Ummm, I just got a mini lop rabbit today

[DwarfGirl]

This girl that had a mini lop rabbit (I thinkthey are called dwarf lops in UK? hes the 5 pound size) and she said heisnt working out and he isnt getting the attention he needs and she wasgoing to take him to the humane society so i decided to keep himwhilei look for a new home for him instead. she wasperfectly okay with this she didnt really seem to caremuchabout what happened to him. he is really cuteand friendly and i am tempted to just keep him but i dont know anythingabout rabbits (and she doesnt seem to either). she had beenusing him for breeding for the past few months but i dont know what sheis doing with the babies. he is 7 1/2 months old.he is in a cage that seems big enough to me but im not sure, he hastoys but hes been living on a bare wire floor and all hes had to eat isjust rabbit pellets. from what ive read already that doesntsound like the proper diet and the wire floor looks uncomfortable tome. Ive cleaned the cage, gave him fresh water, put somelitter in the pan under the cage and put some thick newspaperpaddingover half the wire floor.

one thing that concerns me is that even thought the girl said he doesntbite,this rabbit has already bitten my 8 year daughter twicewithout provokation. is he a mean rabbit or is he just understress from the move? I wont even consider keeping him if hehas biting issues but if its something that will stop after he getsused to his new surroundings then i candeal with that.

he bit her right after i took this picture

 

[Butterfinger]

Welcome to the forum!
And....poor bunny.. Personally, I'd give him a couple weeksso he can settle in and kinda relax, but it might just be hormonalproblems. Is he fixed? Many rabbits will havetempermental problems when they're unaltered (Mine doesn't, but fromwhat everyone else says on the forum, it seems like mine is quite therarity.)
Usually, after being altered, they calm down a LOT, but you have togive it anywhere from a few weeks to a few months for their hormones tobalence out.
Hope that helped some
(P.S. All my rabbits have lived on wire without a problem, but for somerabbits, it can give them sore hocks; where they get bald patches andwounds on the bottom of their feet, so if yours is inside, I'd give hima different floor, just to be safe)

 

[DwarfGirl]

No, he isnt fixed, she was using him forbreeding for some reason. hmmm are rabbits as expensive toneuter as dogs and cats?

One of the times he bit her was right after I took a picture. could he have been disturbed by the flash?

the other time she was just holding him but he was totally supportedand wasnt struggling or anything.she was half sitting/halflayingon the bed at the time.

both times he was just sitting there and then just decided to bite for who knows why.

I read that they need hay available to eat at all times. isthat true should i get some? i guess there is nothing else heneeds. i will probably give him carrots and cabbage now andthen just for a treat.

how much time does he need to spend out of his cage every day?

that cage is big enough right?

 

[Michaela]

Firstly, hello and welcome to RO!:wave:

Now to answer some of your questions

Yes, hay at all times is a must for bunnies, definitely get some.

Maybe you could put some chloroplast of even wood or cardboard down onthe bottom of the cage, some people agree with keeping them on wirefloors but I don't under any circumstances, can you imagine how itwould feet to be standing on wire all the time?

I suppose it might have been the flash that disturbed him, but rememberthis is a whole new place for him, give him a few days or a week tosettle, then see what he's like, he probably feels scared and anxious(rabbits scare very easily because they are naturally prey animals.)

If he's not used to veggies in the diet, introduce them gradually,otherwise it could upset his stomach, just give him a little biteveryday, not too much carrot though, high sugar content. Great fortreats!!

The size of the cage, well I guess as long as he's not in it all dayand he's getting free time out around the house it's ok, but if yourgoing to keep him full time why not build him an NIC cage, a lot ofmembers have them - they are so much cheaper than shop cages and as bigas you want to make them, heres the thread,
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=15348&forum_id=21

Hope I've been of some help!

 

[JadeIcing]

:yeahthat

:hello:welcome1

 

[bluebird]

None of my male rabbits bite and they are notneutered.moving him should not cause him too bite.did he draw blood orwas it a little nibble.I would not feed him any cabbage it is verygassy.He really looks like a holland lop as i have never seen a minilopthat color.you cant always tell by the size i have had registered minilops that weighed 4 lbs and holland lops that weighed 6.bluebird

 

[DwarfGirl]

Michaela wrote:

Firstly, hello and welcome to RO!:wave:

Now to answer some of your questions

Yes, hay at all times is a must for bunnies, definitely get some.

Maybe you could put some chloroplast of even wood or cardboard down onthe bottom of the cage, some people agree with keeping them on wirefloors but I don't under any circumstances, can you imagine how itwould feet to be standing on wire all the time?

