getting a house bunny

[lucylouuu]

I’m getting a bunnie tomorrow and have been reading up all week about caring for them. she’s 8 months old.. was just wondering if anyone else has any advice or tips?

[megletthesecond]

Hide all your cables .
Be prepared to share your sofa.

[Iloveanimals]

We have a house bun. Yes hide all cables. They don't smell if you clean them right either :) it's all good!

[hotcuppaplease]

Mine used to leave cables alone but liked a nibble on the corner of a wall!
*Don't overfeed

• condensed hair tablets are great.
  *lots of enrichment- tunnels, cardboard boxes etc.
  
• put them away from visitors to the house.
  
  I could go on and on but every bunny different.

[hotcuppaplease]

• hay tablets.

[WhatShallIDoWithMyself]

No.1 - Get a bunny friend.

Lots of hay.
Enrichment.
Protect wires.

How will you be keeping them in your home, will they have a room to themselves/access to other rooms?

[lucylouuu]

got her yesterday morning and she’s settled in really well, was scared at first and not coming out from behind a corner but now she’s running around and playing with her chew toys and follows me around! she’s not gone for any wires but has absolutely destroyed the door frame to the spare room despite having so many chew toys, how do i stop this?
she hasn’t touched her rabbit food but has eaten lots of hay and been going to the toilet in the litter tray!
she’s so lovely

[bunnygeek]

For the chewing, only offer 2-3 toys at a time and change them around several times a day. They have a short attention span and toys get "old" fast, but if you change them, then they're new again! Food-based toys are the best, such as willow or hazel chew toys or ones filled with hay.

Avoid any toys or treats that are seed based or stuck together with things like honey. The more natural the treat or toy the better!

[SylviaTietjens]

Have you got her a friend? She really shouldn’t be on her own. We always found our buns loved the skirting boards and nothing else would do. In the end we gave them the study and let them destroy it, at least it was contained!

[alphasox]

is she neutered? that would be my number 1 rule for rabbits, it calms them down (might help the chewing, but to be honest, some are chewers, some aren't) and lots of other health / long life benefits. give her lots of places to hide to get away from people. Make sure her diet is mainly hay and green veg and very small amounts of pellet food (please don't use museli food, it's like having macdonalds). as others have said get cable protectors and empty the litter box regularly and you'll be great. also ideal to get another neutered friend for her - rabbits are used to living in families and it's lovely to see the way they care for each other. however this is tricky, you can't just buy any old rabbit as they are terriatorial and don't always get on. i would recommend finding your local rabbit rescue and asking them about rabbit dating and bonding.
don't pick them up too much, it can terrify some rabbits to be so far off the ground. let them come to you when they trust you (hand feeding while you sit on the floor near them helps build the trust).

i have had house bunnies for 9 years now, one who has been with me the whole 9 years and he's had a couple of different partners. it's a joy, they are wonderful and funny ---- even if visitors think we are a little crazy!

[lucylouuu]

I didn’t know that about the toys i’ve just had lots out all at the same time so that’s good to know thank you very much! ordered some cable protectors.

she’s really settled in now and has been climbing all over me!

the only thing i’m worried about is her eating, she eats only hay ( she has unlimited access to it ) but has had pellets, lettuce and treats but just sniffs those and walks away

[SylviaTietjens]

Try not to give lettuce as it’s really not great for them (at best it doesn’t do them harm). Stick to hearty veg - kale, broccoli etc. I wouldn’t worry about not eating pellets, that only makes up a very small part of their diet. Do you know what her diet was before you got her? If she’s not used to eating veg it might take her a while to give it a go.

[lucylouuu]

apparently she loved lettuce and apple and ate pellets but she’s been going mad for the hay since i got her, perhaps she didn’t have much access to hay before

[SylviaTietjens]

Mine love apples, they’re brilliant for hoovering up apple cores. I really wouldn’t worry about her not eating the pellets as long as she’s munching on hay. Possibly if she’s not had much access to it before she’s not used to it filling up her tummy yet?

Any pics? Bunnies are ridiculously cute.

[Scorpiolady123]

Hi there,
I've had a house bunny before and now have 2 bunnies that live outside but also come in the house.
I agree with a pp about getting her neutered. My boy who I have had since he was a baby was always so happy, easy to litter train and happy to be handled. However when he was around 18 months he became quite depressed and was lonely. Even when he came in the house he would just sprawl out in a corner and not move. We got him a buddy (female rescue rabbit) she was really hard going because she was traumatised but they now love each other. It's lovely to see them. My boy is like a new rabbit.

[lucylouuu]

first is right now and second is her yesterday asleep! she is neutered and will definitely consider getting her a friend. your advice has all been helpful thank you.

she binkied a lot this evening which was so nice but I had no idea what was happening at first!

[MadisonMontgomery]

Oh my God, I want one now! She is ridiculously cute.

[SylviaTietjens]

That’s brilliant she’s been doing that (I only just found out it’s called binkying, for some reason I’ve always called it pronking ).

Was she cooped up in a hutch before? My first two buns I had were rescues and had been in a hutch so small they could barely turn around in for years. When I first let them in the house they huddled together and wouldn’t move but within a couple of hours they were pronking around and just loving it.

[SylviaTietjens]

That second picture where she is fast asleep is completely adorable, she looks like a cuddly toy!

[poppym12]

Beautiful
She looks to have a similar shaped face to a Netherland Dwarf and although this is incredibly cute, it can mean that they are prone to dental problems ie molar spikes. Hay is totally the best possible thing for her to be eating for digestive and tooth health so you're doing the best thing giving her plenty of hay.
If you do decide to give her treats, try fresh herbs to start with and avoid gassy or sweet veg like carrots and limit fruit as you will need to gauge how well she tolerates different foods.
Going to look at the photos again now

[lucylouuu]

yeah it sounds like she was cooped up in a hutch before so she’s loving having free reign of my flat now and is very reluctant to go in her hutch anymore she sleeps on the sofa!

i love her to bits already she’s great. she is a dwarf crossed with something else but not sure what!

[lucylouuu]

look at how she crosses her back legs when she’s asleep as well! just want to cuddle her all day she’s lovely

[coffeeclub]

She is so cute!

[CornflakeHomunculus]

Hay should really make up the bulk of her diet so it's great that she's eating lots of it.

The Rabbit Welfare Association have lots of good information about all aspects of rabbit care.

You also might find this site useful, it's a guide to rabbit body language.

[lucylouuu]

i also have a question, she’s been going to the toilet in her litter tray fine and occasionally pooping on the sofa but i’ve picked that up and put it in the litter tray but for the past hour she’s been randomly pooping as she walks around, in the kitchen, on the rug, everywhere! just as she hops around... why is this?

[poppym12]

She's scenting, aka marking her territory. Everything now belongs to her - even you. You may also notice that she rubs the underside her chin on things too. Again, scenting. Fascinating and wonderful companions.