Question About Rabbits ( Real Pet Rabbits )

[winterose]

My rabbit thinks she is a dog. Even my pitbull is afraid of her. I haven't tried to bring another rabbit in mainly because she is a bit feisty. Ok she is a down right terror at times.

 

[Pencil]

whether keeping two females together would actually work.

I've got a pet rabbit, and according to what I read when I got him (at the time thinking it was female), your best combination is two females as they get on, better than two males, and you don't have a problem with breeding of course, unless you have the male neutered, which is incredibly expensive.

 

[Whitneys story]

I have had rabbits at 2 different times. They are very smart and clean if they get a good start.

Both self potty trained and were indoors in winter. They do not pooh we're they eat and will use a litter box.

On the loose indoors they will chew everything including wiring. Mine slept with me as a child but I ended up with some weird haircuts.

Sounds like fun in the right setting! They are really cuddly.

 

[Pencil]

they will chew everything including wiring

Now that's an understatement! They will and do chew everything and anything - books, wiring, curtains, rugs, you name it. Mine (my daughter's really, but guess who has to clean the litter box?) is discerning - it eats mainly things that are very important or very precious or very valuable.

 

[p-no]

I've read that house bunnies are actually more work than cats, is that true? How pooey are they in reality? Are you constantly picking up pellets? What about smell and allergy issues? Do they need a huge area/pen or are they okay with like a dog bed?

So, this is my experience and my opinion regarding your questions (ask away!):

I can not really compare cats and house bunnies. When I was a child we had a cat but being a child I had (and have) no clue how much work is behind it. I do know though that there is quite a lot of work when you have house bunnies.

To minimize work (and smell), I chose pellets made from wood as the first layer in the cage, then put shavings from saw mills as litter (funny, had to look all these terms up, hope they are correct). If you use shavings only, the cage will get smelly very fast (three days). House bunnies are usually not that small, and if you have two, well, it gets double-pooey mid- to long-term. When you decide to buy baby rabbits, they are small and cute, but they will grow... Then you will also have to give them hay every day, twice would be good. Hay is one of the best foods for bunnies and it really is vital for their well-being and health. I am just saying this because you, like me, have allergies. So, you may not have a problem allergy-wise with the bunnies themselves, but with the litter and hay.

If a bunny is healthy, the poo will be almost perfectly round and ‘stable’, i.e. you will not have poo stuck anywhere. You can just pick up the pellets, or those, the bunnies don’t pick up themselves (to eat; it is vital for them to eat them; usually, but not always, they will take them from their you-know (lack of words)). But, and that’s the point, if they are not healthy, one of the first things that will change and tell you is their poo (or lack of). I. e. they are very sensitive bowel-wise. So, part of good care for rabbits is checking their poo regularly, as well as their teeth, eyes and behind. They also need their nails cut regularly (careful, there are blood vessels in them, you can actually see that in some types of rabbits when they are rather of rabbit-color or light color).

They will also need good food to stay healthy but I can not explain this well in English because I lack the terms. I’m sure there are books though or the net to find out. In addition to that (what we here call ‘dry food’), they need fresh vegetables and some (little!) fruit. It’s important to read up on what is good and how much of it is good, and what and how much isn’t.

The cage you will have to clean at least (!) once per week. ‘Clean’ meaning really taking everything out and washing the cage, not just exchanging the litter. Also, bunnies do need to run around and jump as this is their natural urge and ‘purpose’. While they’re out and about you need to watch constantly. They will nibble on your furniture, jump onto something you would have never dreamt of they could reach, fiddle their little noses into power sockets (plugs?), etc. They might even eat up half of a bamboo ball and then try to crawl through the hole and get stuck. Yes, been there – and laughed my head off. (Nothing bad happened.)

Smell: The bunnies themselves do not smell but the cage will. You can avoid that by cleaning it thoroughly more often (washing it). It is smelly though, depending on how sensitive you are to it it may be annoying.

Pooey and toilet training: My experience is that the bunnies came the way they were. I.e. if you get a bunny and you’re home and it poos outside of its cage, then it will continue to do so. I read books, I joined forums, got tips, did toilet training for a loooong time… nope. I have had 9 bunnies so far. They were the way they were in that respect. If you do get a young male bunny (here you will get them around 6 to 8 weeks old), make sure to have him castrated as soon as possible! They will start peeing around while jumping about 60 cm high and turn while they’re doing so… I don’t think I have to add anything there… That is, if they are not castrated. By peeing around, they mark their territory. It’s explicitly nice if you were sold a girl who was really a boy and thus didn’t know. Of course, you had checked books and had some experience and you looked at his parts several times but they sure darn-well looked like a girl’s… Also, if they think you’re their territory, good night and good luck. This will not happen if you have them castrated. Sometimes, rarely in my experience, a girl will be that bad (due to hormones), then you’ll have to have her sterilized, too. That is surgery that’s not easy on them and not having to do it is the best thing.

I do not want to scare you but I think the more you know the more you can avoid beforehand, if you decide to get one or two. It’s not like they’re all having territory flashes or jump around like crazy and pee. But it can happen (especially with groups who still have to learn what loving one another really means). Thank goodness, our groups were outside only.

