Introduction

[Addicted]

Hello my name is jason and i just got a mini lop,what a great little creature he is.I originally bought him to breed for snake food but Couldn’t bring myself to do it,flame away if you want but i am an animal lover just like you.I have about 10 pets right now with my mini lop as the most recent addition.

 

I never could have imagined that my killer dog that hates most people would love this little rabbit as much as he does!!They play and frolic all day long like thaey have not a care in the world!I currently feed him Timmothy hay and Mana pro pellets,this is what i was told was a good diet,Is this correct?

[Sarita]

I’m glad you saved him from being bred for snake food. How old do you think he is? That will help us to tell you what diet he should be on – the timmy hay is a good start. If he is a young rabbit the Manna pro pellets will be fine but I think they are alfalfa based.

[Addicted]

He is eight weeks old right now,and full of funny energy!I hope you Don’t think I’m some kind of jerk but i felt a honest introduction would be the best way to introduce myself.

[Sarita]

I’m glad you realized that he was a wonderful creature and you didn’t breed him for that purpose and hope that you won’t breed other rabbits for that purpose either.

Here is a great link from the House Rabbit Society on what you should feed rabbits at one age:

http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/diet.html

He is off to a good start on his diet and you can actually start introducing fresh greens fairly soon.

 

[Scarlet_Rose]

Welcome Jason! You’re very welcome here and I’m glad that you’ve caught a glimpse of what owning a rabbit as a pet is like.  I am so glad that you are not breeding him as rabbit food and have had a change in the way that you had originally planned to bring him up. What breed is your dog by the way?  You might for an intro to house rabbits check out the Bunny Info tab at the top of this page and scope out http://www.rabbit.org too.  The Manna pellets sound OK for now, but you’ll want a good timothy based pellet when he is older.  Have you thought about having him neutered and are you having any problems with him marking things?

[Addicted]

Thanks,And i Will be only buying frozen food for my reptiles,I ran out and thought this would be a good substitute…Not…He is just too cute.He is hopping around right now with my dog as happy as any animal could ever be.

[Sarita]

You will enjoy having him. What type of housing do you have him in?

[Scarlet_Rose]

That’s great! I’m glad he is just too cute! I would recommend that your rabbit be housed in a different room from the reptiles, in case they get out and even if they don’t a rabbit can literally be scared to death if the snake were to try and lunge at it through the glass terrarium or other enclosure.

[Addicted]

I have him in a converted 4 by 2 dog crate,with plenty of toys to play with,and a second level.

And my reptiles are in a seperate locked bedroom that they could not get out of.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Awesome, perfect! Do you have any pictures to share on your new guy?  What is his name?

[Addicted]

What breed is your dog by the way? You might for an intro to house rabbits check out the Bunny Info tab at the top of this page and scope out http://www.rabbit.org too. The Manna pellets sound OK for now, but you’ll want a good timothy based pellet when he is older. Have you thought about having him neutered and are you having any problems with him marking things?

He is a chow mutt that i rescued from Lebanon.
He only goes in his litter box right now but i think i will have him/her altered.

[BB Administrator]

(This is actually BinkyBunny – I always forget to switch over in admin mode)

Welcome Jason!!. You’re not a jerk. I think what has happened shows you have a wonderful compassionate spirit for all animals – appreciating the value of all of their lives. That is incredibly endearing and shows strong character. So kudos to you!

Regards to your dog,even those he’s gentle, just be careful because certain movements of rabbits can incite a predator instinct. So obvioulsy supervise carefully. There was another discussion about how to introduce dogs and rabbits just recently on this board. I’ll see if I can find it and post it here.

Okay – here it is https://binkybunny.com/Default.aspx?tabid=54&forumid=2&postid=14413&view=topic

Keep us updated, and of course we are here to help with whatever.  Rabbits can pose challenges like any other animal, but usually there are solutions that we can help you with.

Helloworld!!

[Sarita]

Is your dog one of the Best Friends rescues?  I now they did a big rescue of dogs and cats in Lebanon.

I’m glad you are going to get him altered?  Do you know the sex? alot of times they don’t get the sex correct at petstores and stuff.

The housing sounds good for now but he will probably eventually outgrow it.

Here are some good articles on housing:

http://www.rabbit.org/chapters/san-diego/adoption/pen_living.html

http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/rabcare.html#house

 

 

[Addicted]

Yup my dog is one of the best friends rescues,The local shelter that i used to donate a lot of money too Wouldn’t give me a dog because i am a renter,I guess i have to own a house to be a good pet owner even though i have had pets for as long as i can remember….Sad Hah?,They no longer get my money,it’s too bad a local animal could have been spoiled for the rest of It’s life.

How do i tell the sex of my bunny?…I guess He/She will get a lot bigger,How big will it get i would love a good sized bunny.I already plan on getting or building a huge cage for it,where do you buy the stuff to build your own cages?

Thanks
Jason.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Wow that is too bad Jason that deal with the local shelter and all.  As for homes, most of us have Neat Idea Cube or Organize-It cube homes.  This is basically wire cube shelving that is sold at Target, I’ve heard rumors of Wal-Mart but not ever seen it there, or even Bed, Bath & Beyond has their own verson of it as well.  If you Check out the "Bunny Info" tab and scroll to "Cool Habitats" you can take a look at what some creativity and a million zip ties can do.

[Sarita]

It’s probably best to have a vet sex them if you aren’t familiar with how to sex them just to be on the safe side especially at such a young age.

[MooBunnay]

Hello Jason & welcome!

I have found that most people that have “mini” lops find that they don’t grow up to be very mini at all – so I think it is likely that you will get the good sized bunny that you are hoping for. Its great that your bunny and dog get along so well – I have heard from quite a few people that this works out, but I usually recommend that at least in the beginning you just let your bunny play with your dog when you are supervising in case the dog gets too playful and the bunny gets scared. Its great you have a Best Friends rescue dog – I spent a week volunteering at Best Friends and had a great time .

I see you’ve gotten a lot of good information already, but if you have any more questions – feel free to ask!

[Beka27]

welcome Jason!  don’t feel bad.  people are not usually raised knowing the proper way to care for an animal, esp. one deemed "exotic".

i always thought that rabbits were cute [who doesn’t?] but it wasn’t until i had a house rabbit that i actually realized what rabbits are and what they can become if given the chance.  my sister had a rabbit when we were children that hung out in the cold, dark basement in a small cage.  this rabbit was given to someone else a couple months later who then made a proper companion of her.  i wish i knew then what i know now… but i didn’t and hindsight is 20/20… 

my first rabbit Stephen was purchased as a gift by my friend for her toddler daughter.  not a good situation.  but on a positive note, her daughter is now older [and wiser] and is a wonderful "mommy" to a very lucky guinea pig.  i took Stephen from my friend and kept him in a 55 gallon aquarium… for months.  i hardly ever let him out.  as i learned more about rabbits, i purchased him a proper cage and gave him free run of my house several hours a day.  he prospered.  i did the best by him as i could do at the time.  i learned so much from him… and i will be forever grateful to my "starter bunny" for putting up with my mistakes and loving me until the very end.  this experience has made me a better friend to my Meadow.

it’s easy to think that you know the right ways to do everything… you are obviously a responsible pet owner with a lot of experience… but you will see that your bun will amaze you every single day.

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