Newbie

[Sam and Lady's Human]

 Hello, I’m researching into getting a rabbit, I had one when I was younger. Anyway, is there a “bringing home the bunny” 101 anywhere? 

Housing and food I found, but what about the baby itself? Can I hold it? I read that rabbits don’t like being held? Should I leave it alone? Does it need a bunny run if it’s still young? (Not sure of the exact age, they just got some in today at the local pet supply (not chain store)). Will it need to be left alone a lot? When can I get it neutered/spayed? Will it need toys? Is there one breed that is “better” than another, temperament wise? TIA!

 

[LoveChaCha]

HI there

You can click on “Bunny Info” at top and it will take you to sections that you will need to know about bringing bunny home.

have you considered an animal shelter in your area? There are so many rabbits that are in need of a home and by adopting out, it will be giving the next homeless rabbit a place at the shelter til they find their forever home.

Rabbits do not like to be held. The only time it should be held is when nail trimmings, grooming, medication time, check ups. The proper way to pick up and hold a rabbit is to support their front paws, and a hand under their butt.

Yep, baby rabbits, adult rabbits need exercise. You will see many cute things. Rabbits need 2-4+ hours of out of cage time daily.

Rabbits tend to be okay being left alone during the day as it is the time that they sleep. They are most active at night, doing silly dances and running around.

A boy will be neutered at 4 months, girl at 6 months.

As for toys, cardboard boxes (w/o tape), willow baskets/balls (make sure no chemicals are on the toys), wooden safe chew toys , toilet paper rolls, etc.

With breed, it doesn’t matter. bigger ones tend to be more calm and docile, but that is not true for all rabbits that are bigger. I have a dwarf and she is high energy, but can be lazy at times, and demands attention – A LOT of it.

[peppypoo]

Agreed with LoveChaCha, but with one correction – rabbits are actually crepuscular, meaning they are active both at dawn and at dusk. Still, this means that they will sleep for most of the daylight hours, if you have work or school.

While it’s true that rabbits don’t like being held, this doesn’t mean that you need to leave it alone; there are plenty of ways to interact with a rabbit. They are very curious and will check you out…after they are familiar with you, you can train them to do tricks and play with them from the ground.

If you are worried about temperament, keep in mind that it’s impossible to predict a baby’s temperament when you buy it. However, if you adopt an adult rabbit from a shelter, the rabbit’s personality will already be developed, and the people at the shelter might be able to tell you a bit more about each rabbit before you choose one to bring home.

A lot of pet stores sell “rabbit toys”, but many people find that these are a waste of money, and their rabbits ignore the store-bought toys. Like LoveChaCha mentioned, many of the favorites around here are things you should already have lying around the house, like phone books, cardboard boxes, and toilet paper rolls. Rabbits usually like anything they can destroy, chew, and toss…both you and your rabbit will be happier if you stay away from the pet store toys.

Keep us updated on your search for a bunny; we are happy to help with any more questions you have in the meanwhile

[Beka27]

This is a good link with items needed for new bunnies and the associated costs:

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

 

And a few more:

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

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

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

[Sam and Lady's Human]

Thanks everyone. I’ve read through the bunny info, but still didn’t see any sort of “what to expect” section. I used to have a hamster, and I know you had to leave it alone for awhile before you could play with it, I didn’t know if bunnies need the same adjustment period.

[peppypoo]

Of course you don’t want to drag the bunny out of the cage to play with it first thing; let him or her get used to the surroundings and come out of the cage on their own terms. It shouldn’t take long though..bunnies are very curious.

[Beka27]

The second link I posted has good info on what to expect. Bunnies are all very different tho, so there is no hard and fast rule of “leave alone for x number of hours”. What I have done is let the bunny acclimate to the surroundings/sounds/smells for an hour or so and then open the cage so they can come out IF they want. They are curious and typically want to explore before too long.

[Sam and Lady's Human]

Beka, I keep getting errors with your links?

[Beka27]

Let me edit my post and try to fix it. Sorry!

 

I fixed them!!!  

[Sam and Lady's Human]

Never mind, I just copy/pasted the last part Thanks!

[Beka27]

Yeah, for some reason the link part posted twice and that caused the error!

[Malp_15]

you may have already seen this because of the other rabbit.org links, but its an article titled “first few weeks in a new home”

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/4-3/new-home.html

[BinkyBunny]

Beka — great links and Map_15, I either had forgotten about that HRS page or had not seen it — it’s a wonderful reference! I will add it to our links section.

[Author]

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