Hi and thanks for taking this bun in

I have five rescue buns, 3 of who were caught abandoned, plus one other bunny and a guinea pig, and have kept both for many years. It sounds like you have given a pretty good initial set up. Buns and piggies are similar in many ways, the key differences are piggies can have unlimited veg, buns cant, buns can make their own vitamin C, whereas piggies are like us and need it in their diet, so buns can manage on more hay, less veg and only a few pellets, and bunnies are much more active than piggies, the key times for being active for a bun are early morning and in the evening. It will take a while for him to settle and feel safe, the key thing is places to bolt to, preferably with two doorways, eg a box with two hole to run in and out of rather than just one. Bolt holes help a scared bun feel safer! Maybe covering half the cage with something foor now so he feels ‘undercover’ might help? Something he cant chew on. or even putting the cage under a table? He will need space to run around once he has calmed down. The GP run might be a bit easy for a bun to escape from, ours could clear a metre easily as juniors!

Thank you for rescuing the poor bun! People are so cruel.

He does look like some sort of lop, or perhaps a lop cross, since he seems to be able to hold his ears up too, in that second photo. His markings are Himilayan.

Key things about rabbit care: 90% of their diet should be hay, with 5% leafy green veg and 5% pellets. Introduce him to veg slowly at first, as you don’t know what his diet has been like. Most bunnies prefer to drink from a water bowl rather than a bottle.

Poop! Bunny owners are obsessed with poop. Apparently bunnies do 300 poops a day! It’s really important to keep an eye that he’s doing healthy poops regularly, as when rabbits stop pooping it means they’re in GI stasis, which is a serious medical condition. They also eat some of their poop, known as cecatropes. They’re darker and look like a blackberry, but if you see some lying around it might mean his diet is too rich. They can also be litter trained!

Space – bunnies need lots of space to run around – they’re very active animals. Or course the cage you have him in is temporary as he’s an unexpected arrival so please don’t think i’m criticising, but generally rabbits need 4 times their length, and space to stand on their hind legs as a minimum. I think 16 square foot is the recommended size by the HRS. They also need some time out of their cage to run around each day.

I also agree with Gina on boxes – hidey spaces are so important for bunnies! I just get free cardboard ones from my local shop and cut a couple of holes in them, and they’re very happy with them!

I echo what everyone else has said, but want to add a few things. Make sure you find a good bunny-savvy vet. If you’ve had guniea pigs, that probably won’t be too hard because they’re all exotics vets. Second, if you plan on litter training, don’t put bedding at the bottom of the cage. It’ll only teach him that the entire cage is a litter box and he won’t really grasp the litter box concept. Lastly, if you find out it’s a girl, get her spayed. Unspayed females have a high risk or reproductive cancers by the age of 4 and would require an emergency spay anyways.

Thank you for saving him! How sad….probably an Easter gift castaway.

Check out the BUNNY INFO section here on BB for some great advice. All the basic info you need.

And Welcome to Binky Bunny!!!

Nothing to add, just wanted to say thank you for saving this little bun!!

Yes, thank you very much for saving the little one. *one armed shoulder scrunch hug* and *pat on the back*

Aw man that picture with it among the grass :'( Poor little thing. Thank you for saving it!

Cute! Your setup looks nice for guinea pigs, but the bunny will probably hop right out. You could consider adding another set of cubes on top if you want.

I’m so glad you saved him! I also found my bunny as a stray the week after Easter; people are terrible. She was very skittish at first. Two things helped: sitting quietly on the floor without trying to pick her up, and when I entered the room, talking softly so that she knew it was me (she was scared when she heard me approach if she couldn’t see me). Other than that, it just takes time. Of course they need exercise, but I think it’s important to make sure you don’t accidentally get in a situation where you are chasing a skittish bunny to put them back in for the night. When possible, try to use food bribes if you need him to go somewhere for now.

You probably already thought of this, but make sure he is really drinking. Mine will only drink from a dish, but I know some other rabbits prefer bottles.

OMG, how cute! You are so wonderful for saving him! I think he looks like a young mini lop. But his coloring is Himalayan.

If he’s skittish, he might actually feel more secure in a smaller space until he become acclimated to the sights/sounds/smells of your home. In the meantime, you can make him a nice pen or condo to move into later. I wouldn’t use wood shavings for bedding though. If he’s comfortable with them right now, that’s OK. But when he’s moved to a larger enclosure then I would suggest using fleece and then getting him a litter box to use.

What a beautiful bunny! You are so wonderful saving him from that field and taking him in. He looked so sad in that pic when you found him.

Thank you for making such an effort. That little bunny will reward you with much love and good karma. You deserve it. 🙂