Whether you house your bunny
indoors or outdoors there are certain things you need.
Furniture
Locking crocks will prevent
your bunny from tossing its food and water. These may
be ordered from Morton Jones or KW Cages for about $5.00 each.
Ceramic crocks also work. Grass carpet squares from Pier One
or a wooden sitting board should get
the bunny's feet off the wire floor. This promotes healthy
feet. Litter trained bunnies should have all wire covered.
Others should have all but the toileting area covered.
A plastic litter box full of hay or paper litter can be used
for toileting, napping or
digging. Some rabbits gnaw on their litter boxes too!
Toys
Add
toys: a toilet paper roll, a ball, a stick to chew, a tin can,
open an old phone book for digging. Does your bunny like to
dig, toss, or climb? Make up toys and games based on your
bunny's interests. You'll both have fun!
Exercise
Neither you nor your rabbit
wants to be locked up all day. At least 4 hours a day outside
the cage is a minimum. More is better. Outside your bunny
should only be in a fenced area that is free from poisonous
plants. Lists of poisonous plants are in Poisonous Plants of
California available at the Botanic Garden Bookstore. Babies
and dwarf rabbits should in runs covered with netting or
screen, or they may be taken by hawks.
Indoors
Use a 30" by 36" wire
cage, with urine guards, and a wire
floor with a litter pan beneath. The door must be large enough
to admit a litter box. Costs about $55. An alternative to a
cage is a folding exercise pen which offers more room and has
more uses. Costs between $30 to $50. Order from: Morton Jones
(800) 443-5769 or KW Cages (800)447-CAGE.
Below is a sample bunny indoor
habitat built from Neat Idea Cubes. These are available in
some office supply stores. When using these cubes, please be
sure to cover the floor with straw mats as the grid in Neat
Idea Cubes is too big for flooring:
Protection of indoors
Place electrical cords out of the rabbit's
reach. Cover cords with one or two layers of sea grass mats.
Radio Shack at the Fairview Shopping Center sells tubing
designed to hold electric cords. Some hardware stores also
sell the tubing.
Protect carpets by using sea grass mats or
grass carpet squares. Available at Pier One.
Provide fruit tree twigs (no avocado or
apricot), untreated pine or untreated baskets for chewing.
Sisal bird or cat toys are also good. Provide a large litter
box of hay, newspaper or non clay litter for digging and
toileting.
Sierra Design double redwood
hutch with wire walls and floors with a litter pan. Costs
about $165. The hutch must be placed in the shade and
protected from wind. Due to mosquito carried illness, you
should staple fly screen over the wire walls and use a litter
pan if you live within 5 miles of a wild land area. Available
at Island Seed and Feed.
Feed as much forage hay or
timothy hay as your rabbit wants; alfalfa is a poor second
choice. Hay must be available at all times! B.U.N.S.,
Petcetera, and La Cumbre Feed sell partial bales of
grass hay. The Oxbow Hay Co. sells hay by mail: call (800)
249-0366. Rabbit pellets can be purchased at any pet store or
feed store. Feed green pellets only; pellet mixes contain junk
food. Even green pellets are designed for fast weight gain and
should be limited.
Amount of pellets to feed your
bunny:
2-4 lb rabbit
1/8 Cup daily
5-7 lb rabbit 1/4
Cup daily,
8-10 lb rabbit 1/2 Cup daily
11-15 lb rabbit 3/4 Cup daily.
As for vegetables, provide one
heaping cup of fresh vegetables per 4 Ibs of body weight
daily; three vegetables at each meal. Limit fruit to small
amounts. Offer fresh, clean water at all times. Petromalt,
fresh papaya or fresh pineapple can be given weekly (daily
during molt) to aid in the digestion of fur and to prevent
hair balls.
An indoor cage and litter boxes are
necessities. Put a litter box in the cage corner the rabbit
uses naturally. Fill the box with hay, shredded newspaper, or
non-clay litter like Cat Country or Care Fresh. If the rabbit
won't use it, experiment with the litter. Treats may be placed
in the box and praise given when the bunny sits in the box.
Once the rabbit is peeing in the litter box, select a small
room or enclosed area. Place a second litter box in a corner.
Add a few poops and a treat. Carry your bunny to the litter
box. Sit back and watch your bunny. Use of the box should be
praised. Rabbits will pee in the box, but their poops are less
controlled. Sweep poops up. Peeing outside the box means back
to the cage - right then! Do not strike your bunny. Clean up
the pee with white vinegar. Move the box to the spot on which
the bunny peed. If he chooses more than one spot, add more
boxes. As he gets older, he will settle on one or two spots.
As the rabbit becomes more reliable, give the rabbit more free
time and larger space.
Cat Country Litter is available at Petcetera
890 Cactus Lane, Carpinteria or The Pet Barn, 3018 State St.,
Santa Barbara. Special order Care Fresh Litter at the Pet
Barn.
Spay & Neuter
Male rabbits are less aggressive and spray
less if neutered. Female rabbits have an 80% rate of uterine
cancer after the age of 3. Spaying will fix the problem.
Spayed females dig and spray less.
Vets recommended by B.U.N.S.
Dr. Ann O'Brien
Noah's Ark Veterinary Clinic
3034 State St
Santa Barbara , CA
805-682-2647
map
Dr. Michel Rittenberg
675 Cieneguitas Rd
Santa Barbara
805-967-0119
map
Dr. William Otto
585 Walnut Ave.
Carpinteria
805-684-3617
map
Dr. Greg Haskell - Adobe Pet Hospit
3230 State St
Santa Barbara, CA
805-682-2555
map
Dr. Lynn Lawrence
138 West Ortega
Santa Barbara
805-963-0577
map
Dr. Cynthia Binder
American Vet Hospital
Simi Valley
805-581-9111
Further Information
To obtain information on rabbit care or
adoptions contact B.U.N.S. at 805-683-0521. Copies of
the "House Rabbit Handbook" by Marinell Harriman are
available in south coast libraries courtesy of B.U.N.S.
This book is an excellent source of information on rabbits.
Send
mail to BUNS with
questions about rabbits or adoption.
Copyright © 2000-2006; Bunnies Urgently Needing Shelter
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