Comments for The Bunny Guy Blogs On House Rabbits

Comment on Deadly Combination? Rabbits With Other Pets by Gina Moore

Gina Moore — Tue, 21 May 2013 19:09:11 +0000

Posted on Amazon.com and emailed you pics of Howard visiting at the nursing home….

Comment on Deadly Combination? Rabbits With Other Pets by The Bunny Guy

The Bunny Guy — Tue, 14 May 2013 23:51:26 +0000

Thank you, Gina for the wonderful compliment and I am so glad that you liked my book so much. I am sure that your bunnies are treated royally at your house.

It is awesome that you are involved in Pet Therapy. It is one of the most rewarding things that I do with my two buns, Star and Snickers. I think they actually look forward to the attention.

I would love it if you could post your comment on Amazon as a review of my book. It would reach tens of thousands of people and hopefully convince them to read my book instead of one of the ones that show them how to build a hutch in the back yard.

Thanks again and big hugs to Howie and Archie!
The Bunny Guy

Comment on Deadly Combination? Rabbits With Other Pets by Gina Moore

Gina Moore — Tue, 14 May 2013 16:23:51 +0000

I wholeheartedly agree with you!!! People really need to THINK before bringing a bun home, no matter how sweet it looks! I have two rescue bunnies that I just spent $400.00 having them neutered. They have their own (seperate) spaces to live in and they are kept in their own bedroom. Now, they also have a playpen in our living room, but are only there in the evenings when WE are there to supervise the dogs. Now, the funny thing at our house, our dogs are petrified of the bunnies! They are pretty big, they are white New Zealands. So, the boys (Howard and Archie) get our full attention! BTW, they like Family Feud, its their favorite show! My buns were two little girls’ Easter bunnies and were hanging inside (gasp!) a chicken coop!!!!! The girls’ father gave them to me and told me to “just turn them out at your barn”. NOT HARDLY!! They are approximately 6 months old and I now use them in my Pet Therapy program I have at our local nursing home. (I use dogs, llamas, goats, sheep, a miniature cow, a miniature horse & donkey, etc). The residents LOVE them!

I would like to take this moment and tell you your book is the very best one on the market for keeping “pet” rabbits! So well written and full of wonderful advice!

Comment on Your Rabbit And His Greens by reenie

reenie — Thu, 02 May 2013 21:35:10 +0000

Thanks Bunny Guy.

Comment on Have You Found The Right Vet, Yet? by Cassie

Cassie — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 17:11:31 +0000

I just did and didn’t think I was going to get him back since everyone at the vet office loved him.

Comment on Where To Begin by rabbithomes2u

rabbithomes2u — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 13:40:07 +0000

Well cone mate! your a great ambassador for the rabbit keeping community!

I want to be reincarnated as one of your pet rabbits! ha

Comment on How Much Play Time Does Your Rabbit Need? by The Bunny Guy

The Bunny Guy — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 15:28:33 +0000

Hi Stacey
I am so glad that you posted your story. It is clear that you have a lot to learn about having pet bunnies. Once you do, you will find that they are very special and rewarding pets. I HIGHLY recommend getting a couple of books about them and reading them several times. When it comes to rabbits, what you do not know WILL hurt them.

More important than depriving your bunnies of sufficient space is the fact that they live indoors. It is impossible to provide a safe habitat for rabbits outdoors. They are prey animals and all kinds of predators would just love to eat them. As you have discovered, rabbits cannot be kept in a yard, no matter how bunny-proof you think it is. They dig and hop out of almost any yard, given enough time.

Of more concern is that the predators can also get in. No fence can keep raccoons out of your yard. They can even open cages with their paws. Often, rabbits have heart attacks from being pestered by predators that do not even get into their cages, due to a rabbit’s weak cardiovascular system.

As a rabbit educator, I have heard the story hundreds of times. It goes like this: “Well, he hopped around in my yard for years and then one day he was just gone.” It is going to happen one day and it is just a matter of when. If you love your bunnies, you do not ever want this to happen. This is why we keep our pet rabbits indoors, where they are always safe. We only let our bunnies out to play under close supervision.

A rabbit needs two or three hours a day of run time, sometimes more depending on the breed and energy level. We use large cages or x-pens to house rabbits inside the house. Some rabbits can be allowed to free roam a house, like a dog or cat would, if you bunny-proof extensively. All areas that rabbits run must be bunny-proofed.

All of these subjects will be covered in my book and most other house rabbit books that are available. Make sure that you read books about house rabbits, not rabbit breeding. These are two different things. Breeders house rabbits like livestock and house rabbits are how you are supposed to keep a PET BUNNY. There is a big difference.

Housing rabbits outdoors is left over from the days when we raised them as livestock and ate them. Their cages also need to be substantial in size in order for your rabbit to not learn to hate being inside there. IF you give them the right size cage or pen and plenty of run time, they are happy.

Your bunnies are trying to tell you something by their shunning you. Rabbit communication is different than with dogs and cats. You will want to learn their language and it will help a lot in your relationship. Rabbits are very expressive, but they use signals and body language to communicate. They are certainly trying to tell you what they want, but maybe you are not understanding them.

Rabbit relationships are all about trust. You can never discipline a rabbit or they will mistrust you. By socializing and communicating with your bunnies, you develop trust and a happy bond.

