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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 17sd replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 1 month ago by Pandorachik.

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- 11/26/2011 at 9:12 AM
  caviesnbuns
  Participant
  24 posts
  Hi everyone! I have been on binkybunny for a month or so ever since I decided I wanted a bunny. I had a guinea pig when I first joined but he sadly passed away on Halloween. He was 4 years old and we would have celebrated his “gotcha” day November 3rd. My sister and I will be adopting our first rabbits tomorrow. They are holland lop/netherland dwarf mixes and they are brothers. I will try to post pictures when we get them. I am not sure if I should’ve put this in another forum just because I have questions. What is the best way to potty train? I am keeping them in a 2X4 c&c cage and I think I will use an old cage base as a litter box until the one I ordered arrives. Currently I am using the coroplast from my guinea pig’s cage but hopefully I will be able to put them on linoleum or carpet when potty trained. What should I do for the first few weeks? Should we just leave them to themselves? They are almost 3 months old. Should they be eating alfalfa or timothy hay? Thanks for your help. I am really excited to be here!
- 11/26/2011 at 9:39 AM
  Beka27
  Participant
  16016 posts
  This page has info on littertraining… https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/LitterboxTraining/tabid/62/Default.aspx
  
  They may or may not get it until after they are neutered, but giving them a litterbox with safe litter is the first step. Don’t have litter anywhere else, just in the box.
  Make sure you are prepared with two cages for when/if they need to be separated prior to neutering. And I would also discuss your long term housing options because a 2×4 cage won’t be big enough for two adult rabbits.
- 11/26/2011 at 9:49 AM
  caviesnbuns
  Participant
  24 posts
  Thank you. So do they need to be separated before, after or both before and after neutering? Wouldn’t a 2X4 with 3-5 levels be big enough for two holland lop/netherland dwarf mixes? They will also get to to have free roam of my room once they are potty trained and I have had a chance to bunny proof.
- 11/26/2011 at 9:54 AM
  Beka27
  Participant
  16016 posts
  Even with multiple levels, that doesn’t leave a lot of space for hopping around when confined, especially once you factor in room for litterboxes, food, toys, hidey houses, etc… A 3 by 4 would be better with a few levels. And it doesn’t matter that they are a dwarf breed, dwarfs tend to have more energy and need a lot of space.
  
  Depending on how they act, they may be able to stay together up until they are neutered, but you won’t necessarily know this until the time comes. So, have a back-up plan for housing in your mind in case they start fighting suddenly.
- 11/26/2011 at 10:01 AM
  caviesnbuns
  Participant
  24 posts
  Okay. Thank you so much. Problem is….I don’t have room for a 3X4 in my room. What is the minimum cage size for a dwarf breed?
- 11/26/2011 at 11:46 AM
  LoveChaCha
  Participant
  6634 posts
  Posted By caviesnbuns on 11/26/2011 10:01 AM
  Okay. Thank you so much. Problem is….I don’t have room for a 3X4 in my room. What is the minimum cage size for a dwarf breed?
  
  Big.
  
  Dwarf rabbits need as much room as any other type of rabbit. The more room that you can manage, the better
- 11/26/2011 at 12:07 PM
  bunnyfriend
  Participant
  2368 posts
  The minimum requirements for a resting area is 8 square feet (according to the House Rabbit Society) and tall enough that the rabbit can stand up full. But really that is just much too small. Rabbits need at least 5 hours of exercise time outside of their resting area a day. If you’re going to keep the two together they need twice as much space. My rabbits live in my room too so the best solution I found was to bunny proof my room and have them in there without any cages all day (they have hidey boxes and the maze haven, ect.), and I put a baby gate in my doorway. More rooms of the house have been bunny proofed so they now have access to them. I know not everyone can bunny proof their room but I just thought I’d suggest it. Congratulations on the new bunnies!
- 11/26/2011 at 12:29 PM
  Bunnehs
  Participant
  115 posts
  a 2X4 Cage is too small for 2 bunnies but maybe one. rabbits prefer being on one or two levels. My bunnies don’t live in a cage as well.. one of them is neutered and the other isnt. they live seperately in the bathroom and hallway. you can probably keep them together for a month but later they will start fighting or gaining dominance of each other! You can feed it alfalfa hay and timothy hay. My bunnies ate alfalfa hay& pellets until they were 5 months old..(UNLIMITED) after that i gave it unlimited timothy pellets and hay…
- 11/26/2011 at 12:35 PM
  caviesnbuns
  Participant
  24 posts
  I would love to let them have free roam of my room when potty trained but I don’t think my mom would allow it. She freaked out when I said I wanted house rabbits because she thought that they would have free roam of the whole house. I explained to her that it just meant that they would be inside and that I would be potty training them so they can be let out. She doesn’t like the idea of them running around though. I think it would be pretty easy to bunny proof my room because the only piece of furniture right now is my bed and the bunny cage. Would you all say that NIC grids are the best things to use when bunny proofing? I think if my room was well bunny proofed, she would allow it. I have to be able to protect carpet, molding, closet doors and my bed frame as well as my new comforter on my bed.
- 11/26/2011 at 12:48 PM
  Mandyyy
  Participant
  376 posts
  My rooms a decent size, so I made a pen out of a ferret cage and put it in the corner of my room for Nava. She has free roam 24/7 though, the door is always open for her (well, unless the rats are out). She doesnt ever leave her pen till night time, but she is box trained and everything. My room is rat and rabbit proof (it’s easier for rabbits, just because rats can get into small places and such).
  
