Subcultural engagement for the 21st Century...
Barbelith is a new kind of community (find out more)...
You can login or register.

Underground > Conversation >

Anyone here own a rabbit?

Jake, Colossus of Clout

23:11 / 04.01.05

My girlfriend and I had been in a quandary lately regarding pets. We really, really wanted one, but we don't have the time or space for a dog (small apartment, no yard, weird hours), I hate cats with a passion and she thinks lizards are creepy. So, when browsing for a chinchilla ($160, can you fuckin' believe it) we met this lady who has four bunnies and loves them to death. She basically sold us on getting a rabbit in under ten minutes, and we came home with an unbelievably cute rabbit and all the starter stuff we needed.

It's been just over twenty-four hours and I LOVE my bunny. He's this tiny little dwarf rabbit and he loves to sit on my lap or shoulder while I read comics or play Paper Mario. I'm so glad I got him. However, I really don't know shit about rabbits, so I could use some advice. The little guy is to be a house rabbit. I bought him a cage to sleep, eat and shit in, but I leave it open so he can do what he wants. I'm against keeping an animal like that in Guantanamo-like captivity. So far no problems, he seems to shit in the same place all the time, but how do you housetrain a rabbit? I get the sense that it isn't like training other animals, because his temperament is so different. Also, what kind of toys do they like? I don't want him chewing on my books or something like that. I raised up the electrical cords so he won't fry himself, but it's impossible to absolutely rabbit-proof my apartment. The rabbit care book I bought says they like toys, but doesn't really give good examples.

Basically, if there's an experienced rabbit-owner around the 'Lith, I'm sure you would have oodles of great advice for me; stuff I haven't even thought of. Please share any wisdom that might be flying around out there.

23:21 / 04.01.05

I've got a nice half inch scar above my lip from my pet rabbit when i was kid so i'd say keep its claws clipped and keep it fed. Or kill now before the trouble starts.

23:37 / 04.01.05

One of my friends owns a bunch of them and works in a pet store/clinic.. I'll ask her and get back to you asap.

23:38 / 04.01.05

I had to share an apartment with a rabbit (and another girl) for a summer. As a result, I hate the bloody things (rabbits, I mean, although I'm not too crazy about girls either). Here's whatI learned:
1. Rabbits chew on everything. Papers, cardboard boxes, books, shoelaces, socks. So, get everything off the floor, and if you're really worried about him chewing on wires, paint them with that nasty-tasting nailpolish they use to help people stop biting their nails.
2. Rabbits can, and will, shit whenever and wherever they please. You probably won't be able to totally train him out of periodically doing his business on the floor. It's just his rabbity way. Get a Dustbuster.
3. If you try to shoo a rabbit away with a pillow, it will bite you (trust me on this one).
4. Getting a cat is no way to subdue an evil rabbit. The rabbit will win.
Good luck.

Jake, Colossus of Clout

23:40 / 04.01.05

Thank you keggers. Much appreciated.

I'm not sure if I'm ready to euthanise the little guy yet, Ghadis, but I will keep his claws clipped. He's a dwarf rabbit, so he's never going to weigh more than three pounds, let alone start fucking people up like the bunny from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. That bunny was a hardcase. Mine just likes to cuddle.

23:56 / 04.01.05

Had a few rabbits, but only ever one that became a fully-fledged house-dweller.

So far no problems, he seems to shit in the same place all the time, but how do you housetrain a rabbit?

Same as a cat. I think. I've never owned a cat. Anyway, get a litter tray and some standard cat litter. Put some of his shit in it so that he learns that's where you go to take a crap. Also, if he pisses on the rug or whatever, pick him up and immediately plonk him into the tray.

Also, what kind of toys do they like?

Cat toys. It really is that easy. Balls on string and that sort of rubbish. He'll likely only play with them if you play with them, though - if it's just sitting there doing stuff all, it'll go ignored. Oh, and I had a non-house rabbit that used to love pushing a football around the garden.