I suppose it might have been the flash that disturbed him, but rememberthis is a whole new place for him, give him a few days or a week tosettle, then see what he's like, he probably feels scared and anxious(rabbits scare very easily because they are naturally prey animals.)

If he's not used to veggies in the diet, introduce them gradually,otherwise it could upset his stomach, just give him a little biteveryday, not too much carrot though, high sugar content. Great fortreats!!

The size of the cage, well I guess as long as he's not in it all dayand he's getting free time out around the house it's ok, but if yourgoing to keep him full time why not build him an NIC cage, a lot ofmembers have them - they are so much cheaper than shop cages and as bigas you want to make them, heres the thread,
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=15348&forum_id=21

Hope I've been of some help!

Yes, your post helps! I saw cages like that in your link butwhere do I get the grid thingies (but I dont know if im keeping him ornot, so far its just been an idea cause i really know nothing aboutrabbits)? I have never seen them anywhere before.Also how much out of cage time does he need everyday. Shouldwe be playing with him right now orshould we leave him alonea couple days before handling him anymore?

 

[DwarfGirl]

bluebird wrote:

None of my male rabbits bite and they are notneutered.moving him should not cause him too bite.did he draw blood orwas it a little nibble.I would not feed him any cabbage it is verygassy.He really looks like a holland lop as i have never seen a minilopthat color.you cant always tell by the size i have had registered minilops that weighed 4 lbs and holland lops that weighed6.bluebird

The first bite cause a swollen red mark and the second bite (the one right after i took the picture) drew blood.

If its not stress from being in a new home why do you think he is biting?

I didnt know about the cabbage i read somewhere that cabbage is goodfor them. i am going to feed veggies as an ocassional treatwhat kinds should i feed him?

 

[Snuggys Mom]

MiniLop wrote:

Ididnt know about the cabbage i read somewhere that cabbage is good forthem. i am going to feed veggies as an ocassional treat whatkinds should i feed him?

I feed mine dark, leafy lettuces (not Iceberg lettuce - it causesdiarrhea). I also give Italian parsley andcilantro. You can give him a little cabbage, but a lot of itwill cause stomach issues.

Here's some info on safe foods:

http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=13618&forum_id=17

 

[DwarfGirl]

okay, i cant give him out of cage time until hes potty trained cause he peed all over my bed.

 

[Snuggys Mom]

That means he liked it and wanted to claim it as his!

Do you have an area with linoleum or such where he can exercise?

 

[DwarfGirl]

Snuggys Mom wrote:

That means he liked it and wanted to claim it as his!

Do you have an area with linoleum or such where he can exercise?

yeah i gues thats the only place we can have him out, thats too bad thoi would like to have him around more than just on the linoleum and inhis cage.

 

[maherwoman]

Hi! Welcome to Rabbits Only!!

I know what you mean...I'd like to give my Maisie more freedom, butshe, too, has some insatiable urge to pee on soft things (blankets,etc.), so I keep her in the main portion of the livingroom.She's not much of a jumper, so it's not much problem.

About the grids, you can find them at places like Target, Bed Bath andBeyond, etc. Just look around in homey-type stores likethat. I've heard they're on sale at Target right now for$12.99 (and there are approx 24 panels to a box). You caneasily build a good-sized NIC cage (which is what most people 'roundhere call them) for approx $100...and wind up building one that's agood deal larger than any prefab cage that price. Not only that, but YOU get to design it, and you canchange it around in the future, if necessary.

Check around on the "Cages & Hutches: Housing Your Rabbit"thread in the Rabbit 101 section. LOTS of good informationand good sites there.
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=11792&forum_id=17

If you need any tips about how to build an NIC cage, or have anyquestions...feel absolutely free to post something about it in the mainRabbits Only section. That way more people will see yourquestion(s) and you'll get much more feedback.

Oh, and one more thing...my Maisie has grazed us with her teeth (shepinched me once) a few times. When she does it, it's mostlyout of fear or surprise, or she wants more attention. I'msure if you gave your bun a larger cage, he'd start calmingdown. I think the size of his cage could be frustrating him,to some level.

Anyway, welcome to the site! We're happy to haveyou!! Feel free to browse around the Rabbit 101 section, andask any and all questions you have in whatever section of the forumit'd fit into (more than likely it'll be the Rabbits Onlysection). We're all here for ya...we'd love to give you moreinformation you can handle!!

Enjoy!

Rosie*