Adopting a rabbit :3

[alexandra the great]

Hello all, I'm going to the shelter this week to adopt a rabbit. We might even be going tomorrow. I'll be free roaming her/him in my bedroom. I've been buying supplies. Here is a list. If there's anything I'm forgetting or if you suggest something else, please don't hesitate to let me know!! Thank you!

Hay -
https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petco...p.ds&msclkid=a13683dc16ba1c1707c0e0e62cc4bcddLitter -
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Premium...ickid=XihSCkwyQxyNRNM3yiTBkwCXUkDT:8QZR22cyY0Litter box -
https://www.petsmart.com/cat/litter...ter-pan-62510.html?cgid=200153&fmethod=BrowseHay Bag - DIY-ing it =)
Hideout - TBD
Bed - I got a basic dog bed at a garage sale
Toys - TBD (suggestions accepted and appreciated!)
Treats - DIY-ing them (suggestions accepted and appreciated!)
Grooming Supplies - nail clips, brush
Also I'll be getting assorted bunny proofing supplies

 

[pumpkinbumpkin]

Hello all, I'm going to the shelter this week to adopt a rabbit. We might even be going tomorrow. I'll be free roaming her/him in my bedroom. I've been buying supplies. Here is a list. If there's anything I'm forgetting or if you suggest something else, please don't hesitate to let me know!! Thank you!

Hay -
https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petco...p.ds&msclkid=a13683dc16ba1c1707c0e0e62cc4bcddLitter -
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Premium...ickid=XihSCkwyQxyNRNM3yiTBkwCXUkDT:8QZR22cyY0Litter box -
https://www.petsmart.com/cat/litter...ter-pan-62510.html?cgid=200153&fmethod=BrowseHay Bag - DIY-ing it =)
Hideout - TBD
Bed - I got a basic dog bed at a garage sale
Toys - TBD (suggestions accepted and appreciated!)
Treats - DIY-ing them (suggestions accepted and appreciated!)
Grooming Supplies - nail clips, brush
Also I'll be getting assorted bunny proofing supplies

Hmm I can't think of anything you're missing, but I would definitely buy cord protectors if you have any cords in the room where the bunny will be in. I got mine at lowes for just a few dollars. My rabbit has chewed through so many cords in just a few seconds when I've had my back turned Now that I've put the cord protectors on she's gotten too lazy and doesnt even try to chew them anymore.

I also recommend getting some cnc grids to block off things like if you don't want the bunny going under your bed or under a stand/dresser etc. They're good to have just in case.

This isnt diy, but you could get some dried forage to sprinkle around in the hay as a treat, my bun goes CRAZY for hers. Just make sure you check the ingredients list, even though some forage mixes say they're for rabbits, some have nuts or corn and other things that aren't safe.

As for toys, my bunny really likes grass mats, baby stacking cups, toilet paper rolls stuffed with hay, forage mats, and pretty much anything involving food lol. Just be careful with plastic toys because some rabbits will chew and eat them.

 

[alexandra the great]

Hmm I can't think of anything you're missing, but I would definitely buy cord protectors if you have any cords in the room where the bunny will be in. I got mine at lowes for just a few dollars. My rabbit has chewed through so many cords in just a few seconds when I've had my back turned Now that I've put the cord protectors on she's gotten too lazy and doesnt even try to chew them anymore.

I also recommend getting some cnc grids to block off things like if you don't want the bunny going under your bed or under a stand/dresser etc. They're good to have just in case.

This isnt diy, but you could get some dried forage to sprinkle around in the hay as a treat, my bun goes CRAZY for hers. Just make sure you check the ingredients list, even though some forage mixes say they're for rabbits, some have nuts or corn and other things that aren't safe.

As for toys, my bunny really likes grass mats, baby stacking cups, toilet paper rolls stuffed with hay, forage mats, and pretty much anything involving food lol. Just be careful with plastic toys because some rabbits will chew and eat them.

The good thing about my bed is that it has a drawer system under it so the rabbit wouldn't be able to go underneath it.
But I will definitely look around for some cnc grids. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[Blue eyes]

Be sure not to miss how to prepare before bringing a rabbit home... what you need to get from the shelter people (in case they forget) and what to have setup at home before bringing him/her home.
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/bringing-your-rabbit-home.html
Also, even a free roaming rabbit should not start out free roaming. The last thing you'll want to do is bring a rabbit home and give him full access to your entire room right from the start. An exercise pen can make a good temporary cage. Such pens come in handy for any rabbit owner anyway since they can serve multiple purposes.

