Realistic Aspects of getting a Rabbit

nellybelle

Hi everyone, I'm quite new to the forum and I hope I'm posting in the right place. Ive been thinking about getting a rabbit for a while now, and am just starting to some serious research now. Previously I have had guinea pigs and Rats. I have a good few questions, especially on the costs of keeping a rabbit, and I hope yous can help me. Please be as honest as you can be I want to have a realistic idea of what to expect when I get a rabbit rather than get a big surprise later.

In a few months I plan to get a male mini lop for indoors. I work 9-5 Monday to Friday and get home by 6. So the bunny would be alone for the times I am at work. However I'm home in the evenings and at weekends. Is this enough human exposure for a bunny? I don't really want to get two bunnies.

Also I am aware that he will need to be neutered when he is about 6 months old, how much does this usual cost to get a rabbit neutered?

Do rabbits need to get injections or vaccinations? If so what are they and how frequently do they need the vaccinations and how much do they cost?

Can you also let me know roughly what the general cost is to keep a rabbit? And how much work is involved to keep them?

I know that I have just asked a ton of various questions, any help or advise is welcome. Also please let me know if there is anything else that I should consider.

00112984

Hi Nellybelle.

Just a few quick answers/ideas.

Rabbits are social creatures and prefer to be housed together. However, some do prefer to be on their own (we have a rabbit who hates having to share her house) so it might be worth adopting a bun from a small rescue rather than buying one as you would be able to ask the rescue for a rabbit who'll be happy to be housed alone.

Last time one of our buns was neutered, it cost €125.
Annual vaccinations, mite treatments etc. run to about €50.
Try and check if your vet has experience with rabbits as they can get a lot of infections that are hard to spot.

Cost-wise, I'd guess our monthly food costs at about €25 for one bunny which includes food and treats. Fresh food isn't included in this as we happen to eat similar vegetables to our bun so she gets fresh treats from the fridge I think her housing cost about €125 for a 4'x2' indoor hutch, water bottles, hidey area, litter tray etc.

We've had no problem keeping rabbits inside but the main issue we find is after a day or two, the hutch can get a little stinky so be prepared to shovel rabbit poop a lot! We go through a lot of bedding so that's another cost to consider as is the price of things like rabbit-friendly disinfectant spray to wipe down the toilet area etc.

calibelle

I have a female rabbit and would agree with the vets costs and be prepared to clean the hutch alot! We have to empty the litter tray twice a day and clean the entire hutch every 2 days or else it starts to smell quite a lot. We buy her hay and sawdust from the vets and it works out at about 15 a week plus another 8 for dry food, we also add our own fresh veg from the fridge.

Also if she is left unsupervised she has a habit of nibbling things....wires, cardboard and the legs of the coffee table so it would be an idea to have a decent sized run to keep your bunny safe in.

SophieSakura

I just want to add that rabbits are alot more work than guinea pigs, I'm sure you already know They need more space, so while you're at work, they'd probably need to be in some kind of large pen or very large cage, or if you could make a room safe with nothing to chew that'd be great.

They cost more, eat more, poop more but are lovely pets

They do really like to be around other rabbits, the same way dogs like to see other dogs, guinea pigs like to see other guinea pigs, etc. I'm sure they can be happy with lots of human attention, but will be even happier with bunny company Maybe just get one now, and then later on see how you feel about getting another. If yours is already neutered, then it'd be easier later on to get another.

If you have space to store it, then you can buy food, bedding and hay in bulk and it's much much cheaper. Look out for reduced price veg in places like Tesco. And the veg you buy doesn't need to be overly expensive, get whatever is cheapest really.

SophieSakura

Also I forgot to add, there's an Irish rabbit forum
http://www.irishrabbits.proboards.com/

And a guinea pig one, if you ever think of getting more piggies
http://irishguineapigs.findtalk.net/

tonydude

Have to agreed with the above posts about the work involved,but they' re not that expensive to keep if you know what your at, i built a 2 level hutch for my Gf's rabbit and i got sick of seeing her wasting her money on those small bags of bedding, head into any good builder/agri providers and they'll have massive bags of bedding (fine saw chippings) for horses and they only cost €10