Hi, Matt,
The only one I can answer with certainty is #3 – when does he sleep. Rabbits are called Crepuscular (as opposed to Nocturnal – awake at night; or Diurnal – awake in the day) which means they are active at dawn and dusk. So in the wee morning hours, they are just revving up and may have the most energy. It’s based on the safest time for prey animals like bunnies to come out to eat with little chance of being spotted. I’ve seen my bunnies go into a deep sleep, with dreams, between 3-5PM, and be napping late morning or closer to midnight. They will bounce around when awake, but if you give him unlimited hay and water he’ll always have a bit of food to eat until you get up later to feed him. If you respond to his requests for food early, he’ll continue to try to wake you up. Bunnies are DEFINITELY creatures of habit and routine, so can actually be trained.

Welcome back – and yes, pix please!

there are differing opinions on fruit. i very rarely will give any fruit at all. the most mine get for a treat is a couple raisins, sometimes half a grape, a matchstick carrot (NOT a baby carrot, but rather the tiny sliver of carrot in salads!), or a papaya tablet. and those treats are not given every day, only a few times a week. at this point, i would focus more on getting him on a good diet of veggies and let him become acclimated to that. you can start veggies between 8 and 12 weeks, but you need to start in smaller amounts and try only one new veggie at a time. once his system is used to one then you can introduce a second. the eventual goal is that he’ll be eating betw/ 2 and 4 cups of fresh green veggies per day. you might start with a basic one, like romaine lettuce (no iceburg!) or parsley.

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/diet.html  Dana Krempels’ article on feeding your bunny… very informative!

binkybunny.com/Default.aspx  the BB page on diet

https://binkybunny.com/Default.aspx?tabid=144  this is the most thorough veggies list i’ve seen, it’s great to print out and keep on hand…

nails depend on the bunny, some can go longer between trims, but if he’s still young now, i’d encourage you to at least try to get him used to it. what you might do is practice holding him and touching his feet, but not clipping. if he can see that touching his feet is not a bad thing, then that will go a long way (maybe) to help in the future. you can definitely do vet nail trims, that’s what i do and it’s relatively inexpensive, but it adds up. i spend just under 300 a year on nail trims for my two bunnies, they go every month. it’s not a TON of money, but it certainly adds up over the life of the bunny. so at least try to do it yourself at some point…

males can be neutered at about 3.5-4 months… when their testicles drop. females can be spayed at about 6 months. has he been professionally sexed by a vet yet or is his sex a “best guess” at this point?

the cage chewing can be him wanting to come out, or it might just be him wanting to chew. baby buns are active, destructive and messy. provide him chew toys, cardboard, a lot of hay. i wouldn’t suggest you let him out when he *starts* to chew b/c that will reinforce for him that “cage chewing = playtime outside of the cage”. rather, have a schedule so he gets out at the same time each day.

At 7 weeks he doesn’t need a nail trim – there nails are generally pretty soft at this point so I wouldn’t even attempt this until he gets older – Beka’s idea about getting him used to this though is a great idea – just try holding and touching his little feet.

Sarita,
I had the same question about nail trims. I actually haven’t trimmed Samantha’s nails yet, because I tried to last week and immediately drew blood.

My Dad got her a Pedi Paw, but her nails are so tiny that I have just been avoiding it until we got more settled. Her nails seem less sharp this week – could she be trimming them a bit on her own? If they’re soft, can she bite them down?

When can I start to try the Pedi Paws? I will make a vet appt. for her soon to get her started, but would like guidelines on nails. Was never my strong suit with Spockie, though I did it myself mostly.

PAM, I tipped Jerseys nails with a human nail clipper for as long as possible. Just tipped the ends more regularly. Now they’re harder so I’ve got proper clippers. From what I’ve read, clipping the tip often helps the quick retract so when you come to clipping more nail, you’re less likely to get the quick. Tip clip isn’t to traumatic and helps build up a trust between you and bun IMO. I’m not sure how old Samantha is but I’d be wary (like you!) of using the pedi-paws just yet. It might trim too much if she has those softer nails.

Edit: Though I may sound all knowledgable ^ ^ about nail clipping, in the beginning, I found it quite easy. Now……Miss carries on something bad! So do it yourself for as long as possible I say!

Pam- I would trim the tips off her nails with human nail clippers- the are sharp enough and small enough to handle young bunny nails.  I don’t think the PediPaws would even work on her nails yet- I tried to dremel a hamsters nails once and it did not work- it will only push them to the side.  The nails need to be rigid and firm enough to be able to put pressure against the sanding drum.  So after trimming her nails with the nail trimmer- I would hold and turn on the PediPaws by all of her feet to get her used to it.

Yeah, I know, weird that I tried to dremel a hamsters nails…LOL.  We had a pair of clinic pets- 2 dwarf Winter White hamsters and there nails were long!  But human nail clippers worked great- cat clippers had too big of a cutting area to be as safe as possible. 

If you have not really looked at her nails- you should see what I mean- baby bunny nails are not the rigid thick nails like an adult bunny- they are quite thin and flexible.