Rabbits

Care | Caging | House Rabbits | Training | References

Care

Rabbits need gentle handling and are not recommended as a pet for a child. Also if you have gotten a bunny, beware that soon it will reach adolescence and probably become a terror for a time. That makes it a good time to spay/neuter.

Rabbits need vet care like most pets, and you might have to shop around for a vet with experience on rabbits. They have several very particular issues, and operating on them can be risky with an inexperienced doctor.

Caging

Do not get a wire floored cage unless you provide a way to get off the wire. Rabbits who live on wire all day long suffer from foot and leg problems. Get a plastic bottomed cage with wire for sides if you prefer. The cage should be a minimum of 40 " long and 16" wide depending on rabbit species and the amount of time you let it out. Many people allow their rabbit to have run of an area in their home, if it is litter box trained. You should still have a cage for emergencies as well as a carrier.

Good bedding for rabbits is either recycled paper, or plant based. Do not get soft woods, such as Cedar or pine as bedding. Even a litter box trained rabbit will likely only pee in the box, and still leave pellets around the house.

House Rabbits?

House rabbits are just rabbits who have been housebroken. They mostly no longer chew on furniture, or spray on walls. Spaying and Neutering is essential. They also use a litter box, and are as clean as cats most of the time. In the home is where domestic rabbits belong. They enjoy human interaction, and pine when left alone all the time. They are actually no different from any rabbit, their owners just looked past their early years of rabbit teenager angst.

More on House Rabbits: http://www.rabbit.org/ -- House Rabbit Society

Training

Litter box Training for rabbits is actually very easy. You get them a litter box, and fill it with an edible litter. Rabbits will eat their litter, so making it safe for them is essential.

The basic idea though is to put hay in the litter box, as well as any droppings the rabbit leaves around the house. Rabbits would rather go where it already smells like them, so very quickly catch on about where their box is. They also have a tendency to eat the hay in their box, so it should be changed frequently.

References

http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/litter.html - Litter box Training for Rabbits
http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-12/litter-training-revisited.html -- More about rabbits and litter boxes.

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