Meet the third member of my household! (Rabbits in general)

Member Name: mu_reviews4u

Product:	Rabbits in general
Date:	05/02/09 (105 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lots of character, Easy to litter train, Clean, Loving.

Disadvantages: Need lots of attention (Not that I'd call that a disadvantage!)

This isn't really a review on Rabbits in general, but more about my experience of keeping one as a pet.

I've had a male holland lop bunny for just over three years now and I can honestly say my life wouldn't be quite the same without him! I got him at just over 2 months old, sadly he was the runt of the litter and the breeder told me he would very likely die within the next few days and so if I wanted to take the chance with him I wouldn't have to pay anything. I had originally gone in to pick up my friends rabbit (the breeder also ran a holiday boarding service for small pets), but after hearing this tiny bunnies tale of woe I knew I couldn't leave him there so I headed to my local Pets At Home and spent a little under £170 on housing, bedding, food and toys. They are definately not cheap pets, especially when starting out.

I got him home and set up his cage in the corner of my bedroom and waited with baited breath to see if he would be okay. Luckily, after a few trips to the vets and a little TLC he grew into the handsome chap he is today :-)


A little info on keeping him -

Housing ~
I decided on keeping him indoors as I do not like the idea of a rabbit being stuck outside in a hutch when he can be perfectly content inside. In many parts of the USA it is virtually unheard of to keep a rabbit outside, so I knew it could be done and that he could be happy.
I bought a huge indoor house (luckily I have a large room) and a litter tray which he started to use almost instantly which was a relief. His cage is almost always left open and he has free run of the apartment (which has been fully bunny proofed).
I have bought him a few "bunny warrens" which when connected together make a long tube which he loves to run in and out of, hide in and generally hang out in!
He has a few toys, though to be honest he doesn't play with them all that much and tends to prefer chucking them about.
He does however love cardboard boxes filled with hay rummage about and hide in, much to the dismay of my boyfriend who is constantly picking up pieces of hay from around the house!
He doesn't smell at all, is clean and has never soiled the carpets at all.

Weather ~
During the winter I up the amount of soft bedding in his cage with which he arranges into the perfect amount and shape for his needs.
In the summer he has a large slate on which to 'flop onto' and cool off on, a 'cooling pad' which is placed in the freezer before use and is often let out into the garden in a large, purpose built run.

Feeding ~
He has two small handfuls of pellets a day, I feed him on Supa Rabbit Excel for Juniors and Dwarves since he doesn't tend to like the larger shaped pellets too much. This food is all the same shape and size, unlike the bunny mueslis you can get which contain many different bits of food that some rabbits can pick and choose from, leaving the least desirable (yet usually most needed!) bits behind. By feeding pellets it stops selective eating and ensures your rabbit has all the nutrients it needs.
He has a constant supply of dried grass and hay too, along with a bowl of fresh vegetables daily. He loves Romaine lettuce, Carrots, Kale (only a little amount), Brocolli and a Brussel Sprout every now and then.
Fresh water is always available too in a large bottle.

Vets Bills ~
Rabbit neutering costs around £50.00 and is definately worth it if you plan on bonding them with another rabbit, or especially for females, to cut the risk of them having health problems later in life.
Apart from the occasional sniffle or checkup (my local vet charged £17.50 for a consultation), I havn't really had to spend much more on healthcare.
He does have vaccinations for mixematosis and VHD every year that costs around £40.00 though.
If you can learn to clip your bunnies claws yourself, that will save you quite a bit on vets bills in my opinion as they grow very fast and need pretty constant trimming!

Personality ~
If I counted the times somebody said "Wow! I didn't realise rabbits had such strong personalities" or "Well he sure has character" I'd be very rich by now! I think a lot of people just see rabbits as those 'cute, furry creatures that lives in hutches and eat carrots' but if you have lived with one for over three years you soon realise there is a lot more to them!
I can tell what kind of mood my rabbit is in just by looking at him most of the time.
If he's grumpy he will snub any attention he recieves before turning away to face the other direction; If he's hungry he will lift up his food bowl and drop it loudly to get attention before placing his paws on his bowl and looking at you with longing eyes!; When he wants attention he will run over to your feet, nudge them slightly with his nose before running off flicking his feet behind him; If he want's attention when I'm on the computer he will simply jump into my lap!; When he's happy and somewhat hyper he will run around the house frantically diving into his tubes and hiding places before dashing back out again and jumping sideways into the air and When he want's to go outside he will sit by the backdoor and thump his back feet.
He loves being stroked and will happily fall asleep on my lap with my rubbing him gently behind his ears :-)
He is a very friendly rabbit and will hop over to the door to greet anyone who happens to come in, and often nudging them and circling their feet to get them to pet him.
A right little character he is, and he certainly get's his way in this household with me and my boyfriend at his beck and call!


Rabbits can live for up to fifteen years if cared for correctly and I hope my little guy will make it to that. They need a lot of care though so please make sure you can give it to them before buying one as my local RSPCA is always overflowing with them which is a sad sight to see.
They crave a lot of attention and companionship and although for now I think he is happy enough with the love of two humans, I havn't ruled out the idea of getting a rescue bunny at one point to bond him with!

I won't bore you with the necessities you need to buy / think about if thinking of getting a rabbit as you can pick up countless leaflets from your local pet store or animal shelter, but overall, I wouldn't change him for the world and to me he is just as rewarding a pet as a cat or dog and is just as cute to look at :-)

Summary: A really rewarding pet.