23:59 / 04.01.05

Also:

He's a dwarf rabbit, so he's never going to weigh more than three pounds

Is he a dwarf, or a dwarf lop, because the latter can become fecking hugemongoose.

Jake, Colossus of Clout

00:03 / 05.01.05

He's not a lop. He's a dwarf lionhead, actually, which just means he has this cute little mane.

00:33 / 05.01.05

I still don't trust it and i'm worried on your behalf. Cuddles are always, always a pre-emptive strike. If i were you i'd bin the little monster and give it's toys to charity. Get yourselves something that can't go a short distance without water. And a very small bowl.

00:55 / 05.01.05

You know, I think we want cute hugglable bunny pics now.

Jake, Colossus of Clout

01:04 / 05.01.05

You know, Ghadis, I think you feel about bunnies how I feel about cats.

Fridgemagnet- If I wasn't technologically impaired I would send you all bunny pics. I just don't know how.

01:11 / 05.01.05

I am sure i've been in this Bunny hell before....More More MORE BUNNIES

I do actually quite like them now...

01:19 / 05.01.05

I tell ya. You see that photo of all them kids with them bunnies and then see the photo two hours later. Jesus. And all them candles! ARE THEY MAD!!! It's like Apocalypse Now....

02:04 / 05.01.05

Mine is seems to be quite fond of chewing on/playing with cardboard boxes as well as strips of newspaper. They do tend to pick one spot to do their business (even my free-roaming outdoor bunnies), but it's not 100%. And I learned a very important lesson as a young kid: if a rabbit starts to growl at you and get really flat against the ground, get the hell out of its way, quick. I currently have a dwarf, and they are far too cute.

One last piece of advice: be really friendly when he's young, because if you ignore them young they don't turn out very people-friendly.

02:08 / 05.01.05

'One last piece of advice: be really friendly when he's young, because if you ignore them young they don't turn out very people-friendly.'

That may have been my problem when i was i kid....but the way it was always looking at me...

02:13 / 05.01.05

Rabbits need to eat their own poo because they can't digest their food the first time around, so you need to leave the poo in the cage- if it's a wire bottom cage, you need to figure out some way to keep the poop from falling through. It's kinda ishy, I know, but if they don't eat their poo, they starve.

03:27 / 05.01.05

Fluffiness!

07:55 / 05.01.05

What Sally said about the poo. I seem to remember them being different colours though, the ones to be re-eaten being harder and lighter in colour than the been-through-twice dark mushy ones which were to be thrown away.

I had an outside rabbit, who staid in her hutch at night and had a run for the day. Occasionally I'd bring her in to play and someone told me this great way of dealing with things like wire avoidance etc.

If you scratch the carpet back and forth your bunny will come to you and if you pat the carpet repeatedly it will make it alert to danger. These ways of talking to your rabbit have to be re-enforced; the first time you ask it to come, have a treat ready etc.

Also - my rabbit used to love being stroked between the eyes. Maybe that was just her though. Good luck jakegnosis.

ONLY NICE THINGS

08:03 / 05.01.05

What the balls is that about? What sort of an animal can't digest its food the first time round and has to eat its own poo? Who the Hell designed that evolutionary quirk? Mike Patton?

Tryphena Absent

08:22 / 05.01.05

I thought I loved bunnies. Then Sally Dammerung destroyed that love.

09:25 / 05.01.05

You got me worried that me and Sally were suffering from perverted poo eating bunnies then, so I went and checked. It seems it's not poo their eating after all! Huzzah!

According to Answerbag.com:

It may look like it because bunnies eat pellets that come out of the anus, but technically this is not true. Rabbits reingest their cecal pellets, not their fecal pellets. Cecal pellets are sometimes referred to as night droppings or cecotrophs.

