a couple of questions about rabbits?

Question

when I pick him up he can get frightened I try to suport his back legs so he doesnt shake what will stop him from kicking/scratching in fear it makes you bleed and I have dropped him before? what's the best way to clean his cage?
How much is too much to feed him? He looks fat his bowl holds about 300 grams and I feed him 2 a day
He wont drink from a water bottle he doesnt like it and prefers a bowl he drinks about 400ml per day
He gives me alergies and asthma is there something I can do for myself to stop this I want to pet him more often
One more, can I train him on a harness just for some exercise and to get him out of his cage? He's 4 yrs old now

can I put a toy in his cage to play with or will he just chew it? my sons soccor ball rolled to his cage one day and he was scratching at it through the cage I thought he liked to play with it but he started to eat it

Answer 1

if you cover a rabbits eyes it seems to calm them down a bit . take out all of his bedding and wipe it clean then put in fresh bedding . if he looks to fat i would try feeding him less food they will eat as much as you will give them so u have control. the water won't hurt him keep the water full at all times. i also have asthma and my rabbit drives me nutz i can't breath and i sneeze i normally put a sock or a glove on my hand to handle him helps a little not much lol you can put a harness on him and let him in the yard for awhile i do they don't get much exercise mine just eats the grass .

Answer 2

For your allergies start taking the shots! Been tested for allergies? you need to ask your doctor about the shots if your allergic to rabbits and going to keep one!!! Hold the rabbit close to your chest and he feels safe that way and he won't kick and scratch!!! One bowl of food a day should be plenty if its a regular size rabbit food dish!! Or to be sure read the Food Package directions!!! Plus a carrot or a treat!! he needs something to chew on!! Put paper down to line the cage with then add rabbit litter so when you clean it up it comes up easier and easier to clean!! use dish liquid to clean the cage and be sure you rinse it really good!!! Other cleaners can kill your pet! Clean Once a week !! Let him drink all the water he wants !!

Answer 3

There are safe ways to pick up rabbits, but putting them down they just about always start to squirm. I've found if I try to take it slow and hold my rabbit tight it helps but she she wants down. I'll sometimes lay on the ground with her on my chest so she can jump right off.
I feed my rabbit two handfuls of food twice a day. She also gets a good handful by the stem of fresh veggies, like parsley and cilantro every day and she can always have hay. Some rabbits like water in bowls, I wouldn't worry but it is interesting, our cats like the rabbits water bottle better than their own water dish.
The allergies there isn't much you can do except see a doctor or try brushing out as much of the excess fur as possible.
You can harness train your rabbit if you want to, it can be very hard to do and there are techniques you can find online. Our rabbit is a house rabbit and she spends most of the day out of her cage, but we have also bunny proofed the house.

Answer 4

You need to read up about rabbits. These are all basic questions. You shouldn't pick rabbits up. They are prey animals and equate it to being in danger. Plus if you pick it up incorrectly you can wind up paralyzing him. It's just more natural for an animal to drink out of a bowl. You can buy bowls with bottles attached. try taking some allergy meds to stop sneezing. Read this website and the book The House Rabbit Handbook. http://www.rabbit.org

Answer 5

All right, my answer is LONG and probably low on the list, but please take the time to read it!

It doesn't sound like your rabbit particularly likes to be handled. Like humans, wanting to be touched and not wanting to be touched is something inherent to the personality. If he's four years old and still dislikes being held, he probably just doesn't like it. You should respect this and try to find another way to interact with him in a way he will enjoy, as trying to force him to like it is not something I would reccomend. It causes undue stress.

The best way to clean his cage depends on the cage in question. Regardless of the cage type, you can keep your rabbit in a cardboard box with bedding, food, and water in the interim so that you can clean his cage without disturbing him. If you have a wire cage, you should clean out all of the bedding and brush it off. Replace the bedding as often as is necessary, which is only something you can determine. Once every four days to a week tends to be pretty standard. Hose it down at least once a month outside to make sure that no fecal matter or urine is clinging onto the wire itself. If it's a glass cage, empty out the bedding and use a wet wash cloth on the cage insides. Dry it off throughly before putting in the new bedding. If you use any other kind of cage, just igve some additional information.

As for how much you should be feeding him, that depends on the rabbit breed, size, and age. Make sure he has as much fresh hay as he could ever want all the time. I like to use timothy hay for my rabbits, as they seem to love it best. There's also oat hay, so just give your rabbit some of both and see what he likes. The rule of thumb for amount of pellets to feed your rabbit is 1/4 a cup per six pounds of weight of your bunny at his age. He should have as much vegetables as he wants of at LEAST three different types daily. The darker the green, the better. Kale, romaine, dandelion leaves, escarole, mint, brussel sprouts, grated carrots, so on, are all good choices. As long as you don't use lighter lettuces like iceberg, you're fine. I like to give my rabbits a spring mix or medditeranian mix of leaves, so they can pick and choose what they want to eat.

He can drink and should have as much water as he likes 24/7. There's no need to worry that he's overdrinking, and drinking from a bowl is just fine. Just make sure the bowl and the water in it is clean, as they WILL trek through it, poop in it, and anything else you can imagine in it since it's there.

Your allergies to your rabbit you can address with your doctor. Use an over-the-counter allergy medicine to help relieve your symptoms, and you should be all right. Consulting your doctor is best though, as you may be able to get a perscription in order to help you manage it.

You can train rabbits. They're very, very smart. I mostly work with wild ones, so I don't do much taming and training. For exercise, I would reccomend one of two things, depending on what your rabbit would prefer. You can create a pen outside with chicken wire for your rabbit to roam around in when the weather is nice. Make sure this has NO holes or places he could squeeze out of, or he WILL wiggle out and probably run away. In the case of domestic rabbits, I would reccomend an enclosure for him to run around so that he can have free reign inside it outdoors and a safe place to run around indoors. Ask your local pet store about enclosures to purchase. It should be large enough that he can run around freely in. For training tips, I'd go to http://www.ehow.com/how_16487_train-rabbit.html . Do some web searching. There's lots you can do for that, so just remember that patience is the key.

I hope this helps. My answer is loooong!

Answer 6

#talk to it, comfort it in a soft tone, n pet it before n after u pick him up, also pick him up slowly n softly right to ur chest tht will make it feel better. o n if it scartch u which makes u bleed, make sure u hav to cut its nails, rabbits feel very pain if their nails r too long, make sure u dun cut the red/pink places those r their blood vessels!
#i clean my rabbits cage in shower wif those toilet brush lol buts tht the easiest way!
#i feed my rabbit 1 a day but its not fat, juz giv him fewer food maybe start givin it 200 grams see how long it finish, i dunno how big is ur rabbit, so it depends(juz slowly giv it fewer n fewer until u think it become thinner then stop) or u can giv the amount of food accordin to the labels on the food package
#r u sure he dosent like to drink from a bottle or he dosent know how to? my rabbit dosent know how to drink from a bottle, thts y mine prefer a bowl, u can teach him how to drink from a bottle, but i didnt lol
#i dun think thers anythin u can help wif allergies, eat pills urself, n for combin his hair n cleanin find someone else to help u wif
#i find it hard to train any pet after it grow up so... if i were u i would giv up lol