Considering a friend for Puck

[Kyrkogrimr]

Not sure this is in the right place, apologies if it’s not.

 My SO and I are thinking about getting a friend for Puck sometime in the next few months; we’re not absolutely certain yet, but we want time to do lots of research before we start thinking about actually getting one.

Puck is a mini-lop (not sure which type of small lop breed that translates to in the US, he’s about 4lbs at 6months) so he’s quite a small guy. My SO and I both like french lops too, but I was wondering if there are problems with having a giant breed with such a little fella? Is there anything we should think about with regards to keeping a frenchie and a mini lop together?

Obviously we plan to give a lot more floor space to two bunnies, whatever breed she might end up being, but since Puck really likes lounging on his shelf, we’re planning to build his condo upwards and give him more levels to play with – would this be a problem for a larger breed? Would we need to restrict her access to upper floors? (Not just because of her weight and the structural integrity of the cage, but I read that larger breeds are more likely to get hurt jumping up and down to/from upper levels of a cage)

How much space would we need for a french lop before they’re bonded? Once they’re bonded, we’re planning to give them access to pretty much the whole of the living room, but obviously we need to keep them seperate before then. Would she be better in an x-pen than an NIC cage?

Will we need to find giant litter trays? We’re currently using fairly large cat litter trays with Puck, but I don’t’ know if they’d be big enough?

[hportland]

Hi there!
That’s sweet that you want to get Puck a friend. I’m sure he will appreciate it a lot!
1. It is preferable to get him a rabbit that is closer to his size, BUT it really, honestly doesn’t matter. I only say “preferable” because Puck will be less likely to get a serious wound if they fight. However, typically, the bigger the rabbit, the more calm the demeanor. Plus, I’ve read that the smaller bunny is the one who will throw their weight around more. I would just take it slow.
2. With the condo, I would try to give more horizontal space than vertical space for the French Lop. Maybe just put everything on the bottom level for both of them, and build more floors just so that Puck can reach the shelf? :/
3. I would give the French Lop a pen. That way, he/she will have some room to explore a bit and get more used to the place. Just put a box with a doorway cut out in there or something so it will have someplace to hide! For the space, you can get a puppy pen or one of those rabbit fence enclosures from the pet store (mine is about two feet tall, which is quite a bit when you actually compare it to a rabbit!) and then figure out how big or small to make it once you actually see the bunny.
4. I have a New Zealand White, and I didn’t but any litter trays for him. I just took some big, wide boxes from work and cut them down until they were about five-ish inches tall. Put some bubble wrap on the bottom so that the cardboard doesn’t get soaked, and voila! Easy, DIY litter box!

[Kyrkogrimr]

Thanks for your advice, hportland, I didn’t realise I hadn’t made it clear that regardless of whether we give Puck extra floors in his cage to play with, we’d definitely give them both more floor space. I just wasn’t sure whether we should avoid building more floors for him to play on if we were getting a larger rabbit too, or whether it would be simple to keep her from going up there if she shouldn’t. I wouldn’t want him to lose something he clearly enjoys if he doesn’t have to :/

[hportland]

I don’t see any problems with building more floors Just try to make them very study and use good material in case your French Lop does get on them. It’s more likely that your bunnies will spend time on the bottom levels, since I don’t think rabbits care much for heights unless there’s a purpose? Especially if the rabbit is bigger. It might just not feel secure on the higher levels due to its weight. Oh! What you could do though is make a ceiling for the first floor with an entrance hole for a ramp, and make the entrance hole too small for the French Lop. If that makes sense?

[Midorisu]

I’m sure you’ve already taught about this but don’t giant breeds live much shorter lives? I was told around 5/6 was pretty normally, because your mini lop might live to be 10 if your lucky. I’ve heard it’s very hard for a bonded bunny to loose their friend, of course deaths happen unexpectedly too but you may end up with a lonely senior rabbit & I’m not sure if it’s hard to bond a senior? If it’s not then there shouldn’t be a problem, I was just trying to think of all scenarios sorry if it was a morbid.

Btw I’d love an English lop! <3

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