Brother got a rabbit but doesnt know care info! PLEASE READ!

[A.D.]

My brother's coworker gave him a white rabbit with a spot, red eyes, and shorter ears named Alice(like alice in wonderland). I believe it looks something like this except with red eyes(The attachment) He feeds him carrots and lettuce and i believe her cage is about 18feet high. She tolerates being held for a minute then she thumps and wants to get out. She doesnt bite often but she does a little. I told him i would research diligently on how he can take better care of her. So my questions are:
What type of food does she need? Are the lettuce and carrots enough?
What type of maintance does she need such as nails, teeth, baths, etc?
How much time does she need out?
What type of vaccinations does she need?
Anything else we should know? She is an adult, I am uncertain of the age.

 

[patches2593]

with my rabbit, when he was a baby (under 1 year) i let him free feed rabbit pellets. but when he was around 1 year old i limited his pellets to 1/4 cup a day otherwise he would become obese from eating all the rabbit pellets. some rabbits can free feed pellets and some need to have a limited amount. some people don't give their rabbits pellets, just timothy hay as their main food source. *your decision*

my rabbit and all rabbits should have a limited amount of timothy hay because it is crucial to their digestive system. they will become sick without it. *necessary*
they should have limited water supply. i use small animal water bottles and when they are empty i refill them. some people like to use heavy ceramic bowls (like for dogs or cats) and have their rabbits drink right out of the bowl. both ways are fine. *necessary*

every day i give my rabbit a piece of papaya as a treat because it is good for them. *optional*

you don't need to give him/her baths (they bathe themselves) but unless something happened where they become dirty or get poop/pee on them, you can give them a bath with rabbit shampoo but otherwise they don't need to be bathed, it is usually very stressful for them

their nails and dewclaws need to be clipped and kept maintained otherwise the vein in the nail will keep growing along with the nail and it will cause many problems with the rabbit if the nails get really long. "necessary*

rabbits teeth are constantly growing so you need to get hard toys for them to chew on. i use apple tree sticks which keep my bunnies teeth down. other toys work too but i l personally like using wood sticks that are made for rabbits. *necessary*

a rabbit should always have time out of their cage for exercise. every day i let my rabbit run around outside of his cage in my room with me supervising him about an hour or more. sometimes i'm busy so he comes out every other day or just for a little bit each day. watch because they chew everything!!! *necessary*

you can also litter box train rabbits. many people do this because it is easier to clean the cage and they don't have to worry about the rabbit going to the bathroom all around their house when he/she is running around getting exercise. *optional*

i don't give my rabbit any vaccinations unless something happened like a health problem where he needs medical attention from the vet. just like most animals, if your rabbit acts different, stops eating/ drinking/ pooping i'd seek a vet

another thing, it is a good idea to get your rabbit neutered or spayed. it helped my rabbit with his moodiness and when he had some feelings for my cat

rabbits need a lot of care and are high maintenance. but if you take care of them, clean their cage, and love them and spend time with him/her they are a fun and loving pet

if you have anymore questions that i didn't answer, feel free to ask. that's what we are here for

hope this helps!!! i think i covered mostly everything

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

Lettuce and carrots are not enough for a rabbit. The bulk of the diet should be hay. Timothy or another grass hay (orchard grass, meadow hay, brome hay etc) are all suitable. Alfalfa hay is not needed for adults. Hay should be available at all times. Pellets are also something that are good to have in the diet. They provide vitamins and minerals as well as other nutrients that rabbits do need and can be hard to get naturally. A good pellet is just pellets with no extra bits. Look for one that is timothy hay based (first ingredient) with about 14% fibre and 18% or more protein. Oxbow makes a good pellet, but there are others out there. Most pet rabbits only need about 1/4 cup per 5 pounds of body weight per day. Veggies are something you can give. Leafy green ones are best and there are many lists of safe veggies. Carrots are high in sugar, so should be a treat and only in small amounts.

Rabbits should get their nails trimmed on a regular basis. How often that is depends on the rabbit, but monthly is usually good. Most rabbits don't need extra dental care, but some may need the teeth trimmed as they do not line up properly. Rabbits don't need bathes, they can clean themselves on their own. If there is a dirty spot, you can use a damp cloth. Other grooming depends on the rabbit, but regular brushing is good especially during a moult.

It is good to give them as much time out of the cage as you can. Unless the area is totally bunny proofed, only let your rabbit out when you can supervise. A few hours a day is good for most rabbits, but more if great if you can.

Rabbits don't need vaccinations in North America as there really are no diseases that need prevention. Getting the rabbit spayed is a good idea for her overall health and can help with some behaviour problems. Find a rabbit savvy vet as not all vets know about rabbits, so the need a vet who knows how to properly treat them.

