Pet Rabbits

[Spacemom]

Has anyone ever had a pet rabbit?

My boys are seriously wanting one. We have all kinds of pets from hamsters to fish. I'm just wondering if there's anything specific to watch out for.

And we're not the "get a pet then get rid of if when we're tired of it" types. They know it will be a serious commitment, just like it is with all our animals.

[flvegan]

1. I adopted two from the Humane Society.

They were going to be put down, and I'm a sucker. One of them died a couple years ago. The remaining one must be around 7 years old now.

Check out The House Rabbit Society for tips, etc:
http://www.rabbit.org/

Check petfinder.com and/or your local shelter and see if there are any for adoption.

[Spacemom]

4. Thank You

I hadn't thought of petfinder for a rabbit. I'll check it out.

[Darth_Kitten]

28. One of my bunnies was found by a neighbour delivering flyers.....

found in a mailbox. :(

Beautiful little bunny (she was quite the little beauty) Silky Dutch bunny with black fur with tufts of white.
I really miss her. Remember when I was going through a bad time in my life and then found out she was dying from cancer. I put her on the sofa (she was very sick and wasn't very mobile) and went into the kitchen and had a cry.
A few moments later I looked down and she was looking up at me. She had run into the kitchen to see how I was. :hug:

Sweet little animals. :)

[meow2u3]

2. How not to raise a pet rabbit

[Spacemom]

5. I'll have to remember that

Rabbit + Stew Pot = No

:rofl:

[Roon]

3. My foster daughter had a pet rabbit

He would thump his hind feet when he got mad. He once thumped right into the pot tray and sent our weed flying.

[Spacemom]

6. Um, Okay

Thanks for the advice. I don't think it's something we'll have to watch out for, but thanks anyways. :D

[CreekDog]

7. so you and your foster daughter shared weed together?

:dilemma:

[Roon]

19. naa,she was an adult by this time

She left her rabbit behind when she moved in with her girlfriend.

[CreekDog]

23. now that i think of it, it's none of my business

:hi:

[Hand]

8. To add to fivegan's information...

It's important to understand that bunnies are not low-maintenance pets. They need as much attention and contact as dogs, because they're very social animals. They don't need vaccinations, but finding a good, knowledgeable bunny vet is very important.

Bunnies should live indoors, not outdoors. They're prey animals and can die of fright from dogs, cats, etc. They really do well as part of your family--actually, they'll take over.

Nice things about them are that they're instinctively very clean and can quickly learn to use a litter box. They need time to run around outside their cage every day and interact with you. That means bunnyproofing your house, since they love to chew in things like electrical wires.

Spay/neuter is essential. Unneutered boy bunnies are like hormone-crazed fourteen-year-olds, and unspayed girl bunnies can be quite aggressive, since they're always under hormonal stress.

That said, they're also incredibly sweet and funny, and will bond to you when given the chance. They have completely unique individual personalities. They need a good diet that includes unlimited grass (not alfalfa) hay, some green leafy veggies, and limited pellets--rabbit pellets were developed to fatten rabbits for food, so you need to find a good high-fiber pellet.

We've had four bunnies, although none at the moment. All were uncaged, which is possible to do, and I think they were all pretty happy and spoiled rotten.

Pix here: http://community.webshots.com/album/133256710YIIxos

[youthere]

9. Rabbits make excellent pets.

But they are very shy, and they like to chew...pretty much anything..but mostly wood and wires so you would have to watch for that.
Also, many people get them and expect them to behave like a dog with long ears and they just don't. They can be very affectionate, but bunny style.
They require a lot more care than most people understand, and have fairly sensitive digestive systems. They are social animals, and if you are gone from the home a lot, you really should consider getting two, preferably litter mates.
House rabbits really should be spayed or neutered (interesting tidbit...female rabbits have TWO cervixes), or the females can get agressive when they come into "heat" which is basically all the time once they reach a certain age. The Males can get agressive, and intact male that aren't bred are susceptible to some type of cancer, but I forget which type.

We've had a lot of rabbit friends in our house, and they are an absolute joy. They can even easily get along with docile cats and dogs, and can become great friends with them. Our dachshund and our little Maisie get along famously...although Maisie has a little devilish streak and likes to sneak up on the dog.

