house rabbit

little red

i am thinking of getting a lop rabbit for indoors and have been reading up on them, but would like some advice from those with experience of living with a rabbit. i am trying to figure out the general set up of the cage and accessories, if any one could advise me or show pics

i also would like to know the recommended size of cage for a house rabbit, it would have plenty of space to run around but i am not sure what size cage it would need. i do have plenty of floor space but i don't want to end up with something too small for the rabbit

i live in a flat so have no garden and wondered if this would be a problem, is it ok to keep them indoors all the time or should they also be able to get outside

also i would be out all day and was wondering if it would get lonely and whether it is advisable to get a friend for it? and if i was to eventually get another one would i be able to mix breeds like a lop and a lionhead or would it have to be another lop

and what vaccinations are necessary? i have read about myxomatosis and vhd but was wondering if there are any other diseases which need to be vaccinated against?

any help would be great, thanks

DaddyOSphynx

the first thing I would stress to ANYONE considering a pet rabbit is that they are very strong personalities, and quite territorial. the perception of rabbits as nervy children's pets is inaccurate. A happy well adjusted rabbit will be bossy, grumpy, a total individual and a big character. It is like having a cat in the house - similar levels of companionship and similar levels of adjustments to be made.

Rabbits are naturally destructive, wires MUST be rabbit proofed. My rabbit also chewed holes in clothes, sheets, magazines, books and carpets. Any plants/flowers must be rabbit safe as they will be devoured.

My hutch was 4x2x2 and open topped. My rabbit could come and go at will. Had he been confined there regularly it would have been bigger. The bigger the better for the hutch. My rabbit was a neutered, litter trained male and his wee was very caustic and smelly.

Accessories - you do need to put time and thought into keeping a house rabbit happy. Plants can be grown for treats, you can get devices to hold hay in that make bunny work for their hay, wooden 'houses' and platforms provide chewing exercise, my bun loved to dig a telephone directory into tiny scraps. My rabbit never went outside (occasionally I took him out on a lead but he wasn't keen) and he had ample exercise racing around the house.

My rabbit lived 8 and a half years. It is a major commitment and i really would urge people to thoroughly research house rabbits and understand what living with an indoor rabbit entails. They nip to communicate so even a very well socialised rabbit will occasionally nip - this will smart but not break the skin. My rabbit would not have welcomed a companion but some rabbits are very sociable. I think it is easier to add two rabbits at the same time but it is possible to add another rabbit later if it is done with advice and care. Personality is the key, not breed.

I adored my house rabbit and still miss him, he was such a huge character and brought me so much pleasure.

Dusty87

He lasted a good while. You must have been good to him. We keep one in the house and she gets out to the yard sometimes. They are good pets when you get them young enough to tame but like the previous poster said they can be moody and territorial, especially the male we had.

Sigma Force

Since you'd be out a good bit I would advise getting two rabbits, rabbits are very social critters so two is best. There are a few rescues out there who have already bonded rabbits. They obviously must be spayed/neutered at 5 to 6 months. Try limerick animal welfare and also the DSPCA they should have bunnies looking for homes. If you are going to buy a rabbit get two at the same time that are already bonded but neuter/spay.

If you click on my guineapig link below there is a whole section on before and after care when having rabbits spayed/neutered.

Vaccination wise VHD and the Myxomatosis are the ones to get, some vets advise having the Myxomatosis done twice a year but if yours is strictly indoors then once a year should be enough, around Jan/Feb is a good time to get them done (or asap as you get them).

Cage wise the biggest you can afford, check out zooplus.uk (not the ie website as it's dearer order from the uk site you could save a lotta money).
For a pair of rabbits you do need a large cage but height wise is something people leave out, you need a cage high enough for the rabbit to be able to stand up on their hind legs in.

Basic equipment for a new rabbits cage and floor space is..

A large water bottle, don't waste money on the small ones they run out too fast. The second largest or largest is best.

A hay rack can help with keeping some of the hay nice and clean, esp. if you are treating the rabbit to the more expensive stuff or treats like dried grass etc. It also helps keep the bun busy, they have to work a bit more at it.

Hanging toys, you'll find them on various sites some wooden hanging bird toys are safe to use as well. Some rabbits like to play with toys.

Newpapers and enough room in your rubbish bin as there will be a lot of newpapers and hay to change. Newspaper and hay is the cheapest bedding but buns also love vet bed and soft cat beds.

A cat litter tray weighed down with a brick in a corner and add some litter that's covered in wee that will help train the bun to wee in the litter box. They are usually easy enough to litter train but they can't help pooping everywhere so be prepared to hoover up rabbit droppings, they don't smell though.

As said bunny proof one room.

