Your New Rabbit: Home Sweet Home (Part 1 of 6)

Those of your familiar with this blog may tend to get the idea that rabbits are the be-all, end-all of my universe. I swear I have other pets -- the cats outnumber the rabbits, and the bird thinks he outnumbers all of them by himself. But after what happened with all those rabbits recovered in Dunwoody this past spring, it seemed like now was a good time to dig some more into the specific things unique to owning a house rabbit.

So for everyone out there who might be curious or interested in homing or fostering a Velveteen of your own, the next few posts will be for you. If you’re interested at all in adopting or fostering rabbits, these are some things you will need to know and do beforehand.

A Bun’s Home is His Castle.

The new guy in town will need a place to sleep, eat, use the can… you get the drift. Basically, he needs a house inside your house. There are several options available to you, but the simplest is a large pet carrier or crate. Building a house is also an option, and after a few years of having house bunnies this was what we ended up doing, but it’s not truly necessary.

If you decide to run with the crate/carrier option, you should chose one that was intended for a large animal, like a big dog. It needs to be big enough for his food, a water dish/drip bottle, his litter box, and a toy or two. If three or four of him can fit in there with a little room left over for all of his stuff, that’s probably fine.

Lining the bottom of his new home with old white towels or timothy hay is good too, as rabbits are natural diggers & re-arrangers. Your new bun will appreciate being able to ‘redecorate’ and make the place his own. Be sure to change that hay out regularly though, since it’s hard to see when it’s gotten soiled. Towels are easier, and can just get thrown in the wash when needed.

Now, the litter box usually comes as a bit of a surprise to people, so let me say it again: yes, rabbits are litter box-trainable. The next surprise is that to start with, you’ll probably want three, four or even more of them, big enough for him to sit inside comfortably.

(All these boxes won’t go in his house; just the one will do there. The rest are for later, as we’ll discuss in Part 2 of this series.)

Fill them with something like Yesterday’s News (our brand) or some other unscented paper- or hay-based litter, or you can just use more of the timothy hay. Lining them with plastic trash bags will simplify clean-up, especially if you use hay which is not nearly as absorbent. To keep the mess and odor in check, change the box out completely once a week, or 2-3x/wk if you use just plain hay.

DO NOT use cedar or pine shavings, as the oils are poisonous if eaten and can be harmful if absorbed through the skin. DEFINITELY don’t use silicate cat litter!

Every Manor Has its Estate

One of the many reasons domestic rabbits prefer indoor living is that they get more attention and interaction with the rest of the family. Even sitting in his house while people walk back and forth, have conversations, or watch TV  offers the mental stimulation he craves, so pick a room where he’s not likely to get forgotten about. Also, consider that he’s going to need time outside of his pen for exploring and general rumpus, so a room that’s easily bunny-proofed and sealed against escape is good too.

Once your bunny does get out and about, he’ll be interested in all kinds of terrible things: chewing on chair legs, trimming the electric bill (by trimming the electrical cords he can reach!), pooping in plain sight - all these are the old stand-bys. He’ll be doing a bunch of other cute stuff the kids will think is way more interesting, but this is the stuff YOU’LL be concerned about.

So the next couple of posts, let’s talk about how and why these common issues arise, and how they can be dealt with with a minimum of fuss.

Next time, Pat discusses how to keep your rabbits’ teeth healthy without sacrificing your wooden furniture! If you have any questions or comments, please leave them in the comments section, or you can email Pat directly at mr . fluffybunny13 @ yahoo . com.