Are Rabbits really so expensive?

[Peter Rabbit]

Hi everyone! I have been looking into adopting a rabbit for quite some time now, and have done all the research. The only thing I’m confused about is the cost. I do indeed know that they are NOT low maintenance pets, and that they are expensive, but I read somewhere that they are more expensive than dogs, and I really am confused about that. I just really don’t see how they can be so expensive. I know that rabbits need unlimited hay, (would be cheap because I live in the country), water, (free), toys, (homemade and some from the dollar store), litter box, (got a storage box for 98 cents at Walmart that would do the trick), litter, (would use hay) bowls for food and water, (they give those away for free at my local adoption center where I would be getting my bunny), and fleece to sleep on. (I already have a bunch) I also know that they need vet care too, which my parents said they would pay for The bunny that I would be adopting would be a house rabbit that lived in my room, as he was a house rabbit for his previous owners, therefore I would need an x-pen or large cage I don’t want to get my rabbit, and then realize I can’t take care of him, so if someone who has rabbits could please let me know if they are really that expensive, it would really help me out! And if they are, why is that? 

 Thanks so much!  

[jerseygirl]

You can be savvy and keep costs down, but it’s the vet care that really can make them expensive. It is great that your parents have agreed to pay for this. Make sure they have a realistic idea of what that could cost. There is a section on vet care here: https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/tabid/53/CategoryID/4/PID/940/Default.aspx

Rabbits are classed as exotics and you may have to travel further to see a vet that has good rabbit experience. Rabbits can be prone to some health problems that do add up over time. Your best bet would be to get health insurance for your rabbit in the beginning. VIP covers rabbits for $12 a month.

[Brambino]

Just as an example, I’ve had bramble 3 months now.

Before I got her there was a cage (£100), an outside run and hide house for sunny days (£120), medium cat litter trays (£20), chew toys, mats and tunnels (£50).

Her upkeep costs are carefresh litter (£10), feed (£15), toys (£10) and some veggies (£5). We have her insured at £10 per month.

When she arrived I took her for initial vet visit and vaccinations (£35) then she had eye problems (£30). Next month I will be taking her for spaying (£80) and microchipping (£20).

She destroyed our wooden chest (£50), chewed through a heated airer that we thought was safely stored away (£100), destroyed the carpet (£200) and ate the sofa (£200)

Also, her holiday boarding is extra expensive because she’s a house bun. It’s around £8 per night.

All in all the initial expense is quite a bit but the upkeep is fairly minimal. The main thing I guess is being able to shell out the expensive things if you have to. I guess it’s how much you want to spend too! I get tempted by toys that she never ends up using (a huge cardboard Castle that’s now at the rescue centre!)

You’re also doing the right thing by adopting and not ending up with a teenager hell bent on chewing everything in her path

Hope this gives you at least a better idea

[Stayathomemama28]

I honesty think they are less expensive then dogs (general costs) but can be compared to an indoor cat. It also depends on your location (vet costs, whether vaccines are needed for your location etc). It is more if something goes wrong and your bunny gets sick it can be more costly to treat. If your bunny is indoor only then it is more likely to stay healthy and live a long life. Don’t forget to consider how long they can live! I think sometimes people make the mistake of thinking bunnies only live a short time but a healthy bunny can reach 12 years old. If you are still at home consider his age when you would be moving out, will you take him with you? Would your parents care for him if you go away to school? Etc
The majority of people who have pets struggle finacially if something unexpected happens…just research yearly costs and what is available in case of emergency (payment plans etc). Also a bunny needs more care and attention compared to a cat and do not travel with you as easily.
The basic care costs of Bunnies are fairly cheap, plus vet. If you can handle those costs and have researched throughly then I say go get your bunny!

[Bam]

The thing to worry about cost-wise is sickness and accidents imo. So if you’re in a country that has companies that offer rabbit insurance, insure your rabbit. Few insurance companies will insure bunny teeth though probably because dental problems are so common in house bunnies. So if you get a bun that develops a dental problem, it can become expensive.
If you are in a place where fresh greens are very expensive, the weekly veg bill can get pretty high.

