New Flemish Giant Pet Coming Home!

[alexisjeanne13]

Hi everyone, I am new to this forum. In about a week or two I will be picking up my new flemish giant bunny! I have had several rabbits in the past, but never a larger breed like this one! He will be about 9-10 weeks old when I bring him home. The car ride to bring him home will be about an hour and a half which I know can cause stress for bunnies so if anyone has any suggestions to make transport easier on him please let me know!

I'm going to keep him inside and once I can litter train him and finish bunny proofing my apartment I will give him free range just like I would any cat or dog. I'm looking for suggestions on what type of cage I should keep him in until then. I know flemish giants need even more space than a smaller bun would so I want to get him something suitable for his size. He will still be given plenty of supervised play time outside of his cage up until he is litter box trained so he won't be stuck in the cage all day, but I still want something he can be comfortable in.

I also would like any general advice from flemish giant owners, any tips and tricks of keeping a larger bunny happy and healthy! Also I'm curious who has had a flemish giant in the past and how long they lived because the research I have done says they have a shorter life span than smaller rabbits, which is fine I just would like to know an estimate.

Finally, I haven't had a rabbit so young before in my care. In the past I have adopted rabbits around a year or two old. So as far as feeding what does everyone recommend for a bunny of 9 weeks? Any other special care I should be aware of for a younger rabbit? I want to make sure I have everything prepared for his arrival, thanks in advance!

 

[Popsicles]

In terms of the car journey, make sure he has access to hay and maybe some nuggets - unlikely to eat them but give him the option. Cover the carrier with a blanket or something so it is dark and feels safe, and try and keep noise to a minimum. As he is a new bun maybe stop halfway and offer some water and give him ten minutes or so of the car just bring still so he can relax a bit. My bun is fine in the car 2-3 hours but she is used to it so I might suggest stopping sooner for him. In terms of cages I would suggest a c&c style cage or any type of pen you build yourself as many commercial cages won’t be big enough for him.
I’ll leave the rest of the questions open to someone who has own Flemishes as my bunny is only a 3.5kg lop

 

[alexisjeanne13]

Thank you for the advice! I will stop along the way for sure to let him relax! Putting the blanket over the top is great advice thank you.