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Roommate wants to get a rabbit...
Thanatos
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So, yeah, my roommate wants to get a rabbit. We live in an apartment. Is this going to cause an issue with smells? Any other issues I should be aware of?
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Will his live in a cage or be free range?
If it roams free, I'm given to understand that they'll chew everything they can reach. My brother invested in a bunch of cable protectors, as his rabbit chews through them in one bite.
Also remember that rabbits often don't do well in noisy homes and scare easily; they are after all natural prey animals.
Jesus Christ yes. I babysat a rabbit for a friend, and didn't really think much of letting it out while I was sleeping. I just figured it was like a cat or something.
My headphones, computer cable, and a floor filled with hard rabbit shit dispelled any myth of that.
don't let it in your bedroom unsupervised.
Depends on the rabbit. Mine loves to play with my cat, loves to get pet & be snuggled and will come over to you in order to be pet/make a ton of noise until you pay attention to him. He does not like baths or getting his nails cut but he just makes a sour face, he doesn't fight. He's incredibly friendly and is a really easy going pet.
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So you get the vacuum and bam, no more problem. And besides, he was talking about them chewing the wires, which is way more annoying.
Than, I've been rescuing rabbits for about 10 years, so if you have specific questions let me know. My brief summary is that yes, they are lots of fun - but they can also be a huge stinky mess and hells of expensive if they get sick.
Send your roomie to the House Rabbit Society for some really great startup info, and also about what to look for in a rabbit vet.
That's adorable. I've actually always wanted a rabbit, but I also love big dogs, and my german shepherd loves to chase small fuzzy animals.
Some people, however, are horrible breeders, especially with small animals that breed quickly. They over breed the mothers, often times when they're too young, and the animals are raised with no interaction and poor care. This will definitely create a skittish animal. You do not want to get a rabbit from a place like this, I wouldn't suggest a pet store bunny for the same reason. I'd also suggest checking out rescue bunnies. I have thought about getting Pineapple (my bun) a friend from the local MSPCA.
And when you get the bun, give him time to acclimate to his new home, make sure he has toys, food & water, and give him time to meet and get to know you. Mine loves his tossing carrot and yogurt bites, and fresh veggies on top of his pellets get him really excited.
The best thing is that he does the lil mohawk by himself when he grooming.
Also, Usagi knows rabbits, she has three!
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If socialized properly they can be very friendly and playful.
OK, so the lowdown on things pet stores don't tell you.
Litter training is totally possible, some rabbits take right to it and some require a little encouragement, but it makes life so much easier if they can just hop around and poop where they're supposed to. You'll definitely want to put your wires/cords in those protective plastic sleeves and then check the sleeves often because they'll chew right through them. Also, they don't pee down, they sort of pee horizontally so if they don't come to you litter trained you'll want a cage with high sides.
Don't get cedar shavings as litter (makes them sick), but pine is good, aspen is better and those newspaper-based ones are great if you can get them to not eat it. Have lots of good quality timothy or other grass hay available, but keep alfalfa rare as the high protein content isn't good for them. Don't buy the kibble with treats mixed in, they'll eat the treats and not the kibble and then woops, get sick.
Most importantly, don't skimp on finding a vet before you get the rabbit. Often the rabbit will come from the pet store or the shelter with pasteurella, a lovely thing that can give the bun chronic sneezing, coughs and abscesses, so it's important to visit a vet after you adopt.
I think he means it chewed his headphone and computer cables, too.
I had five! Unfortunately I'm down to one as the others have all gotten old and passed away.
Piney's already 3 but I've seen some really varying info on how long I should expect him to be around.
Well, my Flemish Giant lived to 7, the three Dutch mixes were 8, 8, and 5, and my bitchy little Netherlands Dwarf is still kicking at nine and a half.
So uh, a while?
The second rabbit was much friendlier, still didn't smell and learned to use a litter box on its own. Was great until I got sneezy so she went outside and that very night someone stole her/let her out.
The third rabbit was some rex thing, small and very soft. Very friendly, semi trained to a litter box but typically just ran back to its cage if it had to go. Kind of started biting as it got older and peeing. She was eventually given away to a local breeder who had a very nice setup and has made some apparently very nice little bunnies and calmed down.
Which reminds me -- do you neuter rabbits? Cats and dogs can develop serious attitude/behavior problems if left intact, and now I wonder if that was the problem with all of our older rabbits. We never had them fixed and they did eventually start to have behavior problems and peeing outside of their usual areas. I never even considered it until just recently (I'm a cat owner and just thought "wait, if it's good for my cats... would it've been good for my rabbits?)
That bath picture makes me want a rabbit again, damn its so cute!
I loved my giant bun, she was the sweetest 22 pounds of lap rabbit anybody could want. I'll find some photos when I get home.
I just said SQUEEEEEEEEE in real life. That is what your picture is doing to me. It is ruining me.
If you let them sit there and fester in their own poop maybe. They're not smelly at all if cared for and they're really easy to care for.
Rabbits are very quite, however they tend to chew a lot, specially wires, so don't be surprised.
Poor Peter
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They chew everything, especially if they aren't getting enough (or high enough quality, Bunny is very picky) hay or toys to chew. This can be trained out of them to a degree, but it takes time and a lot of wrecked stuff.
Rabbits need interaction everyday - with humans and/or a bunny friend (ours is solo, he doesn't get along too well with his 'cousin' - my wife's sister's rabbit).
Rabbits need freedom to play. That means hours each day out of their cage to run and hop.
I recommend minimizing alfalfa intake. Bunny was only fed Timothy hay and regular pellets (and veggies). The regular/cheap pellets use an alfalfa base instead of Timothy. The protein isn't the only problem - its the calcium. Rabbits cannot process excess calcium except to pass it as urine. About 1.5 years ago Bunny was close to the end - he stopped urinating and was squeeking when he tried. X-Ray looked like a giant cancerous tumor, but further tests showed it was actually a massive build up of calcium in his bladder. The calcium forms crystals which cause scratching and internal bleeding. Luckily, it wasn't too late, and several treatments and $550 later, he was as good as new. Only Timothy based pellets for him now
Signs of a happy/healthy rabbit:
- Softly and slowly crunch their teeth as you pet them (not grind.. grinding is a sign they're in pain)
- Running around and through your legs when you're standing (sign of affection)
- Binkying (I'll let you youtube it
I hope Bunny holds on for years to come - I will be truly devastated to lose him. He is 100% healthy right now, and recently did something he hasn't done since he was much younger... sprint around the living room at top speed, up on the couch, along the couch, back down to the carpet, around the table, around my feet, back around the room to the couch again, and stop on the couch - spinning to face me to make sure I saw. I did.
They don't stink themselves (like ferrets do, ugh), but their urine smells very strongly of ammonia. If you keep their litter clean what you typically smell is the hay, which I happen to think smells quite nice.
I don't think my lil guy has ever done that
Yes, you want to neuter rabbits. Bunny's cousin (Hausenpfeffer, aka Haus) was a 'wild' outdoor rabbit.. neutering him made him calm down and become safe to interact with (he was REALLY crazy before). It also extends their life.
I had a little guy (Netherland Dwarf I think) that would do that, it was pretty hilarious. Little bastard managed a full front flip once.
damn you thanatos this is what I get for reading your threads now I need a goddamn bunny
I just wanted to make sure it's not going to be something that's going to make the whole apartment smell like ammonia or something.