Welcome to Rabbits Online
An online resource of rabbit information
Rabbit Essentials – Understanding Rabbits
All rabbits are really wild at heart, remember this and you are well on your way
to understanding rabbits. By allowing rabbits to experience natural behaviour they
will be much more responsive and rewarding as pets -
In the wild, rabbits like lots of space but they also need somewhere to go to feel
safe. They are social animals, living in communities and breeding every 30-
Accommodation
Rabbits are easily house trained to share the home as integrated family pets. Hay is best for litter trays and avoid cat litter, especially the ‘clumping’ variety that can kill rabbits if ingested. Rabbits will nibble, so protect your furnishings and reroute or cover electric cables. Kitchens are often good places to let rabbits free range.
Nutrition
A proper diet will keep your rabbit healthy. Essential foods, in order of importance, are hay, wild food, green leafy vegetables and dried food. Rabbits, like all animals, should have clean fresh water at all times.
Companionship
Rabbits are social animals and enjoy the company of another rabbit. Like people, not all rabbits get along, so it’s best to get help and advice about pairing. Although some people mix rabbits and guinea pigs this can lead to problems such as bullying. Most animals do best in the company of their own kind, often resulting in better behaviour.
Healthcare
Neutering not only keeps the rabbit population in check, it also improves rabbit behaviour and avoids future health problems. Annual vaccinations will help protect rabbits from Myxomatosis and VHD, two very virulent diseases that are usually fatal.
Remember!
ü Rabbits are social animals and enjoy companionship
ü Rabbits should be neutered and vaccinated
ü A proper diet will keep your rabbit healthy
Rabbits do not like to be picked up
Rabbits do not make good children’s pets
It is cruel to keep a rabbit in a hutch without the opportunity to experience natural behaviour (running, hopping and exploring)
Rabbit Essentials – Accommodation and Lifestyle
It is not difficult to provide rabbits with a safe, healthy environment. By simulating elements of their natural habitat, you can improve their lifestyle resulting in happy pets that will be less likely to become ill. Rabbits should never be enclosed in a hutch or cage. Neutered rabbits make better pets in every respect as well as better companions for each other.
A safe environment
Rabbits are best kept in the house as integrated family pets (just like dogs and cats). House rabbits, as they are known, can be litter trained and will happily share your home with you. To make it safe for rabbits, here are some useful rules. Electric cables should be covered or rerouted. Rabbits think cables are plant roots, which they like to eat! Damage to cables can be costly to you and lethal to rabbits as well as anyone else in the house. A RCD unit (available from hardware and electrical outlets) on any cables at risk will give added protection. Hiding places – close off or remove any places where you don’t want your rabbits to hide. Be careful about exposing your best furniture to your rabbits until you know more about its chewing habits. It is quite acceptable to confine your rabbits to rooms that are low risk and hazard free, like the kitchen for example. An alternative form of accommodation is a utility room, garage or garden shed. If you choose this option then they must have lots of warm bedding (hay is best), especially during the winter.
Somewhere safe where they can hide from view
Wild rabbits have a burrow and pet rabbits instinctively need a similar place. This should be big enough for the rabbit(s) and washable or disposable. An upturned cardboard box with holes cut in each end is ideal.
Bedding
Hay is not only an important food for rabbits, it is also the best bedding. Straw and shredded paper are not only unsuitable, they can be harmful. Bedding should be changed every day.
Space to exercise and experience natural behaviour
An enclosed garden or yard will give your rabbits the opportunity to experience natural
behaviour and practise their instinctive skills like running, jumping, chasing and
exploring. A good fence should not only contain your rabbits, but also deter would-
A litter tray
Wherever your rabbits live, a litter tray will make life much easier for you. This should be renewed every day. Most types of cat litter are unsafe for rabbits and ‘clumping’ litter can kill. Hay, composted bark or wood shavings makes excellent litter, placed in a plastic tray with a newspaper in the bottom for easier cleaning.
An enriched environment with things to do
Boredom is stressful and can lead to other problems. Large plastic or cardboard tubes, cardboard boxes, safe toys and lots of hay will stimulate your pets to play.
Companionship
Rabbits are social creatures and are best kept, and are much happier in bonded pairs. Like people, they prefer some individuals and dislike others. They are naturally territorial and a ‘bad match’ can lead to fighting and injury or worse. Always seek advice before getting a partner for a lone pet.
Rabbit Essentials – Nutrition
In the wild, rabbits eat a variety of foods including grass, dried grass, herbage (wild plants), tree bark, flowers, roots and berries. Like humans, rabbits need a variety of foods to stay healthy. The following is the only healthy diet for all rabbits in order of most importance.
