father of a new bunny

[David]

I just purchased a rabbit last night and im in love lol.

the only thing is i don’t know that much about the Do’s and Don’ts.  The lady at the store said I didn’t need to get it shots but that sounds a little sketchy to me.

If anyone knows what to do I am all ears.

[RabbitPam]

Hi, David,
Welcome.
For a complete list of excellent advice, check the green banner above and read the drop down menus. You’ll get some basics on everything from habitat to diet to toys. Post some pix of your baby, please!

[Moonlight_Wolf]

It depends on where you live whether or not you should give your rabbit shots or not. I know you have to get shots if you live in Europe or California, or Australia. I am not sure where else you would need them. I am sure someone else on here knows.

[MooBunnay]

Hi David, welcome to BinkyBunny

I second RabbitPams advice to read the drop downs on the menu up above.  BinkyBunny has done a really good job at documenting all kinds of things from diet to litter training.

In my opinion, the most important thing to read about is DIET!  People will often give you bad advice about bunny diet.  The most important thing for you to feed your bunny is an unlimited supply of grass hays (such as timothy hay).  Here is the link to the diet recommendations by BinkyBunny, in my opinion this is the first and most important thing to read: https://www.binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/Diet/tabid/60/Default.aspx

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Welcome! Ditto the reading of this site-it’s great. Don’t hesistate to ask questions though!

[BinkyBunny]

Calfornia does not require shots, and I think if you are in the U.S, you don’t have to really worry about shots.

You have received some great advice. How old is your bunny? If you have a baby, did the store owner warn you about the the three – six month mark?

So for now just read as much as you can and another good site to check out is Rabbit.org. This the house rabbit society and they have a ton of great information!

And of course we are here to help with any questions and concerns, as well as we love to hear about bunnies and see pictures (hint, hint). So please tell us about your bunny. What does s/he look like? How old is s/he? What his/her personality like so far? and do you have a name yet?

Oh, also, I know some pet store and shelters will give a vet coupon or deal with health issues if discovered within a certain time, but even if they don’t, it’s a very good idea to seek out a rabbit savvy vet. Rabbit-savvy is extremely important. Rabbits are actually placed in the “exotic” category because of the way they handle anesthesia, and need specific treatment and meds that are different from cats and dogs (especially antibiotics)

Here’s a great link about how to find a rabbit-savvy vet: http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/vet.html

[Beka27]

Welcome here! If you have any questions above and beyond what you read, please don’t hesitate to ask!

There is a lot of conflicting info online about house rabbit care, so the best sites to start with are this one (lol!), rabbit.org, rabbitnetwork.org, and this site: http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/rabbithealth.html

From that last website, some basic rabbit info:

Housing, Training, Diet, etc.

 

• Your First House Rabbit: What to Expect?
• What should I feed my bunny?
• Training Your Bunny: Litterbox 101.
• Why an Indoor Bunny?
• How to Win Over a Shy Bunny.

[David]

thanks guys i really appreciate the info and help.

I will put up some pictures shortly

No i wasn’t aware of the 3 to 6 month warning… I was just told that I would find out if it was a male or female in 6 months..

As for a name… hmmm… We came up with a few names lol. have not yet decided on one. So far we have: BOBO, Button, tubby.
he is very adventurous. when we saw him in the pet store he was very relaxed and calm; so it came as a surprise to us when he started hopping around our room. He/she is 2 weeks old.

[Sarita]

Hi David, are you sure your bunny is only 2 weeks old? Usually a vet can tell the sex with a rabbit who is about 8 or 9 weeks old if they have alot of rabbit experience. I bet he is very cute too.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Hi and welcome to you and your new bunny!

Just want to add that if your in Canada you don’t need to worry about rabbit vaccinations.

[skunklionshow]

Are you sure 2 weeks?  That’s a bit  young.  Everyone gave you a good starting point….I think people are attempting to warn you about rabbit adolescence, when your sweet lover bunny turns into a wild hare!  Post pics, we LOVE pics.

[jerseygirl]

Welcome here! I have to ask too, are you sure it’s just two weeks old?? Pet store should not be selling bunnies younger than 8 weeks (from memory) though some do, but 2 wks seems far too young -I’m thinking normally a bunny would not even weaned at this age…

I like the name Button, for what it’s worth! I’m sure he/she is as cute as one!

[hooty22]

There is no possible way he is only two weeks!! I’ve had Felony since he was 4.5 weeks, and he was a tiny little bitty furball. He literally had been weened for only a few days when I got him.

