Its been years since ive owned a bunny

[Ablesmom]

Hi everyone, Im new to this forum and a new bunny owner..not brand new, as i did have them as a child, and my parents raised them but this is the first time i have owned a bunny being the MOM…meaning all falls on me…Now i know better then to get ANY pet from a pet store…so that being said here is my confession…I just got a bunny from a bunny store, had NO intention of getting a bunny, like ever, although growing up i love mine to pieces..Hubby and i went to our local pet store to buy toys for our cockatiels and we saw the CUTEST little Lionhead in the store with her brothers and sisters..we decided to hold her and she was a sweetheart, but not being interested in being a bunny owner again we left…until the next day we found ourselves in a store next to the petstore, we decided to pop in and say hello to cute little bunny that we did not want..and again we left..but this time we left sad and certain we would never see her again..after a sleepless night and a LONG convo we decided she needs a home anyway, so it might as well be OUR home…called the petstore in the morning and had them hold on to her so we could talk about it longer, and by noon today she was ours…we named her penelope and we love her already,…I do need advice though..I want to make sure she gets the life she deserves..he can’t roam free but will be taken out to play a bunch, like our birds they get plenty of out of cage time..i have her in the largest cage my living room will allow, its 41.5LX17.5W X 26H  i can’t go any bigger, she is a lionhead, i hope this will work for her as she grows.I opted not to do a “starter cage” as i know they are not good in the long run, she has a little igloo to hide in, i put vitamins in her water bottle, she is getting timothy hay and pellets..and as far as bedding goes, right now i opted NOT to put the screeen over the tray but will in the future, she is laying in the soft bedding they provided but eventually i would like to put down yesterdays news inside the bottom of the cage..if im doing something wrong let me know, i would like to litter train as well, and she will be spayed once i get my head wrapped around the fact we have a baby bunny in our home.

[Roberta]

Hi Penelope’s Mom, Welcome…. Sounds like you are off to a good start.
The current cage is a little small but it should be OK for now until you have more time to access the options.. I have a similar problem for some of my buns and have added Xpen play area’s until I can put all of them together in the bunny room. Yes, I have surrendered the second bedroom entirely to my tribe of mini wildebeest…. On the home page their is a section with lots of great tips from housing, care, diet and even an emergency first aid kit…

[LBJ10]

Congrats on your new baby!

Minimum recommended cage or pen size is 8 square feet. So the cage you bought is a bit smaller than that. You said her cage couldn’t be any larger than the one you bought. Are you worried about floor space? You could always make a NIC condo with multiple levels. Otherwise, I would recommend getting an exercise pen to attach to her cage. If you need the space for something (company, etc), then you can simply fold the exercise pen up and keep her in the cage for the duration.

Are you talking about covering the cage floor with bedding/litter? You probably don’t want to do that, unless you want the entire cage to be a toilet. It is confusing for bunnies to have litter outside their litter box and it makes litter training difficult.

Do you know how old she is? If she’s pretty young, then you won’t have to worry about spaying her just yet. Vets recommend waiting until girls are 6 months before being spayed. You will likely know she’s almost “ready” when she starts displaying hormonal behaviors. At which time, do expect her to lose her litter habits until after she is spayed.

[Deleted User]

How cool! Your birds get out of the cage time too! I had a budgie (Tweetie – I know, super original name) and he was free range 24/7. Now I have a bunny that is free range, DOH! (I’m getting worse as I get older). I’m not good (any use) with housing info, as I mentioned my boy is free range, I just wanted to throw in I love how you and the hubby chose your girl – so cute (and funny), good for you both! Your gonna adore being bunny parents (my hubby does but be damned if he will admit it, lol!). Enjoy your Penelope for every she is! Cheers Penelopesmom.

PS – something to add that you may find funny….. years ago when I used to have puppies, people came to visit, then came the phone call to hold ‘just in case’? I just turned to my hubby and said put a sold sticker on that one – I reckon they’ll be back in the hour! ha ha ha ha….. Love it!

[LittlePuffyTail]

Big Welcome to you and congrats on your new baby!

She will also need veggies to go with the pellets and hay, depending on how old she is. You can read up on rabbit nutrition here on BB in the Bunny Info section as well as these great links:

http://rabbit.org/category/care/diet/

I suggest you find a rabbit experienced vet and schedule a wellness exam soon. We always recommend this when bringing a new bunny home.

[Beka27]

Welcome to BB!

I think my friends here have covered all your questions/concerns…

If you want, feel free to start an introduction thread in the intro section. We would love to see pictures of your baby!

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