Oh and NEVER feed a rabbit iceburg or romaine lettuce. NEVER EVER. Leaf lettuce is fine, but the other two can potentially kill them.


Maisie



and her pal Mimsy

[dolo amber]

10. I read this as "Pet Rabrrrrrr"

:D

[Xithras]

11. My sister had one when we were kids. It bit people and eventually killed itself.

Chewed through the power cord on the back of her stereo. Not a pretty way to go.

I remember that our parents were pretty happy when it died, because it made the whole house smell like grassy droppings. She eventually asked for a new rabbit and was met with a solid "No" from the both of them. They're cute, but it just didn't make a good housepet, and the cat HATED it.

[Akoto]

12. I had a pet rabbit years ago. He was great!

His name was Bunny. I'm so creative.

We had to keep an eye on him when he was let out, as he seemed to like exploring little hidey holes around the house. We put a bell on his collar, just in case he ended up hopping out of sight. :D

[youthere]

14. We had a black lab named "Blackie"...

Not too creative either. :hug:

[semillama]

13. watch out for rabbits

http://pbfcomics.com

[Robeson]

21. ...

...:spray: :spank:

[elleng]

15. I cried

when my daughter's bunny died.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

16. Rabbit poo is great fertilizer...

When you clean the cage just pour the litter in the mulch pile.

They like to chew. I had friends who collected oriental rugs, and their little baby, who was trained to use a litterbox as a cat would, couldn't resist nibbling on one. They rolled the others up and kept them hidden from him in a closet.

[youthere]

18. Little tidbit re: rabbit poo..

You can put it directly on your garden and it will not "burn" the plants like other manures do.

[triguy46]

17. Amy Sedaris is an expert. She has them working for her too...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vC9taroEsI

[MassLiberal]

20. bunnies are wonderful

I have two. One is very sick right now and will probably not last much longer, and I'm dreading losing him. He's my baby.

Be aware that if you do get two, as someone else has suggested, a bonded pair is a joy to behold -- they can be so sweet and affectionate with each other. They snuggle together and groom one another. But getting two bunnies to like one another can be a tricky process, as bunnies are naturally territorial and can be aggressive with one another. The House Rabbit Society's Web site should have info on bonding rabbits to one another.

[kdmorris]

30. I'm sorry to hear your bunny is sick :(

We got our rabbit, Buddy, about 8 years ago. He was alone for a long time and then we got a little girl rabbit, Jenna (she came with the name!). We got both of them fixed and proceeded to try to get them to like each other, according to the House Rabbit Society's website.

It was a pretty horrifying process, at first. To them, it was normal behavior, but to us, it looked like Buddy was trying to kill Jenna. Every day for the first three months, we put them in a neutral area together, for about 10 minutes at first, then for longer periods of time. Eventually, they had were allowed to be alone together all the time.

To make a long story short, they did eventually bond with each other. They were so cute together, grooming each other and it was really cute how Buddy would protect her from the dogs (who weren't really a threat, but Buddy didn't know that). They were together for about 4 years and then, one day, Jenna suddenly died. We think she died of the Rabbit version of Ebola (RHV). It took us about an hour to get her out of their cage. Buddy bit (HARD!!) and clawed and fought to have us not remove her. He just kept sitting beside her. We were so scared that Buddy would get it and die, too, but, except for extreme bunny depression and a tendency to lunge at me, he was perfectly normal.

For months, he wouldn't let me near him (I took Jenna out of the cage). I eventually regained his trust by just sitting on the floor beside him (he had a room to run around in) with a banana. He loves bananas and I guess he eventually forgave me. I always kind of thought he might somehow think I killed her, since I took her out of the cage.

We are still looking for another friend for him, but don't want to get a little baby bunny, when he's kind of an old man for a bunny now. But, we keep looking on pet finder to try to see if we can find an older one, preferably a girl and maybe black, like Jenna was. I think he'll have forgotten by now what she looked like, but it can't hurt. Maybe.