According to Rabbit Avocates, a group specializing in educating the public about the care of domestic rabbits, "These are usually produced 4-5 hours after a meal. The cecotrophs are softer than regular pellets with a stronger odor and should not be confused with actual diarrhea. Cecotrophs are a necessary part of your rabbit's diet. They contain vitamins and proteins essential to your rabbit's health.

jakegnosis: you may also want to have a look here for some more tips. They seem to know what they're talking about!

10:01 / 05.01.05

I've been completely sidetracked by the Houserabbit site now and I don't even have a rabbit.

10:06 / 05.01.05

If you're going to let anything like this ( be it hamster, rabbit, dwarf rabbit, guinea pig, whatever, ) loose in the house, you should only do so under very strict supervision. You can reason with a dog, you can just about reason with a cat on occasion, but if a rabbit or such like gets into somewhere it shouldn't, very bad things can happen.

Jake, Colossus of Clout

17:31 / 07.01.05

Thanks for the info, all. I was worried about the poo-eating thing, but I guess it being "cecal matter" makes it okay. Also, Nobody's Girl, that rabbit pic looks EXACTLY like my bunny. Cute as hell.

17:37 / 07.01.05

A precious little girl walks into a pet shop looking for a Christmas gift and asks in the sweetest little lisp between two missing teeth, "Excuthe me,mithter, do you keep widdle wabbits?"

As the shopkeeper's heart melts, he gets down on his knees so that he's on her level and asks, "Do you want a widdle white wabbit, ora thoft and fuwwy bwack wabbit, or maybe one like that cute widdle bwown wabbit over there?"

She, in turn, blushes, rocks on her heels, puts her hands on her knees, leans forward and says, in a quiet voice, "I don't think my python weally gives a thit."

08:37 / 13.01.05

Jakegnosis, my Mum has had several really good house rabbits and she says you should read a book called Hop To It, Guide to Training Your Pet Rabbit.

A

13:40 / 13.01.05

I could be completely wrong about this, but I've heard that if you feed a rabbit lettuce, it will die. That couldn't be right, could it?

Tryphena Absent

14:08 / 13.01.05

I thought that was rice? Or wait is that pigeons?

14:29 / 13.01.05

If the lettuce thing is true, then my rabbit is immortal. I should make her a little cape and tights. . .

Ex

15:01 / 13.01.05

Lettuc can function as a laxative for bunnies. Not fatal, but not terribly pleasant, especially for a housebunny.

And don't give cucumber to rats, they can't burp.

17:55 / 13.01.05

If I remember correctly, lettuce and carrots and other flayrah should only be given in small amounts, and will probably give them a case of the runs regardless. If you have any place it can safely get to fresh grass, it might be nice.

I had a bunny named Princess when I was little. Somebody stole her.

(*sniffles*)

20:56 / 13.01.05

I am deeply saddened and moved. What sort of person would steal a rabbit? and for what purpose?... (insert inappropriate remark about dodgy looking type from the local takeaway here)

Perhaps best not to dwell on that

I have a rabbit related issue. Has anyone had any experience of rabbits living with guinea pigs? They are meant to get on so I hear. However Willow the dwarf rabbit used to be best of pals with skunky the guinea pig. He sadly passed away and was buried in a shoe box in the dead of night with full honours. 6 months on and now whenever Dave the new apprentice guinea pig is anywhere in the vicinity she goes for him in a vicious seeming manner.

Maybe it's just that he's not the same, maybe she remembers skunky outwitting her and hiding her food then eating it and doesn't want Davey boy to get any ideas above his station. I don't know how the strange and unusual rabbit mind works, does anyone have any suggestions how I can encourage them to be mates?

Otherwise my plans for a multi-story rabbit guinea pig housing emporium are useless.

21:04 / 13.01.05

They get on fantastically if they grow up together, but you're going to struggle getting an adult rabbit to get along with any new animal.

I'm dreading the day our pig goes. The rabbit won't know what to do without his parter trying to earfuck him all the time.