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Michelle Walsh
Sep 26, 2021
In Pet Forum
Bunnies are cute and small. And most people think that they take up very little space. Except that they do need a lot of space. Think about a wild rabbit running in the wild open. They don't tend to stick to the same few feet. And while a domestic rabbit is a different species, it does also like to run and jump and explore. They are curious animals who enjoy playing. I would say that the bunny is a bit more like a cat or dog than a small cage animal like a hamster. Either be sure to take them out of their cage daily for play time or give them a large enclosure vs a cage so they can exercise and play. You can litterbox train a bunny. This is fairly easy if you have their hay and feed so that their litterbox is underneath their bodies while they are eating. There is a feeder style with the litterbox and hay feeder and food bowl are one unit. You can find DIYs of this online or even shops that sell them. My bunnies are outside bunnies so we have not done this but we are thinking about maybe setting it up anyhow as it will be easier for even cleaning an outside space as well. But I know it is this easy as most of the poop in our enclosure is right where their food is and where i give them treats. If it eats, it poops - and almost just that fast. Bunnies like to dig. We have a dig box in their enclosure so they can dig and make tunnels (it is deep enough for tunnels for the smaller bun-buns). This helps to trim their nails and it is their nature to dig. If you are keeping your rabbit inside, you can use the cat scratchers that lay flat (or the scratch houses as well) or get your bunny a mini sandbox. This will help cut down on some destructive tendencies (like digging the carpet). If bored and not given toys or play things, your bunny can do damage to your home. This is an area where I like to think about how destructive a bored dog can be. If bored and not given toys or play things, your bunny can do damage to your home. Not only do bunnies like to dig, but they also like to chew. Their teeth continue to grow all their lives. They need to chew to keep them trimmed back. And they will chew anything that is about if they aren't given treats and toys designed to do this for them. My bunnies enjoy chewing on the grass huts, the wood stick toys that hang, and sometimes on the side of their cardboard tunnel. Another thing they like to chew is hay! In fact, their diet should be mostly hay. Orchard Grass hay tends to be the favored in our family. They tend to sleep on the timothy hay, overindulge in the alfalfa, and the orchard seems to be just right for both. I will sometimes pay a little more for the botanical mix as they really like the flowers as well. Carrots and apple treats should be limited in quantity as they are high in sugar. They do love leafy lettuces (not iceberg) and herbs of all sorts (mint, cilantro, rosemary, thyme, and parsley are the biggest hits) and these can be feed a bit more often than carrots and apple treats. If you notice your bunny's poops are getting soft, ease back on the treat giving. Bunny poop should be firm and round, not soft and squishy. And one last note (for now), is bedding. Hay is really all they need for sleepy, but if you are like me, you want to give them more comfort. A fleece blanket is a good extra comfort to give as the material in fleece if eaten by a silly bunny is more likely to pass through than woven materials like wool, cotton, etc. Woven materials can get caught up in their insides and do damage that could lead to death. Fleece however is made of smaller particles/pieces that can pass through. I personally have not seen any of my bunnies try to eat the bedding yet, but they also have plenty of hay all the time (including inside the fleece bed). Any other areas that interest you in getting a bunny for a pet? Let me know.
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