Rabbits Make Great House Pets

I have 4 rabbits. Thumper (original huh?), Frannie, Sydney, and Fuzzby. It didn't start out that way though. I never thought twice about rabbits up until 4 years ago when I first got one. My opinion was that rabbits were animals that sit outside in hutches, and that's it. I never knew how wrong I was. One day my sister asked me if I would like to adopt this bunny that was a classroom pet; the class was not allowed to keep him in the room anymore so they had to adopt it out to someone. I didn't have any pets so I agreed.

A week later she walked in with this pure white adult male Lop rabbit. The Lop rabbits have floppy ears that don't stand up straight, they are also bred to be friendly to people. My sister left and I took a look at what she brought me, he was in his cage eating a piece of hay just staring at me. I didn't have a clue about what to do with a rabbit or the proper way to care for them. So I started to read online about them and was amazed at all the information that was available. I was even more amazed at the notion that rabbits can be great house pets.

Rabbits can be litter trained. They can also be a free roaming pet, provided that the area in which they roam is "rabbit-proofed". This means that all exposed wires are covered up with tubing so they cannot chew into them. Rabbits may have been domesticated, but they have held onto many of their natural wild traits. They are burrowers by nature, and when in their tunnels they must chew through roots constantly to make way for other rabbits to pass through. So funny as it may seem, the rabbit thinks it is doing you a favor. I learned this the hard way of course. I let my rabbit Thumper roam a little in my computer room when I first got him, 2 hours later I was shopping to buy about a hundred dollars in new cables for everything.

That first week with Thumper was very interesting to say the least. The reason I named him Thumper was because he was always thumping his rear leg, now I know that means he is either scared or angry at something, then I had no clue why he did it. I thought that Thumper was a great name, then I learned later on that nearly a trillion billion rabbits are named Thumper. That's ok with me, as long as he never attends public school he will be fine with that name. My sister left a furry ball the size of a basketball with me for the bunny. She said that he will hump the ball when he gets excited. No need to tell you what I named the ball, use your imagination. So I opened the cage for him to come out and he hopped directly from the cage to the ball, never touching the floor. He started humping away and didn't stop for nearly a half hour! I offered him a cigarette afterwards but it wasn't his brand. It was obvious that he needed to be "fixed" or neutered. This will reduce hormonal behavior and make the bunny calmer, as well as making it easier to litter train. Female rabbits should be spayed before they are 4 years old or there is a great chance they will die of uterine cancer. I would recommend seeing a bunny vet, one that is savvy about rabbits. There is a group called the House Rabbit Society that has a chapter in every state, they have a list of vets that you can use. They also have tons of information on the proper care and training of rabbits.

After I got Thumper fixed he was much easier to deal with. Through the course of the next 6 months I bonded with him and he became my best friend. Rabbits are so unique, they are herbivores so they eat hay and vegetables. A good setup for a typical bunny is a litter box with hay in it, newspaper on the bottom, some rabbit pellets once a day, as well as some salad in the evening, and plenty of fresh water. Don't be stingy with the hay, the hay helps the bunny digest it's stomach contents and keep everything moving. Rabbits typically die of gastric stasis, or sometimes called "wool block". This is caused by the contents of the stomach stopping up the digestive tract. Rabbits go downhill quickly so it is important to act if you think your bunny is sick, don't wait to see if it improves.

Rabbits have very separate personalities and can be very entertaining. When a bunny is happy it will jump up and kick its back legs out and click them together, this is called a "binky". I can tell you from personal experience that rabbit ownership is addicting, once you have one you will get the rabbit "bug".

One night when I came out of my room, I saw that Thumper was by the corner just sitting there. I felt bad because to me he looked bored. Fact is that rabbits are social animals, they love to bond with other rabbits. Don't let yourself be fooled though, finding a perfect match is not an easy job. Many rabbits do not get along, and simply refuse to bond with one another. The best situation is a male and a female, both fixed, living together in one area. It is possible to bond multiple rabbits but I would not recommend you doing this until you are experienced with bonding.

I decided that I would adopt a bond mate for Thumper. That is how I got Frannie, she is an adult female spotted black and white Lop. They weigh the exact same down to the ounce! That is because I feed them the exact same diet. I adopted her from the Long Island Rabbit Rescue Group, they rescue rabbits and then adopt them out to hopeful owners such as me. I would never suggest that you get a rabbit from anywhere else, not a pet store especially. There is no way to tell if the rabbit you are getting is sick plus there are so many unwanted rabbits in the country, over a million are surrendered to shelters every year. The rescue group impressed me so much now that I am now a volunteer for that group. I help with caring for the bunnies as well as helping with adoptions and other things.

Frannie and Thumper are like two peas in a pod. They bring me so much joy just watching them. They constantly lick and groom each other, they always seems to be cuddling or touching each other at all times. They lie down in the middle of the living room together, like a married couple, it is hilarious. Like I said before, I never thought I would own a rabbit, let alone 4 of them. They have literally changed my life for the better. If you are looking for a great pet and you don't mind putting in the effort to provide the proper unique care that a bunny needs, then a rabbit would make a wonderful pet. I would recommend you get a bonded pair instead of a single rabbit if possible.

After I got Frannie I adopted two more bunnies over the next 2 years, Sydney and Fuzzby. They are not bonded but I am trying to bond them. It can be a slow process. I have the space for both of them so I don't mind the extra company. If you ever find an abandoned bunny it would be great if you could take it under your care or even foster it if you can't keep it. Sadly, when you call most of the rescue groups and tell them that you found an abandoned bunny, 99% of the time they won't be able to take it, they get flooded with calls every month. They will help you out with searching for an adopter as well as assisting with cages and/or supplies. Most of the rescues are filled to the brim with rabbits and adopt only a few a month due to the fact that most people don't think of a rabbit as a house pet. Hopefully some of them will read this article and realize that they can be great pets. I have included a picture of Thumper and Frannie with this article, this way you can see how adorable they really are!