I would like a pair of bunnies one day
- Thread starter Fran101
- Start date
*boing*I've had bunnies for over 10 years now.
When you get well-socialized, tame bunnies they are quite bossy little critters, and they're blunt. When they meet someone new (rabbit, person, dog, cat) they just run over and decide whether it should be fought, humped, used for pets or treats etc. When they get hyper they run around and "binky" which is pretty cute.
They love to rearrange stuff... throwing stuff around, chewing it, pushing it out of the way, digging it etc. Assuming you keep them inside, all of your wires have to be encased in something like PVC because they treat wires like brambles and chew them to get them out of the way. With some bunnies, you let them in an un-bunny-proofed room and they literally head straight for the wires (RIP ethernet). Sometimes they will rearrange you if you are in their space (dig at you, nibble on your clothes, shove your hand out of the way with their head etc.). They also eat books, most of my favorite books (which were always lying around) from the period I had house rabbits have parts of the cover eaten.
Some rabbits are naturally tidy and will only go in one corner, some **** all over the place. Most pee in one place. What I've done is kept them on full bedding for a week or two, then put some used bedding in a litterbox in the corner they go in and newspaper in the rest of the cage. They are more inclined to do their business on a familiar texture/smell. The hayrack should also go above the litterbox because they tend to poo when they eat. They might still poo all over the cage, but that doesn't mean they can't be housetrained outside of cage. It works best to have their cage where you exercise them... then basically like training other animals, you have to try to predict when they're about to go on your floor, shoo them back to the litterbox and reward. I never clicker trained but I'm sure that would work. Sometimes they'll pee in a corner no matter what you do, if that happens just put a litterbox down there and live with it lol. And FWIW I've never checked it out scientifically but I'm pretty sure their pee is especially caustic, so be careful of what they can pee on. They tend to back up and lift up their butt when they pee, so you have to be careful they aren't peeing over the edge of the litterbox.
Males especially have to be neutered if you want to keep them inside as they will leap and pee at the same time to spray urine all over the place. I tolerate gross stuff better than 95% of people I know but a wash of bunny pee to the face is pretty nasty lol. Be careful choosing a bunny vet as they dont' handle anesthesia very well. Ask how many bunnies they lose... one vet told me he loses 10%. It should not be 10%!!
This organization has lots of info for keeping house rabbits, here is their section on house training:
http://rabbit.org/category/care/litter-training-care/
When you get well-socialized, tame bunnies they are quite bossy little critters, and they're blunt. When they meet someone new (rabbit, person, dog, cat) they just run over and decide whether it should be fought, humped, used for pets or treats etc. When they get hyper they run around and "binky" which is pretty cute.
They love to rearrange stuff... throwing stuff around, chewing it, pushing it out of the way, digging it etc. Assuming you keep them inside, all of your wires have to be encased in something like PVC because they treat wires like brambles and chew them to get them out of the way. With some bunnies, you let them in an un-bunny-proofed room and they literally head straight for the wires (RIP ethernet). Sometimes they will rearrange you if you are in their space (dig at you, nibble on your clothes, shove your hand out of the way with their head etc.). They also eat books, most of my favorite books (which were always lying around) from the period I had house rabbits have parts of the cover eaten.
Some rabbits are naturally tidy and will only go in one corner, some **** all over the place. Most pee in one place. What I've done is kept them on full bedding for a week or two, then put some used bedding in a litterbox in the corner they go in and newspaper in the rest of the cage. They are more inclined to do their business on a familiar texture/smell. The hayrack should also go above the litterbox because they tend to poo when they eat. They might still poo all over the cage, but that doesn't mean they can't be housetrained outside of cage. It works best to have their cage where you exercise them... then basically like training other animals, you have to try to predict when they're about to go on your floor, shoo them back to the litterbox and reward. I never clicker trained but I'm sure that would work. Sometimes they'll pee in a corner no matter what you do, if that happens just put a litterbox down there and live with it lol. And FWIW I've never checked it out scientifically but I'm pretty sure their pee is especially caustic, so be careful of what they can pee on. They tend to back up and lift up their butt when they pee, so you have to be careful they aren't peeing over the edge of the litterbox.
Males especially have to be neutered if you want to keep them inside as they will leap and pee at the same time to spray urine all over the place. I tolerate gross stuff better than 95% of people I know but a wash of bunny pee to the face is pretty nasty lol. Be careful choosing a bunny vet as they dont' handle anesthesia very well. Ask how many bunnies they lose... one vet told me he loses 10%. It should not be 10%!!
This organization has lots of info for keeping house rabbits, here is their section on house training:
http://rabbit.org/category/care/litter-training-care/
I have bunnies! I have a bonded pair of lops, Otto (black and white holland lop) and Hannah (grey and white mini lop).
They are fun little pets. Mine have completely opposite personalities. My boy is very quiet, doesn't get into any trouble, and could probably be free range around the whole house without trouble. He also hates to be touched though and could do without us probably, though he's easy going and will run up to us looking for food. My female is bold and bossy, and gets into everything. She loves to interact with us though and be petted. She's much smarter than you would expect a rabbit could be. She has a stuffed rabbit that came with her from her first home, and she drags it around by the ears and cuddles with it. It's hilarious.
