new bunny parent- help with living arrangement!

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natschu

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So 2 days ago I adopted a 2.5 month old Netherland Dwarf bun, Max. He's obviously not neutered yet. I have been super anxious every night because I'm worried he's not comfortable with his new home. I live with my family, parents and 15 y/o brother. We currently have a cage for him and I let him out about 3-4 hours a day for now as he isn't litter trained yet. He's explored my room and some of the living room as well as interacted with my family. We feed him lots of pellets, alfalfa hay, some quinoa treats. He poops a lot, hardly ever outside the cage though. I keep seeing that rabbits apparently 'need' x pens or to be free roam to live happily but I also have had many vets and friends tell me lots of bunnies don't need that much space (my mom doesn't want to get an x pen if possible).
If anyone has any advice about what I can be doing differently or better to help Max feel more comfortable and happy, even when he's older. Thanks so much !IMG_20200409_134005.jpgIMG_20200409_133959.jpgWhatsApp Image 2020-04-08 at 9.18.10 PM.jpegWhatsApp Image 2020-04-07 at 7.47.59 PM (1).jpeg
 
Hello, Rabbits need a lot of space and love to run around! An x-pen would be a perfect to house a rabbit in. I got my x-pen on chewy and it was about 30 dollars. I would make sure the x-pen is at least 30 inches tall as well since rabbits can jump pretty high. Also, for his litter box I would recommend a cat litter box because its just more comfortable for the rabbit, and they are pretty cheap on chewy as well. If chewy doesn't ship where you live then I would recommend Amazon. Its okay to house a rabbit in an x-pen but make sure they get plenty of time outside of the x-pen to run. They should have at least 4 or more hours of free roaming time a day. Also, for flooring I would recommend foam mats because it helps prevent sore hocks. Whether then that your set up is great in my opinion, and when I got my rabbits I watched a lot of 101rabbits they're such a good you-tube channel to watch and you might even find more bunny channel that have even more information. I really hope this helps, and if you have more questions please ask~~~
 
Welcome to the forum :)

Your setup is fine and I think this cage is good size for now, it is best to keep his space limited for first few weeks or months and then you will see you will probably want to add some more attaching x-pen or something, surely you will see what is best for him and for you. For the starters it's fine and great that you let him out for a few hours, just make sure your room is rabbit proof so no loose cables or anything he can chew or anything he could endanger himself.

If he is still 2,5 months old he can eat as much pellets as he wants but first thing he needs to eat much hay and if he prefers pellets it would be best to reduce them a bit so he can have appetite for hay, just give him pellets say twice a day instead of keeping his bowl full all the time so he can eat hay when there's no pellets available.

What pellets you feed him can you post name/ingredients here? If you feed junior alfalfa based pellets you better give him non-alfalfa hay, timothy or meadow or orchard, he still can have richer menu until he's 4-4,5 month old and then you should start limiting his pellets and transfer him fully to grass hays, also change his pellets to ones with lower protein and calcium level.

I wouldn't feed quinoa treats firstly he doesn't really need it and often rabbits have problems with their stomach from seeds and grain treats, also they are often based on yoghurt which is not recommended for rabbits at all, no dairy products for rabbits, I know they sell lots of treats or products for rabbits and not all those products are healthy, I adopted a rabbit in December with huge problems he had blockages and his stomach just stopped working, I thought he'd die he was on grain/seed/muesli type food for long time because people thought it would help him with wearing out his teeth but it just caused blockages and we had really hard time about two weeks, I've changed his food to no-seed or grain no yoghurt etc and he never has any problem with his stomach, he's a very good rabbit he's 2 year old now. So it is best not to use treats with seeds/grain/dairy, just use natural treats it will help him to stay healthy.

He's a very pretty boy :)
 
Hello, Rabbits need a lot of space and love to run around! An x-pen would be a perfect to house a rabbit in. I got my x-pen on chewy and it was about 30 dollars. I would make sure the x-pen is at least 30 inches tall as well since rabbits can jump pretty high. Also, for his litter box I would recommend a cat litter box because its just more comfortable for the rabbit, and they are pretty cheap on chewy as well. If chewy doesn't ship where you live then I would recommend Amazon. Its okay to house a rabbit in an x-pen but make sure they get plenty of time outside of the x-pen to run. They should have at least 4 or more hours of free roaming time a day. Also, for flooring I would recommend foam mats because it helps prevent sore hocks. Whether then that your set up is great in my opinion, and when I got my rabbits I watched a lot of 101rabbits they're such a good you-tube channel to watch and you might even find more bunny channel that have even more information. I really hope this helps, and if you have more questions please ask~~~
This is super helpful thanks for the advice! Where in your house did you put your x pen, I just don't know where we would have the space. Also how long do you think we can keep this setup? (like what age, he's only 2.5. months now)
 
Welcome to the forum :)

Your setup is fine and I think this cage is good size for now, it is best to keep his space limited for first few weeks or months and then you will see you will probably want to add some more attaching x-pen or something, surely you will see what is best for him and for you. For the starters it's fine and great that you let him out for a few hours, just make sure your room is rabbit proof so no loose cables or anything he can chew or anything he could endanger himself.

