bunny education- Housing

[Holly]

Today, my hubby and I did one of our favorite activities. We went to Barnes and Noble and looked at books. This time we didn’t buy. I found a discounted book called unusual pets. On the cover, one of the pets was a Californian rabbit. I looked at the index  and found the location of the book. The topic bunnies was in was unusual apartment pets.  The first thing I read was that bunnies needed a cage that was wire so that the droppings could drop through. I was like oh great.  If you are going to write a book, please get your info right.

Unfortuently, when we first got Holly, we got this kind of cage. I asked several people (before I found this site) about if that would be good for her. Holly is predisposed to sore hawks since she is a mini rex.  I was told it should be ok if I put some wood in her cage so that she would have a place to go off the wire. I did that. I also put mats in there, but she pushed them out. 

Thankfully I found this site and when I had a problem with Holly’s hawks, I was able to help her and we fixed her cage.  We still have it, but the wire is totally covered. 

Even with reading, it doesn’t mean we make the right discisions because of wrong education. 

I guess the moral of my

[JK]

I know there is a lot of bad information out there. I have seen pics of wire cages with NO covering in a variety of books! Even some reputable websites have pictures like that. I was in a very upscale pet shop a few weeks ago and just looked around the rabbit area to see what they had and was shocked! They had bags of food with pellets, looked like corn puffs, seeds and all kinds of crap all combined. Tons of really bad food. I had to walk out. They had teenagers working there and I just figured if I said anything it would be on deaf ears. I think I will write to the manager however. It still bugs me.

[Holly]

Yes, I know. We went to a pet store yesterday to check something out. I saw stuff with corn and pellets and other stuff. I told my hubby if you ever have to buy food get the kind we get now. Don’t get this stuff. It is bad for her.

[Beka27]

that’s why it’s so important to do research using a variety of sources. i’ve found that books that are written within the past ten years or so are usually more correct than ones from before that. on the internet you need to be careful too, b/c so much of the info is contradictory… for example, if you do a search for bunny care, many people have breeder websites that come up. breeders definitely treat rabbits differently than we do.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Amen Beka and Holly, thank you for sharing.

[Gravehearted]

i think we’re all always learning about bunnies – since they are still a mystery in a lot of ways. it’s great when we learn things that help us make our bunnies healthier and happier.

[osprey]

As GH said, the information available about rabbit care is spotty and always changing.  You cannot even get a reliable answer to a question about rabbits from a vet, because some vets do not understand house bunnies or look at rabbits as “pocket pets”.  There is one very seasoned vet around here that tells people with sick rabbits to euth them and get a new one since they are only $20 at the feed store.  The internet has the best information, but you have to wade through lots of junk to get to it.  When I talk to new bunny people and first time adopters, I always refer them to binkybunny.com, rabbit.org and rabbitsonline.net where I know they will get sound information about companion rabbits.  I find that particularly with housing, much of what is available in print is cage oriented.  We always counsel people to use an XPen setup initially because it is flexible, easy to clean and gives much more room than a commercially produced cage.  I don’t think your average Hartz “How to Care for Your Rabbit” book or most teenagers working at PetsMart would know about such things.

 

[Jyka]

He told them to euthanise and buy another?! That’s disgusting.i don’t care how ignorant this vet is about bunnies, he should have more regard for the lives of animals and their right to responsible care. Rabbits are not disposible!!

[Beka27]

Osprey!!! that part about that vet… i swear my jaw just hit the floor. how horrible. i really hope people don’t take him up on that.

unbelievable.

you can find “dog/cat free to good home” ads in the paper, but i bet he doesn’t tell the dog and cat owners to euthanise and just go get another one.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

That’s disgusting… I heard a rumour, and I’m not sure how true it is…but it might explain the bad vets out there. Apparently (apparently) those bad vets you run into, the ones who don’t care? They are the ones who went to vet school because they couldn’t get into med school. Just a rumour but does make sense….

[Beka27]

same thing: i’m so uneasy about vets saying they don’t recommend altering buns, or only doing males… it makes you wonder if they really believe that… or they’re just not comfortable in their skills.

[Author]

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