Few questions from a beginner

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 14sd replies, 10 voices, and was last updated 11 years, 3 months ago by Bam.

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- 01/13/2015 at 1:09 AM
  ileeli
  Participant
  3 posts
  Hello everyone.
  
  I rescued a rabbit on last week. Long story short, a friend got it for their daughter and it wasn’t working out. All I know is that he is friendly and is approximately 7 months old. He weighs 2 lbs 10 oz.
  
  I have never cared for a rabbit as a pet so I quickly began to research information. It all sounds really straight forward. (I have a hairless rat.) I had him in a dog crate while the wife and I designed his area in the house. I have attached pictures of our work. I need to purchase the famous wire squares and make it escape proof but this is better than the dog crate. His base board is 4ft x 3ft 6in.
  
  Here are a few question I want to ask you guys.
  
  1) Does he need direct sunlight. Will it benefit his health? Where he is now, he does get some sunlight but nothing too intense.(Picture added for reference)
  
  2) Does he need a hide box?
  
  3) Would anyone know what breed of rabbit he is? Its not important but I would like to know if he will be getting bigger.
  
  4) Based on what I read, I feeding him 1/4 cup of Timothy hay pellets and 1 cup of vegetables. I would give him the vegetables for breakfast and the pellets around 6pm. I started giving him more because he was more every time and it does seem like he should be eating more. How much should I feed him? I did read that rabbits should have a strict diet so it is important that I don’t get this wrong.
  
  5) I grow wheatgrass to juice. Is it safe to use as a stable on his diet? I have read some sites that say no and some that say yes…
  
  6) I also grow catnip. Is it safe for him to eat this?
  
  Those are all the questions I have so far.
  
  Thank you all in advance.
  
  ile.eli
  
  PS. Please excuse my dirty carpet.
- 01/13/2015 at 1:56 PM
  Tessie
  Participant
  1231 posts
  Hello and welcome!
  I’ll get straight to the questions
  
  1) No. He’s fine as it is
  
  2) A hidey box would be great, but it’s not like he’ll suffer without it.
  
  3) He’s a very handsome dwarf hotot. A fairly rare breed! At 7 months he’s pretty much full grown, he won’t get much bigger. 3lbs is the breed standard.
  
  4) Roughly speaking, everyday he should eat an amount of hay the size of his body (he must have access to hay at all times), veggies should be an amount the size of his head, and 1/8 cup of pellets. You can find more guidelines on diet here: https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/tabid/53/CategoryID/2/PID/940/Default.aspx
  
  5 and 6) I’m not too sure on this one, hopefully someone else knows
  
  Once again welcome and I look forward to seeing more of you and your bun (whose name is….?)
- 01/13/2015 at 7:39 PM
  Roberta
  Participant
  4355 posts
  What a beautiful little bun. Can I recommend neutering if it has not already been done. When people say it is not working out with a small pet it is often behavioral and with bunnies “Hormones Rule” and they can display some pretty bad behavior at times, the girls are particularly naughty.
  I think the wheat grass would be fine as part of his daily salad but I would avoid making it a staple as it would be quite rich and could cause excess cecals and weight gain, stick to hay.
  I would avoid the catnip.
- 01/13/2015 at 8:01 PM
  JackRabbit
  Participant
  5451 posts
  Welcome!!
  
  I didn’t notice the eye circles until Tessie mentioned hotot. I’d guess netherland dwarf mix with hotot.
  
  My bunnies love wheat grass. They each get a bunch about the size of my index finger with their salads a couple times a week.
  
  Check out the Bunny Info and other sections from the Menu button at the top of the page — tons of valuable including an HRS approved veggie list (I have a shortcut to that on my phone for quick access while grocery shopping!).
- 01/14/2015 at 6:13 PM
  Beka27
  Participant
  16016 posts
  My first thought was hotot, too! (Pronounced “hoe toe”)
  
  Beautiful bunny, thank you for taking him in!
- 01/14/2015 at 7:22 PM
  ileeli
  Participant
  3 posts
  Thank you all for the advice and help. I apologize for the long delay in my response.
  
