i was thinking about getting a pet rabbit and i wanted to know if anybody had any useful information on it.and also does the rabbit have to be in its cage,or can i let it run loose in my room?i dont know if it'll like being in a cage all day or not
Answers:
Rabbits are high maintanance pets. They are not the cute nose twitching fluff balls that people think. There are many things to consider when purchasing a pet.
The start up for a rabbit will be around 500 dollars, and you should always have about $1000 set aside for emergencies. You need cage, bedding, waterbottle, bowls, hay, veggies, pellets, toys(expect these to be ruined, I replace toys once a month), litter boxes, etc.
Not all rabbits are friendly. Most do not like to be held or cuddled. They freak out if they are picked up incorrectly and kick with thier back legs.
They are farily independant when they are out of thier cage. I consider mine pretty friendly, tolerates being picked up, pet in cage, but even she will not let me pet her once she is out. If you don't mind watching a rabbit run and hop, then they make good pets.
Rabbits have a specific diet. Under one year they need alphalpha hay, and pellets, with veggies introduced one at a time. After one year they need mostly veggies(mine gets two cups of assorted veggies, half cup pellets and timothy hay),no more alphalpha past one year. Weight needs to be maintained, as over weight rabbits will have health issues.
Rabbits need to be spayed/neutered. Males will have sexual agression, and females can get cancers if not altered.
Rabbits need a cage large enough to hop around and should be out of thier cage for several hours per day. They must be supervised as they chew wires, books, carpet, etc. They are destructive, I knew a person whose rabbit ripped the wallpaper off the wall. Be prepared to have bare spots in your carpet from chewing and furniture ruined(will mom be happpy with that?)
Keeping a rabbit outside is not advised as they can be killed by predators. No hutch is completely secure against dogs, raccons, etc. Your rabbit will need to be kept inside.
They most certainly smell, the urine is very potent. They urinate frequently, my rabbit can sometimes drink an entire water bottle(32 oz) in one day. There poo gets everywhere. They can be litter trained, but are not like cats that will seek out the litter box. You need several boxes all over and even then they might not use it when out of the cage.
Rabbits are messy, they like to dig and throw out litter, I find poo pellet everywhere around the cage.
I have a rabbit and love her, but that is because I respect and understand the kind of pet a rabbit is. Rabbits are not for everyone, and it depends on what you are looking for. If you don't mind a pet that is not too cuddly, does thier own thing, than a rabbit may work for you. Reversely if you are looking for a pet that can be held and pet that you may want to go in a different direction.
www.rabbit.org will have all that info and more
cage
cage is a must.
if you can take the rabbit out every day for at least 30 min's.
change the rabbits litter and poop, feed the rabbit and brush the rabbit evey day...its a pet for you..if not maybe find a smaller pet
as long as you are careful and spend some time doing it, you can actually house train rabbits like a dog or cat, i know of people that just let them go around there house all day.
Rabbits are absolutely the messiest animals ever!! Please think this one through. If you do get one their cage needs cleaned everyday and its best to have them in an outside (covered) cage. They don't smell very good either.
Rabbits are wonderful pets. My rabbit actually lives in our backyard. Rabbits can be litter trained when they are young, so it can live inside. I would do that for mine, except we didn't get him till he was over a year old. I believe it is a great idea. I would suggest no matter what, you have some type of cage for him. Just incase you need to take him to a vet or travel with him, ect. It's a good idea to have something for him to be in if you are going to gone also. Especially before you have him trained, because he may chew things up. Make sure you keep everything out of his paws and watch him closely. Good luck!!!
Only let the rabbit loose when you're there to watch it, they like to chew on stuff. My husband built a nice big cage with a wood frame for our two rabbits. And they love to chew on the frame. There's other ways to make or buy a good size cage for your rabbit, rather than wood ;). My rabbits are finicky about their food. They wouldn't eat the expensive stuff I bought from Purina. We had to drive 45 miles to buy the stuff from the feed company where the breeder buys feed. Now they're eating. This feeds cheaper, and fresher, and good quality so we're switching feed.
I went to this site to pick out what breed of rabbit I wanted:
http://www.arba.net/
and I also looked at the wickopedia site about the different rabbit breeds and how to take care of them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/rabbit...
A rabbit can be trained to use a litter box just like a cat. They make loving pets that require little care...brushing occasionally to get rid of loose hair. The problem with rabbits is their teeth are like our finger nails, they never stop growing. They need something hard to chew on to keep them from getting too long. If you get a salt block it should chew on that, otherwise your wooden furniture may suffer. Also a vet can file them for you.
i have two pet rabbits in the house. they sleep in their cage at night, use a litter pan when they run free inside, and i keep Timothy Hay, and rabbit pellets for them. these can be bought at a mall pet department, or store. lettuce, cabbage, carrots are a good source of fiber for them, but not very much very often. Toys such as bird toys, little cat balls, paper to chew, wood chews, small stuffed toys, ect.
Go to rabbit care.com for an entire list of things to help in keeping bunny safe and happy! there are also other web sites on domestic bunnies.
Good Luck!!
yes you should get a rabbit. they are awesome. make sure it has a cage, it would like to run around but sometimes it wants to be nice and safe in his cage. plus, i don't think you want to run around scooping up poop and wiping up pee after it if it is running around your room. My rabbits have learned their names and come when they are called. they are pretty easy to train and they are pretty small. food also lasts a while and is pretty cheap. (you can get some cheap and good quality food from walmart) always use timothy hay NOT ALFALFA. don't use water bowls always water bottles. water bowls can make the area under their chin stay moist and cause them to get very ill. Good Luck!
I suggest you become educated, study the various breeds and sizes, do you want something 12 lb or 4ls and under? www.arba.net is the American Rabbit Breeders Assoc. They are the oldest, and best organization for information.
I would not consider a meat rabbit for a pet, but, one of the groups called fancies. The lop eared rabbits generally are noted for calm personalities and come in different sizes.
As far as a rabbit for a pet and pros and cons, any thing is what you make of it.
I would consider a baby, 8 weeks old (legal age for new borns to be sold) an older rabbit will be more set in it's ways, a younger one is easier to introduce preferences to.
Starting out with a cage is wise for protection and training.
There are standard cage sizes recommended for rabbitry owners, but you can get a size which agrees with your comfort zone while your future pet is contained.
Good luck
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