As with owning any animal it is important that you check on the health of your bunny daily and make note of any changes in behaviour or eating habits. When I go out in the morning and feed Dustin I always check he is alert and happy, that he comes over to say hello, that he is keen on his food and that he has been going toilet fine. Often in the afternoon when I return home from work I will check on him again, and I will also check his eyes, nose and ears are clear and clean, that his fur is clean and I check that his bottom is clean and no poo stuck there. Rabbits can be prone to fly strike if they have a dirty bottom especially in hot summer months so always check your bunny is clean down there. Dirty bottoms can also lead to infections in the genital area so check these are not red or swollen in any way. Most rabbits will keep themselves pretty clean but sometimes you need to step in and give them a bit of trim and clean in those delicate areas. It is important to get your rabbit vaccinated yearly and along with this I would take your bunny in for a yearly check up with your vet to check the condition and health of your bunny. As always advised if there is anything wrong with your bunny or change in behaviour that worries you bring them into your vet for a look. I advice finding a rabbit savy vet in your area as not all vets are that on to it about rabbits, something I have experienced with Dustin when the vet could give me little advice on his gut issues which was a bit of a waste of a check up and money. So overall just always keep an eye your bunny and check them daily and if you are ever worried take them to the vet, but if you look after your bunny well they are pretty robust and often have little health issues :)
A really important thing that you must always keep in mind when owning a rabbit is something called gut stasis. A rabbits gut is continuously moving and needs a high fibre diet to do this, when a rabbits gut starts to slow down or completely stops moving bad bacteria builds up in the intestine and releases gas causing bloating and further reduction of the bunnies eating and drinking therefore making the issue worse. This is a very serious condition and without the movement of the gut a rabbit can die with 24 to 48 hours. Unfortunately this is also not a well known issue and many people lose their rabbits to this issue at a young age and have no idea what happened. So what causes it?? Often it is to do with diet but underlying stress or health issues can cause it to. It is very important that your bunny is provided with a hay-based diet, as I said in diet category hay should make up 80% of your rabbits diet, diets that are high in pellets or veges can easily set off a gut stasis episodes in your rabbit. Not only is hay good for the gut it helps to wear their teeth down which means teeth issues are unlikely to cause eating issues. I advice to feed your rabbit at a similar time each day and always make note of your rabbits behaviour, changes in faeces and keenness for food when you are doing your daily routine. If you note in difference in behaviour for instance rabbit sitting in its bed not keen to say hello or having no interest in food, keep an eye on him and try to encourage some food and water intake and if there is no difference in a couple of hours then you may need to go towards force feeding or a vet visit. I have fortunately being able to avoid a vet trip with the the two episodes Dustin has been through as the first time I got him eating and drinking within a couple of hours and he recovered quickly and the second time I picked up critical care from the vets and syringed food and water into him every couple of hours and he recovered by the next morning. Dustin was on a good diet, with a plenty of hay and grass and the vet feels he is just extra sensitive to any changes in food or routine therefore I have put him on a very high fibre pellet diet and I am very careful about the vegetables I offer him. I do advice that you have some critical care on hand in your house if you own a rabbit as it can be very helpful if you ever have a sick bunny and can help save you from an expensive, stressful vet trip.
So the next most important thing you need to think about when you bring a new bunny home is what health precautions are needed for pet rabbits. Rabbits are prone to diseases like Myxomatosis and Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease (RHD) where were originally introduced into wild rabbit populations in order to control their numbers in a number of countries worldwide and here in NZ. These diseases are horrible and causes intense suffering in pet rabbits that pick it up. Most wild rabbits have become immune to these diseases and they now make little difference to their population numbers, but they are huge carriers of the diseases and any contact with wild rabbits or their bodily fluids or insects carrying the disease can spread them to pet bunnies. Therefore a vaccination has been developed for pet rabbits in order to keep them safe and healthy. Rabbits can be vaccinated from 5 weeks old and it is normally an annual vaccination which provides protection against both these diseases, this may be more often during the year depending on your pets chance of contact with wild rabbits. A combination of regular boosters, controlling insects, regularly cleaning and disinfecting rabbit enclosures and prevention of contact with wild rabbits can help to reduce the risk of your little bunny developing these diseases.