Both of mine have quite good litter habits, though I know other people whose rabbits leave poops around. Some will also pee on beds or couches despite otherwise being fine. Hannah marked things a bit when we first got her, and will pee anywhere there is hay. So she'll drag hay out of the baskets and onto the floor, then pee there. lol I keep their litter boxes in one of those pet store cages with the plastic bottom, so it's easy to wipe up. They don't pee outside of that cage. There's really no "training" involved, just setting up their habitat correctly so they go in the right spot. They are naturally tidy, though unfixed buns are much more likely to mark territory.
They are less smelly than cats, IME, though they are really messy. Mine have their own room and it's constantly covered in bits of hay and cardboard. I'm always telling them they don't live in a barn, but they don't listen. You'll also have big half chewed boxes laying all over, which isn't exactly attractive. Oh, and they shed like little huskies. Fur everywhere.
Bunny proofing is necessary. Lots of people get these shelving sets that come in ~16"x16" squares, with 1" holes. So kind of like little grid panels. I connect them into fencing to block off areas with wires. Some chew more than others and will go after carpet. I have big cheap rugs in my buns' room and they generally leave it alone, but have chewed corners here and there.
Vet care can be very expensive. Otto's neuter was $450, and I made sure to get my second already spayed to avoid that. Otto went into stasis once and that was $600 just for xrays, iv fluids, and meds. Hannah has been a few times for not eating, and had her teeth done once. I also have to drive an hour to get to a good rabbit vet. Dog and cat vets generally don't have the knowledge.
I love having bunnies, but they were more fun before the dog because we could interact with them much more. Now I feel bad that they spend a lot of time by themselves. They are right off the kitchen so they are a part of things, but they can't come out in the living room and hang out with us while we watch tv anymore. On the weekends my husband tries to spend time with them while I keep the dog in another room. They are definitely higher maintenance than cats, but not too bad. When these two are gone I don't think we'll get more right away, but definitely some time in the future.
Their key benefit is that they are the cutest creatures on the planet. Just looking at them makes me smile. They're also quite calm and zen and it's relaxing to just sit with them and watch them.
The House Rabbit Society is a great resource. I'm a mod over at BinkyBunny which is also awesome.
Here's a picture of their room. Pardon the horrible decorating - this was the day after we moved into our house and the previous owners had a weird style. This is also what it looks like when it's mostly clean, and we don't have other random boxes thrown around.
They are fun little pets. Mine have completely opposite personalities. My boy is very quiet, doesn't get into any trouble, and could probably be free range around the whole house without trouble. He also hates to be touched though and could do without us probably, though he's easy going and will run up to us looking for food. My female is bold and bossy, and gets into everything. She loves to interact with us though and be petted. She's much smarter than you would expect a rabbit could be. She has a stuffed rabbit that came with her from her first home, and she drags it around by the ears and cuddles with it. It's hilarious.
Both of mine have quite good litter habits, though I know other people whose rabbits leave poops around. Some will also pee on beds or couches despite otherwise being fine. Hannah marked things a bit when we first got her, and will pee anywhere there is hay. So she'll drag hay out of the baskets and onto the floor, then pee there. lol I keep their litter boxes in one of those pet store cages with the plastic bottom, so it's easy to wipe up. They don't pee outside of that cage. There's really no "training" involved, just setting up their habitat correctly so they go in the right spot. They are naturally tidy, though unfixed buns are much more likely to mark territory.
They are less smelly than cats, IME, though they are really messy. Mine have their own room and it's constantly covered in bits of hay and cardboard. I'm always telling them they don't live in a barn, but they don't listen. You'll also have big half chewed boxes laying all over, which isn't exactly attractive. Oh, and they shed like little huskies. Fur everywhere.
Bunny proofing is necessary. Lots of people get these shelving sets that come in ~16"x16" squares, with 1" holes. So kind of like little grid panels. I connect them into fencing to block off areas with wires. Some chew more than others and will go after carpet. I have big cheap rugs in my buns' room and they generally leave it alone, but have chewed corners here and there.
Vet care can be very expensive. Otto's neuter was $450, and I made sure to get my second already spayed to avoid that. Otto went into stasis once and that was $600 just for xrays, iv fluids, and meds. Hannah has been a few times for not eating, and had her teeth done once. I also have to drive an hour to get to a good rabbit vet. Dog and cat vets generally don't have the knowledge.
I love having bunnies, but they were more fun before the dog because we could interact with them much more. Now I feel bad that they spend a lot of time by themselves. They are right off the kitchen so they are a part of things, but they can't come out in the living room and hang out with us while we watch tv anymore. On the weekends my husband tries to spend time with them while I keep the dog in another room. They are definitely higher maintenance than cats, but not too bad. When these two are gone I don't think we'll get more right away, but definitely some time in the future.
Their key benefit is that they are the cutest creatures on the planet. Just looking at them makes me smile. They're also quite calm and zen and it's relaxing to just sit with them and watch them.
The House Rabbit Society is a great resource. I'm a mod over at BinkyBunny which is also awesome.
Here's a picture of their room. Pardon the horrible decorating - this was the day after we moved into our house and the previous owners had a weird style. This is also what it looks like when it's mostly clean, and we don't have other random boxes thrown around.
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