Found a rabbit!

[brocaknows]

Hello! My brother found a very scared rabbit in the middle of the road yesterday. He was being chased by a large dog, so my brother brought him home and gave him to me. He is a lovely young male rabbit. I have 3 dogs and 2 budgies. I have no idea how to take care of a rabbit. I did put up signs around the neighborhood and vets, also on facebook, but so far nothing.

I read that they eat hay. However I have no idea where to find that here in Costa Rica. I did find pellets, but the pet shops didn't have hay. I gave him some lettuce and herbs and he ate all that. How much should he eat in a day?

Also I have him in a separate room so the dogs won't bother him. I do have a small indoor garden area but it doesn't have any grass. Would it be OK to keep him there and find some kind of shelter for him in case it rains?

Also he doesn't appear to be litter trained... He pooped all over the room even though I put a litter box in for him. Is it tough to train rabbits?

Any other suggestions are welcome. In CR there aren't exactly any good shelters I can take him and if his owner doesn't turn up I think we'll be keeping him. I know they live long lives but so do all my other pets and I have no problem with caring for pets for years. Thanks!!

 

[whitelop]

He is probably territory marking the room he's in with poop, if you sweep up all the poop and put it in the box and then wipe up the pee with paper towels or toilet paper and put it in the box, he'll start to understand that thats where he's supposed to go to the bathroom. It might take about a week, but he should learn pretty quickly. But chances are there will always be stray poops on the floor, because thats how most bunnies are. Since he isn't neutered, he might now always pee in the box, but if you get him to pee in the box the majority of the time you're doing pretty good!

I'm totally ripping this off someone else on here, she hasn't been on to give her advice, so I'll do it for her with her latest new bunny post.
great rabbit sites:
http://www.rabbit.org/index.html
http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/diet.html#babies
http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/spay-neuter.html
http://www.3bunnies.org/feeding.htm
http://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/tabid/53/Default.aspx
http://language.rabbitspeak.com/
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=75235&forum_id=48 - first aid kit info
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f21/ - rabbit savvy vet listings
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=53690&forum_id=93 - great litter box system; I highly recommend the grid even if you don't want to build the whole thing (check 1/3 of the way down the first page)

C&C/NIC cage info:
http://breyfamily.net/bunnycage.html
http://www.guineapigcages.com/cubes.htm (shows how to do coroplast floors if you'd rather use that than plywood)
best deal on grids for the cages: http://www.sears.com/stor-floor-sta...p-00913332000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

Hopefully that should get you off the ground with the new bun!
Welcome to RO! And thanks for saving this little bunny! We love pictures here and if there are anymore questions, ask them! Everyone is very helpful around here. And we all totally get the love of a bunny and we'll all nuts for our buns.

 

[whitelop]

Double post.

 

[JBun]

If you have feed stores with livestock supplies, they may have grass hay bales. Or if you can find a stable or someone with horses, they may sell you a bale. You want as good quality grass hay as you can get. You need to make sure it's never been rained on or gotten wet and mildewed. Buying a bale of hay is the cheapest, but if you can't find any bales of hay, you can sometimes find small bags of it at petstores, or here in the US, some walmarts have some, so you can try yours to see if they carry it in the pet section, but it is much more expensive long term, than buying a bale of hay.

How much to feed him depends on how big he is and how much he weighs. Generally you feed unlimited grass hay, and limit pellets to around a 1/2 cup per 6 lbs. body weight. But since he's not getting hay yet, you will need to feed more pellets. Like 1/2 cup for 4 lb. body weight.

If you are able to get him neutered, that will usually improve litter box habits a lot. But if you can't find a vet that is very experienced with rabbits and has done rabbit neuters before, then you are better off not trying to get your rabbit neutered.

 

[brocaknows]

Thanks for the info!! I'll be reading up this weekend. I am kind of worried about Ani (we named him Anakin) transmitting diseases to my dogs. One of my dogs has a tendency of eating duck and rabbit poop when he finds it (generally at the park). I know rabbits can carry several parasitic diseases... I'm wondering if anyone has experienced dogs getting sick from their rabbits? Also we are looking into making Ani a hutch in the backyard with a little fenced area so the dogs can't get to him. However I'm not sure if being close to the dogs will stress him out.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Everything seems to be covered. Good luck. The temperature there should be alright to keep him out side, just make sure ha has a place to get out of the rain.

 

[MatherRabbit]

You might also try him on raw fruits and veggies. Very small amounts until you see how he does...

 

[brocaknows]

Thanks! We just bought him a small plastic doghouse today so he can sleep in it and stay warm. We also bought him a little hut/shelter so he can hang out. I'm gonna go check out some more places that might sell hay on Monday... Thanks again for all the help! I'll post some pictures during the week