Now of course many store bought rabbit toys are quite expensive for what you get and I know the pain of spending lots of money on toys and then having Dustin ignore them and have no interest, which has led me to start coming up with some DIY toys from things around the house. Boxes are the best cheap toy possible for rabbits and there are so many possibilities involved with them; they can be made into tunnels, filled with shredded paper and used as dig boxes and create great little houses which your rabbit can happily chew and make their own! I like boxes as houses as I find it difficult to find store bought hidey homes and houses which actually can fit Dustin, and he is just an average size mini lop, and rabbits do like hidey homes as being a prey animal they like areas that are covered and places they can hide. Empty toilet roles and egg cartons make easy, relatively safe toys for rabbits to chew on and I usually have a egg carton available in Dustin's exercise pen which he occasionally chews on. These kind of things can be filled with hay and treats to make it a bit more exciting for your rabbit. There is a number of safe branches and twigs that can be provided for your rabbit (list of safe branches are included in the list of safe veges in diet category) and these can be given to your rabbit for chewing or tied together to make a good throw toy. So don't fret if you can't afford the toys that are available at the pet stores, there are plenty of toys you can make yourself from things around your home. I have attached a number of ideas for DIY toys that I have either tried or am keen to try (bunny approved website is a good one for ideas) :) Rabbits and toys can be a difficult topic to cover... especially when discussing store bought toys. Every rabbit is different therefore every rabbit has different toys that they will like and play with. For instance Dustin is not a huge chewer or digger but he enjoys throwing around toys so when I have bought toys for him I tend to get ones he can grip and throw. There is not a huge amount of toys available in NZ pet stores for rabbits but we are starting to get more and more in this country so hopefully we will begin to have lots of choice! For rabbits I quite like the loofah and wood chew toys as well as balls, cat toys and baby toys like rattles and stacking cups. One of the best things I tend to buy for Dustin is cat tunnels... he loves them!! I have bought pet store ones but they are quite expensive and seeing as he ends up chewing them up I have started buying them from k-mart and places like that which are way cheaper. One of his favourite one is a 3-way cat tunnel that I bought him from the pet store, but he enjoys his normal straight tunnels as well. It is always important to provide your rabbit with some toys as they are good for reducing boredom and are beneficial for their mental and physical health. When picking toys for our own bunny make note of his behaviour and what he likes to do... does he dig a lot, does he chew a lot, does he like to pick things up and throw them?? For a digger make him his own dig box, or provide him with phone books to shred and dig on, if he likes to chew pick him up some hard wood toys and loofah toys that he can chew on, and if he likes to throw things pick up some cat toys, balls or baby rattles and stacking cups. Food related toys are usually a sure fav with rabbits and so treat balls are a great toy which you can fill with a rabbits fav treats or veges as an easy way to amuse them. In the wild rabbits burrow and dig so I always feel a cat tunnel is a must for any rabbit as they enjoy using them and they work with their natural borrowing instinct :) I f you guys know of any good shops around NZ or websites that ship to NZ (for not to expensive) that have cool rabbit toys please let me know!!
So you have got the cage sorted for your little bunny, you have sorted out the bedding and now what do you place within the cage?? I will admit I do not overall pack Dustin's outdoor hutch at the moment with accessories, I just find the things I hang in his cage he really does not touch. I do make sure there is a salt lick hanging in his cage, I don't think he uses it very often but it is there for him just in case. Other then this I usually have some wood chews hanging on the side of the cage which he doesn't really touch and some toys hanging around. I think the most important accessory is a hay rack of some kind, I have a wood one as well as metal one.This allows you to provide your bunny with hay that is cleaner then the stuff available in the toilet area. Within Dustin's exercise pen I always provide him with a cat tunnel, bell balls for him to throw around, boxes for him to chew on and hide in as well as this great plastic castle that he loves to sit on. When I get his exercise pen all set up indoors he will likely have a few more toys, I find he easily amuses himself in an outdoor pen with digging and grazing but indoors he may be more keen on some toys. I will eventually get pictures of his indoor and outdoor pen all set up with this accessories :) Litter training is a great idea for bunnies and can make your life a lot easier when clean up time comes along!! Rabbits are naturally clean animals and will normally choose a corner in their cage to go toilet in. Litter training is relatively simple... place a litter tray with some bedding and hay in the corner your rabbit normally goes in, place some dirty bedding in the litter tray and your rabbit should