it’s very mature of you to gather information before deciding to get a rabbit.  rabbits are so often impulse buys from petstores "b/c they are oh so cute" and people don’t get all the necessary information, esp. not from the petstore employees, who just need to make a sale.  it’s even better that you’re planning to adopt, there are so many great rabbits out there just waiting for a home (plus, in many cases you wouldn’t have to worry about spaying or neutering, and the teenage/super-destructive period may be behind them already.)

with bunnies, the more room the better.  they love to run about and do their happy bunny binky dance, and it’s hard to do that when confined to a small area.  you may decide that you can rearrange things in your room to make more open space for your rabbit to run and play.  but you also need to make sure that things are rabbit-proofed (they love cords and carpet and things that they shouldn’t be chewing, and your parents wouldn’t want him chewing).  another thing, bunnies don’t know what they can and cannot chew, so you almost need to assume that everything they can reach is fair game.  this is just an asusmption, and please don’t be offended by my generalization… but i’m guessing you’re a teenager, and i remember the last thing i wanted to do as a teenager was clean my room.  if i had had a rabbit running around in that space, all of my stuff would’ve been demolished.    even some adults i know are "housework-challenged"…

if none of that is an issue, great!  less for you to worry about.  but one other question… rabbits have an average lifespan of about 8-12 years (some sites i think may say even longer).  again, i’m not sure of what your situation is… but you need to be able to take responsibility for your rabbit for that amount of time.  i think many pets end up getting abandoned because their caretaker either ends up leaving for college or embarks on another part of their life.  would you be able to bring your rabbit with you, or would your parents be able to continure the same level of care he’s used to receiving?

of course, i’m not trying to discourage you, but these are some things to think about.  i’ll let the others answer the rest of your questions (b/c they can do it better than i can.)

and welcome to Binky Bunny.  this site really is great as far as information regarding house rabbits and their care.

i’ll second bekka’s comments & say good for you to do some research before making a commitment to adopting a rabbit!  my first rabbit was from a pet store who’s owner convinced me rabbits were ‘easy to care for’ years ago.  fortunately i was up for the task since i soon found out rabbits are definitely NOT low maintenance.  i’ve found having a bunny for a pet to be very rewarding & the care is sooo worth it, but it is as much, if not more, than having a dog for a pet.  including vet bills since rabbits are typically MORE expensive as they’re considered exotic.  also finding a rabbit savvy vet can be tricky depending on where youlive.  there is so much great info available here to give you an idea for the care involved.  check out the bunny info pages here on binky bunny… they’ll give you a good guide for what’s involved!

your questions… since its good to start with a small space for a new bun to get used to (best for litter training) i think a small cage is suitable if you can have a penned area open at all times.  if you use an x-pen (stand-up wire fence taht can be arranged around any floor space) it can be set up when you’re not there for bun to have a bit of space to move about in.  then you could set the x-pen aside when you’re there to supervise & give bun free roam of your bunny-proofed room.  there are different types of litter avail that help with smells… check out some of the threads here on litter for suggestions.

good luck in your decision!

you could also make an enclosure out of NIC cubes (available at places like Target) in just about any size or configuration.  that may be (or most likely will be) more cost efficient than getting a cage and xpen.  if you can get a piece of scrap linoleum or carpeting (if your bunny is not a carpet-eater) it works well as a floor.  the cool habitat section here has some good pics of what others have done.

Yup, if you have lots of cords you may want to block the area off, you can use the nic cubes (see pictures on this site) as to how to do that, or you can get tubing to cover the cords, or you can tapes them under the carpet depending on where they are, how many etc! Bookshelves, well unless you are picky you could not worry about them…But you book spines will become lunch!! Again you can block the area off, or you can move your books higher and put stuff for the bunny to chew on the lower shelves (like phone books!)…I’ve never found my bunnies chew on furniture, but you could spray your furniture with vinegar or bitter apple to keep your bunny from trying! I highly recommend the bunny proofing section on this site, its great!!

for electrical cords you can get plastic tubing to wrap around it or block of the area all together.  for example, some people put together NIC panels & set them up to surround a computer desk.  it can be difficult to keep busy buns from chewing furniture and baseboards but providing some chew toys (see the toys sections for ideas) for distraction usually works.

litter training doesn’t always follow a bun to a new home since they use poops to ‘claim territory’, but there are lots of tips here if you find its an issue

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bunny-proofing is a funny thing.  so much of it really is trial and error.  you may get a bun who has no desire to chew your furniture… or you may not.  i like kokaneeandkahlua’s sugestion to put bunny chewthings and toys on the first shelf or two of the bookcase.  it helps distract your bun from the bookcase itself, protects your books, and also gives you a spot to put the bunny stuff when it’s not in use.  tubing is excellent for wires, but sometimes it attracts more attention (or maybe that’s just in Meadow’s case… lol.)  i really like the NIC for bunny-proofing, along with a large quantity of zipties, because you can configure them to make a cubes with all your wires and things inside.  i have also poked holes thru a cardboard box, and then secured NIC cubes to the outside, as a super-enforced wire box.  it’s good to do a preliminary proofing beforehand, but a lot of the bunny-proofing will be done after you get your guy home… because only then will you be able to see where he can get and what he likes to go for. 

good luck with everything and keep us posted.  it’s very exciting getting a bunny.  have you been to shelters yet, or are you still just making up your mind?  some little bun is going to be so lucky to get to go home with you.  and please feel free to ask us any others questions you might have.

