Does anyone have a pet rabbit?
- Thread starter frogwoman
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Puddy_Tat
naturally fluffy
As for taking the rabbit for a walk I tried and it was more a case of going where the rabbit wanted to go.
with the neighbours' kids i mentioned, it was not quite clear who was taking who for a walk...
Our rabbits ate bales of the right weeds which was a bonus. This would need checking carefully because relying on my memory would not be wise but I remember they loved goosegrass (sticky buds) thistles chickweed dandelions and daisies
existentialist
Tired and unemotional
I used to feed Dylan the offcuts from calabrese/broccoli, beans, carrots, etc. I had things set up so his cage was just the other side of the worktop. If he saw (or heard) me chopping vegetables, he'd run into it and wait for me to drop the bits over the back of the countertop...thud unk unk unk
Don't give them too much wet veg (eg lettuce), as it can upset their digestion. Don't give them cooked stuff, either. A bit of fresh fruit is fine - the odd grape, a bit of apple, a strawberry (definitely feed your rabbit a strawberry - it's massively cute) - but they're not llke us, and their digestive system is very well adapted to hay/grass, and not very much else.
The best playthings are bits they can chuck around and also chew. Like WouldBe says, something they can chew on - you can buy suitable bits of wood, and if they've got something that makes a bit of a noise attached when they fling it around the room, so much the better. Mine always liked the odd plastic flowerpot to lob around, and there are various very chewy things in the pet shops. Don't just give them any old wood, though - some of them are not good for rabbits.
existentialist
Tired and unemotional
One of the adoption sites I follow had a big Netherland Giant female - nothing like as huge as that one, but pretty damn big, the size of a medium dog.
ETA: I believe those ENORMOUS ones were bred in Germany, for meat. Also, hauling a bunny that size around is very likely to do it quite a lot of harm to its spine, as well as being massively stressful for the animal. Rabbits belong on the ground, and they should always and only end up off it because they've chosen to.
frogwoman
No amount of cajolery...
It doesn't look a very comfortable pose for the rabbit
existentialist
Tired and unemotional
They like their back legs on something solid. And if that's your stomach (or your nads), you'll know about that at departure time
frogwoman
No amount of cajolery...
So once you have dealt with the cables issue how much attention do you need to give them? Can they be left alone while you are at work (or working from home) for example? existentialist
frogwoman
No amount of cajolery...
I actually really wanted one of those massive ones originally but if it's a similar issue to eg pugs and stuff that aren't 'designed' to look like that except when bred by humans, then maybe not
existentialist
Tired and unemotional
If you're going to be out much, then definitely get a pair - they'll keep each other company when you aren't there. But it is really important that you're there enough of the time to bond and engage with the rabbits, or they'll establish a rabbit hierarchy in which you don't really figure, and that's when misbehaviour and the annoying stuff starts.
It's a good idea to associate your arrival with some kind of treat, so give them something little-and-nice as you arrive back home. And do a certain amount of fussing around them when you leave. The rest of the time, if you've done your job properly, they'll come and find you. Dylan used to like sitting under the TV, because he thought I was looking at him, and not the TV, and that suited him nicely. Every now and again he'd pop over to do a little socialising/grooming, and then go and flop down under the telly again.
That kind of shit
WouldBe
Dislicksick
Mine used to nibble the dead twigs off the pine tree in the garden. She also liked the sharp leaves of pampas grass.
equationgirl
Respect my existence or expect my resistance
I had a Canadian Giant and an old English lop-eared rabbit when I was younger, then a pygmy rabbit who lived with a guinea pig. I loved having rabbits.
Epona
Sonic: 1 Nov 2006 - 8 Jan 2022
Please be sure to get any rabbits you have vaccinated - it used to be once every 6 months when I last had rabbits but check with your vet. Had one get ill and have to be put to sleep once due to what are now preventable diseases in pet rabbits. Horrendous (the main culprits are haemorrhagic viruses that cause them to bleed internally, not a good way to go and with high mortality rates - vaccinations must be kept up with even for indoor rabbits, it isn't optional)
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existentialist
Tired and unemotional
I don't think it's as often as every 6 months, now. I'm pretty sure it's a year, but now you've mentioned that, I will be sure to check it when I get mine and register them at the vet's.
ETA: Advice on rabbit vaccinations & health | RSPCA
So it looks like it's annual.