quickly pick up on its new toilet area. Rabbits will go toilet as they eat so it is important that wherever you are planning to place the litter tray that there is plenty of hay around for your rabbit to munch on. There are many corner 'rabbit' litter trays available at pet stores but I find these far to small for rabbits, I have purchased a number of large cat litter trays for Dustin and you may need something slightly larger for multiple rabbits. As I mentioned in the bedding post I am planning to use a mix of pine and carefresh bedding in the litter tray in order to get him use to using a litter tray but after that I may use more of the carefresh because I find it a lot more absorbent. Like most animals with rabbits the younger the animal the easier to litter train but it is not overly difficult to train an older rabbit and rabbits are overall pretty easy to litter train... well I hope so I will find out soon with Dustin!!! Ill attach some photos of the litter trays I have purchased for Dustin :)
Often I get asked what kind of bedding is the best stuff for rabbits in their cages and I do think it is relatively dependent. It is important to get a bedding that is low in dust and absorbent, rabbits can be prone to respiratory issues so less dust is better and rabbit urine is strong smelling so it is good to have an absorbent bedding especially with an indoor rabbit. In the bed area of Dustin's outdoor hutch I place newspaper, a mix of pine bedding and carefresh bedding and then I put a lot of hay on the top of it as Dustin goes toilet in there and it is where he eats most of his hay. When I move him inside I will be placing similar bedding in his litter tray so it is a similar toilet area for him to get him use to using a litter tray. It is important that you regularly remove dirty bedding from your rabbits toilet area and give the area a thorough clean at least once a week, rabbits are actually very clean animals and they like having a nice clean cage. Always top up the hay that is within or near the rabbits toilet areas as this hay will be what they eat the most.
Now indoor housing is a new idea for me.. I have always had rabbits outdoors but due to the fact Dustin is on his own for now and he doesn't have enough space outdoors I have decided to move him indoors as of next week, so I can give him more attention and more room. This means I have bought a 100cm petshop indoor rabbit cage which I will be attaching a run to, but he will also have free roam of the house when we are home. Now indoor rabbits are good as they are protected from the elements and predators, they tend to have longer lifespans and are able to be given more attention then outdoor counterparts. Rabbits are also easily litter trained, which I will do a post on later to go over how you teach them etc, and are extremely clean animals making them great indoor pets. There is a need for bunny proofing the house and supervision though as they like to chew things like your electrical wires, carpet, lino and walls! When placing a rabbit cage inside make sure it is out of direct sunlight or drafts, not directly near heaters, smoke can be harmful to rabbits so not to close to kitchens and somewhere relatively quite especially during the day as rabbits are most active at dawn and dusk and so sleep for most the day. I will attach a photo of my indoor setup when I get enough money to buy the pen next week... very exciting!! Dustin will not be fully indoors though we will have his other pen still set up outdoors and I will most likely have him out there in the mornings and evenings for some grass and fresh air :)
The next important thing when owning a rabbit is what you are going to house it in. A hutch is not enough is a saying thrown around a lot with passionate rabbit people and it is very true, we can no longer justify keeping a rabbit in a tiny hutch in the back of the garden with little attention and exercise. Now most of the time the cages and hutches that are sold for rabbits in pet stores are not big enough, but that does not mean they can't be useful with some upgrades. I personally have an pet store hutch for my own rabbit which he loves but it always has a extra large dog exercise pen attached to it. I would love to provide Dustin with bigger and better outdoor accommodation but am currently limited with the house we are in and having issues with stray cats getting into his pens and harassing him so I have had to downgrade the pen size unfortunately, will attach a photo of current set up. So when choosing a cage for your own rabbit it is important your rabbit is able to stand up, stretch out when lying down, turn around and able to do 4 hops along the length of it, often cages like this are hard to find so sometimes it is easier to make your own or upgrade a store bought cage. I find exercise pens to be a really good thing to purchase for rabbits, they are good for attaching to hutches and also for setting up safe controlled areas indoors or outdoors where your bunny can have some free time. Remember to purchase pens that are tall enough to prevent rabbits from jumping out as they are impressive jumpers, I recommend a pen over 75cm tall and even then to place some covers over it to keep rabbits in and other animals out. I find exercise pens through trademe are the much cheaper option then in stores, you can find good ones between 30-50 buks, and I found garden netting to work well as covers to go over the tops.
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