Several questions from a new rabbit owner

[jdenec123]

Hi, I just got a new rabbit yesterday! Very excited! I just had a couple questions that I couldn’t find elsewhere.

1.) How long after bringing him home is it ok to neuter him? Should I let him settle in? He is a bit over 5 months old. Already hopping around my room. 

2.) In my “Bunny Condo” that I created, there are three levels. Ground floor, second floor, and top floor. Each is 14 inches from the next. Is it necessary to have ramps? I have seen many examples online of condos with and without ramps. The floors are made of wire grid panels, reinforced with wood under it. On top is just a fleece blanket. Should I put wood on top of the levels? 

3.) How do bunnies know how to drink from a bottle? How do I train it? Is a bowl better?

Thank you so much! Very excited for my new companion!

[Brooke]

I’m not sure how long you should wait to get the rabbit fixed.
And no it’s not necessary to have ramps in the condo unless your rabbit has a hard time hopping to the next level or is old or injured. Yooouuuu don’t have to put wood on top of the levels if you don’t want to fleece will work just fine. But I do recommend that you put card board on the floors of the levels so that they can chew on it and it will also help absorb any pee. You can get priory mail boxes from USPS for free. You can use either a bottle or a bowl. Bowls are more of a mess in my opinion because they can be spilt. And honestly I think your rabbit will figure out how to use a water bottle on their own without much trouble at all (or at least mine did). Anyways I hope this helped ?

[Bam]

Hi!
You can let him settle in for a week before you have him neutered, if he’s healthy (and he seems to be, hopping around and all).

Ramps are most often not needed, not with young buns. But right after the neuter you should restrict him to one level for a couple of days, he shouldn’t jump right after his procedure.
You can put fleece on the levels. Cardboard is good to have under it, it can be replaced easily if he happens to pee on it, as Brooke suggests. Right after a neuter a bun can get very hormonal for a few weeks before all hormones die down, and you can get temporary pee-spraying and other adverse behaviors as a result.

I use a bowl for my buns, but sometimes buns want to splash out their water and/or throw the water-bowl around, so they have bottles too, as a back-up system. I’ve not had to teach my buns to drink from a bottle, they figured it out themselves, but they prefer the bowls.

[HopsiclesMommy]

I smeared some banana around the spout of the bottle after not observing my little bun drinking from the bottle. (He was always given a bowl and we got him when he was 8-10 weeks old). While he was busy licking the banana he figured out how the bottle works or so I’d like to think.

[jdenec123]

That’s a really good idea. I will try that!

[jdenec123]

I will definitely try the cardboard. He hasn’t even attempted to jump on top of the levels. I also tried adding a ramp, and he hasn’t bothered with it. I’m not hugely concerned with it, but it would be cool to see him using the entire condo. Is it a possibility that he just doesn’t feel comfortable with it, or just doesn’t know that its there? 

[Bam]

He will find it given time. And he will be pleased when he does, bunnies like multiple levels. One of mine has a system of 2 x 3 levels and he uses all of them. 

Bunnies can be a little slow about trying out new things. My Bam needed 2,5 years to figure out how to work his treat-ball  I expect your bun will try out his levels in less than a week though. 

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