Epona
Sonic: 1 Nov 2006 - 8 Jan 2022
Annual is good, an improvement on when I last had rabbits! Just be sure to get it done and keep up with it, the diseases that are protected against are real killers with high mortality rates. It is not something that any pet or human that loves them should have to go through - and thankfully doesn't have to be.
existentialist
Tired and unemotional
And not only high mortality rates, but painful and unpleasant deaths for the animal (and sometimes the owner - the unpleasantness, not the death, obvs).Annual is good, an improvement on when I last had rabbits! Just be sure to get it done and keep up with it, the diseases that are protected against are real killers with high mortality rates. It is not something that any pet or human that loves them should have to go through - and thankfully doesn't have to be.
not-bono-ever
meh
Had a few . Need lots of handling. There is a wonderful smell from a rabbits fur , especially f they spend a decent amount of time outdoors
not-bono-ever
meh
Mad run thing is called binky iirc
Epona
Sonic: 1 Nov 2006 - 8 Jan 2022
I've had 3 rabbits in my life - some time ago now however - IME they are not always particularly affectionate or interactive pets - but they are interesting, they hop around doing their own thing and (if tame ofc) take food that you offer and have a sniff around and might sit on your lap for a bit if they are in the mood for it - although they can be quite nervous in unfamiliar surroundings, when they feel safe they are quite inquisitive and playful - they generally LOVE to have a football to push around and chase after, and other toys - ones they can chew to keep their teeth worn down and healthy are good, they really do need appropriate things to chew as their incisors will get overgrown otherwise.
I admit - I got totally fed up with rabbit shit. Despite numerous attempts at training, they shit continually and copiously. My kids failed to maintain even vague boundaries - one of them (rabbits) would hop on the bed with daughter and chew all the bedding, pillows and even daughter's hair. And yeh, the cables and plugs thing too.
I banned them in the end and changed over to free-range Russian hamsters (which at least had dedicated pooing areas).
In a long, long pet-owning history (and animal-loving offspring) we have been through rats, mice, gerbils, guinea-pigs, a crow, rabbits, geckoes and bearded dragons, fish, terrapins, ants, stick-insects, hamsters, chickens, as well as cats and dogs. I refused pigs, ducks and horses.
In another life, I fantasise about a fur, faeces, feather and flea-free environment. When my last dog carks, I am getting her posed and stuffed as the ideal pet.
Obvs, feeling a bit disgruntled today, having surveyed the remains of my spring border - disinterred bulbs, wrecked beds with giveaway paw work, remains of an old bone and a couple of poos hiding underneath a shredded hellebore.
I banned them in the end and changed over to free-range Russian hamsters (which at least had dedicated pooing areas).
In a long, long pet-owning history (and animal-loving offspring) we have been through rats, mice, gerbils, guinea-pigs, a crow, rabbits, geckoes and bearded dragons, fish, terrapins, ants, stick-insects, hamsters, chickens, as well as cats and dogs. I refused pigs, ducks and horses.
In another life, I fantasise about a fur, faeces, feather and flea-free environment. When my last dog carks, I am getting her posed and stuffed as the ideal pet.
Obvs, feeling a bit disgruntled today, having surveyed the remains of my spring border - disinterred bulbs, wrecked beds with giveaway paw work, remains of an old bone and a couple of poos hiding underneath a shredded hellebore.
existentialist
Tired and unemotional
Yeah, pretty much any pets are a guarantee of bodily waste and the shredding of gardens in some form or another. If you value your camellias, for example, free-range rabbits are not a good option
. Dylan (house rabbit #1) did tend to leave small collections of dry poo around as territory markers, but was very good about only weeing in his cage. Or, on rare occasions, on my feet if I'd been spending too long on the computer... 
Yeah, pretty much any pets are a guarantee of bodily waste and the shredding of gardens in some form or another. If you value your camellias, for example, free-range rabbits are not a good option
Grief, forgot to mention the ferrets! Continual escapees. I also have horrible memories of live cockroaches and crickets, destined to be food for the ants (which I agreed to thinking 'what can go wrong'?). My youngest did an animal management course at the local ag.college...every holiday and half-term meant temporary adoptions of a range of animals. The worst, by a long, long way were ducks. We looked after a pair for 2 weeks - never again. Duck shit is grim and the garden wrecking was truly stupendous.The torties, otoh, were a joy and I would have another in a heartbeat.
Just about staying sane with a pair of seemingly immortal (and huge) goldfish and one obedient (ish) sheepdog. The crow was the most entertaining...mainly because it didn't actually live with us...just hung about on the pergola, waiting (impatiently) for it's morning ramekin to be filled (it tapped the glass until we complied. It stayed around for years, sometimes vanishing for a few weeks, then we would hear the cawing and tapping of it's food dish. It also saw off quite a few rampaging neighbourhood cats...
Epona
Sonic: 1 Nov 2006 - 8 Jan 2022
I loved my tortoise. Also miss having goldfish, we used to have some but the pump packed up on a hot day and we got home from work to find them all deceased, very upsetting. Apparently they can live for 30+ years! Ours were about 10 years old I think.
I have lost track of the years. They were abandoned (by daughter) some time in the 90s. Their names are Fabio and Goldie (as a clue to their longevity). I blame the bloodworms (and ridiculously massive tank) for their unreasonable size and age...but yeah, I have become unaccountably fond of them over the years. The danios diminished down to the last pair (am resisting getting more despite them being sociable fish) and the loach finally went to the infinite piscine heaven last year.
existentialist
Tired and unemotional
farmerbarleymow
I'm Petee's spirit animal
I've always wanted ferrets - lovely little beasts and clearly don't give a shit about humans.
