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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.
- This topic has 22sd replies, 11 voices, and was last updated 13 years, 6 months ago by
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A friend of mine has a youngish son who wants a pet. She knew I LOVE our bunnies and asked me what it was like to have a bunny. I sent her the following message, and I was wondering if you guys could tell me if I left anything out that I need to add!!
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I’d be delighted to tell you all about them!!
When I realized I wanted a bunny, I did some research and decided on a breed called a “Rex.” I wanted a Rex because they have the softest fur, and they also are known for their curious, silly personalities. The fur is right on the money… so soft it’s like mink. But the curious, silly personalities can lead to house damage, if you’re not careful – chewing on the walls, eating the carpet, etc. Just something to consider.
Many bunny people will tell you that you can’t have just one bunny… that’s really not true. If you give your bunny a lot of attention and love, he’ll be happy as a clam. We have two bunnies, and they both get tons of attention. It’s all in your preference.
If you get a bunny, you really need to get him or her fixed. Just like with dogs and cats, getting a bunny fixed takes care of a lot of teenage aggression, destruction tendencies, desire to hump your leg, and most important the risk of cancer. Domestic bunnies have a high risk of developing either ovarian or testicular cancer after a few years, and that risk utterly disappears after you get them fixed. It’s a few hundred dollars, usually, but it’s worth it to save you some heartache down the road.
Also just like dogs, every rabbit has a different personality.
Remy, our first bunny, is like a little spaz. He zooms around the room, doing flying leaps and mid-air 180s and he’s a little clown who makes everyone laugh. He also likes strangers and investigates any company we have, nosing them, licking their shoes, and even jumping on their shoulders to get a closer look.
Momo is much more laid back than Remy. She’s much bigger and lazier and prefers just hunkering down to be petted and loves to lick my nose and get kissed. She can’t stand strangers, and whenever anyone comes over, she hides and can rarely be persuaded to show herself.
All breeds of domestic bunny can be taught, very easily and naturally, to littertrain. However, just like dogs and cats, some stick to it much better than others. Remy is A-one about his littertraining, but Momo leaves little poops around sometimes. Thankfully, bunny poops are like peppercorns, dry and they leave no mark whatsoever. Now, if a bunny pees outside of its litterbox, a good, cheap product to use is white vinegar, which gets it right up and eliminates any smell. The easiest way to littertrain a bunny is to notice where they *want* to go… and just put a litterbox there! Voila.
Now, one thing you really should know about bunnies is that 90% of them do NOT like to be held. The thought behind this is that they are natural prey animals and having their feet off of the ground makes them extremely upset and nervous. Neither of our buns like being held, and every other bun I’ve ever heard of is the same. But, our buns LOVE getting petted, kissed, and played with… as long as it’s on the ground. If Zach wants a pet he can carry around all day, you might want to consider a different animal.
Another thing about bunnies is that their digestive systems are extremely sensitive. They are strict vegetarians… no human food allowed, whatsoever. If they so much as taste any animal product, they can die, because their systems can’t process it. Also, if your bunny ever doesn’t want to eat, sound the alarm bells. Bunnies should always, always want to eat, and if they don’t they may have a gas problem or what’s known as GI Stasis. This is one of the number one killers of bunnies. Momo occasionally gets gas, for whatever reason, and I have to wrestle her for an hour, force-feeding her dietary supplements and water until she feels better again.
Aside from these warnings… bunnies will usually present few serious troubles. The gas/GI Stasis issues will rarely be a problem if you feed your bunnies well, and the destruction of your house can easily be diminished if you keep your bunny happy. Also, clean, healthy bunnies don’t smell! That’s a big yay.
Thankfully, playing with a bunny is easy and can cost little to no money. A bunny will be even happier with a cardboard box or a paper towel roll than he will with an expensive bunny toy that you buy at Petsmart. We have cardboard TP and papertowel rolls all over and they provide endless enjoyment. A new bunny may take a while to trust you, especially if you adopt from a shelter, but they always come around after a while.
One of the reasons why bunnies can have a tendency toward house destruction is that they need to chew almost constantly. Chewing is not only a natural behavior for them, but it’s vital for keeping their teeth healthy and filed. The same goes for their nails. Just like dogs and cats, bunnies need to have their nails kept at a reasonable length. Wild bunnies keep theirs short by running and digging on all types of surfaces. Domestic bunnies don’t have that option, so you or a vet will have to give your bunny’s nails a trim every 4-6 months, or whenever they look a little long. If they get too long, they can get snagged on things and become painful or even infected.
Another thing about bunnies is that they have scent glands both under their chins and between their legs. One cute thing that they do is “chin” things to show ownership. Remy chins me a dozen times a day, basically saying “Mine!”
The other kind of gland isn’t quite as cute. These are also known as “anal” glands, and in some bunnies a hormonal buildup can accumulate in these glands over time. Some bunnies rarely need their glands cleaned out, but other bunnies are what our vet calls “producers.” Momo rarely has anything in her glands, but Remy is a producer… the problem with this is that if your bunny’s glands become full, it can be uncomfortable for him and it smells like a SKUNK. Some people clean their bunny’s glands themselves, but we have our vet do it about two or three times a year.