If he is still 2,5 months old he can eat as much pellets as he wants but first thing he needs to eat much hay and if he prefers pellets it would be best to reduce them a bit so he can have appetite for hay, just give him pellets say twice a day instead of keeping his bowl full all the time so he can eat hay when there's no pellets available.

What pellets you feed him can you post name/ingredients here? If you feed junior alfalfa based pellets you better give him non-alfalfa hay, timothy or meadow or orchard, he still can have richer menu until he's 4-4,5 month old and then you should start limiting his pellets and transfer him fully to grass hays, also change his pellets to ones with lower protein and calcium level.

I wouldn't feed quinoa treats firstly he doesn't really need it and often rabbits have problems with their stomach from seeds and grain treats, also they are often based on yoghurt which is not recommended for rabbits at all, no dairy products for rabbits, I know they sell lots of treats or products for rabbits and not all those products are healthy, I adopted a rabbit in December with huge problems he had blockages and his stomach just stopped working, I thought he'd die he was on grain/seed/muesli type food for long time because people thought it would help him with wearing out his teeth but it just caused blockages and we had really hard time about two weeks, I've changed his food to no-seed or grain no yoghurt etc and he never has any problem with his stomach, he's a very good rabbit he's 2 year old now. So it is best not to use treats with seeds/grain/dairy, just use natural treats it will help him to stay healthy.

He's a very pretty boy :)
That's all really good to know thanks so much I really appreciate it. The pellets are alfalfa based :/ I'll try to move him off of it because the shelter lady did provide all alfalfa hay items haha. What natural treats could I use for now since he's not on fruits or vegetables for a while?
 

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This is super helpful thanks for the advice! Where in your house did you put your x pen, I just don't know where we would have the space. Also how long do you think we can keep this setup? (like what age, he's only 2.5. months now)
When I first got my rabbit she was about the same age, but keep in mind she’s a Dutch rabbit so she gets somewhat bigger then a Neverland Dwarf. I kept her in a similar sized cage, and around 6 to 8 months I moved her to an x-pen. So, I would say you can keep your set up for awhile, but once you see him growing out of the cage make sure to upgrade. Also, I house my rabbits downstairs luckily my parents don’t care. Where is he housed now?
 
that sounds good okay thanks. he WAS in my bedroom, i cleared it out so there were no cords and he could run around and he loved it but we decided to put him in the living room now. we have hardwood floors and it's usually where guests gather yknow so I dont know if i can put an x pen there
 
that sounds good okay thanks. he WAS in my bedroom, i cleared it out so there were no cords and he could run around and he loved it but we decided to put him in the living room now. we have hardwood floors and it's usually where guests gather yknow so I dont know if i can put an x pen there
That sounds great! If you decide to get an x-pen I would just simply measure it before you buy it and go around your house and see where it could possibly fit. Also, if you do end up using an x-pen make sure to have some foam mats or a flooring other then hardwood floors because it’s hard for rabbits to walk on hardwood floors. I even put large comforter blankets on the floor for my rabbits and they work good as well. I really hope this helps~~~~~ also your rabbit is so adorable!!
 
that sounds good okay thanks. he WAS in my bedroom, i cleared it out so there were no cords and he could run around and he loved it but we decided to put him in the living room now. we have hardwood floors and it's usually where guests gather yknow so I dont know if i can put an x pen there
I keep our rabbits in the main living area of the home. Once a rabbit is potty trained, they can run around more often in a bunny-proofed area (doesn't have to be an ex-pen). I didn't like the idea of having an ex-pen in our living area, so I found it easier to just open the cage door and let them run around at will. I would block off certain rooms or areas to keep them confined to certain places. In the photo, they have run of the downstairs except the door to an office/den is kept closed and the stairs are blocked off. This is how we integrated a rabbit cage into our main living area. The cage door is opened first thing in the morning and closed before we head upstairs to bed.
1586538246751.png

This is just to give an idea of how a rabbit can be part of the family. Guests would come over and be so surprised to see the rabbits, because there wasn't any odor to give them away.
 
I keep our rabbits in the main living area of the home. Once a rabbit is potty trained, they can run around more often in a bunny-proofed area (doesn't have to be an ex-pen). I didn't like the idea of having an ex-pen in our living area, so I found it easier to just open the cage door and let them run around at will. I would block off certain rooms or areas to keep them confined to certain places. In the photo, they have run of the downstairs except the door to an office/den is kept closed and the stairs are blocked off. This is how we integrated a rabbit cage into our main living area. The cage door is opened first thing in the morning and closed before we head upstairs to bed.
View attachment 46431

This is just to give an idea of how a rabbit can be part of the family. Guests would come over and be so surprised to see the rabbits, because there wasn't any odor to give them away.
Super interesting set up I really like it, I'm hoping to move in to something like that later on :)
 

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