  Nava is also a hyper Dwarf/dutch mix so she needs a lot of room. She’s an elder-bun, about 8, but she is still a hyper girl.
- 11/26/2011 at 8:15 PM
  Bunnehs
  Participant
  115 posts
  NIC grids are great for bunny proofing, before my mom freaked out about the bunnies being in the house so i kept them outside. A good explaining would help though.. you can let your bunnies out for a few hours everyday. Check if your bunnies are carpet chewers first because it will be a hassle to bunny proof the carpet and all the other stuff! :3
- 11/26/2011 at 9:40 PM
  caviesnbuns
  Participant
  24 posts
  Thanks for all of your advice. Is there anything else that I should know before we pick them up? Should we leave them alone when we get home?
- 11/27/2011 at 12:09 AM
  LoveChaCha
  Participant
  6634 posts
  Yes, let them be. I would let them settle in. Also, have you found a vet in your area? It is important for new bunnies to have a wellness check up.
- 11/27/2011 at 12:59 AM
  Monkeybun
  Participant
  10479 posts
  At 3 months, you will want ot make doubly sure of their genders. Often breeders do get it wrong. get them in for a vet check, and make sure of gender. Don’t want any babies!
- 11/27/2011 at 8:59 AM
  caviesnbuns
  Participant
  24 posts
  Yes. I have found a rabbit vet who was recommended by the HRS. I have sent several emails about the cost of neutering, how many rabbit clients they have and so on. They sound like a very good clinic. Also, they are coming with a starter bag of food but I am pretty sure the food isn’t the best. What is the best way to switch their diet without causing problems?
- 11/27/2011 at 9:24 AM
  Beka27
  Participant
  16016 posts
  You need to switch pellets gradually.
  
  So…
  1st week: 3/4 old, 1/4 new
  2nd week: 1/2 old, 1/2 new
  3rd week: 1/4 old, 3/4 new
  4th week: should be all the new pellets
  
  You can keep them on alfalfa until 7 months, or you can switch them to timothy pellets right away and supplement with some alfalfa hay. It doesn’t matter which you decide.
- 12/30/2011 at 4:01 PM
  caviesnbuns
  Participant
  24 posts
  Alrightey, so we have had the buns for over a month now! They are doing very well and are both pretty much completely litterbox trained. I now let Smokey have free run of my room when I am there and he has already learned the trick “circle.” He is a very inquisitive little guy who likes to foil all of my ideas for keeping out from under my bed. He absolutely loves his cottontail cottage. He likes to go on top and then slide down both levels and do the bunny500 out the bottom. So far he hasn’t destroyed anything in my room besides the coroplast for his cage. I will soon be buying some supplies to build a sturdier cage. I forgot to mention that we did have to separate the two of them because they were constantly trying to mount each other. We are planning on possibly getting them neutered in a couple of weeks. I have got some cute pics of them but for some reason they are not loading. I will try to figure out what is wrong so that I can post them.
- 01/01/2012 at 11:07 AM
  Pandorachik
  Participant
  900 posts
  Do you have an extra room, or bathroom that could possibly become a rabbit room? You could just use a pen as a cage. HOpe this helps with the tight space sitation.
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