I'm sorry to hear about your bunny and I hope you and your other bunny can comfort one another. :hug:

[Arugula Latte]

22. We have an "unplanned" bunny and he's a sweetie.

One day a few years ago we found a black bunny in our yard. Probably some idiot had dumped him in the neighborhood. We caught him and took him in (I was worried about coyotes getting that tasty bun morsel). We're cat people, and were not sure about whether we should keep him. I called a rabbit advocacy group and they told me shelters had way too many bunnies because of dumping and that we should "be sure nobody adopts him for snake food." That did it; we kept him. He's in a large indoor enclosure (it's probably at least 12-feet long). He's a sweet boy. Sometimes I feel badly that he does not have a bun friend with him, but, we've got three cats and some aquatic animals plus two kids so we've got a lot on our hands.

I've been surprised by how friendly and social our guy is.

One thing: NEVER put your bunny/bunnies on wire-floor cages. That is murder on their poor little feet. If for some strange reason you do have a wire-bottom cage, make sure they have plenty of chances to get relief from the wires by putting a soft bed, pieces of cardboard, etc. in the cage.

Bunnies should eat a primarily hay-based diet. They do poop and chew a lot, as others have said. They need stuff in their cage/enclosure that is safe for them to chew. We let ours hop around our living room, and the kitties are fine w/ the bun, but I have to try to him from protect the electrical cords. In nice weather I sometimes put him outside for a few hours in a sturdy, large cage. They say if you take care of them well, bunnies can live to be 12 or so. I don't know how old ours is, but we've kept him going three years and counting.

You can view profiles of worthy homeless bunnies up for adoption through animal placement groups like petfinder.com. Fun stuff! They are indeed rewarding pets.

Good luck! :hi:

on edit: A couple other things popped into my mind:

*I give ours filtered water; the chlorine is no good for them.
*Bunnies like to play; put toys in their enclosure, tubes for them to go through; etc.
*Mine has a salt/mineral lick that he seems to really enjoy.
*You can train many bunniess to wear a harness and leash.

[Spacemom]

24. Thanks for all the responses

I knew that bunnies wouldn't be a low maintenance pet, but it seems to be a bit more than we could handle right now. We've reached a sort of homeostasis with our pets right now and I don't know that our other fur babies would handle a new addition right now.

Thanks everyone!

fish
1 bird
1 hamster
2 cats
1 dog

[Darth_Kitten]

25. NOT the best pet for young children.....

Rabbits are very skittish and don't like being held. Children of course want to hold and cuddle them, and bunnies really don't like that.
Heck, they can sit on the sofa watching t.v. with you enjoying a beer or something, but do NOT like to be held. ;)

They are prone to back injuries because their skeletal systems are pretty fragile and they can be dropped, etc. :(

Female rabbits need to be spayed as they are QUITE prone to uterine cancer (50 percent chance if not spayed). Probably best for male bunnies to be neutered as well, for other reasons. ;)

They need lots of hay to eat, probably half their diet. Alfalfa hay for their first 6 months, then Timothy Hay afterwards.

They love to chew, they will need lots of toys as they are rather sweet, playful little animals. Check out bunnybytes online for plenty of bunny toys. :)

I've had plenty of bunnies, they are GREAT pets, but adults have to supervise if you get them. :)

[Taverner]

26. No but my dogs did - seriously!

I used to have two samoyeds. One has gone to the rainbow bridge, while the other lives with my dad...ANYWAY

We had them in a backyard in San Mateo, and the neighbor had just bought a bunny rabbit for his kid. Now the bunny liked the kid but he REALLY liked our dogs. He was an uncaged rabbit most of the time - he just ran around the back yard.

At one point he broke into our back yard and started playing with Sitka, the bitch. They played for hours until Sitka finally grew tired of said rabbit and went to sleep. The rabbit still tried to get Sitka to play.

[mitchum]

27. I had several as a child; the first one was George (named after G. Harrison) and the rest...

were named after famous magicians (Thurston, Houdini, Herman, Blackstone)

[RebelOne]

29. Rabbits are great pets.

I had one that I litter trained just like a cat. They learn quickly.

[hippywife]

31. Just make sure if

you get more than one, they are both the same sex. Years ago, my sister had a boy and her husband got her a girl one Valentine's Day. The male ended up going totally bonkers all the time, even to the point of chasing my sister and trying to attack her...even when the female rabbit was nowhere in the room.

[kdmorris]

32. Well, you can get a boy and girl and have them

spayed and neutered.