Part 2: Proper Pet Rabbit Care

Selecting Your Rabbit

Adopting a Rabbit

Buying a Rabbit

Rabbit Selection Checklist

Sexing Your Rabbit

Bringing Home Your New  Bun

 

Part 2: Proper Pet Rabbit Care

So, you’ve decided that you want to own a rabbit, and now you need to know how to choose a rabbit that’s right for you. Believe it or not there are many things to consider when making your choice, but there is one thing you have to think about first. Don’t worry, I’ll get into all the facts in just one second, but this one thing rests more so on you than anything else.

Deciding to become a rabbit owner or any other type of pet owner comes with a large dose of personal responsibility.  Each person is different and has there own views, but ultimately you’re going to do what it is you want to do. Sometimes, your rabbit won’t turn out they way you want, and this is inevitable for some owners. What is sweet can turn aggressive, what is well can turn sick, and vice versa for both of these situations. Before you choose to own a rabbit, you should plan ahead. What will you do with your rabbit in these situations? Veterinarian bills can get expensive, pet stores or shelters may not give you your money back (ask about the shelters or stores return policy before you buy). You need to be aware of these facts now before you buy a rabbit. If worse comes to worse, find a place that will take the rabbit in the case that you can’t care for it anymore.

Don’t do what so many other people do and release it into the wild. In most of these cases the rabbit will die very soon because it is domesticated, and not a wild rabbit. Another thing I see way too often is people leaving rabbits in boxes outside of pet stores. Though it is slightly better than releasing it in the wild, please don’t do that either. Many pet stores can’t or won’t take these rabbits and will most often call animal control which in many cases is almost like instant euthanization.  So, please at least find a place that will take the rabbit if you can no longer care for it.

OK, now that I’m done with my rant, and said my piece, lets get on with how to choose a rabbit that is right for you.

Selecting Your Rabbit

 There are pretty much two common means in which you can come to owning a rabbit. They are adopting and buying. Many people have their strong feelings about what’s right, and what’s wrong. Me, I’m not a strongly opinionated guy. Your choice, whatever you decide, is still your choice, and that is your right. As a potential rabbit owner you should know that there are over 40 breeds to choose from, too many to go into here because that’s a whole book in itself. Some breeds grow much larger than others. The Flemish giant can weigh up to a good 20+ pounds, while a Netherland Dwarf can weigh 2 pounds.

 Knowing your breed is extremely important. The pet store or shelter should know the breed of the rabbit you are looking to buy, and should know how big they can get. If they sound unsure about what they are telling you then it is best that you don’t get that rabbit from them. Two good places to find pictures and information about different rabbit breeds are: wikipedia.org and arba.net.

 

So, whether you decide to adopt or buy, there are Pros and Cons to both sides, so I’m just going to list a few from each and let you make your own decision.

Adopting a Rabbit

Buying a Rabbit

So, as you can see, both sides have some good and some not so good points to them, those were just a few that I came up with. The choice is ultimately up to you.

 

After you decide whether or not to adopt or buy your rabbit from a pet store, make sure you examine whichever rabbit you select. Here’s a checklist of what you should look for:

 

Rabbit Selection Checklist

• **You want to make sure they appear lively and alert, and not hiding curled up in the back of the cage.
• Make sure the rabbit does not look starved or skinny.
• Check the body for scars, cuts, and bite marks.
• Make sure the front teeth are aligned and don’t overlap too much
• Check out the fur for missing patches, mites or fleas.
• Look at the toes to make sure none have any missing nails.
• **If you’ve never held a rabbit, have the person at the store or shelter pick it up and see how it reacts. Look for biting and frantically trying to run away.
• Make sure there are no signs of diarrhea on the rabbit or in the cage.
• Check to make sure the head is straight and not tilting to either side, a clear sign of an ear infection.
• Check to make sure there is food and water in the cage the rabbit came out of.
• Have the store or shelter sex the rabbit for you if you want a gender specific one.
• Most importantly, make sure you get what you want. Don’t settle for less. Finding the rabbit you really want later on or in another store might make you have second thoughts about the one you “settled” for.

 

These are all things you should have checked prior to, and put into consideration before buying a rabbit. As for the ** marked areas above, those are up to you to decide.  Sometimes a rabbit may hide and curl up in the back of a cage because people are poking at it all day, or the rabbit may get frantic being held because it’s not used to being picked up.  Some of these things can change in time when the rabbit grows up, but if you are completely new to rabbits, you should select one that follows this checklist as strict as possible.

 

Sexing Your Rabbit

 One of the most important things to know about when getting your rabbit is the gender of the rabbit. Most often you can have the store or shelter do this for you, but it is important for you to know how to do this as well. The younger the rabbit, the harder it usually is to sex. Generally, by about the third month the males testicles should have descended making it easy to tell the difference between a male and a female. After 4 months it becomes a lot easier to tell. For older male rabbits that have been neutered, you will have to look for the rabbits penis. On your rabbits underside at the bottom between the two hind legs is where the genitalia is located. To tell the difference between a male and a female you will have to push down on the fur the expose its private area. Both male and female genitalia will stick out. The difference is that the males are significantly longer and you will see a tube and the penis, while the females is flatter and the opening is wider.  

 

Bringing Home Your New  Bun

 As I mentioned earlier, you should be prepared to have something to take your rabbit home in, or check with your store or shelter to make sure they have adequate supplies to help you do so. Even though the cardboard carriers are pretty sturdy, rabbits love to chew it a lot. So, if you have to rely on the cardboard ones, make sure you have adequate and secure transportation in case your little furry friend does manage to start chewing through the carrier. Also, take the weather into account as well. Cardboard gets wet and destroyed easily by water. Though rabbits can live in a variety of weather, the temperature should be taken into consideration as well. This is because constant temperature fluctuations can make your rabbit sick and stressed. So try to avoid constant temperature extremes if possible.  

 

When I took Nibbler home it was in March so it was kind of cold. We had a regular pet carrier, and tried to insulate it as much as possible with many towels because at that time I didn’t have the car available and had to rely on the train to get to the shelter and back. It was a short walk to the train, 5-10 minutes tops, but it was cold. The train on the other hand was quite warm because the heat was on. Poor Nibbler was scared and confused. The sound of the train I think scared him a bit, and he ended up peeing in the carrier while on the train. Thank goodness we had another towel to switch, because being wet in that cold weather could have been even worse. That’s why I’m saying to just be prepared for the situation, and try to take as much into consideration as you can. You wouldn’t want that pee leaking on to your car seat either let me tell you.

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