Can you give me general rabbit advice?

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FrodoBaggins

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Hello all. Recently bought two small 6 week old lop bunnies. First time I've ever had rabbits. Done hamsters before and have a small dog and chickens also but never rabbits.

Any general or specific advice you can give to new rabbit owner? Thanks!

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soulcake

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Get a good Water bottle. my old rabbit kept destroying the water bottle i bought for it cause i kept being a cheapskate. If you tend to let them run " free" a open cage on grass these things dig holes so beware of it, lost one cause one of them digged himself to freedom and found a car tire as a answer to his freedom RIP. Also rabbits eat there own poo once it's weird once there poo looks black all of the nutrients are gone. Also try to clip there nails / claws from time to time. I don't own rabbits anymore cause they where a hassle :D. Hope this helps a bit.

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berniesbc

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I can tell you that you should keep your Dreamcast cords away from them. My roommate had bunnies in college and they loved those dang cords.

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FrodoBaggins

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#4  Edited By FrodoBaggins

Thanks for the advice. And they are kept outside so no worry about Dreamcast cords :D

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wollywoo

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#5  Edited By wollywoo

Mentioning pet bunnies without posting photos should be an instant ban ;)

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FrodoBaggins

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@wollywoo: real talk - I don't actually know how to post photos on here. I'm not tech savvy.

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Sergiy

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I remember a friend telling me you shouldn't bathe them as it can be dangerous to their health, I'm sure there's more info on the internet.

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laughingorc

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As a rabbit owner for 8+ years now, I might be able to offer a bit of advice!

Accomodation

First of all, rabbits take a lot of time and attention. They need a big enclosure - PLEASE don't keep them in a small hutch outside, they need lots of space to run around and burn off energy. Make sure they have things to chew (cardboard is generally a favourite, don't bother with expensive toys as they tend to be happier with a cardboard box) and a tall enough pen so they can stand on their hind legs (when they're fully grown) without touching the ceiling.

Make sure they have a litter tray and litter. Rabbits will choose a spot in their enclosure as their toilet; once they've decided where this is pop a litter tray there, some litter (we use cat litter, the wooden pellets) and some hay on top - rabbits are sometimes lazy and like to munch hay while they poop. Sometimes they like to munch the hay they have pooped on. They're funny like that.

Food

Second, rabbits need infinite amounts of hay. Make sure it's timothy hay as it's best for their digestion, they have very sensitive stomachs and need huge amounts of fibre to keep their digestive system working. Lots of hay also helps keep their teeth short and reduces the risk of dental problems. They can have small amounts of fresh veg (but check before you give them any that it's safe for rabbits) and should only have a small amount of food pellets per day - DO NOT give them rabbit muesli as it's pretty bad for them.

Since you have two rabbits, they'll likely groom each other (so long as they're friendly!) but check them for loose hair and invest in a grooming mitt or similar, they might not like you grooming them but rabbits don't have a reflux motion and can't vomit, so if they ingest hair they can't cough up a furball and have to pass it in their poos.

Health

Make sure your rabbits are spayed / neutered if you're not planning on breeding them - this can help reduce some of their territorial behaviour (as well as prevent lots of new kits). Also make sure they're vaccinated, depending on where you live there are a few vaccines available but the biggest one to make sure you get is the mixamatosis vaccination, because mixi is a fucking horrible man-made disease that basically has no cure

As rabbits are prey animals, signs of illness can be hard to spot as they tend to hide their symptoms until they're too ill to function properly. Main things to watch out for are:

  • Loss of appetite - may indicate dental or digestion problems. If a rabbit hasn't eaten in 24 hours, and / or hasn't pooed in the same time, you need to get them to a vet ASAP.
  • Patches of missing fur - could be a sign of mites, for which they'll need antibiotics.
  • runny eyes - could be an eye infection or a sign of dental problems
  • runny nose / squeaking - the rabbit might have a cold, an allergy, or the snuffles - better get them checked out.

Rabbit language

Learn how to understand your bunnies! Though they don't generally make much sound (apart from the occasional grunt, or a scream if they're in pain) bunnies have a complex social structure and body language that they use to communicate. As a general rule, you can tell how happy a bunny is by how they're sitting - the longer it would take them to get up from their spot, the happier and safer they feel. Most rabbits will lie down with their legs scrunched under them, but if they're comfortable they'll kick their legs out in front / behind them or to the side. If they're really comfy, they might flop onto their side.

