Pet Rabbits Care Guide

PET APPEAL/BEHAVIOR:

• Quiet animals.
• Require relatively little space.
• Engaging personalities.
• Because rabbits are most active in the morning and early evening, they are appropriate pets for people who work during the day.
• Rabbits are generally affectionate and playful and bond quickly with their owners.
• Rabbits are highly intelligent and need attention and mental stimulation to thrive.
• It is best when they are housed together as bonded pairs and trios rather than as single pets.
• Although typically not aggressive, hostile behaviors can be seen when rabbits are frightened, in pain or expressing territoriality (especially around other rabbits to which they are not bonded).

SEXING AND REPRODUCTION:

• Rabbits can be sexed by applying gentle pressure above the genitalia.
• The penis will appear as a rounded protrusion with a flat end and circular hole (urethra).
• The vulva has a more slit-like appearance with a pointed protrusion.
• Neonatal and juvenile rabbits can be more difficult to sex, but after approximately 3 months of age the testes descend into hairless scrotal sacs located cranial to the penis.
• There are medical and behavioral reasons to have rabbits altered.
• Neutered male rabbits are less territorial; mark less with both urine and feces and fight less with other rabbits.
• Unspayed female rabbits tend to be more territorial, even showing aggression and irritability toward their owners when their hormones fluctuating. Unspayed female rabbits over the age of 2 years have an extremely high rate of reproductive and mammary neoplasia.
• Rabbits should be spayed or neutered when they are approximately 4-6 months old, but older rabbits in good health are also good surgical candidates.

HOUSING:

• Wire cages are preferable over aquariums, as they provide better ventilation and thereby prevent the build-up of ammonia levels.
• Cages should have narrower wire spacing on the bottom to protect feet from falling through.
• Rabbits kept in wire-bottomed cages should have a platform made of wood. Cardboard or hay to protect their feet from constant wire pressure.
• Floor space should be at least three times the stretched out length of the rabbit’s adult size.
• Exercise pens can be created with baby gates or standing pens (electric cords and other hazards must be removed).
• Recycled newspaper products (fiber or pellets), shredded paper towels or newspapers, straw or hay may be used as bedding materials.
• Pine and cedar chips may cause respiratory and dermatologic problems and have been associated with elevated liver enzymes.
• Clumping clay or corncob litters should not be used, because they may be ingested and cause gastrointestinal stasis or obstruction.
• All rabbits should be allowed to exercise in a rabbit-sage area several times per week.

ENVIRONMENTAL ENRICHMENT:

• Providing a variety of rabbit-safe toys will encourage exercise and decrease boredom.
• The best and safest toys are readily available and inexpensive, including paper towel/toilet paper rolls and untreated cardboard boxes. Vegetables can be hidden to allow rabbits to “forage” for food for mental stimulation.
• Sturdy hard plastic toys that are made for large birds or dogs and an untreated wood box with loose straw provide diversions. A tunnel or hide box will simulate burrows.

DIET:

• A diet consisting of only commercial pellets will often lead to overeating, diarrhea and obesity.
• Adding less digestible fiber, such as hay and leafy green vegetables, can significantly improve overall health and aid in maintaining gastrointestinal and dental health.
• Hay: Unlimited amounts of grass hay should be offered on a daily basis. Alfalfa is suitable for young rabbits, but adults should eat only grass hays, such as timothy, orchard grass, oat, meadow or brome hay.
• Pellets: An adult rabbit should be offered ¼ cup of high quality rabbit pellets per 5 lbs (2.27 kg) body weight per day. Juveniles can be fed unlimited pellets and hay with a small amount of green leafy vegetables. Timothy-based pellets are recommended for adult rabbits.
• Vegetables: A minimum of 1 cup of fresh vegetables (mostly green leafy vegetables) for each 4 lbs (1.81 kg) body weight should be provided daily. One or more of the following fresh vegetables should be offered twice daily:
• Collard greens, endive, dandelion greens and flowers (no pesticides), mustard greens, parsley, snow peas, romaine lettuce (no iceberg lettuce), red or green leaf lettuce, watercress, basil, bok choy, broccoli (mostly stems and leaves), cilantro, clover, escarole, radicchio and beet, carrot and radish tops.
• Spinach, kale, cabbage and other vegetables high in oxalates should be fed only occasionally.
• Fruits: Fruits should be limited to 1 Tbs or less per 5 lbs (2.27 kg) of body weight per day (none if dieting or if loose stools are a problem). High fiber fruits include apples, blueberries, melon, papaya and strawberries.
• Water: Fresh water should be provided daily in either easily reachable sipper bottles or sturdy crocks. Containers should be washed with hot soapy water weekly.

RESTRAINT:

• A towel or bath mat should always be placed on the examination table for traction.
• Rabbits may be lifted gently, but firmly, by scooping the rear end with one hand as the rabbit is grasped behind the front legs with the other hand.
• If the rear legs are not well supported, the rabbit can break its own back or legs by kicking.
• The scruff alone or ears should not be used to lift a rabbit.
• In order to take the temperature, clip the toenails or to facilitate examination of the ventrum and genitalia, the rabbit can be held in a “C” position. The rabbit is gently but firmly picked up with one hand behind the front legs, with the back positioned against the handler and the rear legs supported with the other hand.
• Covering the eyes and head with a towel may soothe an anxious rabbit.

MOST COMMON DISORDERS:

• Gastrointestinal stasis or obstruction
• Rear limb paresis or paralysis
• Cuterebra
• Dental malocclusion and dental disease
• Uterine adenocarcinoma, mammary tumors
• Uterine hyperplasia
• Pseudopregnancy
• Abscesses
• Skin mites (Cheyletiella), ear mites (Psoroptes cuniculi) and fleas
• Urolithiasis
• Encephalitozoonosis
• Hypercalciuria/urinary sludge
• Ulcerative pododermatitis
• Vertebral fractures
• Otitis interna and media
• Torticollis
• Cystitis
• Fractures
• Respiratory infections
• Pasteurellosis
• Obesity
• Heat stroke
• Diarrhea
• Moist dermatitis from perineal soiling
• Antibiotic toxicity/dysbiosis
• Renal disease