[BinkyBunny]

The “warning” is that a rabbit can get very hormonal that starts around 3 – 6 months. They can become more messy, seem to lose any litterbox habits, can become aggressive, territorial and well “extra friendly”. Many people think their bunny is psychotic and that’s when most give their rabbits away. But it’s something that can be easily solved with a spay/neuter.

Just wanted to let you know so you are prepared if your bunny hits that stage hard.

And, I also agree that there is no need to wait until 6 months to find out. Since it will be a good idea to seek out a rabbit-savvy vet now (before any emergency or health issue) then they should be able tell you which gender your bunny is.

[David]

here is just one picture… more to come.
[IMG]http://i41.tinypic.com/nx19ol.jpg[/IMG]

[David]

maybe this one worked

[ScooterandAnnette]

Awww that’s definitely a cutie! But unless it’s going to be a very big bunny I’m pretty sure that’s more than 2 weeks! I’d say more like 2 months, at least. I’m sure someone more rabbit-savvy will have an opion!
– Annette

[David]

so if it is around two months, is that the reason why he/she is so rambunctious?
and will greens him poop regularly?
i have been feeding him regularly and all of a sudden his poop became bigger, more log form and its wetter and smellier. when usually its the cold hard small balls..

[hooty22]

You need to introduce greens slowly. Some buns have sensitive bellies and some foods just don’t settle well with some buns. His poops shouldn’t be soft, which indicates his diet is too rich. What type of hay and pellets are feeding him?

[David]

i got him 8 in 1 ecotrition™ Essential Blend for Rabbits for the food. and for the grass i boght him this snak shak thing because the roof was made of the grass. i believe its alfalfa grass on top.

[hooty22]

Well I suggest changing the pellets. That has a lot of extra stuff in it that bunnies just don’t need. It’s kind of like Lucky Charms for bunnies. Also, you need to give him as much hay as he wants, I don’t think the snak shak is really enough. You may want to start with timothy hay bc from your picture, he looks like he’s pretty big, so he’s probably older than the pet store told you he was. Also, you want to measure out how many pellets he gets. Probably no more than half a cup a day. Most of his food should be hay and greens.

I’m sure there will be some more people stop by with advice.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Oh my word, what an adorable picture!  I would strongly suggest looking over the diet information here and housing, then work on bunny-proofing, litter training and finding a qualified rabbit-savvy vet nearby to take your new addition to for a check-up.

Diet:

https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/Diet/tabid/60/Default.aspx

Housing:

https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/CoolHabitats/tabid/71/Default.aspx

Rabbit Proofing:

https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/BunnyProofingYourHome/tabid/61/Default.aspx

Litterbox Training:

https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/LitterboxTraining/tabid/62/Default.aspx

Here is some help to find a rabbit-savvy vet:

http://www.rabbit.org/vets/index.html

[LittlePuffyTail]

That is a SERIOUSLY adorable little bunny!

[mattman0182]

Welcome!! Now I’m definatly not the only guy here!!

[jerseygirl]

SO CUTE – Definately a “Button”! Hope you find his poops will return to normal soon. The wetter and smelly ones are probably cecals whereas the other round hard ones are fecals. The cecals are the ones they re ingest so usually you don’t see them. If he’s producing alot of these and leaving them about, then his diet needs some adjustment. The links Scarlett has provided should help with that.

Glad there’ll be more pictures…he’s gorgeous!
mattman, you and David are def not only guys here…. I think the males here just don’t post as often as the females. Us girls do tend to chat more – lol!

[BinkyBunny]

Oh, wow, so cute, and yeah, definitely older than 2 weeks! “The Log form”: Did it look like a cluster of grapes? It might be excess cecals and/or a reaction to the diet change.

Also, it’s not unsual for baby bunnies to get coccidia which makes their poops big and squishy – it’s easily treated though.

Do you have a rabbit savvy vet yet? If not, this is a good place to start is

rabbit.org/vets/vets.html 

[David]

thanks guys! the poop is back to normal
oh about the age, i heard wrong (girlfriend corrected me) he was 10 weeks when we got him.
still working on the litter box thing and its getting better
i will try and get new pics up soon.
PS we finally settled down with Boone as a name…. welll Boone and Bobo

[Scarlet_Rose]

You’re welcome and I can’t wait to see more pictures!

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Hes adorable!!! Glad the poops are back to normal- can’t wait for more pictures!

[syv]

oooh! what an adorable little guy!

[skunklionshow]

SOOOO cute!  What a little smooshieee!

Have you gotten more hay…you’re gonna need it.  Also, since he’s a baby it’s likely that even if you get the litterbox down now, it may need to be tweaked as he gets further down the teenage pike.

Welcome to the Wonder-fur world of bunnies.

[Author]

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