I’m thinking about giving away my rabbit.

[lapin]

Hey everyone,

Lately, i’ve been thinking about letting my rabbit go. The reason is that i live in an apartment building and i think i am unable to provide him with his needs. He is constantly eating the sponges inside of the furnitures and when i think about why he got sick the last time, it was the reason. Even the poor thing can’t mate, i can’t provide him with friends and having trouble letting him out because i fear he may escape. As a matter of fact, mostly, he’s lonely during the day because i have to attend the school and etc. Anyway, i just want to hear some opinion and would be glad to hear from you guys.

[sarahthegemini]

If you can’t provide for him, it’s a no brainer – yes you absolutely should rehome him. But give him to a no kill shelter or something so he has a chance of a happy life. It’s not easy admitting that you are unable to care for your animals but it really is in the animal’s best interest which shows how much you care about him.

[MountainBuns]

What do you mean by not provide for him? Do you mean he does not have food or do you mean attention?

[Bam]

It sounds like he is a bit bored (chewing on furniture), but you could perhaps give him better things to chew? Twigs, even small branches of willow or untreated apple trees are often popular. There’s safe wood they can have as chew toys (birch, alder, rowan, hazel, maple, fir, spruce (not yew).

Our house buns don’t get to mate, because they’re either desexed or solo buns. Some buns like to mount their toys though. As for friends, buns don’t make casual friends. They are highly territorial and meeting strange buns is often very upsetting for them. That’s why it can be so difficult to find a suitable bun friend for a bun.

Most buns tend to be rather inactive during the day. My bun mostly lounges in his cardboard houses. Their tendency to be active mostly in the evenings and mornings kind of makes them suitable pets for people that work during the day or go to school.

As Sarah says, if you do decide to give him up, make sure he goes to a no-kill shelter.

We could otherwise try to give you tips on how to make your relationship with your bun better and more rewarding for both of you. Tell us a little bit about his current life. Is he in a cage? How is his set-up in the cage? Is he neutered? Does he get time out of his cage? How old is he? And so on.

[lapin]

Thanks you for the time you spare. I don’t want to give him away anyway but i see him struggling in home environment. If i’m 100% sure he will be good in the place he goes, i’d seriously consider giving him away. At home, he doesn’t have a cage and there’s a room and he’s free to roam anywhere he wants inside the toom. Whatever I do, I can’t stop him chewing the sponges inside the furniters. The fact that he got sick because of chewing the sponges makes me worried. I collected almost every kind of chewing toys for him. Yes those things keep him occupied but still… As, i don’t live with my family, I have to leave him alone every week at least two days because i have to go see my family as well and can’t carey him around easily back and forth. I can’t stop thinking if he miss me after i giving him away or would he be in pain after losing the people he already has gotten used to. I’m so confused.

[MountainBuns]

Do you have a room to move him to that does not have couches that he can chew?

[lapin]

In every room, there are things he should not be chewing. Even if i remove the couches in the room he’s currently in, he’ll be chewing the carpet and if i remove the carpet, he’ll be on the floor and he may get xold because of it.

[MountainBuns]

He may get what? I was not sure what you typed.

[lapin]

Attention

[MountainBuns]

Oh, ok. You should by and X-Pen off of amazon as a cage and so he will have some room to himself.

[lapin]

Yeah, it’s something on my mind but wouldn’t it be narrowing down his space? Ofc when you think about it, it’s better than him eating things that may cause him sickness.

[MountainBuns]

Yup I would definitely narrow down his space some ideas are:

MidWest Foldable Metal Exercise Pen / Pet Playpen, 24″W x 24

You can also build a cage out of Whitmor Storage Cubes Set of 4 Black Wire

Maybe you can get a New World 30″ Folding Metal Dog Crate, Includes Leak-Proof Plastic Tray; Dog Crate Measures 30L x 19W x 21H Inches

All of these are available on amazon and feel free to think of your own ideas! Just make sure your rabbit has a big enough space.

[Rookie]

I would perhaps put him in one of the large x pens or the large dog cage when you cant supervise and let him out when you are home. I would give yourself another chance with him. Have you tried putting cardboard where he is chewing? Sprocket started chewing the base boards in the house so I covered the corners with cardboard and those wire connected wood things from the pet store that you can bend. And when he was chewing when I was home I would say no and put the cardboard in front of his face and in between what he was chewing. he slowly caught on that he wasn’t supposed to chew that. Of course this is constant corrections with him as the little trouble make he is he keeps trying anyways. haha. Is your bunny fixed/neutered? getting him neutered may help with the frustration and behaviour problems a little.

[MountainBuns]

Yup, as long as you can give him fresh food and water then you can still keep him when you get an enclosed area for him. 🙂

[SansaHotot]

I have a play pen for my bun where she spends time while I’m at work or school.  When I’m home I let her run around freely while I supervise.  She doesn’t have any other animals to play with but she is quite content on her own.

[Bladesmith]

Lawdy, those Hotots are so cute.

I’m a bit confused here. Is your rabbit getting loads of attention from you and room to run and play for several hours a day? Then they’re happy. You rabbit proof as much as you can, block off access to things you know will hurt them or places they shouldn’t be, and then do your best by them. If you’re doing all that, you’re doing right by your bunny.
Mine have absolutely wrecked my leather couch (Which, to be fair, got wrecked long before, the rabbits just finished it off), and the carpeting, which was old an awful to begin with. But they didn’t eat it, they just shredded it and made nests out of it, carried it around the house like trophies. My bunnies are weirdos.

