New Bunny Owner

[Emma's Mom]

Hello everyone! My father decided itwould be a good idea to get our daughter a bunny for Easter.We are not overly thrilled with the idea but we are animal lovers andif we are going to have a pet we are goingto treat itright. The problem is......neither one of us have ever had arabbit. Dogs...yes. Cats....yes.Fish...yes. Ferrets....yes. Rabbits...NO!

Help! He bought a kit that includes a cage, water bottle,pellets, and timothy hay. We plan on getting a book to guideus along but I was hoping for some immediate help.

1.) Should we leave the pellets down all the time for him to munch on at his leisure?

2.) He bought some type of bedding (not cedar).Would newspaper and the timothy hay work just as well? Thebedding has an odor that I am not crazy about since we have our houseup for sale.

3.) Should I try to create an area in his cagethatis his potty area?If so, anysuggestions on what I should use?

Thanks to any helpyou can give. Ireally appreciate it!

Jenny

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

Hello,

Rabbits who have free access to food over indulged and become quitefat, they have certain amounts for certain weights for certain ages,which I don't know at the time but others may be able to inform youbetter.

Newspaper cat litter works really well, timothy hay is a waste to useas litter, if you want something like that, use straw, the draw back isthat straw it's not absorbant. I would suggest newspaper cat litter asit is more absorbant then just plain old newspaper and your bunny won'tbe sitting inlitter that is aswet.

If it's in a store bought cage (which are relatively small) mostrabbits will make one spot the main bathroom area, if they do this youcan just place a litter pan there and have it for easy cleaning. Somerabbits are naturally messy! You have to train these rabbits to go inone spot. Just remember that the bunny will pick the bathroom spot, notyou, don't try to move the spot as they don't learn to do that well.

Hope this helps you!

Laura

 

[JessicaRabbit]

always always have plenty of timothy hay and fresh water.

 

[Buster]

Hi,Do u have alitter box in the cage? with my bunny he has a litter box andI put good mews in there.



Let me know if u have any more ?s



Delia

 

[Carolyn]

Greetings Emma's Mom,

You'll find that given the proper environment and health needs, therabbit will give back tenfold to you in laughter and love. They're notoverly affectionate at first until they get to know and trust you so beforewarned.

The amount of food depends on the weight of the rabbit. For babyrabbits, which I suspect yours is, leave a bowl of pellets out at alltimes. Adult rabbits weighing between 2-4 lbs., should get one oz. perday; between 5-7 lbs., 2 ozs. Rabbits between 8-10 lbs., 4 ozs. and11-15 lbs. can get 6 oz. per day. Pellet protein content should rangebetween 14-20%. A good pellet feed is essential and most often timesbought at a feedstore. Colored rabbit pellets usually are high insugar, as are treats such as vegetables, fruits, nuts, and store-boughtrabbit treats. Too much sugar is fatal to your rabbit's system. It'srecommended not to give your rabbit treats more than 2 times a week.Everything in moderation. Timothy Hay, as mentioned above, provides therabbit with extra fiber, is excellent in keeping furballs from forming,and is excellent for the rabbit's digestive system and helps to keeptheir continually-growing teeth filed down.

Glad you're not using cedar shavings for the litter. The verdict isstill out on using pine shavings as the litter. The cedar shavings whenmixed with rabbit's urine creates a toxic fume that is also fatal toyour rabbit's life. As I said, the verdict is still out on pineshavings having such an effect, but I know of a breeder that uses itwith no ill effects. Mind you, he does have rabbit cages (wire bottomcage) so that the rabbit isn't subjected to sitting in it.

I use a product called Yesterday's News. It's pellets of recyclednewspaper. BuckJones, another poster here, uses wood-stove pellets thatwork well too. Some people try to entice their rabbits by puttingtimothy hay in their litter. You just have to be careful that therabbit doesn't soil on the hay and then eat it. Doing so would make thelittle one sick. That's why hay racks are recommended. Timothy hay as alitter is not only costly, but it won't cut into the odor.

Chances are the kit you've bought for your rabbit has a hard plasticbottom. It should be cleaned daily of urine soaked litter as it isessential for a rabbit's health to remain dry. If the rabbit is in awet environment, chances greatly increase for respiratory illness whichonce gotten, is extremely hard to treat.

Fresh water is necessary at all times.

Best of luck. I'm sure that in time, you'll be as addicted to rabbits as we are. Happy Easter.

-Carolyn

P.S. There is a post in this forum entitled "Litterbox Training". I'd suggest you read through it for tips on that subject.