Don't worry about access to a garden, rabbits make brilliant apartment pets and they are warm and safe. You can buy dried grass and obviously feeding safe veg and a little fruit (fruit as a treat) and safe herbs you can grow some herbs on the window sill for the rabbits to feed as a treat.
Try to feed organic veg and wash any veg, herbs etc really well. Don't feed grass etc. unless you are sure it's not been treated with any chemicals or pesticides etc.

Safe herbs include oregano, apple mint, rosemary and thyme.
Safe veg&fruit include cauliflower, carrot, apple, grape, broccolli never feed iceberg lettuce and avoid other lettuces too much dark green veg can make them a bit bloaty.

You can use plain brown paper bags and stuff them with hay and herbs for them to rip apart, or stuff kitchen roll holders with same.

They also love carboard boxes, no point in wasting money on expensive toys when you can get cardboard boxes for free in all shapes and sizes and cut out holes in them.

Hope that helps.

Check out the links on my site for more info.

Also google galens gardens they have some lovely natural stuff for buns.

little red

thanks for the replies, its been a great help. i've been reading up on them but i just wanted some advice from people who've had rabbits. i'm going away in few weeks so will be a while before i look to get one but i just want to be as best prepared as i can

jessicaR

Hi, it's great you're putting so much thought into it before you're getting your rabbit. I think lops in particular make great house pets. I have seven rabbits of different breeds. two of them spent a certain amount of time indoors. They have the run of the room unde supervision but if caged they have a large adapted dog cage and attached to it a two storey cage made up of metal mesh panels (available in B&Q) I should have pictures of it somewhere..

Dilly

There is some excellent advice here - I've nothing more constructive to add except to say that it's great to see more people warming to the idea of house buns!

jenizzle

I read the links attached here too - just want to thank you all for the advice!

I got a Netherland Dwarf on Wednesday, with a huge cage. He's yet to venture out of it, but I'm not rushing him! He's using the corners, but I've been moving the mess to the one corner where the litter tray is, then covering it slightly so hopefully he'll get the hang of where he's meant to pee.

My only concern is over-feeding him. He's only about 8 weeks old, so don't want to be restricting his diet, but I don't want to cause him problems in the future either.

jessicaR

To help with the littertraining you can restrict the bedding to one or two litter trays put in the corner where he goes the most. The rest of the cage can be lined with paper. If he pees on the paper just rip the bit out and put it in the litter tray. he'll soon get the hang of it.
Being a young bun he would probably still be on alfafa based pellets but by four/five months you can start switching over to an adult pellet. i'd recommend using pellets like Burgess Excel rather than the mixed muesli type of food as they often feed selectively on that.
Good luck with your bunny. One of my buns is a Netherland dwarf as well. She is about seven months and weighs about 850 gr. We call her our pocket rabbit. Nethies are usually full of mischief:)

animalcrazy

I hope you get the rabbit, rabbits are great but aren't very well looked after in Ireland yet since people think they make great kids pets. I have three rabbits, love them to bits! They don't live inside though, wish they could but it's not practical in my situation, too many little kids. Mine each have their own cage and live in my shed but they have a huge run in the garden plus they get to run around in the shed. They make great pets for teens/adults who are willing to put in the time and money for their rabbits, they aren't as low maintenance as people think!

Sigma Force

"My only concern is over-feeding him. He's only about 8 weeks old, so don't want to be restricting his diet, but I don't want to cause him problems in the future either."

It should have feeding instructions on the bag, at that age a small handful of dry food a day should be more than enough about 1/4 of a mug, that's a guess as it depends on the food as well.
Hay wise it's impossible to over feed on hay as rabbits must constantly eat to keep their guts moving so the most important thing in his diet is good fresh low dust hay and fresh water, a tiny bit of veg daily to start off with, introducing a new veg one at a time and then the dry food.

My guineapigs are delighted with themselves they have started back on grass (which was so horrid over the winter I couldn't feed it to them) I've started introducing it gradually since it's been a while since they've had it and they of course love it and are already demanding it first thing in the morning.
They've been quiet most mornings but since I started with the grass again they squeek like mad the minute I open the back door.

Burgess is one of the best foods around. I don't like that re packaged stuff in some shops because you never know how long it's been in the bag and what brand some of it is.

jenizzle

thanks again guys! I got a basil plant yesterday, and he absolutely adores it (only gave him about 3 leaves), and threw in a lump of carrot so that had him busy for a few hours.

There's only wet patches in his corner tray, I've been checking other parts too, but it seems he does use that mostly. I think putting a bit of hay in that corner encourages him to use it. He's constantly knawing on the hay, but he does love it.

He's getting much more comfy now, getting curious about the outside world. I put in a phone book so he has a step up out of the door if he wants to.

I've put a photo in the photo of your pet thread

jessicaR

Great, all is going well. For absorbancy in the litter tray I fing straw pellets a fantastic choice (the wood pellets are fine too). MaxiZoo usually supply them (Multifit is the brand name)
Btw phone books are great toys for shredding:) Hope you enjoy your little friend