Rabbits are unique animals. Although they aren't difficult to care for, they do have special needs that differ from many other small pets. Please read through this in order to familiarize yourself with the basic needs of your new pet.
Once you get your new bunny home, please set him/her up in their new cage in a quiet area of the house and limit handling. Bunnies can get easily stressed and spooked which could be fatal to your new bun. Wait a few weeks before introducing them to the more active parts of the house. Also, please find yourself a rabbit-savvy vet before you need one.
11895 Jones Bridge Rd. Ste. 210
Johns Creek, GA 30005
770-569-7298
Recommended Links:
http://adoptarabbit.org/articles/toxic.html (Extensive list of plants toxic to rabbits)
http://www.3bunnies.org/understanding.htm#communication (Bunny communication)
http://www.rabbit.org/faq/ (All kinds of good bunny information)
Once you get your new bunny home, please set him/her up in their new cage in a quiet area of the house and limit handling. Bunnies can get easily stressed and spooked which could be fatal to your new bun. Wait a few weeks before introducing them to the more active parts of the house. Also, please find yourself a rabbit-savvy vet before you need one.
- Pellets - Baby bunnies should be able to eat all the pellets that they want for the first few months. I feed all of my bunnies ADM Pen Pals 18% and I purchase it from West Walton Feed in Oxford. As they get older, their pellet amount may be reduced to 1 oz per pound of body weight. Pellets will go stale and lose their nutritional value so if you buy a large bag, you should store the pellets in a plastic container to maintain freshness. Ideally, you will feed a pellet that is 14 to 16% protein. Once you pick a particular pellet, be sure to stick with it. Bunnies have very sensitive digestive systems and should not be fed different brands of pellets from time to time. If you want to switch your particular brand, always transition them to the new brand over time.
- Timothy Hay - More important than feeding pellets is Timothy Hay. Bunnies should always have access to hay at all times. This is essential to their diet as their life depends on it. They can get “wool block” from licking their fur and could die. Rabbits lack the ability to vomit and therefore they cannot cough up a hairball like a cat would. The Timothy Hay helps to prevent this. Hay also helps to wear their teeth down.
- Chewing - Bunnies need to chew. Their teeth grow continuously and without some wood to chew on, the teeth could grow into their skull. You may have access to some “free wood” for them to chew on. Wood from the trees of apples, pears, willow trees, etc. are all good. Bark and leaves from trees that produce a fruit with a solid pit (peaches, cherry, plum, etc) are toxic to rabbits! Just remember that because the fruit is edible, doesn’t mean the bark and leaves are safe. They also love to chew paper – which is okay for them. I give mine cardboard boxes to play in and gnaw on. Also, watch your electrical cords or anything on the floor – they will chew it! I also will collect pine cones and roast them at 200 degrees for about 45 minutes to kill anything like mites that could be living on them and give the pinecones to the bunnies to chew on. They love them and it makes the house smell so good.
- Fresh vegetables – No fresh fruits or veggies until your bun is 4-6 months of age! After then, bunnies should have about a cup of fresh vegetables every day. They love kale, cilantro, parsley, basil, turnip greens, collard greens – most green leafy vegetables. Carrots are actually high in sugar and should be given in very limited quantities. You should avoid iceberg lettuce as its water content is very high and could cause diarrhea which is fatal to rabbits! They also love apples and bananas (most fruits) but avoid the seeds as apple seeds contain small amounts of cyanide which could kill your bun! Again, watch how much “watery” fruits you give them (watermelon, grapes, etc.) There are extensive lists of bunny safe foods on the internet and I recommend you Google to see what is safe or toxic to bunnies. If you’re not sure, it’s best not to give it to them! You probably have access to some free fresh greens if you know what is okay to give them – I give mine dandelions (the stems and the flowers), Willow tree leaves, roses – to just name a few.
- Exercise – your bunny needs time outside of its cage. At least an hour a day is recommended but many people choose to litter train their rabbit and give them more time outside of their cage, than inside the cage. I personally have several bunnies that are never put in a cage. Just make sure that the area that your bunny will be spending most of his time it bunny-proofed.
- Bedding – Do not use wood shavings in your bunny cage. They emit gases which are toxic to most small animals and can cause respiratory illnesses. Most people recommend wood pellets made from soft wood. These can be bought in hardware stores and are known as wood stove pellets or you can get them from a store like Tractor Supply which sells them as Equine Pine. I buy a large bag for about $6 and it lasts me about a month or so. Some other recommended beddings are Yesterday’s News, Feline Pine, and Carefresh. Please note: do not use cat litter, your bunny will try to eat it and it can cause severe internal blockage that may result in death.
- Bunnies will poop where they eat so they should be fed in or near their litter box.
- Bunnies are pretty low maintenance. They don’t require any vaccinations and very little grooming but they do need to have their nails clipped. Bathing is generally not recommended. You can use a damp cloth to wipe your bunny down.
- Bunnies love to burrow. This need can be fulfilled by giving them a stack of newspaper or a magazine.
- Bunnies like to play. You can create some toys for them to play with using items around your house. Cardboard boxes are very entertaining to bunnies. I also use the tubes from paper towel rolls and toilet paper rolls to do a few things. You can cut one up into several rings the bunnies can toss around. You can stuff hay inside the tube, which is pretty entertaining for them as well as provides a neater way of giving them their hay. You can also use an empty tissue box to stuff hay in for them.
- Bunnies have their own unique way of communicating with you. They will bump their head into your foot to nudge you when they want attention. They have “happy hops” and they flatten themselves and put their ears back when they’re scared. They will also thump when they feel they are in danger. Again, Google can help you to learn all about what your bun is trying to say to you.
- If your bunny gets sick, you should take him/her to the vet right away. Many illnesses are life threatening to bunnies and what may appear to you as being a common cold could potentially kill your rabbit. You will know if bunny is sick because he/she is not eating or drinking or if they have diarrhea.
- I highly recommend getting your bunny spayed or neutered by an experienced rabbit veterinarian. Rabbits that are fixed will be less likely to exhibit destructive behaviors and it will increase their life span. Rabbits that are not fixed typically live to the age of 5, where a bunny that has been spayed or neutered can live 10-12 years. There is a mobile unit that will fix rabbits for $60 depending on their gender. See more info at www.mybudgetvet.com. If they don’t service your area, there is a vet in Johns Creek that may be more convenient that offers low cost spay neuter for rabbits on the first and third Wednesday of the month. It is:
11895 Jones Bridge Rd. Ste. 210
Johns Creek, GA 30005
770-569-7298
- If, at any time, you no longer wish to keep your rabbit, I will gladly take the rabbit back – no refunds and no questions asked. If you need to surrender your bunny to me, you will need to provide me with the rabbit’s cage and supplies as well. This makes re-homing bunnies so much easier. People are more willing to adopt a bunny if it comes with its cage and similar surroundings, such as its own cage, help make the transition easier on the bunny. Thanks for understanding!
Recommended Links:
http://adoptarabbit.org/articles/toxic.html (Extensive list of plants toxic to rabbits)
http://www.3bunnies.org/understanding.htm#communication (Bunny communication)
http://www.rabbit.org/faq/ (All kinds of good bunny information)