More rabbit owning questions

Our Rabbit is basically a cat - goe out throught the cat flp to go to the toilet - sleeps in a basket in the kitchen.

We did not set out to have a house rabbit - Doodles made it his way of life.

I had indoor ones until recently. Exposed wires were a problem especially if we didn't supervise but if they are out of sight and reach it wasn't a problem. Other problems were wallpapers until we redecorated (got rid of it) and the same with carpets. The main problems were hairs - molting - you you have to hoover so much more. And smells if you don't change litter and clea the cage every 3 days at least. I also bought the litter that absorbed smells and was made from paper pellets so it was neater because they didn't drag it out when they jumped out of their tray or cage.

The plus point is that they can be good house pets. I couldn't have cared for an outdoor one, especially in the winter. But I did rehome mine in the end as my H developed asthma during this time and allergy reaction, possibly down to the fur or hay.

Those are my pros and cons.

We originally had ours as house rabbits and only moved them outside when we got a big garden because they loved it. I wish I hadn't really, I much preferred them as house rabbits as they interacted with us much more, but now they are far too destructive when they get in the house if unsupervised, but they never used to be.

Our rabbit lives in our living room in a cage which has a plastic base. She's another who's basically a cat. She's a netherland dwarf rabbit so her cage isn't that huge, but she has free roam of the living room all the time except when we're in bed. She jumps in and out as she pleases using a wooden block which OH built.

The main thing to make sure of if you plan to keep them inside is that there's no cables for them to chew. We've had to completely get rid of cables on the floor or at a low level. The chair in our living room hides a mass of wires which are pinned to the wall out of her reach as she chewed anything and everything! We've also had to block other places what she uses to hide behind but there's no way she can't hurt herself so I don't have to worry and can leave her on alone if I need to.

It wasn't that hard to litter train her. We got a rabbit potty from a pet shop which is in the corner of her cage and whenever she pooed we picked it up and threw it in the potty, she soon got the idea. It's not nice at the beginning as rabbits do poo loads but it was worth it.

She does go out in the garden quite often but I couldn't imagine her living outside permanently and I doubt she'd have the personality she does if she did.

Our two are house rabbits, they live in the spare room, but a lot of people have indoor cages for them when they are unsupervised.

Like the above posters said it is a lot easier to spot sighs of illness if they are indoors with you, and they are a lot more social.

A 3 handfuls of good quality pellets would be about right (depending on your hand size though I guess). They shouldn't be a muesli though, but a complete pellet as it prevents selective feeding. Then you would need to feed some veg once a day and unlimited hay.

I actually rang a local rescue centre the other day ad they have several bonded pairs. They are all veccinated against Mixematosos (sp?) and all the males are neutered. The woman gave me lots of advice on hutces etc, but at that stage I was thinkin of outdoor rabbits.

If we had them indoors I think they'd go in the dining room. There won't be anything in thre except a metal futon and the wooden table & chairs (but I wouldn't mind them getting nibbled). We'd have to move them if we had overnight guests or wanted to use the dining room but that's only v occasionally, mainly at xmas, because we all tend to eat in the kitchen the rest of the time.

They can learn basic instructions like 'no' if they start nibbling on things they shouldn't, and 'home' if you want them to go back to their cage. It does work so they know what they shouldn't be doing. If I say no they used to stop whatever they were doing and look at me ?

I didn't bother with bedding, they just had a litter tray but if they felt unwell they used to lie in there so I knew they were under the weather then (or sulking at you). They always got better if you make sure they keep eating though.

Hi,

Our Rabbit lives outside, mainly because i am allergic to her. We have a run attached to the cage and leave the door open, she then comes and goes as she pleases.

In the winter we will put her in the garage/shed where itsa bit warmer.

Our rabbit had babies on Friday night, they are sooo cute. If you are near us (lincolnshire) and want a baby rabbit let me know, they wont be ready for another 8 weeks though.

What everyone else said really, but just to add they they will chew ANYTHING, e.g. skirting boards, the plaster on your walls, wallpaper etc. Also in terms of an indoor cage your best bet by far is a dog crate which you can get in 48" as they have good head height for bunnies to stand on back legs. You can then get a puppy pen to attach to give them a bit more space when you aren't around to have them roaming free, or just have the pen and not bother with an actual cage.