Baby Bunny guide?

[Astra]

He’s only five weeks old and he’s a lop eared. His name is Mochi and I want him to be happy for as many years as possible! He’s my first rabbit. 
Should I give him pellets all day?

Do I have to give him alfalfa or is timothy okay?

How often should I hold him?

Is it normal for him to pee every time I take him out? Is he scared? Is he just not trained?

Is aspen okay in his litter box? 

What toys should I get?

When should I bring him to the vet for a checkup/neutering?

Any other tips would be great too! Thank you! I’m new to this site so if I made this wrong I apologize. c:

[Mocha]

He’s under six months, so he should be eating unlimited alfalfa pellets and hay.
Rabbits hate being of ground level, so try to hold him only when neccessary, but you can pet him as much as you like.
He’ll pee in a litterbox when you get him neutered.
You can use Aspen shavings, but I much prefer Carefresh, Yesterdays News (cat litter), or just lots of hay and newspaper.
My bunnies prefer natural toys like willow tunnels, apple sticks, etc. But you can also by vegetable died wood, iglos, etc. Whatever you want! Rabbits can’t eat seeds or dairy though.
You should bring him to the vet ASAP for a checkup if you just got him, to make sure he is healthy.
You should get him neutered when he reaches sexual maturity (4-6 months of age).
Hope I helped!

[Astra]

How much floor time should he get? c:

[mybunnymilo]

hello welcome, aw i’m a first time bunny owner too, I’ve gotten a lot of advise on caring for a rabbit, i got my bunny at 8 weeks so my bunny wasn’t that young i give my bunny 1/4 cup of pellet’s a day half of that cup in the morning then the rest in the evening and unlimited hay, Timothy hay is fine. 

Rabbits don’t really like being picked up but they can get used to it i pick my rabbit up when i need to but he hates it so i don’t do it often it depends on your rabbit. yes aspen is okay in his litter box, bunny’s love cardboard box’s, card board castles and mazes are really good,tunnels, willow balls, wood chews, willow sticks, there’s too many to name, usually bunny’s are neutered at around 4 months but some vets like to wait longer or can do it earlier just check with your vets

[Astra]

Thanks everyone  for all the help!

Are there any treats I can give him? Or is he simply too young for anything but pellets and hay?

Should I be cleaning the sleepys in his eyes?

[mybunnymilo]

Im not completely sure about treats I don’t give my bunny treats, rabbits are very clean animals and clean themselves, so he should clean his eyes himself. Hope I helped

[Astra]

Thank you!

[Tessie]

Welcome!

He’s too young for treats really. What pellets are you feeding?
You can gently remove the sleepies if you want, but there’s no need to.

Try to avoid picking him up, let him come to you and give him lots of pets.
Aspen is fine.
Floor time doesn’t matter too much while he’s still settling in to his new home. What’s his cage like?

[Astra]

this is his cage and the pace I give him to run around. (attachments) He is running and doing binky’s. 

[Tessie]

How big is it? It’s hard to tell but it looks a bit small! The minimum they need is 4ft by 2ft and that’s a real minimum.

Also, they mustn’t have wire floors like that, it’s really bad for their feet, you should cover the wore floor with a board or something so he has solid floor.

Is that him in the picture? So fluffy and cute!

[Astra]

Hmm, my breeder sold me the cage. I’ll look into it, thank you!

[LongEaredLions]

Breeders aren’t always the most knowledgeable. We really do not recommend wire floors as they can cut into the foot and cause infections.
If you look in the habitats section under bunny info, there are some great examples of large and safe housing.
He’s very adorable.

[LizziAnn]

I bought my rabbit Luna from a breeder at 8 weeks and she had the sore heels from the chicken wire at the bottom of the cage she was raised in. Her feet were also soaked in pee cleaning her feet was the first thing I had to do when I brought her home. Breeders can be very bad.

I gave her 1/4 of baby rabbit pellets once a day and I did start giving her treats after a few days because she was so little and frightned. Obv unlimited hay.

About floor space, I gave Luna a similar amount of floor space when bringing her home and she is still not litter trained so you might want to give Mochi less space at first so he can get use to the litter tray.

