eating the dogs food. Like he was saying "what now, dog?"

The dog eventually gathered his courage and crawled on his belly over to the rabbit to ask forgiveness. When the head rabbit approached, the dog rolled on his back wagging his tail. It seemed the rabbit forgave the dog and Rudy was just so happy, licked the head rabbits ears all the while the rabbit is still eating the dog's food.

This is the same rabbit that when I had friends over he would hop between the couch and the coffee table nipping people's ankles to make them move their feet, rather than just hop around or not hop at all between the couch and the coffee table?

I had 4 mini rexes. Jake was head rabbit, he was about 4 lbs, FizGig was his bonded friend and also about 4 lbs. I had Trouble, who lived up to his name fully, he was 6 lbs and Pepsi was about 4.5-5 lbs. I also had a Californian Big Bob he was nearly 15 lbs.

 

[Inle_Rabbit]

When I get rabbits again I'd like a trio of a mini rex, Holland lop, and a Jersey wooly. Those are my favorite breeds.

 

[MommaOfFour]

oh my goodness, that is hilarious!!!!!! you dont happen to have videos of all this, do you? hahaha LOL
your poor dog, had to ask the rabbit for forgivness for eating his own food - those little creatures are something else for sure. we have only had ours 2 months, so I bet I'm in for a lot more fun stories and chewed shoes, books, friends lol or whatever else he comes across ^^

 

[aspecht]

I am looking at a lionshead or a jersey wooly, but hearing all this is making me seriously reconsider it.

 

[Inle_Rabbit]

Having a rabbit is not like having a guinea pig. You're whole home has to become a rabbit home and the people in it, rabbit people. With a guinea pig, even though we love them and spend so much time with them, they still are only taking over one cage's worth of space. If we are busy for a day they are just fine being on their own as long as they get fed. With a rabbit you need to make time for them, you need to change your routine for them. It is more like having a puppy than a rodent like animal. A puppy with a cat's attitude.