Another thing that can become rather expensive is replacing cords to smartphones and headphones and chargers, because a bun will kill those if the opportunity arises.

[Booplesnoot]

Buns are the kind of critters where the little things can add up, but I agree with bam that it’s the medical that’s the kicker.
Spay/neuter is all but required for house buns (trust me on this) and that can range anywhere from $75 – $300 depending on the level of pre/post care, bloodwork, etc.
Buns are tricky to work on and they have a very low tolerance for stress and anaesthesia, so there’s higher risk which equals higher cost.
I would definitely recommend bunny insurance, because I just had to shell out over $4,000 for my sweet boy because of a torsed liver lobe. It was nearly a thousand dollars just in diagnostics alone to identify the problem. All I knew was that he had gone into stasis (stopped eating/pooping).

Here’s what I would say, as someone who didn’t go about the whole process the right way at first:
1. Your bun won’t necessarily be what you’ve come up with in your mind as the perfect pet.
He/she may not like being touched or snuggled. He/she may even be kind of a grouchy old butthead. 🙂
2. Buns as a rule hate being picked up, so if you’re looking for a fuzzy companion who you can carry around, the odds, although not impossible, won’t be in your favor.
3. Be prepared for the bun to stay in his/her cage for the first few days. This isn’t a pet you can just swoop in and start playing with; they need time to adjust to their new surroundings.
4. These are prey animals that don’t see very well, so your bun will have to get to know you and recognize your blobby shape and funny smell as non-threatening.
5. There’s a whole bunny body language (seriously) that you need to learn so that you and your bun can communicate and get on well together.
6. Be prepared for your bun to chew on everything. I lucked out with one who is past the chewing age, I guess… that or he’s just too busy being fabulous to bother with cords and such.
7. Bunnies also need room to run! And run they will, trust me, haha… plan to bunny-proof the entire house.
8. Spay/neuter is a non-negotiable option really with house buns. The little buggers will mark with urine and poops, male and female alike, until they’re fixed.
9. Buns are also susceptible to a lot of really weird health issues with their teeth and digestive systems, and none of it is cheap.
10. There’s a big list of good foods vs bad foods for buns, and you’d be surprised at what can cause them harm (spinach, for instance – way too much calcium – whodathunkit? Alfalfa hay – no good for adult buns).

I am TOTALLY not trying to dissuade you from adopting a bun, by any means!
I am mentioning all this to you because I think it’s important to know that you may find yourself spending a lot of money you weren’t planning to spend on a companion who may not conform to your idea of what it means to have a bunny. There is a reason why they are the third most surrendered/abandoned pet. 🙁
If that all sounds like a package you’re willing to take on, then by all means, adopt a bunny! There are lots of sweet buns who need loving homes, and you will fall in love with the little fluffball, even if he/she is like mine: a grumpy old turd who’s happy to see me on his terms only, and once I’ve served my purpose (which usually involves cheek rubs and raisins), he can’t be bothered and has no qualms about flipping me off (in bunny language) and giving me the stink-eye from his litter box. 😉
This site is a great resource as well for all kinds of questions you may have, and some you would never have thought to ask!
I really hope this helped.

[Peter Rabbit]

Thank you so much for your thoughtful, and kind reply. I really appreciate it! I’ll be sure to check out the link that you sent, and I’ll definitely have to think about the cost before deciding on adopting the bun that I found Thanks again! 

[Peter Rabbit]

Hi! Thank you for the thoughtful reply! I really appreciate it! The vet that we take our dogs too also takes in rabbits, so that wouldn’t be a problem, but I still definitely know that I should keep the vet bills in mind. I am aware that they can live up to 12 years, so I’m trying to find a bunny up for adoption that is already an adult or senior. I am going off to collage in 5 years, which is a while away, but I definitely understand that I need to consider what will happen to my bun after I’m gone, because I highly doubt any college will accept a rabbit into their education program XD Thanks again for your reply, and I’ll be sure to keep in mind everything that you said! 