[farida]

hi and welcome to the bunny parent world.I suggest you read many blogs and watch bunny care videos too.

reading will give lots of knowledge how best to care for your bunny..click resources on the tab above this page and the links will give you all the information u will need!

good luck!

[farida]

hi and welcome to the bunny parent world.I suggest you read many blogs and watch bunny care videos too.

reading will give lots of knowledge how best to care for your bunny..click resources on the tab above this page and the links will give you all the information u will need!

good luck!

[Astra]

What should I do about the cage then? I don’t really have a lot of money left…I don’t think my breeder would take the cage back. :C I do think my cage is too small, I feel like an idiot for getting such a small cage with wires! xC what should I do? I don’t want his feet getting hurt but I don’t have any money right now? (I’m [MOD EDIT] and work at Mcdonlads)

[Roberta]

Well… It’s time to get creative…. First call the breeder and see if they will take it back or maybe exchange it for some other accessories….. I don’t know if you have annual street collections for house hold goods but they are often a wonderful source of raw materials…. Ask friends, family and neighbours if they have any spare untreated wood, old dog crates/cages (the big ones are excellent for converting into condo’s by adding a ramp and plywood floor), building materials in general basically… a childrens metal playpen makes a good play area you just might have to add some pestwire so they don’t wriggle through gaps…
If the breeder won’t take the cage back you can line it with some grass matts, plywood or old carpet squares, add a cover and you have a nice speeping box plus emergency accommodation if you need to keep your bunny contained…
Have a look at the rabbitats on the BB home page or some of the other sites and see if you get any ideas….. But if you do have a relative that has previously or still might have a large to X large dog cage try and get it for free or check the local papers for cheap second hand.

[Mocha]

Ask the breeder if you can return the cage to them, for supplies that they might have. Get creative with this. Use whatever supplies you might have. You can make a pen out of closet shelves. You can put a piece of wood on the bottom of the metal cage and put fleece or towels on top of it. You can see if anyone you know or if your vet has an unusable pen and you can try to fix it up. You can go to a hardware store and buy some wire and wood and make your own pen (I did this for an outdoor playpen, it worked very well. I payed about $70 for all the supplies and it took me about 2 hours to build).
My vet has a LOT of old stuff (x-pens, towels, bowls) that she can’t use anymore, so maybe you can ask your rabbits vet if there’s anything he doesn’t need.
When I first got my bunnies (I was about the same age as you), a vet office was closing and they were selling all of their supplies (crates, bowls, pens, cat towers) all that for a reasonable amount of money. I bought a crate for $15 and a pen for $10.
Do any of your friends or family have any pets? Maybe you can ask them for help.
Hope I helped a little

[Beka27]

I edited your post. Minors are not allowed to share their age on the forum. This is for your protection.

If you cannot return the cage, the others gave you good suggestions on how to cover the wire flooring. This will make the cage safe until you can get something larger and more adequate for your bun as he grows.

[Astra]

Thank you guys, I’m just so worried I won’t be a good bunny parent. c:

[MoxieMeadows]

Yes breeders are not the most knowledgeable. The breeder I got my bun from had her rabbits stacked in 2 ft by 2 ft wire bottom cages. When one of the top ones would pee, the ones under the top one would get wet with pee. Breeders are normally just in it for the money in my expierience. :-/

I know it’s hard when you’re a minor and trying to take care of your pets, Maybe to collect some extra cash you could try babysitting or pet sitting?

I’m sure you’ll be a good bunny parent! You’re on here getting advice on how to care for your bun because you care right? That’s the first sign of a great bunny parent in my book.

[Beka27]

You’re a NEW bunny parent! There is a learning curve for all of us and you’ll get it all figured out! Don’t worry! Your bun is lucky to have someone who loves him so much and is willing to do research and learn everything they can!

[Astra]

Thank you all so much. I really appreciate the support. I wanna save up for this cage:
http://www.petsmart.com/small-pet/cages-habitats-hutches/oxbow-play-yard-small-pet-habitat-zid36-21578/cat-36-catid-600011?var_id=36-21578&_t=pfm%3Dcategory
it is $190 but I’ll save it up c: is it big enough do you guys think?

[Roberta]

The fact that you are doing research just proves what a wonderful bunny parent you are going to be.

