Baby housing

[NinaJ]

Helloooo~

I have a pair of orphaned babies I rescued from my grandparent's cat. When he brought them home they couldn't have been more than a few days old (eyes and ears closed and almost no fur). I couldn't find a nest and the nearest rehabber is 3 hours away.

I've had them for two weeks and they're thriving =) Fully furred, eyes and ears open, eating well, and are becoming a lot more active. Right now they're in an empty cardboard box for gallon jugs of tea with a divide in the center. I folded an old pillowcase in one side and put some paper towel down for when they 'go', then I cut a hole in the divide so they can go over.

Is there something I can do to fill it better so it will feel more natural? Shredded news paper? Grass? Cage filler from the pet store?

I've never had a pet rabbit before and I'm not planning to keep the babies forever. Once they've gotten the hang of hopping and are ready to eat greens I plan to release them by the greenway a few blocks away so the cat won't get them again.

 

[ldoerr]

You could use hay as the base. Maybe add some grass. I have a breeder friend who ends up raising orphaned baby wild bunnies all the time. People bring them to her from all around. She normally puts them in with one of her does that is nursing already and that works really will. All of her rabbits are on wire flooring. DO NOT HANDLE THE BABIES!!!!!!!

 

[LakeCondo]

Pet rabbits shouldn't have greens until they're 6 months old, so I wouldn't give any to these cottontails either. I would take them to the rehabber ASAP.

 

[Nelsons_Mom]

I agree to take them to the rehabber. The how and the when is pretty specific in order to have them be successful in the wild.

I would also call the rehabber with when and how to start weaning and how to teach them to naturally forage (they would need an outside pen in the grass that's protected from predators, I imagine).

 

[NinaJ]

Like I said, the nearest rehabber is 3 hours away and I have no transport. Plus these aren't the first rabbits the grandparent's cat has brought home. He roams the neighbor all day and night bringing home all sorts of things. I don't go near the babies unless it's to feed them or check their heat pack. All I want is to keep them fed and comfortable until they're big enough to be released

 

[Hyatt101]

"Pet rabbits shouldn't have greens until they are six moths old"...

Really? But then, wild rabbits just eat whatever they find, if they find lettuce, and they're 3 months old, they'll eat it, so I don't think it would be all that bad if they had some little greens.... Just my thought though! :big wink:

 

[Hyatt101]

I did some research and it said that 10-12 week old babies can eat veggies/greens regularly, but they can be slowly introduced to them before that... I think it was a trustworthy website, but I had never heard of any dates when rabbits should have greens so I was just curious

 

[rowan10]

This is looking very nice and so cute..
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