Every pet animal comes with their own unique set of charms, and it is easy to see why you may be thinking about adopting or buying a rabbit. But you may also want to remember that bringing a pet into your home comes with responsibility. You are pledging to care for a living creature, and so you should consider doing much research and preparation as you can before you welcome them into your home.
Now, you may have heard a number of different ideas from friends and family members about the proper ways to care for a rabbit. You may have seen them on TV as cuddly house pets and thought “well, that looks easy.” But building a relationship with an animal may not be as easy as putting them on your lap and feeding them a tasty snack. Here is a guide to help you look after your rabbit and how to provide them with the best possible environment to thrive.
Think About Adopting A Pair
Before we get into the basics, a lot of rabbits are happier when they live in a pair. There are exceptions and you may want to talk to your vet before you adopt, but rabbits tend to be sociable creatures and they can become unhappy if they don’t have another rabbit to keep them company. The typical combination is a neutered male and a neutered female. Neutering does not just remove the risk of suddenly having lots of little rabbits to look after, it may also cut down the chances of your rabbits fighting by making them less aggressive. If you do notice that your rabbits are fighting or seem unhappy together, then you may want to talk to your vet about the best course of action.
Be Confident That You Can Care For A Pet
If you are thinking about taking ownership of a rabbit, you may want to consider that this may be a longer commitment than you thought. Domesticated rabbits have an average lifespan of between eight and twelve years. Are you going to be able to provide a loving, caring home for your rabbit for that long? We have seen a rise in pet ownership over the course of the pandemic, possibly due to the isolation that people felt during the lockdown, but a lot of people were not prepared for the responsibility and it has been reported that 5% of people who bought a pet after the pandemic began have already given it up.
While you are thinking of planning ahead, you may want to think about looking at pet insurance that is there to help cover the kinds of issues that your pet may encounter. Rabbit insurance may be focused on the kind of life expectancy and health issues for rabbits. Everypaw offers insurance at three different levels of lifetime cover, with benefits to help look after your rabbit.
Research Their Dietary Needs
Before you bring your rabbit home, you may want to research what kind of food and drink they need on a daily basis. First and foremost, consider that rabbits need lots of freshwaters to drink. The majority of your rabbit’s diet should be made up of grass or feeding hay. Hay is important for rabbits because it is packed full of fibre, and because the amount of chewing it requires helps to keep their teeth in good condition. Fresh grass is also a key part of their diet, and leafy green veg is also important. However, there are several different foods that are either bad for their diet, or which are actually poisonous. You may want to keep in mind that carrots should only be a very rare treat because they are high in sugar. Muesli has also been identified as something that should be cut out of rabbit diets, because they tend to only eat the sugary, colourful pieces and ignore the healthy parts.
Speaking of their diet, if you are planning on letting your rabbits run around in the garden then you may want to research which plants are poisonous to them. Wild rabbits may know to avoid toxic plants, but if your rabbit has always been kept tame then it won’t understand the difference between something that might hurt it and a tasty treat. There is a long list, including holly, ivy, buttercups and apple seeds, so think about researching ahead of time and consider removing any potentially dangerous plants.
Think About The Kind Of Environment They Need
Try to think about setting up a nice environment for your rabbit before you bring them home. If you are wondering about how much space your rabbit needs, it might be helpful to think more along the lines of “as much space as I can give them.” Rabbits like to have enough room to run around, and they also want to be able to stand on their hind legs without having their ears touch the top of the enclosure. Whether they are indoors or not, rabbits tend to like to be able to hide if they feel threatened or if they just want some time to themselves. It is generally a good idea to make sure that their rest area and their exercise areas are connected so that they can get out and have a run around whenever they want to.
You could also think about making sure that their enclosure has enough different elements to keep them entertained. If your rabbit becomes bored, you may start to notice them becoming unhealthy and exhibiting changes in their behaviour. Giving them a platform to climb on may help them to feel secure and keep them entertained, and you could think about giving them somewhere they can dig too. You can think about putting their food somewhere where they will have to forage for it.
Socialise Them Early
Rabbits are social creatures. If you want your rabbit to be happy in your company and to get used to being picked up, then you may want to think about introducing this to this early on. They may struggle with being picked up later on if you don’t. You may want to read up on the proper way to pick up a rabbit before you start. You could think about their perspective and how much bigger than them you are, so try to avoid sudden movements and talk quietly when you are around them. You could consider picking them up close to the ground so that you avoid dropping them and placing one hand under their chest and the other under their hand legs to give them as much support as possible. It might help to remember to avoid picking your rabbit up by the ears or the back of the neck, or holding them on their back because what may look like a calm state may actually be a frozen one: they may be playing dead.
If you have children in your household, think about talking them through this guide as well. Think about showing them the proper way to handle them, educating them on the proper diet the rabbits need, and getting them involved with the cleaning schedule.