[gingerg]

Astra, you’re doing a great job! I’m also a first timer and there is so much to learn, it’s a lot to take in, but you’re asking the right questions and doing the right research.

For what it’s worth, here’s the cage that I almost bought my bunny (before I decided to go with a Leith Petwerk Bunny Abode Condo): Living World Deluxe Pet Habitat Extra Large ( http://www.amazon.com/Living-World-Deluxe-Habitat-X-Large/dp/B007BNE1YA/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1405132717&sr=1-1 ). Right now, it’s about half the cost of the model that you’re looking at, but has an extra foot of width to it. You might be able to afford this one more quickly. If any of the experienced bunny parents have experience with this model, would you chime in?

[gingerg]

Also, for a used doggie xpen, or maybe a cheap cage, I’d check your local Craigslist ads. I’ve seen a lot of bun stuff on those around me, mostly from people giving up pets ( ((( ) but no reason you shouldn’t swoop in and get a deal if you can!

[gingerg]

Also, for a used doggie xpen, or maybe a cheap cage, I’d check your local Craigslist ads. I’ve seen a lot of bun stuff on those around me, mostly from people giving up pets ( ((( ) but no reason you shouldn’t swoop in and get a deal if you can!

[JackRabbit]

Astra, please don’t spend your money on that cage. It’s really not big enough. For way less money you can buy an xl dog crate or even better, an xpen (checkout midwest brand for both) and your bunny will be so much happier. Xpens can easily be reshaped, moved around, are super easy to clean, and you can even sit in it with your bunny!

I bought a $150 pet store cage that now sits in my storage room. It’s 4 ft long and 2 ft wide but was horrible to try to clean. Two of my buns have dog crates that sit inside a larger area, and I can easily clean inside everything.

[Astra]

Really? :c that cage is 3 feet long and 1 1/2 feet wide…how big am I looking for?

[JackRabbit]

Min 4 ft by 2 ft or 8 sq feet if different shape. Sounds like alot for a bun, but once you get a decent sized litterbox in there bunny still needs hopping space.

[Tessie]

Yes, that is too small, and a waste of money, get an ex-pen, they’re the best!

[Astra]

ex-pen? like exercise pens? how much can those cost? c:

[manic_muncher]

This is the pen I got for my Bumpy.  I would recommend at least getting the 36″ tall one, that way any hidey boxes you put inside can’t be used to jump over it.

http://www.petco.com/product/11368/Precision-Pet-Black-Ultimate-Exercise-Pens.aspx

I had gotten him a large dog kennel at first, which was a waste of money.  BUT I was able to use that same kennel along with the xpen and give him even more room.

Remember, if you had a wall that you could attach the pen to with for example, some eye hooks screwed into wall studs, you could utilize even more of your pen space. Edit to add:  By the way, pens this size will generally run about $60 and with free shipping if you end up ordering online!

This is what Bumpy’s pen looked like at one time. (It has been changed several times now!)

 

[JackRabbit]

Yes, a dog exercise pen. Mine are all made by Midwest (I believe its Midwest Homes fot Pets). You can order them online, or many pet stores carry them. I paid a little extra in shipping to get mine quickly and ordered from midwestpetproducts.com — you can get a good idea what they look like from their website but can likely find them cheaper. This company is an online retailer and not related to the manufacturer. No matter where you buy, it will be way cheaper than the $190 you were going to spend on that cage!

Edit: Don’t get less than 36″ height. I would recommend taller in case your bun ends up being a jumper! Also, you don’t absolutely have to have one with a door but it sure makes it nice. I have 3 of them with the new maxlock door and love them.

[Mocha]

That cage is to small, and like everyone else said, I would reccomend an x-pen or doggie pen. I got the tallest and biggest one from Petco. My bunnies love it and it’s easy to clean.

When I was younger, I used to walk dogs and pet sit. I walked about 5 dogs a day, for 1 hour, and I charged $20 an hour. I made $100 dollars a day, $700 a week. I also petsat, usually for the whole day and I charged maybe $50-100 for around 14 hours. I put all that money aside for my bunnies and now they’re living in luxery

[Astra]

thank you all! I’ll look into the exercise pens! C:

[Author]

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