New rabbit Owners

[Loz n Ebony]

I thought I'd put in a post giving advice to newrabbit ownersand I thought everyone couldcontributea little bit.

Okay.
Your rabbits wil need:
timothy hay
pellets
a good cage
water bottle
food bowl

Do not give your rabbit to many treats as this can make make yourrabbit very illl. The occasional treats are okay but too many couldeven kill your rabbit!
what do i mean by treats-carrots(which are okay so long as you dontgive your rabbits loads and loads) but iceburglettuce is adefinate no.

-Lauren and Ebony And Fidget
xooxox

 

[BunnyMommy]

I've also found that they'll need something like agrass mat (sea grass is good) to sit on while in the cage so that thebars don't hurt their little feet. They can also snack on thegrass mat and it won't harm them in any way.

 

[CuddlesMom]

Carrots are a no as a treat? I seen some people inhere that give there rabbits carrots..i have given my lil one a sliverof one....is it ok in moderation?

 

[pamela227]

Great list Loz n Ebony! Bunny safe litter is also important to have, NEVER use cat litter!

Bunnymommy what stores sellthose kind of grass mats? I use toget something similar to those at petco or petsmart orpetgoods lol I forget which, but they don't carry them anymore and Ihaven't been able to find any:?

Becareful with store bought treats as some contain high amounts ofsugar which is not good for the buns, use those treatssparingly! Moderation is the key with treats, and be sure tocheck the droppings, if they start getting squishy stop with the treatsand just give the bunny pellet food & hay & fresh waterof course!

Lettuce, the lighter colored leafkind like iceberg is nothealthy for rabbits, the darker leafed lettuce is ok as long as youdon't give too much of it and only give it occasionally. Carrots are okin moderation as well. Too many fruits/veggies at a time cancause diarehea.

In the post "Introducing greens" Bunnymommy & Carolyn postedthese 2 websites that tell what is ok to give & how much, canalways check them if you're not sure of how much or what to give theyare great sites!

http://helios.insnet.com/~hrs/dietcarefr.html<--Bunnymommyposted this link

http://earthhome.tripod.com/rabsafe.html<--Carolynposted this link

Just wanted to make sure I gave credit to the right ppl with the links

~pam

 

[NeverlandPrincess]

this has been vary helpful thank you

shana carder..netherland dwarf owner

 

[BunnyMommy]

Pam, you can get the grass mats at places likePier 1 Imports or Cost Plus. Make sure that they're untreatedand not bound with string. Sometimes the clerks don'tunderstand what you're talking about, so if you tell them door matsthey can usually get you to the general area of the store, and then youcan narrow down your choices to the appropriate one.

One place where they can be purchased online is:

http://www.forotherlivingthings.com/pages/7/17/

However, I was disappointed with the shipping costs. The costof the mats was very reasonable (I should have known there was a catch ), but the shipping costs came to $9.00 plus. My husbandsurprised me and ordered them for me, but had I known the cost of theshipping I would have tried to find them locally.

You can also use alternatives in the cage to protect the bunny's feet,such as an old feed bag, a piece of burlap, a cut piece of cardboard,or even a piece of plywood. The goal is to minimize contactbetween the bunny's feet and the cage floor.

Hope this helps!

 

[pamela227]

Thanks Bunnymommy! I had seen them in Pier 1 butwas hesitant to buy it cause I wasn't sure if it was ok to use or not.The cage I have has a plastic bottom so she's not on a wire bottom, butI wanted to get them for her cause she likes to lay on them &rip them apart lol

I checked out the link and calculated the shipping.. $6.33 was the cheapest :shock:

~pam

 

[bluebird]

You can buy plastic mats made just for bunnys at tractor supply.bluebird

 

[HankHanky]

Just want to get my nickles worth in on the subject of floor-wire.

There is absolutely no problem with housing your rabbits on floor wire1/2"X 1" This allows the droppings to fall throughandprovides the most healthy condition for your rabbit.Sore-Hocks are NOT caused by housing a rabbit on a Wire-floored cage,though they can be intensified by housing on a solid floor as thesore-hocks will soon be infected by walking through all the germs/fecesin the solid bottom cage. Sore-Hocks IS, in most cases a geneticproblem and can be corrected through proper breeding and cullingmethods. Unfortunately many of the BYB and or bunny Raisers SELL theserabbits which should NOT BE to unsuspecting newbies who are thensaddled with caring for the poorly bred/developed rabbit. There isabsolutely no reason to have rabbits with sore-hocks at this stage ofthe game. I realize that once one gets attached to their Pet they spareno expence. The problem lies with the inept unwilling BYB/rabbit raiserto let go as a feed source those animals/rabbits which they alreadyknow for a fact are NOT going to fair well without constant and costlymedical attention. The worst place to purchase a rabbit is from aPetshop. I emplore you to in the future, purchase your rabbit from aknowledgeable reputable breeder. A Breeder has too much as stake toknowingly sell a sickly ner-do-well rabbit to anyone but a meatprocessor. I hope I have not offended anyone. I just felt it neededsaying. My rabbits are all in wire-floored cages and NONE of them![Knock on wood! Have sore-Hocks! Good breeding is all it takes. JMPO.

Dennis,C.V.R.

 

[BunnyMommy]

Dennis, thanks so much for putting in a word about this.

If I may just ask a question to clarify, does this same thinking applyto the wires hurting the rabbit's feet? It was myunderstanding from reading different literature about the subject thatrabbit feet do not have padding as cats and dogs do, so constantpressure on the feet from the wires causes sores. Have Imisunderstand this?

Thanks in advance for your input!

EDITED TO ADD: Oh,dear! Inreading a little bit more I think that I've discovered that myuninitiated definition of "hocks" maynot be the same as whatyou're using. When I think of "hocks" I think of the bunny'sequivalent to our ankles. Is this the definition that you'reusing or are you actually speaking of the feet?

Thanks. Please forgive my ignorance as I continue myexploration of knowledge into the world of bunnies!