got my 2 children a rabbit?

Question

I got my 2 children a rabbit,never had one b4 would like to know how to care for it properly,at the momment i am feeding it and giving it fresh water daily,also carrot shavings,i am cleaning it every other day and letting it out twice a day for excersice,am i doing things properly?and is there anything else i could be doing ?

Answer 1

Ok the water and food part is good...but some breeds of rabbit can't have carrots. also to the person who said lettuce..lettuce is bad for rabbits. other then that you are doing pretty good

Answer 2

If you really can't take care of it then I suggest giving it to someone who wants to care for it, but I would try a little bit longer. I owned 5 rabbits when I was 10 years old so you should be able to handle 1. Rabbits are very easy to potty train because they basically potty train themselves and like to go to the bathroom in the same corner. Your little bunny is just a baby, it just started getting used to itself and its new cage and it will take a little while for it to get adjusted, give it time. Your bunny might get pee on itself but if your potty box is situated well it shouldn't be a problem, plus, bunnies clean themselves. _____________________ Okay, just read your update and your husband is right, you are being extremely fickle and ridiculous and freaking out over nothing. You're losing sleep and appetite? Over a tiny rabbit? Are you serious? I think you need therapy for your anxiety problems. I hope you never have kids because you'll probably end up "not wanting it anymore" when it does one thing wrong.

Answer 3

You really should have researched like crazy about rabbits before buying one. Most will tell you, including me as a breeder, rabbits rarely make good pets for children. They don't care to be picked up, as they are animals of prey, and will likely scratch. I suggest you buy nail clippers and clip your rabbits nails regularly.

Commercial food with too many added treats in it isn't the healthiest for your pet. I suggest buying just pellets. I use Purina. Your rabbit will enjoy timothy hay as a tasty snack. You can also give it many different types of veggies and fresh fruit. Though be careful, and introduce new foods in limited quantity, if you upset your rabbits diet too much you may get a case of wet tail. Without veterinarian attention, wet tail is almost always fatal.

You may like to try and litter train your rabbit. It'll be a ton more convenient when your rabbit is out and playing.

Also keep in mind, you may want to think about getting your rabbit fixed. Rabbits will often mark their territory by spraying urine. With bucks this almost always happens after they sexually mature, though it isn't uncommon with does. Getting your rabbit fixed may help with this problem, and your rabbit will reduce, if not stop completely with rowdy behavior. Also, if later in life you decide to get another rabbit, you'll be able to introduce a new rabbit to a fixed rabbit with a lot more ease.

Answer 4

Rabbits need Timothy hay, a good quality rabbit food usually pellets, and fresh water daily. No need to shave the carrots as their teeth need to chew on things to keep them from growing too long. Just like beavers, a rabbits teeth grow in length as they age which is where the phrase "long in the tooth "comes from.
Our rabbit is liter box trained which is easy to do, but still we don't let it run in the house as they do chew on nearly everything including electrical cords.
As for treats we give ours apples, carrots, cabbage, dandelion greens, and for whatever reason it loves to play with the cores of paper towel and toilet paper rolls. Every now and then I offer it other veggies and fruits for variety, but he doesn't usually eat them.
Make sure it has a home to hide in too. A simple one is a box just larger than it is turned upside down with a door cut into it.

Answer 5

you should always have about $1000 set aside for emergencies. This is very important, as animals do get sick and need care.

Not all rabbits are friendly. Most do not like to be held or cuddled. They freak out if they are picked up incorrectly and kick with thier back legs. It's a good idea not to pick up a rabbit as they are delicate and can easily break a leg if dropped by children.

They are farily independant when they are out of thier cage. I consider mine pretty friendly, tolerates being picked up, pet in cage, but even she will not let me pet her once she is out.

Rabbits have a specific diet. Under one year they need alphalpha hay, and pellets, with veggies introduced one at a time. After one year they need mostly veggies(mine gets two cups of assorted veggies, half cup pellets and timothy hay),no more alphalpha past one year. Weight needs to be maintained, as over weight rabbits will have health issues.

Carrots are ok, but filled with sugar, if this rabbit is over a year she needs more variety than just carrots. The rule of thumb is to give three different veggies(different collor = differnt nutrients) So if on Mon you feed peppers, carrots, romain lettuce, on Tues you would choose three different veggies.

