mini rex bunny

[pixiemom]

Hello Everyone

My name is Shannon and I just got a mini rex from a breeder that we are picking up on friday. I have never owned a bunny before so was looking for any good advice. I have a 2 yr old and 1 yr old both girls. I also have 2 pugs. Any advice would be great.

Thanks in advance

Shannon

ps we named her Pixie

[Beka27]

Welcome!

Oh… female mini rexes. They are a handful!

Tell us… What are your plans for diet, littertraining, housing, and spaying?

[LizzieKnittyBun]

Also, dealing with children and dogs! Bunnies are a more fragile than dogs, and can’t be handled roughly.

[pixiemom]

I plan on keeping her indoors and litter box training her. We got storage boxes today and set it up so she has a large area to play. I do know that bunnies are much fragile that dogs. I have handled them before but never actually owned one. Im getting alot of info from the breeder as far as feeding and diet. She has been breeder them for 15 years

[Monkeybun]

Just be sure to remember that what a breeding bunny needs for nutrition is different than what a non breeding bunny needs. I suggest checking out the diet recommendations up at the top of the page under Bunny Info.

[pixiemom]

I guess my next question is….this bunny breeder told me that if the bunny gets sick there are not many vets around there that if I were to take her there they would do much since most deal with dogs/cats…..???

I was confused by that. Also the vet i take my dogs to dog deal with rabbits. What do I do in this case?

[Monkeybun]

You have to make sure they are experienced, alot of vets just don’t have the knowledge or experience to properly treat bunnies,a s they are considered exotics and require different training than a typical cat/dog vet.

The key thing to ask a vet is how long to have your bunny fast before a surgery.. if they answer anything besides “they don’t have to fast” then find a different vet for your bun

And I’d take a bunny to a vet rather than to the breeder when sick. Most breeders, while they may know a bit about bunnies, just are not qualified to take care of anything major.

The House Rabbit Society page has a good listing for vets in alot of areas, you may want to check it out.

[pixiemom]

So what are the benefits to spay her. I know I do not want to breed her but also know that I wont be putting a male with her.

[Monkeybun]

The benefits to spaying her is that she won’ get uterine cancer. There is an 80-85% chance she could get it by age 4. Just not worth the risk. You want to keep your furbaby a long time

[pixiemom]

thanks so much for the info. I will be calling my vet. I actually looked it up and one of the vets at my office specializes in bunnies. I appreciate all this info!

[Nibbles_NZ]

Female rabbits that are not spayed will more than likely die of uterine cancer. Rabbits can live for up to 10 years if spayed. Not to mention, if you do not get your bunny spayed, she will turn into a brat! Maybe even mean. I would suggest doing research on rabbit uterine cancer. Once you do, you will definetly want to get her spayed. Keep in mind that bunnies do get sick and that vets are not at all cheap. You will defiinetly need to find a vet that deals with exotics. Also, a breeder is going to tell you different when it comes to the diet of the bunny. Also, are your dogs going to be able to get to your bunny? I have small children also- two 2 1/2 year olds. We have “bunny rules” in our home. They have to sit down when the bunnies are out and they are not aloud to pick them up. Bunnies will kick thier back legs when being picked up and it can result in spinal injury for them. You are on the right site for information. There is a lot of people here that are very knowledgable in this subject. Welcome and congrats! Pictures are a must! Also, go to the Great Habitats page on this site! There are some really good ideas!

[Nibbles_NZ]

That’s great that you found a vet already!

[Nibbles_NZ]

I have heard that mini rex bunnies are rotten She will be fun! I have a 2 month old Dutch female and she is a brat! Always rearranging her cage. I clean her cage out every day and it litterally takes her 10 minutes to mess it up again! She is so much fun though. She is always doing binkies and playing with any toy she can find.

[Beka27]

You’ve gotten great info already! It is absolutely necessary that female rabbits be spayed for the reduction in uterine cancer. But this will also help with littertraining, smell, aggression, territorial behavior, destruction of personal property and house. Unaltered rabbits can be downright MEAN, and with small children in the house, you want your bun to be as calm as possible.

[Beka27]

Some good articles on various topics. You may have read them already, some are from the House Rabbit Society (rabbit.org), from this site, and from rabbit expert, Dana Krempels.

My son was raised with rabbits. We had one when he was born, and then got another when he was a few years old, and then a mate for that bunny. It’s important to start from a young age teaching children to pick up after themselves, and not leave out stuff if they don’t want it chewed. I recommend having the kids room a “rabbit-free zone” b/c there will be small toys and things all over. Your dogs can take more rough-housing than a rabbit can, so supervision is a must. When my son turned 6, I decided he was then old enough to take over the feeding of pellets in the evening, but this is done with supervision. He will also help clean up stray bits of cardboard/newspaper and rabbit poop, and help with other little maintenance chores.

http://www.rabbit.org/adoption/baby-bunnies.html

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

https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/Costs/tabid/145/Default.aspx

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/diet.html

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

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/2-7/bringing-baby-home.html

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/4-9/kids.html

[Nibbles_NZ]

Our baby dutch is in my 5 year olds room. Mostly by herself though. My 5 year old is usually in her little sisters room playing. When my daughter decides to go to her room to play. Bella has to be in the cage. When we are gone, Bella gets the room. So far it works out for all of us. It wouldn’t work in my other little girls’s room My 5 year old keeps her room very clean and she has to make sure EVERYTHING is picked up before she is done playing so Bella can come back out and play. Everything is very supervised so no one gets hurt.

[pixiemom]

Thanks everyone! I am very excited to pick her up on friday. I have been doing a lot of reading on this site the last 2 days. I will be getting her spayed. We already built her huge cage and bought some stuff for it today. So we are all excited!!

[Nibbles_NZ]

Do you have a picture of her cage? I would love to see it

[Beka27]

Me too! We love bunny housing pics! There are so many intricate things to know with bunnies, but it’s so worth it. They are a pleasure to have.

[pixiemom]

sure I have a pic….i will get some loaded up!

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