Torn about getting a new rabbit

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Luluznewz

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Santa Cruz, California, USA
I just wanted to share with everyone my dilemma to see if anyone had opinions or something to make me feel better.

I've been trying to find a nice big new hutch for Lulu. This means craigslist...which means all the ads for homeless rabbits.

I saw this one named Charlie. The ad was from a very responsible person saying how much they loved their pet, but their new baby was allergic. It went on to say that Charlie loves to snuggle with his people, watches tv, is neutered, potty trained, and sort of perfect sounding.

Then I saw a picture. Charlie is black and white, JUST like Lulu, except he is a lop...SO CUTE. I sort of melted.

I really want another rabbit. I want a friend for Lulu because I think it would improve her quality of life. And Charlie seems so sweet...

But I'm renting and I need to find a new place this summer, and that might be hard with another rabbit. I don't know what to do. I was going to get him but then I talked to my mother (yeah I know, always a bad idea) and she made it seem like it was a really bad plan.

I want to be responsible and make sure its the right thing to do. I know that it actually wouldn't be much different care wise than one rabbit, and I know that I could handle and love it. I just dont want other people (like my new landlords and mother) to think its crazy.

Any advice?

 
Do landlords require pet deposits for rabbits? I'm not absolutely certain if its the norm, but my cousins boyfriends mom was an apartment manager and she said they don't ask for deposits on anything other than cats, dogs and fishtanks over 50gallons so her son had reptiles in their apartment growing up.
I think alot of people assume rabbits are a low maintenance pet and are kept in cages for most if not all the time. Kinda like very large hamsters. I'm not sure that two rabbits would raise a red flag any more than one rabbit would to a landlord. I think your mom may see is as crazy because she's been around you and your rabbit and sees the amount of care and they need and possible destruction they can cause (chewing, shedding, urine stains)
You could call around to a few apartment complexes first and ask them about their pet policies concerning rabbits though just to be safe and sure.



Edit: My apologies to anyone with hamsters in their homes free roaming or caged. I've never had hamsters, so my knowledge of how much maintenance they actually require is zilch. I am one of those people that assumes they are kept in cages if not foran occasional run around in a plastic ball.
 
As far as I know, hamsters don't do free-roam. I had a guy come into the humane society once to talk about his gerbils that were free roaming in his house, but I think he was a little "off." My hammies are in cages except when I take them out to play (supervised).

It's true that many apartment people think of rabbits on the same line as hamsters and guinea pigs, caged most of the time. Some do know about how destructive they can be. You'll just have to see what people think. I've had places that allow cats flat out turn me down, although rabbits smell a lot less than cats; and I've had places where they didn't require any extra fees or pet deposits for the rabbits.

Make sure you ask about pet policies before getting a showing so as to not waste anybody's time, though.

As for the bunny, my main concerns are these. Is Lulu spayed? Can you keep them separate during the bonding process, which can take months? Do you have at least 15 min a day to devote to bonding, for several weeks? What is your plan in case they don't bond? I would take Lulu to meet him for a first date to see if they fight immediately--that would be a sign that it won't work out. If they don't circle or fight on the first meeting, it will probably work if you have time to put into bonding them.

BTW, I hate craigslist. It's so sad what's on there. If you can save a bunny off of there, it's a great thing.
 
Lulu is spayed, and any rabbit I would consider getting would be a neutered male that was at least 6 months old.

Do you guys think having two rabbits in an apartment would send any more red flags then one? I already have Lulu, so no matter what I do I'm going to have to find a way to take her with me. The big question is will having two push homeowners over the edge.

In case it matters, i'm looking to rent a house, not an apartment. Sometimes that makes a difference. My concern is that housing is extraordinarily competitive here. Its just so easy for home owners to find other people to rent to.

But like I said. Lulu is coming with me no matter what. I'm just concerned that having TWO rabbits would completely freak out home owners.

I suppose the best thing to do would be to let this poor little guy go and look into a new rabbit once i move this summer.

I feel like such a little kid, whining about getting something I want.
 
Well, I don't know if it's worse with two or one. It may be good for them to know that she has a buddy and won't be lonely, but it also may sound like too many pets. It's one of those things that's hard to predict what the landlord will think.
 
I think it's just all about finding the right place to rent - and depends a lot on who your landlord will be.

I rent - and I have a lot of pets, including 3 rabbits and a dog. When we where looking for a new place it was kind of hard to find one that would accept a dog, but a lot of landlords didn't care too much about the rabbits. We just told them that we had small, caged rabbits. I can only remember I think 1 landlord who outright said no to rabbits. Most of the problems we had where because of the dog (who we didn't actually have yet at the time, but we knew we wanted to get a dog).

I guess you can never really guess ahead of time what people will say. But it seems like you have the luxury to be able to look around and find an apartment where you will be able to keep your rabbits. If you get a 2nd rabbit after you already move, what would you do if the landlord found out and wasn't happy about it? If you got one now, you could specifically look for a place that was okay with you having 2 of them.

That's just how I see it I guess. When we where looking for a new apartment I was very upfront about what pets we had and what pets we would potentially want to bring in in the future (the dog). We made sure we found a landlord who was okay with them, because I would hate to have had them find out later on down the line and have to move suddenly.
 
I lived in my apartment for almost 11 years. I didn't need to pay a deposit or extra rent for my rabbits. I started with one rabbit and by the time I moved I had four of my own and a foster.I had maintance in there in few times. No one ever said anything. I guess it was because I kept my rabbit area reasonably clean and smell free. All my rabbits were kept in x-pens.
 

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