Water – Plenty of fresh water must be available at all times. Rabbits drink a lot regardless of what foods they eat. Water should be placed in dishes, which are easier to clean and less likely to become contaminated than drinking bottles.
Hay – Plenty of good quality hay should be available at all times. Rabbits can NEVER have too much hay. Even if fed on dried food, unlimited hay must still be provided.
Grass and wild food – Never give your rabbit lawn mowings, as this can ferment in the stomach leading to death. Pull fresh grass from areas that are free from weed killers, pesticides and other animals’ droppings. Do not collect grass from roadsides or any area that might be contaminated by pollutants.
Safe wild foods include all grasses, clover, dandelion, plantain, chickweed, vetches, brambles, willow, and hawthorn. Suitable garden plants are roses, apple branches, strawberry and raspberry leaves, nasturtiums and marigolds.
Vegetables – These are important and you should give your rabbit plenty of carrots and dark green leafy vegetables such as broccoli, spring greens, green cabbage, cauliflower and leaves, herbs such as parsley, mint, thyme and basil. Only give your pet clean fresh quality vegetables that you would eat yourself.
Dried food – a complete pelleted food can be given in a small amount once or twice daily. Rabbits have evolved a digestive system that, to stay healthy, needs a high fibre, low protein and carbohydrate diet. Feeding a rabbit on mainly dried food leads to health problems such as ‘sticky bottom’. We recommend Supreme Science Selective food as part of the comprehensive feeding regime given above.
Rabbits don’t always know what’s good for them so please don’t feed your rabbit:
Any wild or garden plants unless you know they are absolutely safe
– many can be poisonous.
Table scraps or food made for other pets – these can cause problems.
Shop bought ‘treats’ – these can be harmful as they may contain a lot of sugar.
Lettuce – whilst not harmful in small amounts, can cause digestive problems and diarrhoea if too much is eaten at once.
Rabbit Essentials – Healthcare
Prevention is better than cure
Making sure your rabbits stay healthy is not only more humane (animals feel miserable when they are sick too!) it can prevent serious problems building up. Basic hygiene and good nutrition can avoid a lot of common problems. Getting to know your rabbit will help you spot warning signs at an early stage. Watch out for:
· Runny eyes
· Lethargy
· Sneezing
· Loss of appetite
· Sticky bottom (especially during the summer months)
These are usually symptoms of something more serious and making sure your rabbit’s bottom stays clean will avoid fly strike, which can be fatal.
Ask your Vet
As soon as you suspect your rabbit is under the weather, get advice. Many professionals specialise in particular types of animals and you should seek out a vet who has experience of rabbits. Further information is available from the Rabbit Advice Line.
Neutering:
This not only avoids baby rabbits every 31-
· Prevents cancer of the womb in females
-
· Enables pairing
· Aids litter training
· Can improve behavioural problems
Paired rabbits should both be neutered!
Annual vaccination
VHD and Myxomatosis are persistent, virulent diseases that are present in local populations. These illnesses are usually fatal and all unvaccinated rabbits are at risk.
Annual vaccinations will help protect your rabbits.
Insurance
As with any pet, the cost of healthcare can add up. Rabbits are no exception and healthcare policies are available to take care of veterinary expenses.
This Essentials guide is intended to inform and is not a substitute for professional advice. We recommend that a veterinary practitioner should be consulted about any aspect of your rabbit’s health.
Rabbit Essentials – Pairing
Rabbits are social animals and enjoy the company of their own kind. Pet rabbits should be kept in pairs whenever possible. However, like people, some rabbits get on better than others. There are ground rules to successful pairing and these come from knowledge of rabbits and their behaviour.
The right combination – A male and female pair is by far the most likely to succeed as it is the most natural. Although baby rabbits generally get on well together, once they mature at around three months they become competitive, aggressive and defensive. This is natural rabbit behaviour and it means that two males or two females will fight. This is serious because they may inflict potentially fatal injuries on each other. The very least that will happen is that one rabbit will bully or dominate the other causing it to become sick.
Sexing – Getting the right combination can be difficult because many rabbits are wrongly sexed. This may arise because sexing rabbits can require experience and expertise or, like many young animals, baby rabbits are difficult to sex. Male genitals do not fully develop until they are around three months old and, until then, males and females look very similar to the untrained eye
Neutering – Both rabbits should be neutered. This prevents breeding, aids litter training, improves behaviour and reduces conflict. You may be told that rabbits are difficult to neuter or that they are likely to die under anaesthetic. These are problems associated with a lack of experience with rabbits. Neutering a rabbit will not pose a problem for an experienced vet and many will neuter male rabbits with a local anaesthetic. You may need to ‘shop around’ to find a vet with specialist rabbit experience or you can ring our Rabbit Advice Line.