Check this out for further info on that topic:
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/free-roaming-how-to.html

 

[alexandra the great]

Be sure not to miss how to prepare before bringing a rabbit home... what you need to get from the shelter people (in case they forget) and what to have setup at home before bringing him/her home.
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/bringing-your-rabbit-home.html
Also, even a free roaming rabbit should not start out free roaming. The last thing you'll want to do is bring a rabbit home and give him full access to your entire room right from the start. An exercise pen can make a good temporary cage. Such pens come in handy for any rabbit owner anyway since they can serve multiple purposes.

Check this out for further info on that topic:
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/free-roaming-how-to.html

I'll be ordering some cnc grids to use so I can keep her in a specific place in my room.
Also thank you for the article! I'll be showing that first one to my family. =)

I also forgot to add to the list that I'll be ordering some Oxbow critical care. I've heard that it's good to have on hand in case of emergencies.
Ordering some large syringes would be a good idea too right? like these:
https://www.amazon.com/DEPEPE-Conne...wicXNhIjoiNC4yMyIsInFzcCI6IjQuMjAifQ==&sr=8-3

 

[Blue eyes]

The following page on that same site gives a list of what to have (minimally) as an emergency/first-aid kit for a rabbit.
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/first-aid-kit.html
You shouldn't need the clear tubes in that syringe kit you linked. Just the syringe part like these.

Also, the hay you linked is fine to feed. You just may find it quite expensive that way. Remember, your rabbit should be eating his body size in hay every day. That bag may only last a week or two... hard to tell. If you have the space, for the same price or less, you can get a full bale of hay that will last 8 months or more. Just some thoughts to consider for future purchase.

 

[alexandra the great]

i'm returning the hay I got at pet smart and getting this 9 lb bag from chewy!
https://www.chewy.com/oxbow-western-timothy-hay-small/dp/123740

 

[alexandra the great]

also I checked the home depot and they don't have the wood pellets there. Is there any other cheap/affordable alternative for litter?

are these good alternatives?
https://www.amazon.com/Small-Pet-Se...Q==&sprefix=wood+pellet+litte,aps,127&sr=8-2-https://www.amazon.com/Kaytee-10003...JNLYZKQH2M8S&keywords=wood+pellet+litter&qid=https://www.amazon.com/Arm-Hammer-P...ter&pd_rd_i=B08C4KVL1V&pd_rd_r=b53e9aa2-189a-https://www.amazon.com/Fresh-News-P...eywords=wood+pellet+litter&qid=1664919121&qu=
I was looking around for yesterday's news litter and it doesn't seem to be available anywhere.

 

[Blue eyes]

That hay will work as well as the prior one and is a fine choice. It's just crazy expensive in my opinion. Have you tried Googling for "feed stores" in your city/surrounding? There should be plenty in your state. They will carry both hay and likely those pellets as well (sold as pellet bedding for horses). Cal Ranch or Tractor Supply may also carry the wood pellets.

Maybe this visual will help with the hay comparison. The 9lb bag linked above, 4 or 5 of those would fit easily in that big plastic tub in the photo. It would cost over $100 to do that. Now for the comparison: all the hay in the tub in the photo came from the front corner of that bale of hay in the background. That entire bale cost about $18. That $18 will fill that big plastic tub... oh ... maybe 8-10 times. That means one full tub of hay works out to be about $2. ---That's $2 as compared to over $100. At that rate, even if you don't have the space to store an entire bale, you could throw away most of it and still come out ahead.

 

[alexandra the great]

View attachment 62662

How long could a bale that size last if it was stored properly?

 

[Blue eyes]

Stored dry and dark, hay can keep up to a year (or more). A full bale, used generously, can provide enough hay for 2 rabbits for about 8 months.

 

[JBun]

If you're trying to section off a part of your room, an xpen rather than c&c grids, would probably work better and is easier to set up. Also if your rabbit is going to be allowed to free roam at all, as mentioned, make sure to bunny proof, particularly electrical wires, as those being chewed is an electrocution and fire risk.

https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/bunny-proofing.html
https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Bunny-proofing
These are the syringes I like to use. Monoject 3ml oral syringes
I prefer the smaller ml so that you aren't squirting too much in too quickly(aspiration risk). But there's only the 100/bx on amazon. I bought mine individually from a pet supply. I also keep my critical care in my freezer(dry mix), so it stays good for longer.