[Peter Rabbit]

Thanks so much for your kind, and thoughtful reply! I have researched bunny proofing techniques, and other things like that, so if I were to get the house rabbit I have my eye on, I would be sure to make precautions, so I don’t end up having to replace my furniture. (and of course for the bun’s safety! ) I’ll definitely have to keep all of the costs in mind before I decide to adopt a bun! Thanks again! 

[Peter Rabbit]

Thanks so much for your reply! I definitely need to keep in mind all of the vet, and veggie bills before deciding on getting a rabbit. I don’t have any cords in my room, except the one connected to my lamp, but it is hidden behind the desk it is sitting on, so I don’t think that would be a problem Thanks again for your reply, you really helped me out! 

[Peter Rabbit]

Hi! First off, thank you so much for your awesome reply! I seriously can’t tell you how much I appreciate it! I actually didn’t know that vet bills could be so expensive, so that’s definitely something that I have to keep in mind. The bun that I would be adopting is already neutered, and an absolute sweetie! He is super laid back, and while I was playing, and stroking him at my adoption center, he fell asleep on one of shoes! I was just like, “CUTE OVERLOAD!” Thanks again for your thoughtful reply, and it definitely did not come off that you were trying to persuade me not to get a rabbit Your long, and awesome reply shows how much you care, and know about rabbits! It really did help me! Thanks again, and good luck with your grumpy rabbit! He’s probably just more of a Carl from “Up”, rather than a Russell.  

[Mikey]

For hay we spend about 40$ a month on for 3 rabbits. Their pellets cost about 15$ every 2 months (they dont eat more than they should of pellets, and theyre small buns so they dont get much per day). Greens, we only get the best we can find, and they usually cost 5$ pet box/bag/bundle. Theyll go through these in a day or two, so we go shopping once a week for greens

We are at the vets about once a month for all three buns. Blue needs a once a year check up which costs about 40$ per visit. Bombur has blood problems so he needs to go in atleast every 3 months for blood work and a check up which costs about 75$. Badger has muscle problems but were not sure how bad, so the price on his vet visits will vary anywhere from 70$ to 200$ depend on tests theyll have to run on him. If he ends up needing physical therapy, that will cost as well. Youll want money set aside in case of emergency, like your bunny eats something that could hurt them, or if he gets a bunny cold or infection

Toys can be expensive. Personally, i really would not trust dollar store toys. They arnt as regulated as toys from pet stores. Youll need a lot of wooden toys for them to chew; price varies from 2$ to 12$ at out petstore, per toy. Youll want some round toys since some buns like to push them around, the wooden/stick ones are the best ive found and theyre about 7$, but those can be destroyed fairly easily if you have a bun who loves to rip apart toys. Youll want clean boxes to make diggy boxes and hidey holes, i think theyre about 2$ for a bundle at walmart, or you can get the stronger cardboard based ones from pet stores that cost about 15$, but they might last longer than plain ol cardboard. You may or may not be rotating through toys often. Two of my babies are destructive with toys, but they have so much fun with it, so its worth buying new ones every month for them

[LittlePuffyTail]

As mentioned many times, the vet bills can really add up. My situation is not the norm, but my bunny Bindi has cost me thousands of dollars in vet bills the 8+ years I’ve had him. He’s very high-maintenance and not all bunnies cost this much but some bunnies do encounter problems that need regular vet care such as molar spur trims.

I def agree with Bam. Look into insurance. Canada doesn’t have vet insurance so my buns are not insured, unfortunately.

