Contrary to popular belief, rabbits need to eat more than just carrots and lettuce. They require a balanced diet of hay, fresh veggies and fruit, and a few pellets. As grazing animals, rabbits need to have an unlimited supply of fresh hay daily. Good types of grass hay for bunnies are timothy, orchard grass, brome and oat hay. You can feed your bunnies either one type or a mixture of different grass hays.
Buy the freshest hay possible and check for the presence of mold or dust, which could make your rabbit sick. Alfalfa can be given to rabbits once in awhile as a treat. Rabbits under one year of age can be fed alfalfa hay, but as they get older they should be switched to grass hay, especially if they are also being fed alfalfa pellets. Timothy hay pellets can be given to bunnies in small quantities. An average-sized pounds adult rabbit only needs one-quarter cup of pellets daily. If your rabbit is under five pounds, feed just one-eighth of a cup.
Rabbits under one year old can be fed alfalfa pellets. Be sure to feed grass hay rather than alfalfa if you are feeding your young rabbit alfalfa pellets. Do not buy the rabbit pellets that have dried corn, nuts and seeds added, because those foods can potentially be very harmful for rabbits.
Rabbits count vegetables and herbs among their favorite foods. Most greens found in a supermarket are safe for rabbits, with a few limitations and exceptions. Empty and replace the contents of the litter box daily.
You need a carrier for your dwarf bunny for trips to the vet. Your pet should cozily fit inside with room to maneuver. She also requires chew toys for stimulation and teeth maintenance. Cardboard and commercially available rabbit chew sticks are suitable options. Provide a digging box for your bunny to satisfy her natural urge to dig. A cardboard box filled halfway with soil or shredded paper works well.
Your dwarf rabbit also needs a safe, secure area outside her cage in which to play and exercise. Rabbit playpens are a convenient accessory. Rabbits easily get injured, chew wires and furniture and get into other trouble when allowed to roam free, but daily, supervised out of cage time is a must.
If you take your dwarf bunny outside, remember she can dig out under a fence. Also, even the approach of a potential predator can trigger a heart attack. Eric Mohrman has been a freelance writer since , focusing on travel, food and lifestyle stories. His creative writing is also widely published. In the wild, rabbits are prey animals, so they scare easily.
Instead, get on its level and calmly move toward it. Minimize how often you pick up your rabbit. Your rabbit will most likely be jumpy, but may be willing to sit still on your lap after developing trust over time.
When you do hold your rabbit, comfort it by supporting its back legs in one hand and softly pressing it against your chest with the other. Never pick your rabbit up by its ears. Hold your rabbit close to your body so it feels safe.
Remember, your rabbit is tiny and is naturally fearful. Keeping it pressed close to your body can help your rabbit feel safer, making it less likely to try to jump away from you. Squat down close to the ground to put your rabbit down. Keep your rabbit close to your body as you squat down toward the floor. Then, slowly extend your arms down and set your rabbit safely on the floor.
This increases the risk that your bunny may get injured. Method 4. If you notice any, use a damp rag to wipe your pet clean.
Check the ears for debris, like hay or bedding. Gently remove any debris that you find using your fingers or a fine comb. Then, use a clean, damp towel to gently wipe the inside and outside of the ear. Finally, dry the ear with a soft, clean cloth. Wrap the rabbit in a towel while you cut so that you can keep a good hold on it if it gets squirmy. Your rabbit can get seriously hurt if you try to cut its nails without being educated on how to do so.
Ask your vet to show you how before attempting to do it yourself. You can severely injure your rabbit if you trim them too far. Take your rabbit to your veterinarian and they can safely file them down using a special burr.
Method 5. Give your bunny non-toxic rabbit toys, bird toys, or hard plastic baby toys. Rabbits are very smart, so they get bored easily. Help your bunny beat boredom by giving it a variety of fun toys, such as rattles, plastic keys, and plastic balls.
Look for toys that it can move around its cage, as well as toys that hang off the top or sides of the cage. Offer your rabbit wooden toys to chew on. Non-toxic wood toys are a great solution to this issue, as your rabbit can have fun while also caring for its teeth.
Give your rabbit cardboard tubes and boxes to tear up. Bunnies love to rip up cardboard, so you can give your pet hours of entertainment by recycling paper towel rolls and boxes. You can fill a cardboard toilet paper tube with hay or simply just place the tube in the cage and let your dwarf rabbit have a go at it.
You can also make a rabbit hideaway by cutting the bottom off of a cardboard box and cutting doors and windows. Make a rice filled egg. Fill a plastic Easter egg with dry rice, and then hot glue it shut.
Give the egg to your dwarf rabbit, who will love to rattle it around. However, you might want to remove the toy at night, since your rabbit will likely keep you up all night rattling the egg. Method 6. Recognize the benefits of getting your rabbit spayed or neutered. Even if you only have one rabbit, getting it fixed can improve the health and personality of your bunny. Getting your rabbit desexed provides the following benefits: [19] X Research source Reduces the risk of certain cancers, especially reproductive cancers Decreases aggression Makes the rabbit a better companion Makes litter training easier Eliminates spraying in male rabbits Allows rabbits to safely live in pairs Reduces unwanted litters.
Neuter a male dwarf rabbit at as early as 8 to 12 weeks of age. At this point, you can take it to the vet to get neutered. Desexing it early will help prevent your rabbit from developing aggressive, territorial behaviors, like biting, growling, or spraying. Spay a female dwarf rabbit between 4 and 8 months of age. Your female rabbit will start to reach sexual maturity at 4 months. However, your vet may wait until your rabbit is 6 months old to make the surgery safer.
Discuss the benefits of waiting with your vet to help you make the right decision for your pet. Method 7. Find a small animal vet to care for your rabbit. Your bunny has different needs than a cat or a dog, so you need a vet who knows how to care for rabbits.
Look for a vet that advertises as a small animal vet, as they will have the specialized skills necessary to treat rabbits.
Additionally, ask the vet about their education and experience to make sure they have a background in treating bunnies. Get your rabbit vaccinated. Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease Virus is a potentially fatal virus that has been introduced to different areas to keep the rabbit population from getting out of control. Rid your rabbit of parasites. If you think your rabbit may have fleas, store-bought over-the-counter flea medications such as Advantage or Revolution are easy to use and will fix the issue.
If your rabbit is scratching its ears frequently or has dry skin around the shoulder area, it may have mites. Take your rabbit to the vet to get treatment for mites. Check with your vet before you give your rabbit any type of medication.
They can advise you of the proper dosing. If you give your pet too much medication, it can cause harmful consequences. Rabbits are a prey species, and, to protect themselves from predators, they are careful to keep clean and have no smell. If, however, they are not cleaned daily and urine accumulates in their bedding, this will smell.
With scrupulous regular cleaning, there should be no problem. Not Helpful 1 Helpful Rabbits can eat fruit as part of a healthy, balanced diet. Keep it as a treat, offering around tablespoons a day because of the sugar content.
Also, offer a variety of fruits, changing what you offer from one day to the next. Also, when feeding apple or pear, be sure to remove the seeds, as these contain traces of cyanide.
Not Helpful 2 Helpful Dwarf rabbits are relatively intelligent, can be litter trained, and enjoy a family environment. However, they are more likely to be friendly if they have been handled from an early age, so try to find a breeder or rescue agency which makes a point of socializing their young rabbits and having a variety of people handle them.
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