I didn't see anything about pellets, or hay. Rabbits need some pellets, especially babies(under 1 year), and all rabbits need hay, essential for healthy digestion.

Rabbits need to be spayed/neutered. Males will have sexual agression, and females can get cancers if not altered.

Rabbits need a cage large enough to hop around and should be out of thier cage for several hours per day. They must be supervised as they chew wires, books, carpet, etc. They are destructive, I knew a person whose rabbit ripped the wallpaper off the wall. Be prepared to have bare spots in your carpet from chewing and furniture ruined(will mom be happpy with that?)

Keeping a rabbit outside is not advised as they can be killed by predators. No hutch is completely secure against dogs, raccons, etc. Your rabbot will need to be kept inside.

Make sure you have a cage where feces dies not fall through, rabbit have special night time feces that they redigest for nutrients.

Here is a list of rabbit friendly veggies
http://www.adoptarabbit.org/articles/packet/abcvegi.html
http://www.carrotcafe.com/f/veggies.html

Answer 6

Congratulations on your new pet! I also have a rabbit and adore him. It sounds like you're doing a great job.

Keep the cage clean, making sure that the bedding is never wet or urine soaked. Keep the food fresh and change the water daily.

As far as food is concerned, most "rabbit food" that you can buy at pet stores provides almost all of the nutrients your rabbit needs but I prefer Mazuri. You can check out their food at Mazuri.com.

Also it is essential that your supplement your bunny's diet with fresh Timothy Hay.....as much as her or she wants. It is a very important their intestinal tract and overall health. (Make sure it's Timothy Hay....as other kinds of hay are offered)

Keep your new pet's nails trimmed, eyes and ears clean (and check often as these areas are best at showing clues to your bunny's health) and make sure he or she gets plenty of exercise and a chew block in their cage as their teeth are always growing. Have fun with your new little buddy!

Interesting fact. Rabbits are not rodents, as most people believe. Rabbits and hares are considered lagomorphs. Two main differences being fur on the bottom of the feet and two sets of incisors (one right behind the other) instead of one. If your rabbit is patient, maybe he'll let you look in his mouth and check them out! :)

Answer 7

Iv got two rabbits, they need fresh water and food daily, cleaning out once a week, they can be given fresh food but not too much.dont give them cut grass as it upsets there stomach. it will need a miximatosis jab before summer arrives and a different jab later on in the year.Handle it reguarly otherwise it will not get tame.

Good luck with the rabbit oh dont put guineas in with them either as they will fight.

this information is correct as i am currently studying an animal course.

Answer 8

Please next time do research BEFORE you get a new pet that you don't know much about. A lot of people will buy a new pet, figure out that it takes "too much work" to take care of them, and either neglect them and let them die or drop them off at an already over-crowded shelter. If your kids aren't even helping you take care of the rabbit, then it sounds like they are too young and/or irresponsible to have a pet. Remember, your rabbit is a living creature, not a for of entertainment!

Answer 9

Make sure that you give them something, usually something wooden to chew on and keep their teeth that are always growin wore down. Also about every two weeks or as needed you will need to trim his/her nails. There are several websites and support groups that you can join that are specifically for rabbits and there you can find everything that you need to know. You can also learn how to properly trim the nails. You have to be careful because there are a lot of things that are bad for rabbits like, red clover, alfalfa hay, cabbage, ect. I used to breed Netherland Dwarfs and even though this site is mostly devoted to them. They have a great help forum and you can ask anything and get a lot of feedback. http://www.islandgems.net/forums/ I hope this helps.

Answer 10

if the rabbit is very young. the only thing that it should be fed is the rabbit food in the bag. rabbits are very delicate in nature and another food will upset their stomach. if the rabbit is full grown, it can eat carrots , lettuce bananas, apples.and potatoes. just don't overfeed.rabbits must also always have something to chew on because of their teeth. also remember that it must be held everyday so it can get used to your children and not scratch them.

Answer 11

First off- -- I hope your kids are old enough to clean the cage themselves or else you got a rabbit for them when they are too young. When you let the rabbit out to exercise, watch for electric cords and baseboards, rabbits LOVE to chew. Do you know you can litterbox train a rabbit---yes you can. Also make sure your bunny eats rabbit food as well as the carrots.