Bunny Adventures

No.

First of all, we are talking of an animal. Which means a living, sentient being with emotions, ability to feel pain and happiness, affection, grief and his own personality. There is no "animal for beginners", fishes don't live alone is small bowls but in large aquariums with mates and plants, birds don't live in cages... No animal is just an object you can take in to please your children and be easy to look after. But rabbits, especially, aren't easy pets to care for if you don't mistreat them. By this, I mean, CAGES.

RABBITS DON'T LIVE IN CAGES. PUTTING A RABBIT IN A CAGE IS LIKE PUTTING A DOG OR A CHILD OR A CAT IN A CAGE. IT'S ABUSE AND REFUSING THEM THEIR MOST BASIC NEEDS.

This is not to shame people who have not been properly informed on how to care for buns. My girls have lived in cages for 4 years because my parents, like many parents, adopted them for us and did not educate themselves on how to care for them. I was a child and I didn't know how to. Now I know. A rabbit in a cage will have health problems, depression, nervous and repetitive behaviors, be desperate for attention, have all sorts of behaviour issues. The cage must only be the safe place where the rabbit eats and has their litter box and sleep. Always opened. They must have a large enclosure in the house that allows them to run and explore.

Here's my girls playground. I pay for their vet bills and toys by working aside and petsitting etc. A rabbit needs some toys, branches to shew on, a shelter. If possible and like an increasing number of people are starting to do, have your appartement/house bunny proofed and let them roam free. This is how you get a happy bunny. Never, never leave a bunny in a cage. Imagine your life in a cage. This of course implies to teach your bun how to be clean and it can take some time, which you must be ready to provide. Your bunny will shew on your things if you don't protect them. It's normal bun behaviour. If you have the possibility to let them access the exterior, it's wonderful for them.

Rabbits are also social animals and often happier together. The best match is female and male, with or course the both of them neutered. The hardest match is female and female.

Rabbits also have a specific diet which DO NOT involve carrots or apples on a daily basis. Those have too much sugar in them and are just treats. Rabbits must have access to hay day and night, fresh water, and slowly be introduced to vegetables and other plants. Some fruits. But hay must remain the major element in their diet. The usual rabbit food you will find in pet stores is not healthy, must not have cereals in it and must only constitute 5% of their diet.

A rabbit can live up to ten+ years. This must also be considered. Vet bills are extremely expensive as you cannot take your bun to just any vet, but a qualified vet who has a diploma. Taking your bun to a non specialised vet could mean death (this happened to me as a child). I had vet bills of several hundreds euros. I had struggles paying for them. Another thing we did not know before adopting. Can you afford them?

Also, ALL FEMALES MUST BE NEUTERED. It really is a matter of life and death for them (70% chances to die from uterus cancer, 90% after 5 years of age. (Two of my girls had started it when we got them operated on. It saved their lives.) It is expensive.

And dont' forget, rabbits need love and attention. They can be like little dogs if you really bond with them.

All those things must be considered before adopting a rabbit. Of course it's okay if you start with an enclosure, if you can't afford the toys, etc (branches are free and their fav toys btw). The key issues are the cage, diet and vet bills.

The problem is that the same thing that makes a bunny’s coat so good at shedding rain means that when they do get soaked through, it takes forever for them to dry properly, so if they don’t have adequate shelter and ideally help drying off they can get a nasty case of hypothermia.

Keep them warm, and dry them off as best you can. Don’t stop or let them go until they’re dry, even on a warm day. Don’t use a hair dryer either unless you really know what you’re doing, because it can easily go the opposite way and burn them, and the noise is likely to freak them right out.

And yes, rabbits in general are high-strung enough to have fatal heart attacks if you stress them enough; if they aren’t used to the water and some stupid human forces them into the bath that’s terrifying, so just don’t do it. It also means you gotta make sure not to panic them when you’re drying them off; fortunately being wrapped up in a towel is comforting to most bunnies, since it’s a) an extra layer between them and any threats, b) kinda like being in a tunnel, and c) kinda like being surrounded by a warren of other bunnies.