new bunny help!?

Question

hi i just got a new bunny (yesterday) and i have decided to call him max. he is a dwarf rabbit that is grey and brown and extremly inquisitive but he dosent eat much. is this normal? what should i feed him? this is my first eva rabbit but i have bred guinea-pigs for 2 1/2 years now, do they basicly eat the same things. im not completely satisfyed with max so any name suggestions would be great. plz tell me about your experiances good or bad with rabbits. im sure they could help in the future.

Answer 1

So you have desided to buy a rabbit. This will help you learn everything there is to know about rabbit care.
Food what is good what is bad
There is such a thing as rabbit food that is horrible for your rabbit. To be sure that your rabbit is getting a good diet try looking at the bag of feed for these things protein,Fiber and fat percentages. There should be at least 18% Fiber. 2.5 or less in fat and 16-18% in protein, and only feed about a half a cup or so of this feed. I suggest Purina brand feed, but most other brands are also ok. If your Rabbit is under 5 months old, food should be given all the time. Hay is also important for your Rabbit and you should give it hay at all times. Some good types of hay to feed is mixed grass hay and Timothy. Greens should also be a large part of the rabbits diet but please if your rabbit is under 4 months only feed a small piece example it should be smaller than the palm of your hand, but once your rabbit is over 4 months give it a large handful of greens once a day. some good greens to feed your rabbit are, carrots,dandelion greens,kale,collard greens(my rabbits favorite), escarole,romaine lettuse, parsley, mustard greens, but never feed light lettuce such as iceberg lettuce. So remember that you should feed your rabbit only once a day (pellet feed and greens) but give hay all the time.
Water
Water must be available at all times and can be given in either a water bottle or a water bowl. I suggest that you use a bottle since the rabbit can't spill it or get it dirty. In the winter months if your rabbit is outside you will want to replace the frozen water at least twice a day. It might be helpful to use a water bowl, since bottles are hard to defrost quickly and offen crack when they become frozen.
Caging
There are some important things to remember when getting your rabbit a cage . One factor should be if you are going to keep your rabbit inside or outside. I always say it is better outside than inside but there isn't really one that is better for the rabbit than the other. The outside cage should have a roof and should have a house or wooden part of the cage in the back and a wire or open part in front. This should be 4 times the size of your rabbit (front) and 2 times or more for the back. If you are keeping your rabbit inside the house the best type of cage should be at least 4 times the size of the rabbit. That is without the food bowls. so you might want to figure about 5-6 times the size of rabbit. But if you cannot find a indoor cage that big use a small one but let your rabbit out for exercise more often.
Exercise
Exercise is another important part of a rabbits life. If your rabbits is outside you may want to set up a ''run'' or a fenced in area bigger than that your rabbits cage for him to run around in. You can make this a permanent fence or a collapsable one. About once a week or more you can let your rabbit run around in this ''run''. Not only is this healthy for the rabbit it is also a so source of entertainment. If your rabbit is inside you might want to put up some type of a run also since indoor rabbits need more exercise since their cages are smaller.
Grooming
Rabbits shed there coat about twice a year, Sometimes when a rabbit washes he swallows some of this loose shedded hair, and they become hairballs which in rabbits can sometimes be deadly, since they very often become stuck in the digestive track, a way to prevent this is to feed your rabbit plenty of extra hay, and keep your rabbit brushed, to get rid of the loose fur. A papaya enzyme pill can also be given to your rabbit during this time to break up the fur. Or try feeding your rabbit some pineapples, the acid in the pineapple juice breaks up and the fur in your rabbit stomach.
Weather care
if your rabbit is in the house much of this will not apply but please read this anyway. When the temperatures outside reach the 80's your rabbit may have trouble keeping cool. The first thing to do is be sure your rabbits cage is out of direct sunlight. You can also freeze drinking water bottles and put it in your rabbits cage, the rabbit will lay next to it and keep cool. Rabbits who become over heated can very easily die, if you rabbit seem to be wet around the mouth and is painting uncontroably, you can put your water on your rabbit, especially on it's ears this will cool the body temp and hopefully save your rabbit. REMEMBER never move your rabbit indoors when it is hot, or move it outside when it is cold, the sudden shock can kill your rabbit very easily. In the winter just add some straw or extra woodchips to keep your rabbit warm and be sure to change the frozen water offten, rabbits deal with the cold very well, but not the heat.
Other information
Some other information that might be helpful to you is, Rabbits can also have any pear or apple leftovers you may have, but not to many since the greens are better for the rabbit but still ess important than the pellets, which are a must. Rabbits do not requirer any vacinations like a dog or a cat and normally live very healthy lives. (as long as you give him good care) and vet bills are usually very small. Rabbits can live 7-10 years on average although 15 has been recorded. Rabbits nails need to be cut about once every month or two. use can use a cat nail clipper and cut just the tip of the nail. (where it is white)
Contact info
If you ever have any other questions on your rabbit or rabbit care, please feel free to e-mail me at [e-mail] also please visit my website www.freewebs.com/creekside_rabbitry

i have had rabbits for years and have 13 right now, i love them.