[Azerane]

Everybody else has pretty much covered it. Rabbits can certainly be expensive, for me the general upkeep of food and toys wasn’t expensive. However the set up cost, and of course vet bills are. Set up cost for a rabbit can be very pricey, you seem to have most of what you need which is great. But I spent probably about $150-$200 on my C&C cage, plus litter tray, bowls, fleece blankets, starter toys, litter, bale of hay, bag of food, rabbit-proofing, storage containers and scoops for food, brushes and nail clippers, items for a bunny first aid kit and so on. However, once you have everything, feeding a rabbit and cleaning their cage and litter really doesn’t cost a great deal. The main issue is that rabbits are quite fragile when it comes to getting ill, and they get ill very quickly and suddenly. Any procedures (including desexing) and vet care for a rabbit usually costs more than it does for a cat or dog so that’s usually a very big investment, especially if you have a rabbit that needs regular teeth trimmings or check ups for an ongoing health issue.

[flemishwhite]

We don’t keep a tally on expenses for our now two 6 1/2 months old flemish rabbits.  It is significant.  They probably go through 3 flakes of oat hay a week. $5 a flake. (8 flakes = 1 bale).  They eat a lot of carrot tops and fennel tops that we get from the farmer’s market for free.  They green leafy vegetables that we have to buy are noticeable in cost.  My wife says they chomped through $20 of Romaine lettuce in one week…and that was just a small part of what they ate!  Bok cho, cilantra, French dandelion leaves.   They have pellets to eat also, maybe $12 a bag…don’t know how much they eat a week…it’s just extra for them to eat when they want.  They eat treats such as bananas, apple, guava.  It takes significant time weekly to assemble all their food and driving here and there to get all this stuff. They want their banana skins to be yellow with noticeable green..they want slightly tart bananas.  They want Fuji apples from farmer’s market, not the grocery store!  Actually, giving them greens from the grocery store and from farmer’s market, they will eat the farmer’s market stuff  first!  We don’t buy them toys…too expensive…and besides they like cardboard boxes to play with and eat, better than toys.   We get the boxes free. They have three litter boxes to be cleaned every day. They are house bunnies not caged or penned.  We paid $600 to have both of they spayed.

Our previous rabbit, Bunny, at about the same to eat although less than 1/2 of what the two flemish rabbits do.  In her lifetime, we spent about $1500 on vet bills.  She lived to be 11 1/2 years.  This includes $400 to remove a breast tumor (was it cancer?)…after one breast removal, she still had 7 titties left!  A potential $2800 liability!  For neutering, the vet had to liposuction her since she was too fat, so neutering cost about $500.

Also, the two flemish babies have gone through a very aggressive chewing phase.  Bunny, who we got as an adult, was not that much of a problem.  The flemish have pretty much destroyed our leather couch and matching overstuffed chair.  Oh well!  They are 35 years old, worn and ready to be replaced anyhow…plus my wife hates the leather couch/chair so she wasn’t unhappy about the bunnies chewing them to ruination! 

We love our rabbits!

[Excript]

How I wish I can afford to have more than one rabbit Cuz one rabbit upkeep is all I can spare. Monthly hay is 80 bucks, pellets 35 bucks or month and greens I only feed 2 romaine lettuce leaves per day as she is either picky 15 bucks per month. Vet costs ard 200-300

[Azerane]

Wow, hay seems to be really expensive for some people, I can’t believe it. I can’t even imagine how that’s possible unless buying that small expensive pet store bags that really aren’t worth the money, because then I definitely would’ve been paying $80 a month too.

Bunny foods for me was $13 for a bale of hay which lasts about 4 months, $28 for a bag of pellets which lasts 2-3 months, and then I never really calculated the cost of greens, maybe $6 a week on greens. Which all up comes out to around to $1.28 per day or roughly $39 a month. Which is nothing when you compare it to the cost of feeding a cat or dog.

[Love4Bunny]

Hi Peter Rabbit! I know this was primarily an expenses thread, and I’m unsure if this was mentioned, but another consideration is who will mind your rabbit when you go on holidays with the fam, etc. I made sure I had a rabbit sitter squared away when I adopted my first rabbit. If your parents are willing to shell out the big bucks for a health issue, that’s awesome of them. However, having people you trust to rabbit sit is another kettle of fish entirely, and if you’re going to college in 5 years, I’d say that would be the next biggest consideration with adoption, like you mentioned. For all the trouble rabbits can be, I don’t think any of us would change our minds if we could see into the future, because they truly are amazing little furballs. But I second what everyone else has said about vet bills, particularly things like x-rays, tests, etc. And of course, there is an element of stress involved because we’re always keeping an eye on them to make sure we identify possible health conditions before they become critical.

