Can I have an indoor rabbit?

[Blueemeraldagain]

I am hoping to get some (honest) advice here.

My DP and I are beginning to research getting an indoor rabbit. The sites we have looked at so far have been quite conflicting so I'm going to give a description of our daily routine and see if rabbit owners here think we are a good fit or not.

We live in a 4 room flat. No outdoor space. But I am prepared to be a crazy lady with a rabbit on a leash/harness in the park. Or with one of those portable pen things.

We have room for a 4ish foot by 3ish foot cage (these are conservative estimates).

We are home and awake from 7-8am and around 4-(bedtime) 10pm. We would be looking to having a "rabbit proof home" and allowing the rabbit out whenever we are home. Even so 8 hours in an 12 square foot cage doesn't sound good to me.....

We can afford insurance/vet bills.

We have no children and a "you come to us" attitude to animals. Verdicts?

Great that you've thought about insurance and vets bills. Rabbits need annual vaccinations and whichever sex you have, they need neutering for health and behaviour reasons.

Rabbit proofing can be tricky as they will find and chew through cables, carpets, skirting boards and furniture (especially soft furnishing - I have a sofa with holes in the bottom now after some hidden and enthusiastic chewing and once had to fish an errant rabbit out of it). A previous rabbit also hated the christmas tree and would attack any baubles in reach and chewed through the lights.

Rabbits should really be kept in pairs as they ideally need company of their own kind. And if you're out all day at work, it wouldn't be kind to have one rabbit alone in a cage. So I'd rethink that.

Also there will be poo and wee in various locations until the rabbits are litter trained. This is okay if you're happy to clean it up - the poo is no problem but the wee can be brown and smelly. Make sure you're fine with the hay in the house (no allergies) and consider what you'll do if you go away.

Please also bear in mind that bunnies are generally not cuddly, so if you're hoping for something to sit on your lap, you're better not getting a rabbit. There is the occasional one which is happy to be a lapbun (I have had one) but most like to keep their paws on the ground and allow you to stroke them when they feel like it.

We have 2 indoor rabbits. They get nuggets first thing and then in the evening. Afternoon they have their greens/kale/cabbage. Hay ups filled morning and evening and in between if it needs it. I teach part time so out the house from 8 til 5 on those days but my children are back by 3.30pm from school but the bunnies tend to rest during the day anyway.

They don't have a cage/hutch. Instead they have half a room partitioned of with metal run panels to keep them safe and away from the skirting boards. We have wooden floors so we have soft blankets on the floor for them.
A wooden house to hide in. Cardboard boxes to chew etc. Tunnels and wooden chew toys plus litter box. Plenty of space to run/hop about.
They even have a view out of the patio doors at one end of their space.

It's about 15 feet long by 8 foot wide for them. Bigger than most human bedrooms !

As above poster says there will be poo. Even with litter trays. But that's easy to clean up as it is quite solid. Dustpan and brush or the hose attachment on Hoover is what I do. Sometimes there is a bit of wee on the floor but having wooden floors means I can just wipe it or put a blanket in the wash. If you have carpets there would start to smell.

Rabbits are wonderful pets. Great you are doing some research! They aren't the easiest pets and definitely not cheap (£400 on vets bills so far in a week and that's not the end to it....!) insurance is definitely a life saver. It's worth finding your closest rabbit savvy vet too as they can be quite complex animals to treat and many vets don't possess enough knowledge (what area are you in, I may be able to recommend one)

It would be good if you could get something a bit bigger for during the day whilst you are at work (RSPCA recommend 6x2x2 at least)
As someone else mentioned, they do like to be in pairs.

Also, leads/harnesses aren't recommended as they can easily harm themselves if they panicked and it would be very stressful for them to be taken out somewhere on a lead.

I have an indoor Rabbit and he's absolutely fantastic.

I would recommend it - at least you'll have piece of mind against diseases such as myxomatosis.

However, before you do get an indoor rabbit I'd recommend looking into how much it costs in getting and keeping a rabbit (if you haven't already).

When bunny proofing just be aware that they can get into places you wouldn't image. They can squeeze through small spaces and climb and jump.

They love wires and don't particular care whether they're live wires or not either. I've lost phone wires, power extension wires and external harddrive wires to my little rascal.

And we aware of the poo. There will be lots of it - a handheld hover or a dustpan and brush will become your ally.

And there'll be wee too. This is for dominance. We only ever had it on the back of our couch as he liked to sit above my level and wee.

It's incredibly difficult to get out too.

For more information about rabbit behaviour so you're prepared for the little guy or gal you might want to check out our complete guide to Rabbit behaviour.

If you would like to know anything else, feel free to PM me. :-)