There are loads of great resources on this, but a few key ones to watch out for are:

  • the 'binky' - a hop, sometimes done whilst running, where the rabbit twists its body and wiggles its head / ears as it jumps. It's the sign of a very happy rabbit!
  • running in circles around you / another rabbit - means they love the thing they're running around very much. Or they think it has a treat for them.
  • nose twitching - bunnies twitch their noses not to breathe, but to show interest. The faster their nose twitches the more interested / curious about something they are. If their nose stops twitching, they're probably asleep. Rabbits sleep during the day, and sometimes with their eyes open, so the lack of twitchy nose is a helpful indicator.
  • rearing up on hind legs and pawing at something / boxing - a sign of frustration.
  • Grunting - a low rumbling ''unk' sort of sound, can indicate annoyance (ie, piss off and leave me alone human) or can be a sound of excitement or thank you - one of our bunnies only grunts when he's grumpy, the other grunts in the mornings to say hello when we give her her food!
  • turning its back to you - means I'm done with you now, or I'm annoyed with you.
  • rubbing their chins on things (including you) - rabbits have scent glands on their chin. If they rub their chin on something it means that object / person now belongs to the rabbit. If it rubs its chin on you, it means the rabbit is now the boss.
  • humping / mounting - rabbits will effectively 'dry hump' other rabbits as a sign of dominance. The dominant rabbit (usually the female) will sometimes do this to show superiority and reaffirm their position as Boss.

To summarise

Bunnies need a lot of care and attention, much more than hamsters and rodents. They're social creatures and love interaction, but they do require considerable effort on your part. Get to know them and how they communicate and you'll have some very happy and affectionate pets - it takes a while to earn a rabbit's trust as they're naturally scared of most things, but when you do they can be really loving and a huge amount of fun.

Handy links

This website explains things very well -http://burgesspetcare.com/rabbits/ - and there are other handy sites like the House Rabbit Society (https://rabbit.org) that can offer general advice.

And finally

Here's our two buns, Copper and Ollie :3

Hope this was some help, sorry for rambling on for so long!

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FrodoBaggins

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@laughingorc: oh wow thank you! So can I give the rabbits household cardboard like, say, an empty breakfast cereal box? Also what is a good cheap source of veggies/greens for them?

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General Rabbits are very bossy....that is my advice.

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FrodoBaggins

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BiffMcBlumpkin

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I can tell you that you should keep your Dreamcast cords away from them. My roommate had bunnies in college and they loved those dang cords.

Your roommate did or the bunnies did?

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laughingorc

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@frodobaggins: cereal boxes are good, they also seem to like tougher cardboard (ours love Amazon packing boxes - shove a bit of hay in them as well and they get double the fun).

As for veggies, we give ours a handful of kale every morning and they get either a leaf of cabbage or some florets of broccoli in the evening. Just don't give them too many sweet fruit / veg - they love carrot, banana, mango, strawberries, but these should be given in really small amounts as the high sugar content is kind of bad for them =3

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FrodoBaggins

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@laughingorc: ok great thanks. My bunnies don't really seem to be eating the hay i put in, or at least not very fast? Granted I keep throwing great grass in also and a few veggies and pellets. I put a couple handfuls of hay in yesterday and they don't seem to have touched it.

They also keep going to the toilet in their bed area. I bought a litter tray but they haven't used it yet. I'm guessing because the bedding is soft with all the straw they feel comfy going there? Should I put straw in the litter box?

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laughingorc

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@frodobaggins: Is it good quality Timothy Hay? Also, rabbits are lazy, and hay requires a lot of eating to get the nutrients from - so if they have other sources of food they'll eat those instead. It feels cruel but they seriously don't need to eat much else besides hay - our bunnies get an eggcup of pellets a day and a small scattering of kale and a cabbage leaf or floret of broccoli each - and they munch through loads of hay ^_^

Yeah.. unfortunately bunnies will chose where they want their toilet to be. They also don't tend to pay much attention to bedding... we've tried ours with soft bedding, comfy beds etc and they prefer just sleeping on the floor -_- You can try moving some of the bedding and straw to the litter tray, but if the rabbits have already decided that that area is their toilet, you might just have to move the litter tray over there instead '-_-

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Hunterecca

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Hello there! I have a pet rabbit and can share with you some tips