General rabbit questions by first time owner.

Question

Ok So I finally convinced my mom to buy me a rabbit, (going bunny searching this Tues. SO EXCITED) now I have a few issues though, and I want to be ready for when the new bunny arrives. My "bedroom" is actually half of the living room, so I don't have much room to get a "bunny condo", but I have enough for a small cage, or a multi-level cage. I couldn't find any multi-level rabbit homes on the Petco website...But I did find a ferret cage that a friend of mine use to have and it seems decent. I should mention that I am thinking about getting a smaller breed of Rabbit, (ei. Dwarf Hotot or Mini Rex) and I plan on letting it run around the apartment every oppourtunity I can get around 6 or 7 hours daily and on weekends around 12-15 hours, so I don't think a HUGE cage is really necessary.

Another thing is that I want to know is the diet, I seen videos and gone oon websites that said things like parsley, roman lettuce, carrots, and different types of fruits and vegetables are ok as long as I vary the diet. I don't want to feed them only bunny pellets 24/7.

I also want to train the bunny to use a litter box. I heard that if you put timothy or alfalfa hay in the litter box it will encourage them to use it more often.

About grooming, my only concern is hurting them clipping their toenails, also I read something about cleaning their "scent glands", can anyone enlighten me on that situation?

And any other tips you can give me about general rabbit care would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!!!

Oh! one more thing, how can I get a bunny use to it's new surroundings, I know it'll probably be intimidated at first, new scents, people,and surroundings, is there anything I can do to make the transition go smoothly? Or should I just let it "hang out" and figure things out for themselves??

Answer 1

my rabbit is a house/garden rabbit and he's 10 now. clipping toenails is not too hard, but its prehaps best to take him to the vets if he's got dark claws. with white claws, you can see the quick and avoid cutting into it. i've never had to clean mines scent glands :S bunny musili is good and you can feed him veg, just not too much as he might get the runs lol. keep bunny sectioned in your flat at first and let him get use to you and being handled. gradually expand the area he has to rome, but make sure there aren't any wires that he can get to. im not sure about the litter box thing - mine trained itself to go outside. oh and one last thing, make sure the hutch is tall enough for him to stand up in whilst he is on his hind legs. they like to do that :)

hope you and bunny are happy together :)

chuck & lucky :)

Answer 2

These are great websites for anyone planning to get a rabbit

http://www.rabbit.org/

http://www.binkbunny.com

and as for cage have you thought about a "NIC" cage? They are made out of Neat Idea Cubes (I don't have those where I live so I used Whitmor Storage Cubes from walmart). You can make it any way you like and it will have way more room to play and will be hundreds of dollars cheaper.

Here are a few websites showing those

http://www.mnhouserabbit.org/care/condos...

http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/articles/NI...

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic....

http://binkybunny.com/Default.aspx?tabid...

And here is an article to the basics of the first 2 weeks of having a rabbit

http://rabbit.org/journal/4-3/new-home.h...

Answer 3

You're right if he is going to be out  most of the time a big cage isn't necessary.  My rabbits are out about 12 hours a day and they all have smaller cages they go into at night.

As far as diet goes, a small bunny only needs 1/4 cup of pellets a day and that's it.  Pellets aren't a necessity for them, I tend to use them as more of a treat, the majority of what the rabbit eats should be hay.  Slowly introduce different veggies and see how your bunny responds to them. Different veggies may bother him so don't give too much too soon.  Fruits really are not good for rabbits, it can cause problems in their GI track because of all the sugar, I would stay away from them

The best way to train a rabbit on a little box is to put a small box of hay in his cage.  Rabbits are clean animals and will not want to go the bathroom where they sit, so they will use the box.  This worked well for all of my bunnies.  However be aware that when you let him have free run you have to show him where the box is initially.  Also, some bunnies will still p**p as they are running around because they are so excited.  Timothy hay is the best for a litter box because he will tend to sit in the box and eat the hay, go the bathroom.

I have never heard about cleaning the scent glands.  As far as the nails go just hold the nails in a light so you can see the nerve.  If you are unsure simply clip the very tip of the nail, that is what I do because one of my bunnies has black nails.

Just make sure the apartment if bunny proof, they love to chew wires.  When they shed you may need to brush them if it is excessive.  Find a good rabbit vet, don't take him to a dog/cat vet whatever you do!

When you first bring your bunny home make sure you sit with your bunny while he explores.  If you are always there he will gradually feel more comfortable exploring, bunnies are very curious, and once they are content they can be very mischievous.

Give him lots of toys to keep him busy: paper bags, empty tissue tubes, baby car keys, slinkies, old phone books to dig and shred.

Good luck!!