Hi Megan – welcome!

I’m really happy that you’re taking the time to do some research now and that you’re going to adopt rather than buy a bunny. One of the volunteers with our rabbit rescues was a premie nurse and it’s amazing how often her expertise with nursing has helped out with the bunnies.

It sounds like you’ve gotten some good advice on housing from Beka and babybunsmum. I’d also recommend you consider an NIC cottage, they are time consuming to make – but are usually less expensive, customizable and generally a much better housing situation for bunnies. You can see lots of pictures in the cool habitats section of the site. Also, adding a chairmat beneath your bunny’s house will help protect your bedroom carpet.

Bunnies that are neutered also tend to be less likely to spray and have better litter habits. It’s pretty common for bunnies to mark some when they first come into a new home, especially if there are other pets around. I personally don’t find bunnies to be stinky, but discovered a litter recently, recommended by Osprey, that’s called Aspen Supreme. It does an impressive job with the odor!

Hello, Megan! Nice to hear your’re thinking of adopting. (It’s something I wish I could do, but I’m allergic to most bunnies and so have to take what I can get.) As far as bunny smell goes, my boy bunny was very stinky before we got him neutered– but about a month after the surgery he suddenly stopped smelling practically at all. My little girl bunny is a bit young to be fixing yet, but as of yet she’s practically odorless. I’m sure it varies from bunny to bunny, but the general consensus seems to be that once a bunny’s been spayed/neutered they really don’t smell too bad. I mean, I currently have the little girl bunny and a chinchilla in a tiny dorm room and still have no issue with smell, so you’ll probably be alright as far as that goes. Good luck! I hope you find a wonderful bunny!

Hi – I am a new bunny owner, about 1 month, and I can tell you it is a lot more work than you think!  Of course I’m a neat freak too so I’m sure I make more work for myself.  I keep the cage super clean and dump the litter box every day, the main reason being I have a bunny that drinks a lot of water and then pees a lot.  The only smell I smell is the hay and I have the nose of a blood hound!.  My bun does not smell at all and he’s a neutered male.  I think if you keep things very very clean you won’t have an odor.  At first I was a bit overwhelmed with the amount of cleaning up etc but once you get the "system" down it really is easy and so worth it.  Bunnies are so great.  Mine is super affectionate, friendly and loves to be held.  Good luck but really think carefully if you want to take on this responsibility!

Hi MeganH333,

Just want to chime in to ask how near you are to Gig Harbor?  There is a wonderful bunny rescue there called Rabbit Haven (http://rabbithaven.org) that has lots of adoptable bunnies, and could probably give you tons of great information too.

Megan – I’d still recommend the chairmat for under the cage. Sometimes water bottle leak, a bunny wees outside the box. It’s well worth the investment, costco sells them very cheap – but you can get one at any office supply kind of place. You also may want to pick up some inexpensive rag rugs, since bunnies aren’t big fans of slipping on the hardwood flooring.

have you tried petfinder.com? it’s a great website for seeing pets in need of adoption.

I definitely think a mat’s a good idea for hardwood– we have it in my house, too, and while the bunnies don’t pee on it (they both like to pee on beds… >< ) they slide like crazy. It'll be nice for them to have a place to rest after ice-skating! ^_^;

Something you may want to think about is actually getting a bonded pair instead of just a single rabbit. That way, they can keep each other company while you are at school or work. Of course, this would depend on the amount of space you have available. Two dwarf bunnies wouldn’t require too much of a larger cage – maybe one that is 2’x5′ or a two story deal. Not to mention they love the company of other rabbits and you’d be saving 2 bunnies!

Hi Megan, welcome to the forums!  I’m a new bunny owner (just over a week!) and have found tons of great info and great people on this site.

Things I’ve learned/done since getting my bunny…he lives in his own bedroom in my house, so I don’t have issues with furniture really but we do have some cords. I bought the tubing stuff that someone else posted a pic of here. They have it at wal-mart and similar stores, but it only comes in packages of 6 ft. or 8 ft. You will probably need a lot more, so an auto supply store is the place to go. They sell it by the foot out of a box, and it’s a lot cheaper than the pre-packaged kind.

As for the chair mat for under the cage, I found them to be expensive when I was looking for them, so I ended up going to a flooring store nearby and buying a remnant roll of linoleum. It was only $10 and it was about 6′ x 12′. It works perfect for under the cage.

Over the carpet in the room I put down a plain canvas painter’s tarp, about $14 at Home Depot, so if he has any accidents in the room the tarp is basically water resistant and they’re easy to clean right up. No soiling of the carpet.

When I first brought my bunny home, I kept him exclusively in his cage with a litter box in the corner for at least 3-4 days. The way I had the cage arranged at first didn’t agree with him because he was peeing in a different corner than where I had put the litter box, so I rearranged it and put the litter box in his preferred corner. He has not peed anywhere but that box since then. He also has a large litter box outside his cage, since now he is allowed free run of the bedroom, and he still goes inside his cage for peeing. He prefers his outside littler box for digging and hanging out – don’t ask me why. Ha ha.

I think that’s about it for logistics. It is trial and error. Just read as much as you can, which it seems like you’re doing, and be sure to post pics of your new furry friend(s) once you find them!  Good luck…