Getting a partner – By far the best place to look for a second rabbit is an animal
rescue centre. You should look for one that has good standards of care and accommodation
as rabbits can be traumatised when kept in groups or confined to hutches. A good
rescue centre will probably already have their rabbits neutered and vaccinated and
this reflects a high standard of healthcare. The centre may offer a ‘trial’ or assist
with the pairing. Getting a rabbit from a pet shop will be ‘non-
Making the introduction – Rabbits can be possessive about living space, bedding, food bowls etc. so it is essential that they be introduced on neutral territory. This could be a spare room, bathroom, garage or even another house. It must be somewhere that is completely new to both rabbits. Do not leave any food or dishes or anything else that they might fight over. They must be supervised closely until satisfactory bonding has taken place (when they perform mutual grooming).
If all else fails – Do not despair! Try placing the rabbits in the back of a car and drive around for a while. The strange surroundings may make them feel more comfortable and secure as a ‘pair’. If this does not succeed then contact our Advice Line.
10 reasons to think twice before you buy a rabbit from a pet store
1 Rabbits do not make good pets for young children.
2 Rabbits are often bought on impulse from pet stores. The purchase
of any animal should be carefully thought out and planned.
3 Rabbits are specialist animals. A pet store is unlikely to give you the
expert advice that you need.
4 You are unlikely to get independent and unbiased advice.
5 Most store environments are very stressful and can cause long term or
fatal illnesses.
6 Many rabbits sold as pets carry hereditary illnesses, which can cause
serious problems. These often affect the teeth and eyes and may be
incurable.
7 It is likely that the rabbit(s) will not be correctly sexed.
8 Rabbits are usually sold as babies and are susceptible to weaning
enteritis, which is often fatal.
9 You may be sold expensive and inappropriate accessories eg. a hutch
which is too small or the wrong food.
10 Once you buy a rabbit, it will be hard to find a new home for it if you
decide not to keep it.
Remember! Even if you buy a rabbit because you feel sorry for it, another one will soon take its place. You should consider rehoming a rabbit from a sanctuary. A rabbit from a reputable sanctuary will be healthchecked, neutered and vaccinated. Check out our Rehoming Section
10 things to ask yourself BEFORE you get a rabbit
1. Can you afford to:
Buy a large cage, outside run, food, bedding, litter and toys?
Have your rabbit neutered and vaccinated?
Pay the vet bills if your rabbit becomes ill?
Board your rabbit or pay someone to look after it when you go on holiday?
2. Can you spare a few hours every day to keep your rabbit company or are you willing
to get two rabbits as company for each other. You need to get an already bonded
pair or two babies from the same litter but they must be neutered at 3-
3 If you have children, are you willing to take full responsibility for looking the rabbit yourself, teaching your children not to pick up and carry the rabbit around and to quiet around it?
4. If your rabbit is not to be kept permanently in the house, do you have a shed to keep it in? It really is not suitable to keep a rabbit outside in a hutch.
5 Can you provide a large a large escape proof run for outside exercise — under supervision?
6 Are you willing to get to know your rabbit at floor level? As rabbits are prey animals, they hate being lifted off the ground. At best they will be terrified. At worst they will scratch and bite or may fall and break their backs.
7. Do you have a quiet, smoke free room without loud TV or music (the bass is very stressful for rabbits’ sensitive ears) to keep you rabbit in or let it exercise in. Also where then is no expensive carpet, pieces of furniture or wallpaper to worry about?
8. Are you willing to bunny-
9 Are you willing to do more cleaning than you would do without a rabbit, including
litter-
10 Are you willing to take on responsibility for the rabbit for its lifetime — even if it becomes aggressive, chronically ill or if you move house?
NB. Taking on a rabbit is the equivalent of taking on a dog or cat. A rabbit is not a disposable commodity — It can live for anything up to 14 years. It is your responsibility to find out everything you need to know before getting a rabbit.
If you did not answer yes to all the above questions, please think again about having
a rabbit as a pet. If you answered yes -
Rehome a rescue rabbit
Please consider getting your rabbit from a rescue centre. For details of your nearest centre, please call our Advice Line.
Rehoming Policy
Rabbits are only homed to suitable environments. To ensure a safe and happy future, a homecheck is always carried out prior to rehoming. Rabbits are never placed in any home where they will be kept only in a hutch or solely as children’s pets.
If your rabbit is showing any sign of illness or distress, you should contact a veterinary surgeon