New Rabbit!!! help?

jacknjill

jacknjill

Active Member
So i just got a new rabbit that someone dropped off at the local agriculture center where my friend works. Ive been told its a dwarf rabbit and full grown. Is there any way to figure out how old a rabbit is? Also, he/she (i dont know how to tell) has long claws that need to be trimmed, but i dont really know how. Can anyone help me out or give me any general care tips?
 
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tizzo

Guest
the he she part you can tell by looking. The males have furry peas. If you dont see them its prolly a female.
for the nails, wear a sweatshirt to protect your arms and see if you can use a dremel on them.
dwarves are the smartest! They are litter and leash trainable.
 
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tizzo

Guest
oh general care tips. Pellet food and water. Any veggie it will eat but not lettuce! I once had a rabbit die cause I gave it lettuce.
Never trust him off of a leash! Kitty harnesses work well.
oh if he's in a cage, they like a box in there with them.
What else. They love clover. Not the green stuff, you gotta eat the flower! (Bambi)
 
socal57che

socal57che

Active Member
Just to add to what Tizzo said, be careful trimming the nails. They are not like cat nails. You can cause serious injury if you trim improperly. Go to the local bookstore and dig through the rabbit care books and buy one. We use a ferret harness and leash. It's made like a hair scrunchy so it recoils taking the slack out gently. Also, no corn in their diet. Our rabbit LOVES broccoli.
 
rabbit_72

rabbit_72

Member
I saw "Rabbit" and thought someone was talking about me!

Enjoy your bunny! Maybe my hubby can help you with any questions if you still have any. He used to raise them.
 
jacknjill

jacknjill

Active Member
Thanks for the tips! Theres an igloo in the cage that he likes to stay in. I was told he was litter box trained but he hasnt used the litter box out of the cage, but he also has never had an accident so i dont know if its just luck or hes holding it until he gets back to his cage lol.
He has been biting a little bit though, any way to discourage this? He has some chew toys.
And i dont have a dremel, is there anything else i can use?
Anyway to tell how old rabbits are?
 
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tizzo

Guest
I think the condition of their teeth tell you age, but a vet would hafta look.
The nails thing, use the clippers like SoCal shows a video of.
AHH FORGET IT! They are to hard to take care of! Just send the darn thing to me.

I love rabbits!
What kind of chew toys are with him? Plastic ones, he'll shread and possibly choke on. Put an untreated piece of wood (preferably oak) in his cage and he will gnaw on it.
Oak is a good chew toy even for dogs. It will not splinter like you think and it's their "natural" choice to chew.
Not oak specifically, but wood in general.
Look at SoCal's bunny! He's chewing on a TREE!!
j/k
 
jacknjill

jacknjill

Active Member
The toys are these little pieces of wood wrapped in really thick paper, he seems to like them i guess. Thanks for the tips Tizzo! He really is adorable, the people that had him named him Charlie Brown, so i call him Charlie. Ive had hamsters and a chinchilla before, but never a rabbit. You should definately get one!
 
socal57che

socal57che

Active Member
As a rodent, they need to chew to keep their front teeth worn down. No way to avoid it. We buy those small bags of firewood from the store. The logs are about 6 inches long an 4 inches or so around. He chews and chews. Our black and white cocker spaniel chews on rocks.
All our animals are mental. It's a requirement to live here.
 
mkzimms

mkzimms

Member
maybe we can have a play day if you ever come to ny! this is my rabbit, his name is nuggets. ive had him for about 5 years now. hes fully litter box trained and is free roaming in our house.
 
socal57che

socal57che

Active Member
Originally Posted by Tizzo
http:///forum/post/2631045
Just the animals SoCal??

No, mam. We're all wackos.
My wife was reading through the HOA regulations and it seems the Nazis in charge don't allow rabbits as pets. We may have one dog, one cat, one bird,....PERIOD! No rabbits. No lizards. No chinchillas. There is NO PROVISION FOR FISH!!!!!!!!!!
We sank a ton of money into this house expexting to live here a very long time. Had we known what a bunch of childish jerks the HOA Nazis were, we would have found a different place to live. Nearly half a million dollars for a house and we cannot park in our own driveway. We may not have a shed in the back yard for lawn equipment. We may not have a trailer of any kind. We may only have a white entry door. Sorry, wrong thread, but I do SO HATE OUR HOMEOWNERS ASSN.
 
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tizzo

Guest
Pay off your house and put a big KISS MY BOOTY sign on the roof!
 
stdreb27

stdreb27

Active Member
Man, We used to have rabbits, but have you ever had them get scared and scratch you? Wow those get deep.
 
jacknjill

jacknjill

Active Member
Originally Posted by mkzimms
http:///forum/post/2631082
maybe we can have a play day if you ever come to ny! this is my rabbit, his name is nuggets. ive had him for about 5 years now. hes fully litter box trained and is free roaming in our house.

awww that is the cutest rabbit ever!!! How did you litter box train him? and btw i love the name :)
 
mkzimms

mkzimms

Member
thanks!
litter box training him was pretty easy. rabbits like to backup into corners to go to the bathroom (its a prey thing). i started by putting a litter box in every corner of the house. so he would naturally jump into them to go. then i saw which ones he used the most and removed the others. eventually i got him down to using one. i then started to move that one further and further away from the corner until it was in the middle of the room. now i can put it any where and he will find it and go. when i take him places with me, i just put the litter box down, put him in it and he will go exploring for there and always find his way back to it. you should also put a layer of timothy hay in it, they like to eat while they're going also. just make sure the box is big enough for them, im using a 2' x 2' box... but hes about 9lbs, so hes pretty big. if you have any questions let me know, i know just about everything about rabbits now.
heres a picture of him tormenting one of our cats...

hanging out in the bushes...

eating from his dog bowls
 
aw2x3

aw2x3

Active Member
Harley wanted me to let you guys know that she REALLY likes this thread.
She's asked for you all to attend a dinner party she's throwing.
RSVP with me.
 
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