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Pet Rabbits

Pet rabbits: Confidently care and feed your pet bunnies with this list of bunny care tips and toys.

Info on Rabbits: Check out our Info on Rabbits - where we answer your hard or elusive questions about pet, meat, and show rabbits.

(If you're still wondering if you'd make a good rabbit owner, you're on the right page. Plus, go to Rabbits as Pets to learn even more about rabbits and their nature and habits.)

Pet rabbits have just a few crucial needs...

They need protection from predators. Rabbits protect themselves from humans with cuteness, but predators don't see things the way we do! We don't like to remember this, but rabbits are at the bottom of the food chain. It's probably for this reason that God didn't give them a vicious streak. They have big feet for running, big ears for listening, and some nasty teeth for nipping--though it's not like they've got big canine thug-fangs.

Rabbits are fearful in wild So a pet rabbit depends on you for protection. Most of the time this means a nice strong cage for both inside the house, or outdoors in a hutch. You can build your own homemade wire cage, or, go to our Resources page to find reliable and trustworthy companies from whom you can obtain the perfect cage for your needs and situation. We've also provided directions for building a PVC framework for your outdoor rabbit cages, and a PVC frame designed for indoor cages.

Put a piece of 1/4 inch plywood on top of the cage. That helps the rabbit feel safer, and the cage feel a little more like a burrow.

There are various sorts of foot-rests you can buy for the bunny's comfort, and still get the benefits of the all-wire cage, like cleanliness and ease of cleaning.

Pet rabbits need a clean living area. Cleanliness and low ammonia levels are important for rabbit health. For indoors, get a tray under the cage to catch droppings (check with the companies on the Resources page), and clean it out several times a week. A litter box simplifies matters if the rabbit is litter-trained.

What litter can you use? Surprisingly, the best we have found is the tried-and-true pine shavings. Kiln-dried is of course best.

Also surprising - CareFRESH pet bedding is not necessarily the best rabbit litter or bedding, according to at least one study that was cut short for the sake of the rabbits. CareFresh allows up to TEN TIMES the ammonia levels that pine and other rabbit litters allow, which could predispose your bunny to respiratory ailments.

Get our recommendations on rabbit bedding here.

Rabbit Litter - Addresses the controversy surrounding cedar and pine shavings.

Pine Shavings - Learn the problem with cedar shavings, and the science behind why pine is fine.

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Pet rabbits need a stress-free area. That’s because they are prey animals, nervous, and easily startled. They can die of fright more easily than our usual pets - dogs and cats. They are easily startled and quickly spooked. Those big ears alert them to everything going on in the house, or if outside, in the neighborhood. When frightened, rabbits press themselves against the ground and freeze. First chance they get, if they still feel in danger, they bolt to their burrow. So, their indoor cage is their hiding space.

You don't have to turn your house into a silent tomb for the sake of your bun. Just ensure that your pet rabbit can 'escape' to safety when he gets stressed.

If you notice that your pet rabbits don't like being picked up, this is the reason. But with gentle care, slow movements and frequent handling, you can teach your bun through experience that you're not the big bad wolf. He'll lose most of his fear eventually, although probably not the actual timidity.

Pet rabbits need a rabbit-proof environment. Meaning, your house, if yours is a house rabbit. Your little buns can become shish-ka-bobs if they bite into an electrical cord. Looking out for your pet rabbits includes thinking like a rabbit. Drop to the floor and look around. What would a rabbit do? Watch for toxic houseplants. Antique chair legs are chewable, as are the baseboards. Maybe you'd best just keep a close eye on your rabbit initially, until you know he'll be safe when loose in your house.

Chin bunny in grass

Pet rabbits need food. See the rabbit equipment suppliers on the Resources page for feeders and waterers.

A commercial rabbit pellet is a complete food as long as it's not too old (2 months or newer), so no worries. But perhaps you'd like to save money and offer your bunny a balance between pellets, hay, and people-food.

Your greatest pitfall is going to be feeding your wonderful rabbit TOO MUCH. You don't want to turn him into a bowling ball. Our Feeding Rabbits page will give you some understanding of a rabbit's nutritional needs. Click here to see the rabbit diet at the Aurora Rex Rabbit Ranch.

We don't usually feed our rabbits from our kitchen. Our All About Rabbits page features many books written to pet-owners--describing how the author feeds and cares for pet rabbits. Again, they'll be the first (okay, second, after me) to tell you that overfeeding is a huge danger to your pet, just as it is to us. Maybe that's why Aurora Rex rabbits don't get pampered very much.

Timothy hay is one food item you can give to your pet rabbits generously.

Here’s a list of Rabbit-Safe Vegetables and Fruits. Please don’t consider it a complete list - there are lots more veggies and fruits that a rabbit can eat; just do your research before offering a food or a plant about which you’re unsure.

Pet rabbits need lots of fresh water. Ample water is essential to well-being, even to survival. Give them all the fresh water they can possibly drink, every day. If there's still water in the crock the next day, and there should be, dump it, rinse the crock, and refill again with fresh water. If they get all they need, they'll be healthy and well-conditioned. They will not tend to dehydration and weakness.

I know prominent rabbit breeders with many rabbits who choose to use crocks and follow the above recommendations. The Aurora Rex Rabbit Ranch, on the other hand, uses an automatic watering system with a manual fill (hose). Our rabbits get as much water as they can possibly drink.

The drawback to this system, and it's probably the ONLY drawback, is that we are not sure exactly how much water each rabbit is drinking. From their conditioning, we know they're doing fine. But we also know this: if a rabbit stops eating, the first thing we check is his water valve, to be sure it's working properly.

Pet rabbits do well with carefully selected toys and entertainment. Pet stores are bursting with rabbit toys they'd love to sell you. Some are downright ingenious.

But here are some easy and handy ideas for toys that can entertain your bunny for hours, or at least until they're chewed to smithereens...

Empty toilet paper roll. As is, or stuff it with a handful of hay.
That paper plate you used to cover your bowl of soup in the microwave. It's a little bit spattered, with delectable smells. You could give him a fresh plate if you like, too. (Stay away from styrofoam - paper only please.)
Break a limb off a tree, dead or alive, and give your bunny a chunk of it. Rabbits love, and need, to chew. They'll love gnawing on tree bark. Just be sure the tree is not a toxic one. Apple, apricot and peach are fine; but it's ixnay to anything cherry.
Scrap pieces of lumber work for chewing also. As do pieces of plywood. I've never had any problem with the plywood glue. And some of my rabbits have chewed their pieces pretty darn near to oblivion.
A used cardboard box makes for great entertainment, and a safe haven, once the bunny chews his way into the dark, safe space. While you're at it, you could hide a tiny sliver of apple tucked into some hay in the box as encouragement for your rabbit. Or, turn the box on its side and leave it open.

Keep in mind: A domestic rabbit, in YOUR cage, has a stress level hovering somewhere near zero, once he becomes familiar with you and your home. Because, if he were out in the wild and left to his devices, he would be terrified for his life, hiding under rocks and burrows, and darting from bush to bush. And you know that eventually a hawk or a coyote would end its life violently.

So:
1) It's not kind or wise to release a domestic rabbit into the wild. (In some municipalities it is illegal.) They haven't a clue how to stay safe, having been raised in a cage and having had every need provided.

2) Don't feel sorry for your pet rabbits. Treat it kindly, fill its needs, enrich its life as much as possible for a domestic rabbit. You can feel confident that its fear levels are minimal and it is happy with you for a friend.

For more information on rabbit toys and enrichment, go to All About Rabbits and pick up a book or two.

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