The bunny on the right side of the pic, Nicki, never dropped one single pellet (and never peed) outside his cage. The one on the left did, but never peed anywhere other than his cage.

So, just to get this straight: my apartment has been nice and clean, but some furniture has suffered. Live and learn. Also, like any pet, they might be sick and then pee on the carpet. That happens with dogs, cats, etc.

I have had one bunny who I bought a dog bed for. He behaved like a dog so I figured, maybe he likes to cuddle up in it. He did. Will post a pic. He was the only one. The others want wood, leaves, some natural toys (one or two, preferably a wooden/bambooish ball or so). And they want attention. They are group animals and you can easily become part of their group. It is the most special feeling when a little rabbit comes up to you, jumps and lets itself drop on its side right by your side. Then relaxes and lets you pet it from nose to tail, no kidding, for half an hour straight. That is total trust, as they are prey animals! Lying down on their sides means relaxation and contentment. And when they do it by you, you’re a big-time friend they trust fuly.

Careful with your feet when walking. They’re fast and you don’t hear them coming.

Rabbits also have teeth that never cease to grow. I.e. if they don't have enough things to use their teeth on, they will have to be taken to the vet to have them cut. There are several diseases you should be watching out for. They also need anual vaccinations.

To be honest, I don't like guinea pigs. I can not connect to them, if that makes sense.

And to be honest: I would never again get a rabbit from a rescue organisation. I had three from there and they were the ones who were peeing and pooing everywhere, they were 'wild' and wrecked things like crazy. What I have noticed lately when I looked at ads from private persons who look for new homes for their pets is that almost all (last week's ads) had bunnies of about 1-2 years of age, not castrated (big mistake) males and single females (also not good). If a bunny gets castrated only very late, it will develop differently and the 'calming effect' the castration has is not at all as much as it is when a young bunny grows up castrated. Also, females usually grow into 'worse-than-not-castrated males' if they are alone or even if they are with a castrated male (that was our case) and can not find an outlet for her hormones, so to speak! I think it's a safe bet that lots of people get rabbits, don't get the information they would need, don't have the rabbits castrated and kept healthy and then give them up after a year or few years. If you want a *pet* bunny, buy one and make it your own by spending time with it and caring for it. Just IMO and experience.

 

[p-no]

Whitney, I had to laugh out loud about the weird haircuts. I can so imagine! Nicki (right bunny) did that to me when I bent down to him. Having your bangs shortened free of charge, yay!

 

[NarcSis]

Wow, thank you Prime No that was a wonderful first hand look into the world of bunny care.

Gives me a lot to think about, I really appreciate it.

 

[p-no]

My 'dog' -- I miss him.

 

[Whitneys story]

Oh now I want a bunny again! Looks just like my Fluffy. He was a big boy of 18 pounds. Someone stole him
when I was little.

 

[p-no]

Since my ex-husband didn't reply to my e-mail asking about the whereabouts of little white rabbit, I have decided to not get a bunny but a hamster. It took a while to find out what I wanted and realising that bunnies do smell (not the bunnies themselves, but the cage and all, even if you clean a lot (or I'm very sensitive)) and that I will be very dependent on help I'd have to pay for taking in my bunnies for when away. When they get sick, treatment can get quite expensive, and I have a wooden floor in my apartment and if they were not clean (pellets flying around), I wouldn't like that as my floor is only "oiled" (sorry, lack of words) and not "coated" (again, vocab?), i.e. I think it's no problem at all cleaning it but I, being me, would have trouble with just knowing there were pellets on the floor.

So, I am going to find myself a nice little hamster; had several before and you can actually have a connection with a hamster. One, Knurps (that would be about "crunch" in English, the sound they make when eating a nut, for example), a female, was so smart, she would take off at night, run through the whole house (the first time, we did not let her out intentionally) and be back in her cage the next morning. She would not destroy anything (amazing!) but just really like to run. That first time was difficult because my ex and I were running around the whole house trying to find her. For some reason, late at night, I decided to leave her cage door open just in case. And in the morning I opened up the "box" in which she slept, and she looked at me as if to say: "Hey, had a busy night, can you close the lid, please, thank you". LOL

Too bad you can only keep one hamster and not two. I would have liked to have a Charlie (Brown) and a (Peppermint) Patty! ;)

Thank you, Medic! Writing out what I did about my experience with my bunnies made me remember also the bad parts, the costs, all the work, ... Thanks for asking! I hope you'll find a good solution (a pet you will be happy with) for yourself!

 

[p-no]

P. S. I am still hoping that my ex will respond. It is normal for him to not respond for weeks (unfortunately). Then, once you've totally forgotten about him and your message, he might reply. Anyway, if I can get a hold of little white rabbit, I'll still take him in. I really want him back and I have felt bad lately putting myself before him. Talk about "you know you have PTSD when..." I know it was fine to take that decision at the time, but I'm still sad he's not here and today, I think, I would maybe find other ways to deal with it.

 

[p-no]

Fluffy

That's the translation (more or less) of mine, too. His name is "Flocke" (literally: flake, but the German implies the "fluffy", difficult to explain). I am sorry someone stole Fluffy, Whitney, and hope you were able to deal with that well.