Housing: A condo is a much more enjoyable living area than a cage. Your bunny will appreciate your time and effort in making their living quarters as large as you can. The levels of your bunny condo can be lined with carpet or rugs to make it easier on your bunny to jump from level to level. Condos are also great if you are not planning on giving your rabbit much ‘free range’ time out of the cage. Rabbits enjoy spending time with humans therefore their condo should be somewhere close to you (i.e. in a study, dining room, family room) Your rabbit should not be kept in a basement with no windows or a garage. YaY4HaY can build you a custom condo for about $150.00 which may seem expensive at first, but is well worth the money and your bunny will be much happier in a larger space. See our product section for pictures.
Food: Daily food intake should consist of quality pellets as well as hay and fresh vegetables. YaY4HaY solely distributes Martin Mill's products as the base for your small animal's diet. Pellet amounts depend on the size of your rabbit (see Small Animal Diet page for details).
Rabbits should also have an UNLIMITED supply of fresh hay. Hay is good for grinding down teeth and keeping the digestive track functioning normally. Store brand hay is often dry, tasteless, and not as nutritious as farm fresh hay.
Treats can also be given in moderation. Treats can include dehydrated fruits such as cranberries, raisins, papaya, pineapple, apple chips. Avoid giving your bunny to many sweets and do not give your bunny yogurt drops or other artificial treats that pet stores sell. They are hard to digest and may give your rabbit gas problems or diarrhea. Fresh fruits are also good, such as banana or apple, but should only be given once a week as they are high in natural sugars.
How to Store Hay: Hay should be stored in a cool dry place such as a garage or basement. Hay should be placed in a breathable container such as a RubberMaid or large plastic bin. The lid should be kept slightly ajar in order to allow air into the container so that the hay does not go mouldy. If hay is improperly stored it can form mould making it inedible for your small animals.
Litter Training: Your bunny can be litter trained. The key to this is to let your rabbit decide where the litter box should be placed. If a bunny is peeing in a certain corner all the time, place the litter box there. If you try to place it elsewhere the bunny will probably continue to pee in the area it likes, instead of the box. The best litter I have found is a compressed organic wood pellet. It absorbs well and keeps the smell down in the rabbit’s area. Our 40lb bag of wood pellets is $15.00; comparable products at the local pet store is a product called Yesterday’s News which retails for $18.99 + tax and is a smaller bag (30lbs).
DO NOT use wood shavings of any kind as they cause respiratory infections and you’ll end up with a sick bunny. Rabbits by nature do not smell, but their unclean litter box sure will! The litter box should be cleaned about twice a week, depending on how many rabbits are using the box.
Vet: You definitely need to get a bunny savvy vet when you adopt a rabbit. Regular vets will often claim to understand rabbits and will give you misguided information about their health. There is an excellent vet in Acton called the Acton Veterinary Clinic - 10 River Street (519) 853-1450. There is also a great rabbit and exotic pet vet in Guelph called Campus Estates - 1-1460 Gordon St. S. (519) 837-1212. If you live in the Toronto area then you may want to check out The Links Animals Hospital for your pets needs. They are located in the 401 & Yonge Street area at 41 The Links Road, Toronto, 416-223-1165.
Health: The most common health problem with rabbits is gas. A rabbit can not burp or throw up which means when they get gas it builds into a painful bubble and will often cause death if not treated immediately. It is difficult to tell if your rabbit has gas but the first warning signs are usually a bunny that won’t eat. If you put out your rabbit's favorite treats and they don't coming run for them, then there may be a problem. Monitor your bunnies eating and if they don't start eating by the next day a trip to the vets is warranted. This may seem extreme but a rabbit’s health can deteriorate quickly and within a day you may lose your bun to gas or GI stasis (another common health problem). Another way to tell if your rabbit has gas is if they keep moving around and laying down on their side, then get up and readjust their position, then lay down again on their side. Your bunny may be trying to move the gas bubble around. There is something you can do before calling the vet and that is to give your rabbit liquid ovol. Ovol is actually for children and can be found at any drug store in the baby aisle. A few doses of Ovol can quickly relieve your rabbit of gas. If you try Ovol and your bunny doesn’t return to normal behaviour and eating within approximately one day then a vet appointment is necessary. Ovol doses are determined by the weight of your rabbit.
