Soon to be new bunny owner - Advice Please!!

[jojo]

Hello - I am so excited I am getting my first bunny (mini lop) in about3 weeks and have been doing loads of reading/shopping and buying ofbooks. I was wondering if anyone can give a few hints and tips for thebeginning, i.e first car journey, settling bunny into his new home,general tips so that the move away from his family are not toostressful.

Thank you!

From a very excited bunny mummy-to-be !



Ps Any ideas on different bunny names much appreiciated (wite bunny with tan spotting - very sweet!)

 

[Jenni]

I got my house bunny, Gretchen, about a month ago. I did about 6 months of research before I got her.

She is great.

Congratulations. I bet you can barely wait.

Jenni + Gretchen Bun

 

[naturestee]

Hi! Welcome to the forum!

There's lots of info in the Bunny 101 section. Have you checked it out yet?

As for beginning tips, get the same brand of food that he's being fedright now. You can slowlyswitch toa newbrand if you want after he's settled in, but it's best to use what he'sused to in the beginning. Have the cage set up and ready, andwhen you get/build a cage plan enough space for him as an adult,including standing up all the way. I've found that most cagesmade for rabbits are barely adequate for dwarfs, much less amini-lop. When you get him home, put him in his cage andleave him alone for at least a few hours so he can settle in and feelsafe.

Congratulations!

 

[jojo]

Thank you for your help - The only thing is, Ihave got a spacious area esp. for bun, however, I have looked at cagesas I only realy want a cage for when he is young although he willalways have a living quarter on top of the cage. All the cages eitherseem massive (as the cage will be in his living areas) or too small orlow for a bunny to live in happily.

Is there anither solution, where the bunny can be safe, or is a cage an absolute must?

This forum is soooo helpful and everyone is so friendly too, thanks again

 

[naturestee]

You will need a cage to start with. Itwill help with litter training plus it will prevent him from destroyingeverything. Even with everything perfectly bunnyproofed, abun can still do a lot of damage. Especially a naughty baby.

What options have you looked at? Have youlooked NICcages (grid cages), dog crates, or dog exercise pens? Theseare what I prefer, and the NIC cages and exercise pens are extremelyversatile. If you haven't already, check out the Bunny 101thread:

Cages and Hutches: Housing Your Rabbit

And this is a thread where members show off their cages:

Cages Only

Maybe inspiration will strike!

 

[Jenni]

That's a great thread. Check it out! I spent some time on it yesterday.

Gretchen has a large wire dog crate for her cage. It looksnice in my living room. I put a loft in it yesterday using apine board and some zip ties.

 

[Pet_Bunny]

The first thing I did with Pebbleswhen I brought her home was to startlitter training. Her cage washuge, so I blocked half of the cage tokeep her movements restricted until she was good with thelitter box.
If I brought her out of thecage, onto the kitchen floor, Ihad four or five litter boxes in each corner so shehad lots of chances to get her habit right.

She was very good after 5 days.

Hint: You can make temporary litter boxes out ofthe small cardboard boxes like chocolate boxes,so you can have extraboxesaround until training is done. Put somepackaging tape on the bottom to keep them waterproof.

Rainbows!

 

[jojo]

and here he/she is .... ( the breeder is notentirely sure yet as I think it is a bit difficult to tell, I shouldknow soon though)

Sooo tiny, has anyone got any different names ideas?

Can't wait - how come 3 weeks is feeling like 3 decades??!!

 

[Jenni]

Awwww! She(or he)is adorable!

((((Bunny hugs!)))))

I had a hard time naming Gretchen. She was nameless for about a week. Nothing seemed right.

I was going to name her Dutchess, but I couldn't remember it and kept calling her Gretchen instead.

Sometimes the names just come to you.

I also did some web searches for bunny names. There are some great ideas out there online.

Jenni + Gretchen Bun