Tips on How to Take Care of a Domestic Rabbit

Rabbits are popular pets. They are furry, softy and their faces are beautiful like little animal angels. They are adorable, funny and smart. However, like all the pets, they need a lot of care and attention.

We start our trip to Rabbitland at the pet store, and our first duty is to choose the best rabbit pet for our particular house and family. Domestic rabbits can live inside our home; they don’t need so much room if they have their proper amount of daily exercise. Therefore, you don’t need to live on a farm to have a rabbit. An apartment is fine, but make sure the rabbit is not all the on its cage. When you see in the store all that baby rabbits, you will love to take all them. That is fine, but if you have to choose one, pick one that is active, but not aggressive. Spent some time observing them, how they interact, before you buy one. I let myself get charmed by a beautiful and very active one. He was around the entire cage, hoping and nipping to the other rabbits. He is Pepe, my serial killer and insane dwarf rabbit. Remember, must be active, but relaxed, and when you pick him, he must relax after the first moment of being scared and sniff at you with curiosity, don’t pick him if he bites you and growl at you!

You must have ready at home his habitat. There are in the market plenty of good cages for rabbits. Think about what your rabbit will be doing most of the time. If he will spent a lot of his time in the cage, buy one big, with two or more stories, because they love to climb up and down. If you have a normal domestic rabbit, you will need a bigger cage than if you buy a dwarf one. In the cage, you will need a food dispenser. Mine is attached to the wire of the cage, because when Pepe gets a little angry, he kicks his food bowl and drops all the food. In addition, you must attach a hay dispenser, with holes to loose the dust. Hey is very important for rabbits, helps their bowl movements and digestion. I buy the regular hay for Pepe, and I add alfalfa sometimes, no always because is heavier. In Halloween season, I always buy a bale of hay at the pumpkin patch. He loves to build tunnels and holes inside, and eat and play. However, I warn you that are messy! You must also attach a bottle of water to the cage, and make sure you change it everyday. I had I beautiful rabbit girl, Bebe, sweet, white and huge. One hot summer day, I did not close her water bottle completely by accident. When I came home that evening, all the water dropped, and Bebe was dead in the cage’s floor. Was terrible. Rabbits take the heat bad, and they need a lot of fresh water.

I recommend also an attachment that holds veggies, so they don’t get dirty on the floor of the cage. I cover the cage’s floor with litter. You can use the organic litter, the one rabbits can eat without get sick, or the pine bedding. For Pepe, this is only to keep him warm and comfy, because, he is potty trained. Yes, rabbits can be potty trained. I observed that Pepe used to go to the bathroom on a specific corner of his cage. I put there a little “john”, a plastic tray they sell at the pet stores. He always uses this bathroom, when he is out his cage, he comes back to use it. If you have some problems at the beginning, save a little of your rabbit excrements, and put them on the “john”. He will understand the message.

Rabbits are very clean animals; they lick and clean well themselves. However, they need weekly hair combing, and you can rub him with a warm wet towel for the loose hair. They can suffer from hairballs, so brush him often and put a drop of hairball remedy on the paw, and he will lick it.

The feeding is very easy. Buy a good mix of rabbit food, and keep his bowl full. In the fall rabbits eat a lot, to prepare for the winter, so increase their amount. However, check his weight, if you see him fatter, control how much you feed him. Give him fresh veggies and fruits, they love apples, broccoli, carrots and lettuce. Do not give him iceberg lettuce, it is not good for him, and it is only water without nutrients. Each rabbit has his own preferences, and you will learn which ones are.

Rabbits love to go around the house. It is fine, but you have to rabbit proof your home. They are very curious, and they will touch everything. Be careful with wires and electric cables, they love to chew them. One of the times that Pepe was closer to be cooked on the grill was when he chews on my husband’s stereo wires, and the stereo literally exploded. Buy to your bunny plenty of chew toys; they are good for their teeth and for your marriage. I have a playground outside for Pepe to play. You can make it, or buy it at the pet store. Remember to add to the playground a cover to make shade spots, they love the sun but hate the heat, and always make sure they have plenty of water.

I said earlier that Pepe is a serial killer. He is very small, but he has murder in is eyes. You get close to him and he growls, and is always ready to bite and scratch. Sometimes, we get an aggressive rabbit. The only thing you can do is adapt yourself to his personality, and be very patient. The vet recommended me to fix him, which relaxes them and makes the potty training much more easily. I did it, and I try to hold him everyday, talk to him, and play with him. Moreover, respect him. Pepe hates to be held for a long time, so I try to play with him on the floor, do not put my hand close to his mouth, and leave him alone when he shows is getting sick tired of me. It is rewarding when he hears me and makes sounds to me, even if I don’t really know if he is growling full of killing intentions.

Like we all the animals, love your rabbit, take care of him and respect him, and you will have a friend forever.