1 year old lionhead

[Wintermoon]

That's him in the pic. Any advice on him? We are working on training him. Would like to be able to keep him out during the day and in his hutch at night. He isn't catching on to potty training too well. Right now we are using a kitty box with cage bedding as liter. Also we would like to keep him off the couch, he was jumping down at no or get but lately has been being more hard headed. So I just got a water body to use to help him catch on to not being allowed up there. Is that okay. When out in the yard will usually let him roam the patio or the shared yard with the neighbor, he has been good about staying where he should be thus far. Hoping he dont get brave and take off. Will he take off if spooked. Should I keep harnest on him instead. What are there fav treats or anything they cant have. He loves crackers and chips and begs for them like a dog but dont get them often. He also like yogies carrots and cabbage. Should I worry about getting him fixed. Will he spray. Does he need any shots

 

[Blue eyes]

Oh my. Let's start by finding out his age and how long you've had him.

Crackers, chips, and yogies are all no-no's. Don't offer them at all, at anytime. Carrots or cabbage depends totally on his age, how long you've had him and what food he is used to and is getting now. Carrots are high in sugar and considered treats. That means he shouldn't get them until he's been gradually introduced to a diet that includes greens. Cabbage may be ok, again, once he's used to other greens. Cabbage can be problematic for some rabbits causing gas. Gas in rabbits is nothing to be trifled with.

He should never be allowed to run loose in a yard. He absolutely must be confined by an exercise pen (with someone outside with him at all times) or on a harness. Unfortunately, the harness shown in your photo is not safe and not recommended. Harnessing a rabbit is a tricky venture altogether. The correct harness must be used. It must be fitted correctly (only an experienced agility owner would be able to show you). And a harnessed, leashed rabbit isn't likely to be getting much exercise. Even properly fitted, a sudden noise or passing shadow could cause a bolt reaction which could injure spine or neck. It just isn't worth the risk unless you have a very experienced person show you how to do it properly.

I'm assuming he's young (until you reply otherwise). If so, he shouldn't be getting treats at all -- not until his diet is settled. As he grows, his diet will change. If he is young, then hand-feeding him pellets has the effect of 'transforming' the pellets into a 'treat.'

Diet is one of the most critical factors with your rabbit's health. They have an extremely delicate digestive system and the wrong foods at the wrong time can lead to GI stasis -- a common but potentially deadly condition. Knowing the proper diet at each age is critical to having a healthy rabbit. If you could describe his current daily diet, we could assess it.

Whether or not he needs shots depends on where you live. If you live in the US, no shots are given.

 

[Wintermoon]

He is a little over a year. We got him last year right before Easter and he was six weeks old. His usual diet is pellets and grass when he is outside.

 

[Blue eyes]

Okay. So he is definitely an adult already. Has he been neutered? Neutered rabbits often litter train themselves.

There will be a learning curve here for changes that would be beneficial for your rabbit and his long-term health. First would be his diet. Pellets should only make up about 3% of a rabbit's daily diet. They should be limited and the pellets themselves should be a plain pellet.

The bulk of his diet should be hay (or grass if it is consistently available to him). Greens should also be part of his daily diet, but that should happen gradually to allow his tummy time to adjust to greens. Here is a link that you can click over to so that you can get a clearer and better idea (with pics too) of an appropriate rabbit diet. Don't miss the extra links on that page that go into more detail, for example, on healthy vs unhealthy pellet brands.

For litter training, having the right litter box set up is a key factor. Here is a link for that as well. In the meantime, it may be necessary to block him from access to the couch until he's consistent with potty training.

Once you've had the chance to review those links, let us know if you have any questions.

 

[zuppa]

He is a little over a year. We got him last year right before Easter and he was six weeks old. His usual diet is pellets and grass when he is outside.

Hi, I have lionhead as well not sure about age he was rescued I have him for 4 months now, he's not fixed as well, name's Fred

He is very good about his toilet box very responsible and very placid rabbit I am very happy with him.

He gets hay all the time (about same size per day as his own size, that's about 80% of his diet), one small bowl of rabbit pellets (like in photo, I fill his bowl once a day and he eats them when he's hungry, in 24 hours the bowl is always empty) and a generous handful of fresh green leaves (like celery stick or green lettuce, except of Iceberg, or broccoli leaves and stem, parsley or basil or cilantro etc) once a day. Every 2-3 days I can give a piece of carrot, like thumb-size or a slice of an apple, those are high on sugar so just not too often as a treat, same with banana just a couple inches max. Also I give him dried herbs as a treat or as medicine, mint, chamomile, thyme etc, but his main food is always hay (80%).

I'd love to see your setup if you could take a few pics, do you use bedding for his entire cage or his floor is not covered? For toilet training his floor has to be hard without bedding or blanket, they just like peeing on soft, and for his toilet box I use wood pellets they work pretty well absorbing urine and there's no bad smell for a few days. I put his hay manger over his toilet box so he eats his hay and do his duties same time, all into the box. You see he only uses one corner as his fav spot for pee and I remove that spot every couple days moving some dry pellets there and clean it fully about once a week.