Like Blue Eyes mentioned, if you have a tractor supply or other similar farm store near by, you can get equine wood pellet bedding there, as well as hay bales. Though with the hay you'll need to check the quality, as some bales can tend to be crumbly and dusty, and also you want good horse quality grass hay(never been wet, no mold, no noxious weeds). If you aren't comfortable picking out good hay and don't mind the extra cost, then stick with good pet brands like oxbow, small pet select, rabbit hole, etc, who generally always sell good quality hay.

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Hay
wood pellet bedding

 

[alexandra the great]

UPDATE:
It's taken a bit longer than we had expected, but, I was finally able to adopt my rabbit!

This Bean! He is very sweet as far as I can tell and he was not stressed in the least bit on the car ride home. Rather, he was very attentive and curious.

The name is inspired by my and my older sister's favorite elementary school books, Ivy and Bean. We hope to eventually adopt another rabbit and name it Ivy.
Bean seems very curious in the very new environment. He reacted well to my little siblings' gawking; he decided to lie down and watch them in return.
He has a special setup in the corner of my room and the closet has been converted into a mini bunny home.
As I'm typing this he's taking a drink of water, and he's being really cute. Thank you to everyone who took the time to help me out before the adoption. ❤ ❤

Bean says thank you too!

 

[CrazyChickenGirl]

UPDATE:
It's taken a bit longer than we had expected, but, I was finally able to adopt my rabbit!
View attachment 62767
This Bean! He is very sweet as far as I can tell and he was not stressed in the least bit on the car ride home. Rather, he was very attentive and curious.
View attachment 62768
The name is inspired by my and my older sister's favorite elementary school books, Ivy and Bean. We hope to eventually adopt another rabbit and name it Ivy.
Bean seems very curious in the very new environment. He reacted well to my little siblings' gawking; he decided to lie down and watch them in return.
He has a special setup in the corner of my room and the closet has been converted into a mini bunny home.
As I'm typing this he's taking a drink of water, and he's being really cute. Thank you to everyone who took the time to help me out before the adoption. ❤ ❤
View attachment 62769
Bean says thank you too!

He sounds like an awesome rabbit, and in top of that he’s adorable!

 

[ISAC QUIN HOOER]

ADORABLE!

 

[alexandra the great]

So I have an odd question. Bean likes to dig at stuff so I was thinking about giving him a dig box. But bedding is so expensive and any bedding I get is for my hamster. I saw a video where a ferret had uncooked rice for a dig box. My family's a big rice eater so we have a lot of it. Would it be okay to use it for Bean?
I also saw a pinterest idea of growing grass in a really large and very shallow bin so they can eat the grass and forage at the same time . What would be a safe grass to grow for bun buns?

 

[JBun]

You shouldn't use rice. Your rabbit might actually choose to eat it, and that could end up leading to serious digestive issues if more than a little bit was consumed.

Generally what people use for indoor dig boxes for rabbits, are shredded or crumpled paper, bedding, or straw/hay. Some will even use sand, soil, or peat moss, but I think that could be a bit messy for indoors. I always used crumpled paper, as shredded seemed too dusty. Plus some of my buns would try and eat the long strips of paper like spaghetti, which I didin't want them doing as too much ingestion of paper could lead to digestive issues. So crumpled sheets of paper worked the best for me.

https://bunnyproof.com/how-to-build-bunny-digging-box.html
My rabbits did end up peeing in their dig box even though they were litter trained, so I would have to throw out the cardboard box when it started to get too many pee spots. But it was easy to replace with a new box. If you do decide to try a dig box, just watch out for your bun peeing in there. If your bun does end up peeing in there, I would remove it and wait a few weeks so your bun has had some time to develop good litter habits, before trying a dig box again.

If your rabbit wasn't wanting to pee on soft things right now, another good digging activity that some rabbits enjoy, is a fleece blanket that they can dig on, nibble at, and rearrange to their hearts content. Though you do have to make sure they aren't doing more than nibbling at it, as chewing off large bits and consuming them could pose a digestive risk. Also if any holes chewed in it are large enough, a paw could get stuck and twisted up posing a risk of injury. So just things to consider and watch out for if you ever try a blanket.

I've never grown grass, so can't say. But I think others have grown wheat, or maybe oat grass in trays. You just have to make sure you do it properly so there is no mold growth, as this could make your rabbit sick. And only small amounts should be given per day, as it's very rich in nutrients and low in fiber, so is more of a supplement food and not a replacement for hay.