House rabbits - advice please

[alwaysthepessimist]

Hi we are considering getting a house rabbit - how easy are they, are they clean, do you have to rabbit proof all the wires etc? We do have a good garden but it is south facing and gets so so hot, I wouldn't be happy having any pet out there.

[alwaysthepessimist]

Anyone??

[Teenyloves]

I have a house rabbit and yes you have to bunny proof... we have ours in a large pen area with toys, food and beds throughout the day then let her out to run free at night! They require alot of attention, like a dog!
Very expensive upkeep and vet bills too.

They do make incredible pets though, very funny and affectionate with real personality.

[Wonderment]

I had a house rabbit by accident in the first instance. I had bought a baby one, and it was so frosty outside I didn't have the heart to put it out yet. So it was kept in a huge container in the spare room, and seemed a very happy, bright-eyed little fella.

One day, when I opened the door to see to him, I saw the back end of him shoot into the container, fast as grease lightning. I scouted around for any signs of chewing or pooing, but there were none. So I left the room but stayed at the door, leaving it slightly opened, and sure enough, out he hopped and frisked around the room again.

I tried to block the container off a bit, pushing it against the wall, pushing a chair up against it, all that sort of thing, but all week he was hopping out and loving his freedom. The thing I noticed above all else was how he kept a very neat little pile of toilet in the container and nowhere else. So I gave up. The rabbit won! The spare room became bunny's kingdom, and then shortly after the whole house.

I tried to move the toilet container downstairs but straight away he would hop all the way into the spare room to wee in the same area the container had been kept. So I promptly put it back! That might be worth passing on to you; it's worth deciding where the toilet is going to be and stick to it or your rabbit will get confused.

I wire proofed for peace of mine, but I don't remember him eating anything he shouldn't. He was having far too much fun with the dogs I suspect!

After that experience, I house trained more rabbits in the future, and even had some living in the house at winter and garden in summer, and it worked quite nicely. Mine would hop up to me and start cleaning my toes or arms, or nose, it was really sweet.

[Rinkydinkypink]

No direct experience but we've spent ages looking into this and been told by our vet friends a rabbit is basically a dog. They're expensive, need daily interaction consistently. They can get grumpy and hit out. They put up with being touched but actually don't like it.

Also warned vets bills are high, yearly vaccinations needed. What would you do with it when you went away? They can get massively pissed when you leave them.

[AlwaysaNortherner]

We have two and they are adorable. You get to see their personalities much more with them being in the house, and they are a very funny mixture of cat and dog-like traits - ours come to the door when we get home! They have free run of one room downstairs and yes, wires have to be well protected, I've lost a few phone chargers that way and now charge my phone in the kitchen up on the counter. They are very good with their litter tray though, and any stray poo can be easily picked up without leaving a mess, unlike a cat or dog. Once you've seen them run around and have a mad half hour in the evening you would never want to shut them up in a tiny hutch

[AlwaysaNortherner]

Also we have insurance so no high vets bills, but it is worth finding a good rabbit specialist vet - they're officially "exotic" animals so not all vets will have a detailed knowledge of how to care for them.

[alwaysthepessimist]

ooohhh glad I asked you lot!!! My dd 5 is nagging for a pet, we had a cat but she passed away from old age (she was 18) a year ago, she is asking for a gerbil but I don't 'do' those types of pets, I prefer pets you can interact with so was thinking rabbit or rat or if I can persuade DH another cat but he isn't keen. I just have no experience with rabbits at all but I am trying to get her to understand that before she gets any pet she has to research it and make sure she understands what the pet needs to be happy & healthy BEFORE it gets through the door!

[HSMMaCM]

Mine live outside now. One was a great chilled out house pet, but wouldn't use a litter tray. The other was a nibbler and bit a hole in the settee and any clothes she could find.

The chilled out one now hunts for resting places in the garden and the other one races around at 90 miles an hour. They are the best of friends.

[CJCreggsGoldfish]

I had a house rabbit, despite our many attempts he refused to be bonded with another rabbit (a local rescue attempted 12 different bindings over a couple of years for us). He has eaten a number of carpets, a wardrobe, skirting, cables that we thought were safe and all the cardboard he could get his paws on. We had to have him PTS last week at age 10. I bloody miss him. We had a rabbit safe room he stayed in whilst we were out.

They're not pets for kids, they just don't enjoy the fuss kids would make of them. Guinea pigs apparently make good pets for children.

[lemureyes]

I used to keep rabbits but outside, then they could express natural behaviours like grazing. I wouldn't really recommend them as a pet for a child, I think a Guinea pig is more ideal as they don't kick about and have a much better temperament.
I would recommend putting Guinea pigs in a secure pen outside in the summer months to graze, they seem to build up a bit of a fat store for the winter because of it 😊

[BendydickCuminsnatch]

I'd love one but my cousin had one and said it was sooooo expensive, tons of tooth problems etc eetc