No offense, but it sounds to me like you’ve discovered what we all have, that the little darlings can be destructive and sometimes self destructive, and you’re panicking. Or giving up, I’m not sure. Some destruction you just have to accept, it comes with the territory. It gets exhausting jumping up every time one of mine starts chewing the leather or ripping out the stuffing and telling them “No!” and substituting an appropriate toy. But it’s what we do.

You don’t say how long you’ve had your bun, but if it’s been a while, consider the horror your bunny is going to face being snatched from it’s nice, warm, safe, and most of all, only home it’s ever known and deposited somewhere far less friendly and comfortable, from it’s point of view.

1) Is your rabbit fixed? If yes, mating isn’t a priority. If not, get them fixed when you can. I have 2 unfixed females, and when I can afford to, they will get fixed, but trust me, they aren’t interested in breeding. They’ve had enough of that.

2) You’re the only friend your rabbit needs. It doesn’t need other playmates, because as been mentioned, they’re territorial and many won’t accept new rabbits. Bonding is a major effort in and of itself, and doesn’t always work.

3) Unless you leave your front door open all the time, I’m not sure what you mean by “escape”. Your rabbit will live within the boundaries you set and enforce. Whether it’s one bedroom, or most of the house, as long as they have plenty of room to run and play and binky, they’ll be happy. Mine went from a huge 1800 sq. ft. house to one with less than 700. They didn’t like having their space reduced, but they adjusted. And they play just as hard as before.

4) Boredom. Rabbits are most active Dawn and Dusk. During the day the mostly lounge around, eating and drinking, and chew on things. If you make sure your rabbit has lots of toys for stimulation while you’re gone (I keep a rotating pile of toys for mine, and besides the ones on the floor, I put them on the couch, behind furniture, etc. so they can jump and climb and explore and always find something to play or chew on.) Then, when you’re home during the active hours, you can get on their level and play with them. And honestly, you most times don’t need to be all that active about playing with them, they’re just happy to have you at their level and access to you. My Dwarf isn’t exactly a cuddler, but she likes it when someone is on the floor so she can get near them without being in reach or touched. Proximity is good enough for her.

Consider your situation carefully. The best place for your bunny is with you. If adjustments are needed, better with you than anyone else. During the course of my time with Clover, I had to give her back to my ex wife for a year. Broke my heart in two to do it, and while she had her, my ex bred her without my say so. Never again. I’ll sacrifice and do without before I give up on having one of my animals with me.

Like they said in Lilo and Stitch. “Ohana. Nobody gets left behind, or forgotten.” That’s my daughter and my hard and fast rule. We took these animals in, and they’re family.

Just my 2 cents.

[GarfyTheLop]

@Bladesmith that was lovely

[Bladesmith]

:Blushes:

[YandereCapybara]

I mean very worried by the fact that you’re possibly going to let your bunny go.
Do you intend to release it into the wilderness?
Please don’t.

Three years ago, a family friend had to release their bunny, as they didn’t have enough time for it.
Instead of it being cooped up in a tiny apartment in a noisy Chinese city, it’d be much better for it to live in the wild, right? Nope.
The poor BEW was released on their island, and they thought that if they visited, maybe they’d see him again from time to time. They left the carrier approximately 10m ish away from where they knew wild rabbits lived, thinking that Xiao Bai would fit right in. The next morning, when returning to collect the cage, my friend and I found the bunny dead, still inside the carrier. Needless to say, pet bunnies don’t last long in the wilderness. If you do plan on rehoming your bunny, please take it to a shelter/someone with bunny raising experience who could take your bun in.

Also, keeping your bunny inside an apartment is fine. My brother’s bun went from having an entire guest bedroom just for resting in to living in his bedroom. (in an apartment that he shares with another friend) Sasuke is fine, as when he isn’t being supervised, he’s in a cage, so he’s never eating anything strange. According to my brother, as long as you supervise them carefully, it’s very hard for them to ingest dangerous objects, especially when you can prevent it by moving the object/bunny. As for him escaping and being lonely, if you have enough toys, it should be able to stave off boredom until you come back. Just stroking your bunny/having him on your lap while you’re doing school work or any activities can go a long way. If you close the door, the bunny won’t be able to get out of the room.

[SansaHotot]

I found my bun outside just by chance one day.. just opened the door and this lonely baby bunny was there. I could see that some animal tried to grab her (There was a chunk of fur missing on her back and covered in slobber) so I took her in. I always wonder what would have happened to her had I not stepped outside at that moment. Anyway, point being- I’m pretty sure someone didn’t want her anymore and just let her go outside which would have been a death sentence had I not found her… so please don’t do that!

[jerseygirl]

@YandereCapybara, it is good to caution those who think a pet rabbit would be “fine” being released. There are many that mistakenly think it would be okay. In this case, I don’t think the OP (Lapin) intends to do that. They did write “If i’m 100% sure he will be good in the place he goes, i’d seriously consider giving him away.” Meaning they could only let him go to a new home where they can be sure he would be well taken care off.

So don’t be worried.

[Author]

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