[redbunbun]

Our Tossu cost about 5-10€/month when I only had him. He ate Rabbit Royale pellets (which were very economical), we get our hay for free, he ate leftover hooman veggies as treats, and I used wood stove pellets in his litter box. The only time he’s had to go to the vet was for his neuter, about 100€, and he himself cost about 70€. He was what I would call a cheap pet.

Aaaand along came Sukka, who was diagnosed with megacolon when she was just a few months old. She cost me 60€. Due to her health problems I had to switch both my bunnies to a different pellet (~15€/month now), get her special hays (~10€/month) in addition to our normal free timothy, and we’ve collected over 1000€ of vet bills for her so far… and she’s not even a year old yet! In addition, she’s got a medicine box with about 300€ of meds in it, most of which have been bought separately from from the pharmacy and aren’t included in those vet bill fees. She also started getting some supplementary foods for her digestive troubles, which tally about 20€/month. We’re still getting free timothy hay and using cheap wood stove pellets, though, which are only about 5€/month! That brings my new total to about 50€/month for just dailies, excluding vet visits, new meds, etc, which are a recurring phenomenon with her. I’d estimate that it boils down to about 80-100€/month when you take into account vet visits, meds, and food trials.

So… I’d say it depends on your luck. A healthy rabbit is a relatively cheap pet, but something can always go wrong.

[Excript]

@azerane
I live in South East asia and my country does not grow grass as food source for livestocks here. Therefore I. Can only buy hay from pet shops that imports from the US and they sell 1kg / 2.2 lbs for 28 bucks.

Even if there’s someone growing grass (can’t grow Cuz of the climate heee) and selling them I wouldn’t buy it from them Cuz I don’t trust them lol.

Better be safe than sorry. And Oxbow hay costs 55 bucks for 2lbs. How I wish I can afford it

[Bam]

Excript, that does rather explain it, I too was quite baffled by the amount you pay for hay. What a devoted owner your lucky little bun has =)

[Azerane]

Posted By Excript on 4/07/2016 9:00 AM


@azerane
I live in South East asia and my country does not grow grass as food source for livestocks here. Therefore I. Can only buy hay from pet shops that imports from the US and they sell 1kg / 2.2 lbs for 28 bucks.

Even if there’s someone growing grass (can’t grow Cuz of the climate heee) and selling them I wouldn’t buy it from them Cuz I don’t trust them lol.

Better be safe than sorry. And Oxbow hay costs 55 bucks for 2lbs. How I wish I can afford it

Ahhh, that makes a lot of sense I completely understand that is definitely better to be very safe on that front That’s some real dedication though!

[Flanyb]

Well so far, Flash hasn’t been that expensive. Of course there is the usual expenses for a rabbit : cage, food, toys, vet visits, neuter and vaccine against myxomatosis and the two strenght of the VHD). But Flash never (at least so far) got any health problem, so i guess my med and vet visit bills might be lower than some other people.

I would say that rabbits are not much more expensive than other pet, it depends on how you take care of them : if it is just a pet or if he/she is part of the family.

To be honnest I’m even planning to adopt a second bun… There are so adorable and irresistible

[FloppyBunny]

My rabbit doesn’t cost me much anymore. Last winter I changed his food to the one found in agriculture/farming stores, which he likes much better and it ends up costing about $2/month. He is older now though. As a baby he ate a bit more than twice as much. The only other expense is his neuter surgery (which I am going to schedule tomorrow), which will cost $260 (including taxes). I don’t buy him hay because he never ate it and we fenced our yard for him, so he eats the grass and the vegetable garden. His litter is straw that we get each October from people who throw out their Halloween decorations. So far we’ve been able to get enough to last us all year, and we’ve been doing this for 2-3 years.

[Author]

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