  I look forward to seeing more of you and your bun (whose name is….?)
  
  Tessie, his name is Legolas. I call him Lego for short hahah.
  
  Legolas does have access to hay all day but he is still hungry for more pellets and salad. Is this normal?
  
  Can I recommend neutering if it has not already been done.
  
  Roberta, Legolas has not been neutered yet but I will pick a vet soon. My main concern is how I will give him his pain meds…
  
  Again, thank you all for the advice.
  
  ile.eli
- 01/14/2015 at 8:40 PM
  LBJ10
  Moderator
  17239 posts
  Wheat grass is perfectly fine. He’s a cutie, BTW!
- 01/15/2015 at 3:25 AM
  Eepster
  Participant
  1236 posts
  Constant begging for treats, greens, and pellets is perfectly normal bunny behavior.
- 01/15/2015 at 7:41 AM
  Megabunny
  Participant
  2041 posts
  Some rabbits like the taste, so the first thing you’ll want to try is simply holding the syringe in front of his face. If that fails, you can try putting it in banana or watered down juice. I don’t have enough patience for all those ideas, which don’t end up working for my guy anyway, so if he doesn’t take it on his own, I wrangle him to the floor and stick the tip of the syringe just inside his mouth, either between the front teeth or from the side, and squirt part of it in at a time…depending on how much I have to give. If it’s a small amount you can just squirt it all in. I follow up immediately with a treat. I think he’s learned he gets his favorite Barley treat afterwards, but he’s been on meds for a loooooong time. Being a male, you may be able to stop the pain meds a bit early or not need them if the battle outweighs the reward. But don’t panic. Wait and see. He may be just fine about it.
  Looks like a nice set up for a sweet bunny. Oh – and when mine have had the choice of no sun or sun (obviously they should always be able to get out of the sun), they’ve chosen shade, so don’t worry about the sun, as long as there’s some light.
- 01/15/2015 at 9:39 AM
  Bam
  Moderator
  17033 posts
  Some times they give a long-lasting pain med when they do the neuter so you don’t need to give any at home. Boys often recover very quickly and well from neuter. But if you have to give pain-meds, it’s not a huge deal, even if it feels kind of scary. Just follow the advice Roberta has given you.
  
  I would recommend a hidey-box though, it’s not a big effort to make one, a cardboard box with one entrance/exit on either side will do. I find that if the rabbits have the opportunity to hide, they don’t have to use it a lot. They just know there’s a safe place to run to if sth should happen – like a sudden, loud noise or whatever. A box is good because it has a roof that gives protection against predators coming from above (of course you have no eagles or hawks in your home, but a little bun is hard-wired to expect dangers from the sky.)
- 01/18/2015 at 2:46 AM
  ileeli
  Participant
  3 posts
  Hi Everyone,
  
  I got Legolas back on his measured diet and I will be making him a hide box for his living area and a hiding tube tunnel for his free time.
  
  I thank you all for the great advice and I will continue to read more on his diet as I want to give him variety on his salads. I will also get him neutered soon and keep you all posted with pictures.
  
  Here is the latest picture of him.
  
  Thank you again,
  
  ile.eli and Legolas
- 01/18/2015 at 5:52 AM
  Megabunny
  Participant
  2041 posts
  What a doll! Enjoy!
- 01/18/2015 at 9:58 AM
  Tessie
  Participant
  1231 posts
  Awww, he is so handsome!
- 01/18/2015 at 12:46 PM
  {Alli}
  Participant
  187 posts
  He’s very adorable Good luck with him!
- 01/18/2015 at 3:26 PM
  Bam
  Moderator
  17033 posts
  He’s just beautiful! Those eye-lashes!
  
  He’ll like a tunnel, my bunnies have tunnels and they use them all the time.
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