March 2008 Newsletter
About Pet RabbitsRabbits are growing in popularity as house pets. Social as well as active and playful, they have the potential to be wonderful pets for the prepared owner.
Life expectancy: varies with breed, anywhere from 5 to 15 years.
Pet Qualities (pros and cons):
- Rabbits are social with gentle handling are generally quite tame.
- They are playful and entertaining to watch.
- Being social, they need a great deal of interaction with their owners and/or other rabbits to be happy. Daily playtime and exercise outside of their case is necessary.
- They are not low maintenance - it takes a good deal of work to properly care for a rabbit.
- Rabbit pellets alone are not a sufficient diet -- they need lots of roughage in the form of good quality hay and a variety of fresh vegetables.
- They can be litter trained.
- They do need to chew, so lots of safe chew toys should be provided, and any spaces where the rabbit is allowed to run must be carefully rabbit-proofed.
- They need a relatively large cage. They are also better off indoors, where they can be more social with their family and also are also safe from predators (even in the city) and extreme weather.
- While they are generally quiet pets, rabbits are not a good match for active young children who may not be careful enough when picking them up or playing around them.
- Rabbits like to be near their people, but they often would rather not be held.
- They will likely require some veterinary care, which can be expensive. They should be spayed or neutered (by a vet experienced with surgery on rabbits) and they may require vaccinations depending on where you live (see Rabbit Vaccinations from RabbitRehome.org.uk for more on vaccines).
- Rabbit urine can have a strong odor so expect to change their litter box frequently (spaying and neutering can help reduce the odor. In addition their urine is high in calcium so can leave a chalky residue when it dries that can be hard to clean up (vinegar is pretty effective for this).
Where to get a pet rabbit:
- Please consider adopting an rabbit from a shelter or rescue if you have one nearby. There are many perfectly good pets looking for homes. Don't worry about getting an older rabbit--you can get a good sense of their personality and they will bond with new owners just fine.
- Private breeders--just make sure the breeder takes good care of the animals (visit the breeder and carefully observe where the bunnies are raised), and that the babies are well socialized.
- Pet stores--often the most readily available source, but be careful about health and condition, as well as socialization.
