If possible, have your cage set up ahead of time. For the first day or two try not to hold the bunny too much and give it time to settle into its new home - especially if its a baby! The stress of being away from its siblings and with new people is hard on them and you don't want it to stop eating or drinking. Mix in the pellets I gave you with its new pellets after a day of being on the original pellets solely.
If you want to housetrain your bunny - that's great! BUT.... let it bond to you before you give it more freedom. Once they experience that freedom of space - they will be anxious to go for a run everytime you pick them up. Once they know being held is pleasureable - then give them access to only one room initially and work on the training. If your cage opens to the room, hopefully they'll hop back to do their business. If not, they will pick a spot they like to do their business - put down newspaper and kitty litter box there, and hopefully that is where they'll go consistently. :) Keep in mind when deciding which rooms to offer to the bunny - that they LOVE electrical cords (like licorish to us) - so either try and hike them up off the floor, or close off rooms with lots of electrical wires - like stereo, t.v., computers etc.
A rabbits diet consists mainly of pellets (I use 16% protein unless there is a weight problem) and Hay (Timothy or Grass is best) I recomend buying bulk pellets and hay by the bag from a feed store if you are a pet owner... much fresher than you would find in department stores and usually cheaper. Depending on the size of a bunny, they usually consume 1/4 c. to 3/4 cup of pellets daily, and I supplement a handful of hay every second day (daily for jrs and nursing moms). For treats you can add like a tablespoon of rolled oats, COB (mix of corn, oats, barley found in feed store), or a few black oil sunflower seeds (I give to my show rabbits to improve sheen in their fur). My rabbits also love wholewheat bread crusts/ends - dried out. Once they are 5 months old, you can also supplement with sparse veggies or fruit... like 1/4 carrot, apple, celery, dandelion leaves and flowers. Don't over do these as it can lead to runny stools.
Rabbits love space, so I do my best to give it to them to get some excercise. My minimum cage space is 24" square for my dwarfs... up to 30 x 36" for the larger lionheads. If you can give them out of cage time to run in a grass run, or in one room of your house they will jump and kick their heels for joy! :)
I made my grass runs out of older wire cages with the bottom cut out. Just remember to keep them out of bright sun (overheating can kill them) and the rain....
For entertainment you can put toilet rolls in their cage, light small balls, hang dollar store cat toys from their ceiling, tough baby rattles etc... some rabbits will play with these, others will stare at you like you're crazy! I've used larger plumbing tubes for them to crawl into - and they love boxes to sit in or on... but beware, they also love to use these as toilets....
Rabbits nails need to be trimmed every 3 months atleast. A lot of petstores offer this service for a price - I find using large sized nail clippers work best. Just be careful not to trim below the quick or they will bleed. (You can see the line in their nails if they have lighter nails.
If your rabbit stops eating, or eats less... check their teeth, their water bottle (ball may be stuck), their stools (runny or round?), and their hay and pellets for signs of mold or old and dusty. A good general rule is to put on straight hay diet (lots) for a few days, and add some cream soda to their drinking water.
If you suspect mites or fleas, you can try:
- A drop of advantage (for cats) behind their ear
- Ivermectin (horse dewormer, comes in a paste from Feed store) - and give
them a pea sized amount (got to cram it in their mouth with the end of a
carrot, or wipe on their feet so they'll lick it off). Repeat again 10 days
after for a second dose.
They can pick up mites from hay and/or from the grass if you let them run on it. I had a cavy once who had grey lice running all over his face. I put a drop of advantage behind his ear, and they were all dead within an hour... amazing! He was a much happier and my skin stopped crawling... :)
Many people enquire about a lionheads care... whether its the same as a regular bunny, or are there special grooming considerations. The answer is Yes, there is some grooming required for aged 2-5 month doublemaned lionheads. During that age they will develope matts if not brushed gently about twice a week. Don't over do it so that you pull out all that lovely mane however! But particularly on the sides you can work at getting any loose hair out - if you don't they will be prone to wool block (which they can't cough out - give them plenty of hay during this hairy time in their lives). Also check their anal area frequently at that age as that wool loves to stick to poo (age 6wks to 3 months in lionheads, - I trim it down which hugely helps) ... some babies are fine, other's need a little practice learning to keep that area clean. As adults they'll have their habits down, and there won't be sticky wooly fur in that area anymore. If it is causing a problem at a younger age, trim the fur down around that area to help them out. :)
If they are a singlemane, or an older doublemane, very little grooming is required. The place behind their ears is the most prone to matting, so if you notice something while you are petting them, try and tease out the matt as much as you can, then give it a light brush. (work from the tips of the hair down, not from the roots up)
If you suspect they've developed a hair ball (stringy
poops or not eating much) give them so petromalt (cat treatment for woolblock) once
a day for a few days - good to do every month regardless. Some people use mineral oil orally (probably any would work) as well.
of the Past