Answer 2

Max is a fine name! My daughter had a Netherland's dwarf rabbit for nine years named Polly. She didn't eat a lot at a time either - just feed her rabbit pellets. She liked the seed sticks you can buy at the pet store and Timothy Hay. She was a great pet! We would let her run around supervised in the house. She actually liked to crawl under my coffee table (which has drawers and sits very low to the ground), and we would hear her chewing on the underside - we'd try to stop her, but she never did any visable damage. My father built a hutch for her that I designed and she liked chewing on the inside of it too. Since she was outside in Arkansas, we brought the hutch onto the covered porch in the winter, and in the summer I would freeze gallon jugs of water and set in her hutch to help keep her cool. We would also let her run around in the fenced yard - with supervision, of course. She would nibble on a little grass. You want to make sure she doesn't get too much grass, or feed her lots of veggies because she could get diharea. Polly didn't care much for carrots, but occasionally we'd give her one. She loved those seed sticks, though. We burried her in the back yard under a big tree in a Victoria's Secret Box. :(

Answer 3

They like grass and exercise.Thistles carrots and hay.They are not like Guinea Pigs and eat everything.They also like pellets from the local shop/Rose leaves .My daughter has a pet dwarf rabbit.We have had him for years.What is wrong with Max? Ours is called Benji..Rabbits digest small amounts of food at a time.As they are burrowing creatures they hate the cold and extreme heat.GIVE it a soil sandpit to play in otherwise it will dig up the gardenEnjoy you new friend.

Answer 4

i have had rabbits for about 8 or 9 years or longer.
as your rabbit is a dwarf and is only a baby at first he wont eat much as he gets bigger he will eat more but they are not that big of eaters you will get the feel for it as he gets older,

what i do with mine as they are spoilt
one day they get pellets the next day i give them fresh veggies

i feed them corn lettuce(dont feed too much lettuce)
carrots peas nearly all veggies but not silverbeet
you will know by what it eats and what it doesn't what it's favourites are.

also have fresh straw in its bed so it can make bedding and also chew on this which is good for it's teeth.

but they eat basically the same as guiena pigs
i used to have one living with one my rabbits and he ate the same as the rabbits

hope this helps you

Name ideas
cotton
floppy
marble
charlie
bud

just look at him and the first thing that comes into your head thats his name

Answer 5

it's ok that he's not eating much. a lot of times the rabbit won't eat a lot (or at all) for the first few months that you have him/her. my first rabbit worried me sick when he didn't eat for 2 weeks after i got him unless it was rabbit treats or fresh veggies and too many of those can make them sick. just relax and let him get to know you. if you can bring him in the house let him hop around a room while you sit and talk on the phone or to him or do work, whatever, as long as he can hop up to you and see what you're doing. i did this and snuggled my first bunny a lot when he was little and he grew up to be a snuggle bunny, he would hide in my shirt/sweater and he liked to bury his head in my hair. he also licked us(me and my family), we took this as affection since he had a salt lick(which is good for them and they love to push it around) that he used. you can train him to a litter box if you like but you should clean it out(thoroughly-bleach at least once a month) at least 2 times a week. i lost my first bunny because of a disease we didn't know he had. my mom took him to the vets while i was at school and he died the next night at the vets office. i had to do a production at school the day after he passed but it helped me to keep my mind off of it. he had lived in a barn as a wild bunny for a few months before my best friend caught him and gave him to me. i just got another bunny though and he is a little more of a challenge since he was mistreated by his former owners. i have vowed not to give up though and no one should give up on any animal or person. so, he may be a stinker right now but over time he will get more friendly towards you and others. just don't pamper him, punish him when he bites anyone or anything by poking him in the nose or something right after he does it. taking away treats won't mean/teach him anything. don't hurt him though, just be firm with him.

Answer 6

Dwarf rabbit don't eat much. A good brand of food for a rabbit is Mania Pro thats what I feed all my rabbits, its good for any breed.

Answer 7

Let your bunny develop a personality before you name him. Feeding him rabbit food is a good idea, local feedstores offer 50lb bags for under $8.00. While they are young they will eat very little, they mostly look for things to chew on to keep their teeth grinded down, like wooden blocks or chew sticks etc. Make sure you offer a litter box inside his cage as well, he will use it and it will help keep things clean and tidy. :)