Fortunately, they are better than doggy anal glands, which you actually have to squeeze to empty. With bunnies, there’s no squeezing needed. Yay for small blessings…
There is one totally gross thing that bunnies have to do… Bunnies produce two things in their intestines: those little peppercorn poops that you see that look like marbles, and another type of poop (that isn’t really poop) called “cecals.” They produce these in a different section of their intestines, and they eat them directly from the anus. I know… omg. But if you have a healthy bunny, you will never see these, and will rarely see your bunnies eat them. They need to eat these every single day for health reasons. Cecals provide necessary nutrients that bunnies need to survive. If you ever actually see your bunny’s cecals that he hasn’t eaten, there may be a health problem you need to investigate. So yeah, it’s gross, but it’s very subtle.
Feeding! You need to provide your bunny with fresh hay 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Hay is as important as water to bunnies and is absolutely vital for their digestion. Thankfully, even Target sells Timothy Hay, which is the normal kind of hay that bunnies eat. Bunnies also need water 24/7, either in a bowl or in a pet bottle. We use both, so they have plenty of options. Most bunny owners will feed their bunnies a Timothy-based pellet. A good pellet brand is Oxbow T (the T stands for Timothy), which is a hay-based pellet. You also need to feed your bunnies vegetables every day. This is where having a bunny can get expensive… there are veggies you can feed everyday, which are good for bunnies, and veggies which are not so good and can cause digestive issues. We feed our bunnies bok choy, cilantro, and a small carrot everyday, and that’s a really good combo. They need at least three different kinds, and you have to watch them at first to make sure their digestive systems can handle the kinds that you choose. Even though buying vegetables can get expensive, I like to think it makes up for not having to buy heartworm medicine, vaccines, and yearly injections that you would have to have for dogs and cats.
One thing to remember is that the “treats” that you can buy at petstores are often bad for bunnies. Honey sticks, that have grains and corn and other things in them, are very delicious to bunnies… but not healthy at all. Giving them to your bunnies would be like giving hamburgers to your child every day. A good, healthy treat is a raisin. Give a couple raisins to your bunny every day, and you won’t need those expensive, unhealthy treats that petstores market to bunny owners who don’t know better. Also, people will tell you that bunnies love fresh fruit, especially bananas. If you want to give your bunnies fruit, give it to them very sparingly. Fruit has tons of sugar in it, and too much can make a bunny very sick.
A lot of people think you can keep bunnies outdoors in a “hutch.” This is a bad practice all around… not only does weather affect bunnies (they can easily get heat stroke), but predators can get at them, and the stress of being outdoors can make them sick. Outdoor hutch = not good. Once people get their bunnies indoors, they also often think they can stick them in a cage and leave them there all day long with no problem. Bunnies are very smart and get bored and depressed if they’re left in a cage with no company for hours on end. If you do choose to keep your bunny in a cage, make sure you let him out for at least 3-4 hours a day for exercise and enjoyment. We actually have our bunnies free-roaming in our living room, and they rarely get caged. We do have to deal with some house destruction, like a few places where the carpet has been chewed, but it’s a small price to pay for very *very* happy bunnies. They loves to do the Bunny 500 all over the living room, hopping on the couch, nibbling our toes while we watch movies, and also just rolling over and chilling out with us while we relax. Being free-roaming doesn’t affect litterbox habits… we have two litterboxes available to them, and whenever they have to “go” they just run back to their litterboxes and go!
So basically, with this information overload, you’ll realize that bunnies are actually quite similar to dogs and cats. They do require work, with regard to health and cleaning, but they also give so much laughter and love, and they’re FUNNY as hell to watch.
One really nice thing about bunnies is that, with a healthy bunny, you will never have to bathe him. Bunnies groom themselves like cats and giving a bunny a bath is a lot like giving a cat a bath… unnecessary and STRESSFUL. Even if your bunny gets something weird on his fur, you’ll usually only have to “spot-clean” with a wet rag, and the bunny will end up cleaning most of it off himself.
Bunnies are usually cheaper than dogs and cats, but you do have a find a vet who specializes in “exotic” pets. Bunnies are still classified as exotic animals, and you can’t really take a bunny to a regular dog and cat vet if you want to have good treatment.
Another nice thing about bunnies is that, unlike dogs and cats, they require no shots or vaccines. It’s a good idea to give your bunny a yearly checkup, but you won’t have to pay for any extras, like heartworm medicine, etc.
You will have to get a new bunny checked for parasites, but all that involves is taking a couple of those peppercorn poops in to a vet in a plastic baggie.
I can tell you that getting our bunnies was one of the best things I’ve ever done. They provide so much fun, silliness, kisses, and snuggles (on the floor, of course), and we love them so much.
Phew! Information overload. I hope this helps
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How’d I do?
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