Regular does are based on 40mg of Ovol (not the extra strength kind).
|
Weight of Rabbit |
Dose of 40mg Ovol in cc’s |
Weight of Rabbit |
Dose of 40mg Ovol in cc’s |
|
2-3lbs |
2.3 – 3.4 |
7-8 lbs |
8 – 9 |
|
3-4lbs |
3.4 – 4.5 |
8-9lbs |
9 – 10.2 |
|
4-5lbs |
4.5 - 5.7 |
9-10lbs |
10.2 – 11.4 |
|
5-6lbs |
5.7 – 6.8 |
10-11lbs |
11.4 – 12.5 |
|
6-7lbs |
6.8 – 8 |
11lbs + |
Just increase by 1.5cc approximately/ per pound of rabbit. |
This is a very useful tool. Do not worry about giving your rabbit too much ovol over the suggested amount. If you rabbit doesn’t have gas and you give it ovol nothing will happen. So if you suspect gas, better safe than sorry.
Neutering/Spaying: This is also a must, especially if you are adopting 2 bunnies. Your bunny will be calmer, have better litter habits, and will be more affectionate with you if spayed/neutered. There is a reason that people make fun of rabbits reproducing so much because an unaltered rabbit will mount/hump everything in sight! You are much better off with an altered bunny. The cost of spaying can vary but should not be more than $200 dollars….tops! Some vets (who don’t know much about rabbits) will quote you ridiculously high prices such as $400-500 for a spay/neuter. Female rabbits that are not spayed typically develop uterine cancer which will shorten its life span.
Toys: Rabbits love to play!! So make sure you provide your rabbit with plenty of toys. Toys may include store purchased cat toys or bird toys. If you let your rabbit out of their living area for some ‘free range’ time be sure you are monitoring them closely. A bored rabbit will chew and chew everything from telephone cords to computer wires, to baseboards, furniture, etc. Some rabbits do not develop this tendency to chew, but many do and therefore you will need to bunny proof their free range area. Use cable ties to bundle up wires and keep them off the floor.
Number of Rabbits: If you are planning on spending a great deal of time with your rabbit then having just 1 rabbit is good. Rabbits love to spend time with their human companions and can learn to love being picked up and carried around the house, or taken outside on a nice (not too hot) day in spring or summer. When I say a great deal of time, I mean hours each day should be spent socializing and playing with your bunny. If you do not have the time to spend with your bunny then a bonded pair may be best. Rabbits are social and enjoy having other rabbits around. Two is better than one. They will keep each other company and will have a companion to play with and someone to groom and snuggle with. Bonded pairs can be female/female or female/male (if both are spayed/neutered) or male/male. You can adopt two rabbits together who already live with one another or you can adopt them separately and bond them yourself. Bonding can often be difficult and time consuming and will not work out if the rabbits do not like each other. It is important to let your rabbit pick its mate. Any breed can bond with any breed. If you are adopting baby rabbits please note that two rabbits who get along well when young may not like each other when older. A previously bonded pair of baby bunnies may unbond when they have reached sexual maturity. The best way to ensure a pair of baby bunnies stays bonded is to have them neutered/spayed as soon as the vet recommends.
Warnings: Rabbits are not good pets for young children. They require a great deal of daily care and can be difficult to handle. Rabbits do not like to be picked up, but with time and effort will begin to trust their caregiver to pick them up and handle them. If you are considering a rabbit for a young child please reconsider!! Rabbits should not be bought as Easter gifts. Spontaneous Easter gifts often result in neglected rabbits that are forgotten about a year later and end up in a cage in the garage.
Also, keep in mind that rabbits can live anywhere from 5 to 12 years. This is a long commitment. If your child becomes bored of your rabbit what then? Domestic rabbits can not be released into the wild. They do not come from the wild and will die if released to the wild. Shelters are overrun with abandoned rabbits and euthanizing them daily.
Where to get a rabbit: The best place to obtain a rabbit is a local rescue group or shelter. Local shelters are a great place to pick out the new addition to your family. The last place to adopt a rabbit is from a pet store. Large pet chains do not provide their rabbits with proper medical care, so you may be ‘purchasing’ a rabbit that has numerous health problems, which will cost a great deal of money to treat. I also discourage against getting a rabbit from a breeder. These are ignorant people contributing to the abandoned rabbit population and are just out to make money.