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Here's what you need to do:
Have a sense of humor, a
lot of patience and then...
Rabbit-Proof the House
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Cover
electrical and phone cords with tubing |
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Keep
Household chemical, cleaners and other toxic chemicals in a latched cupboard |
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Place
toxic plants out of reach (and this includes most houseplants) |
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Keep
the toilet lid down to avoid drowning |
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Latch
& close doors and windows |
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Remove
items from the floor that should not be ingested |
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Install
child
gates on doorways into rooms that aren’t “bunny proof” - Note: they
will chew right through a plastic gate - get the wood or metal gate instead |
Temperature
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50
to 75 degrees – Rabbits can overheat and freeze! See page of tips
on keeping your bunny cool at
Buns in the Sun
on this website. |
Housing
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Cage
with solid floor or wire floor covered with a board, hay or towels to avoid sore
feet (hocks) |
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It
should be large enough for rabbit to stand up in, stretch and hop around -
get the biggest cage you can find! |
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An
Alternative is a puppy pen about 24" to 30" high that has 2 foot
wire panels in width. There are lots of creative housing
possibilities. See the
Bunny Digs page for ideas! |
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Bedding:
Timothy hay or straw |
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Locate
it in a spot where there is traffic – not a damp basement, garage or
attic. |
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Get
them out for exercise everyday for a few hours! Or fence an area around their cage where
they can run. Many owners let
their bunnies have run of the house like a cat. |
Food
(Also see
Rabbit Diet)
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Rabbits
have about 6 millions taste buds so they
have very good taste and enjoy variety!!! |
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Hanging
water bottle or heavy crock water bowl – change water everyday and twice
a day is best. You can get crocks that attached to the side of a
pen, too. |
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Timothy
hay is absolutely necessary for digestion. |
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Alfalfa
pellets - we don't recommend them. Instead, buy the following:
fresh Timothy Hay and Timothy Hay based
pellets. |
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Fresh
veggies including carrots and carrot tops, broccoli, radish tops,
romaine lettuce, beet greens, turnip greens; mustard greens and small
amounts of parsley. |
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Fresh
Fruit slices as long as rabbit isn’t overweight such as apples (not the
seeds), pears, bananas, peaches/nectarines |
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Salt
wheel |
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Chew
toys |
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They
can nibble on your yard if it is free of pesticides
and poisonous plants |
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Do
Not feed them popcorn and other human treats - they can cause serious
digestive problems possibly leading to death.
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For
6 pages of information on rabbit diet see
Rabbit Diet-
There is information on diet, a diagram of the digestive system and lots
more! |
Litter
-
See page on Critter Litter
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Litter
pan – natural litter (do not use cedar chips or clay kitty litters) |
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Do
put timothy hay in litter box since rabbits will graze on in one end and
will not eat soiled hay. |
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Rinse
pan with white vinegar to control odor |
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Change
everyday to eliminate odor |
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Litter
box train your rabbit. See
the HRS web page on
Litter
Training |
Hints
from the Hare Salon:
See
Grooming a Rabbit
Fix
those Rabbits!
I cannot stress this
enough. If you have a male and female rabbit couple,
the female can have a litter every 31 days! And, females can become
pregnant the same day they give birth. You do the math! It is
a scary thought and scarier in reality! See your vet about when to spay or
neuter, between 4 and 6 months old for both males and females depending on the
breed.
See
Too
Many Rabbits
for more information on how to sex a rabbit.
Photo
Credit: Isn't "Rugby" a handsome boy from the
San Diego
HRS. |