You did not mention if your girls were spayed. This is probably THE most important part of having a pet female rabbit. It is basically a death sentence to not have them spayed, since more than 80 percent of them will get tumors or cancer before they are four years old if they are not. Also, they have very aggressive behaviors until they are spayed. These go away after the surgery.

A rabbit specialist vet must be used for the spay. Seek out a list of good rabbit vets from your local rabbit rescue or House Rabbit Society chapter. Do not use a dog or cat vet because it takes experience to do this right.

As you can see, there is a lot to discuss about your bunnies and you cannot learn it all in one blog post. It is good that you are asking these questions, but now it is up to you to seek out more knowledge so that your experience with these pet bunnies is a success and does not end in failure.

Hope you decide to get a copy of my book, because I devote whole chapters to each of these issues.

The Bunny Guy

Comment on How Much Play Time Does Your Rabbit Need? by Stacey night

Stacey night — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 09:51:38 +0000

Hi!
I’m a high school student and have 2 female outdoor bunnies. I wake up at 6:00am every morning to get to school so I’m too afraid to let them out for the whole day even though my backyard is bunny proofed and fenced with safe wire. My dad has bunny proofed every corner but for some reason they can sometimes manage to find a way to get out, but oddly enough they always come back home. I get home at around 4:45 and let them out until about 7:00-7:30 but I feel so bad having them cooped up in the cage for the whole day. The cage is a pretty decent size and has plenty of space for my bunnies laze around but my bunnies are so energetic i feel if I’m depriving them of sufficient space. Because its always raining now I take them inside home after school but they just sit there under the coffee table or corner even when I try so hard to get them to play around. I love bunnies and am always affectionate to them but for some reason they always prefer anyone but me. I feel like such a bad owner. Please give some advice!

Comment on How Much Play Time Does Your Rabbit Need? by The Bunny Guy

The Bunny Guy — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 23:00:14 +0000

I can mention a couple of things that come to mind.
First, you did not mention whether or not the two bunnies were spayed and neutered. That is really important. Marking behavior diminishes once they are fixed. The longer you wait to do it, the harder it will be to break them of the “bad habit”. Something very important to consider is that female rabbits have an 87% chance of getting tumors or cancer by the time they are 4 years old if they are not spayed.
Also, the marking is probably occurring because you got a new boy in the house. She is marking her territory to tell him that it belongs to her. She sounds like a very dominant rabbit (most dwarfs are). I bet she did not do it as much before he came along. If they are not completely bonded, this marking will probably not go away. Once they are bonded, there should be no need to tell each other about their territory. Even if the rabbits are not in the same room, they hear and smell each other, so they will mark to warn the other bun where their space is.
If they are just dropping poop around, that is really not a big deal. It is when they pee, that you have a problem. Even litter box trained rabbits will drop a few poops when they hop around. It does not leave a smell and you can pick them up with your fingers. The pee is a different story because it will stain and it smells bad. You can clean pee safely with a 50-50 vinegar and water mixture. Never use store bought cleaners in an area where your rabbit goes. They are all toxic for bunnies.
Secondly, you have a Netherland Dwarf. They are one of the most high energy active breeds there are. So many people get them because they are small and cute, without realizing that they actually need the most space and run time of all rabbits. There is a misconception that their small size means that they can live in a small cage. This is not true. If anything, they need larger cages and more time out to run and play than regular rabbits.
Normally, a rabbit needs two to three hours a day of run time out to play. A dwarf may not be satisfied with that amount of playtime.
One solution is to ditch the cage for a larger environment, such as an x-pen or a much larger cage. A double x-pen would even be better for a dwarf bunny. My rabbit’s condo measures 16 sq. ft. That is four times the size I see in the pet stores, that most people buy. Those cages are not big enough and your rabbit is telling you about his frustration.
Rabbits are the most active in the early morning (hence his 5am wake-up call) and the early evening. They are usually resting during the main part of the day. The time you are letting him out to play is the time that normally a rabbit would be napping.
I would recommend finding a way to get him more playtime and it would be helpful if it was early in the morning when he is asking you to be allowed to run. My rabbits are the most active starting at about 5am when they wake up. Then by about 10am they are napping until the middle or late part of the afternoon. This is pretty universal, but rabbits are adaptive and if the only time they can play is noontime, then they will take it. They might be a bit lethargic during the noon hour, but Dwarfs rarely have that problem. haha
Hope this helps a bit. If you need more help, I will do my best to try and help with some advice.
The Bunny Guy

Comment on How Much Play Time Does Your Rabbit Need? by natasha

natasha — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 21:31:36 +0000

Hi I’m a 21 year old student and I have two bunnies one female being 1 year old and a recent male of 12 weeks. My female netherland dwarf HATES being in her cage. I let them both out at 10am (my boyfriend wont allow any earlier no matter how much noise she makes on her cage) If I’m in all day then I’ll only really put them away around late lunch and dinner time. My problem is my female constantly pulls on her bars so hard that it shakes the cage (they’re indoor rabbits) she’ll start pulling around 5am but the other half says if I let her out whilst she’s doing it she wont learn not to do so. I hate to see her trying so hard to get out as on the weekends I work stupid hours so I dread her sitting the chewing all day. I’d love to leave her running about but although she is litterbox trained she still leaves her markings everywhere. She also constantly tries to mount the male. I’m running out of ideas