 

[LakeCondo]

The basic diet for an adult rabbit consists of unlimited grass hay [preferably not alfalfa] and timothy-based pellets. I get a 10 lb bag from wag.com, along with other things to get free shipping. Veggies are a sal addition to the diet, but are nowhere near enough to provide all nutrients needed. Iceberg lettuce has virtally no nutrients, but all other lettuces are good, as are parsley, celery [cut so no long strings], cilantro, etc. No onion, garlic,potato. Carrots are to sweet to give except for a chunk as an occasional treat. Adult rabbits need limited calcium & carrot tops have 10x the amount of any other veggie.

Nails need trimming about every 6-8 weeks. I think white rabbits have nails you can see the quick in, so cut so a little past the quick is left. Teeth should be ok unless they start getting crooked. Fortunately this doesn't happen to many rabbits.

There aren't many occasions when a rabbit needs more than a wipe with an unscented baby wipe. When they shed their underfluff, I wold just going over the fur by hand & removing tuffs works better than a brush. Other than that I ended up using a toothbrush for when Honey's not shedding much.

The amount of out time depends on the side of the inclosure & how active the rabbit is. In Europe rabbits need vaccinations, but in the US, they don't, as they're a different species than or wild rabbits.

A female rabbit has such a high rate of reproductive cancer by the time she is 5 or 6 that she really should be spayed to prevent it. It can also be a behavior issue for females, but mostly health-related, while with males it's all a behavioral issue.

A rabbit that nips or does anything else you want to stop, should immediately have its head peld down slightly for maybe half a minute. This is how mom disciplines her young & sholuld whow who's boss. After a few times, the behavior usually stops.

 

[A.D.]

The basic diet for an adult rabbit consists of unlimited grass hay [preferably not alfalfa] and timothy-based pellets. I get a 10 lb bag from wag.com, along with other things to get free shipping. Veggies are a sal addition to the diet, but are nowhere near enough to provide all nutrients needed. Iceberg lettuce has virtally no nutrients, but all other lettuces are good, as are parsley, celery [cut so no long strings], cilantro, etc. No onion, garlic,potato. Carrots are to sweet to give except for a chunk as an occasional treat. Adult rabbits need limited calcium & carrot tops have 10x the amount of any other veggie.

Nails need trimming about every 6-8 weeks. I think white rabbits have nails you can see the quick in, so cut so a little past the quick is left. Teeth should be ok unless they start getting crooked. Fortunately this doesn't happen to many rabbits.

There aren't many occasions when a rabbit needs more than a wipe with an unscented baby wipe. When they shed their underfluff, I wold just going over the fur by hand & removing tuffs works better than a brush. Other than that I ended up using a toothbrush for when Honey's not shedding much.

The amount of out time depends on the side of the inclosure & how active the rabbit is. In Europe rabbits need vaccinations, but in the US, they don't, as they're a different species than or wild rabbits.

A female rabbit has such a high rate of reproductive cancer by the time she is 5 or 6 that she really should be spayed to prevent it. It can also be a behavior issue for females, but mostly health-related, while with males it's all a behavioral issue.

A rabbit that nips or does anything else you want to stop, should immediately have its head peld down slightly for maybe half a minute. This is how mom disciplines her young & sholuld whow who's boss. After a few times, the behavior usually stops.

Will it kick and squirm when you push the head down if it hasnt been disciplined at all

 

[JBun]

No, lettuce and carrots are not enough. Rabbits should have unlimited grass hay and water. An adult rabbit should have 1/4-1/2 cup pellets per 6 lb. body weight. You want a plain pellet with no treat pieces in it. If the rabbit isn't being fed pellets now, then pellets should be very slowly introduced into it's diet, starting with a small amount like 1/2 tsp. and gradully increase the amount each day over 2 weeks. If the rabbit starts getting soft poops then decrease the amount of pellets being given. The soft poop means that the amount of pellets are being increased too quickly, and the pellets should be more slowly increased. Rabbits have very sensitive digestive systems. Any new food should be given in very very small amounts for a few days, and if the poops stay normal, then the new food can be gradually increased. If a rabbit were to suddenly get a whole bunch of a new food, it can disrupt the balance in the digestion and can possibly make the rabbit extremely sick. Carrots and sugary treats shoulc only be fed in small amounts, and only if the rabbit has normal sized round poops. Here's some veggie lists that show which veggies are good for rabbits, and also amounts and how to introduce them to the rabbit.

http://www.rabbit.org/care/veggies.html
http://www.3bunnies.org/feeding.htm#greens

Nails need to be trimmed every month. Don't trim into the quick or the nail will bleed. You can get products like quick stop, at a petstore, that helps stop the bleeding if the quick gets trimmed into. Rabbits shouldn't get baths unless absolutely necessary, as it can stress the rabbit alot. Too much stress on a rabbit can actually make them very sick. If the front teeth are properly aligned, then they will naturally wear down by themselves. If a rabbit is given enough roughage to eat, like apple or willow sticks and hay, then the back teeth should wear down properly as well.

The thumping and biting depend on a lot of things. How long has your brother had this rabbit? Is he trying to hold it all the time? If a new rabbit isn't used to people and being handled, it needs an adjustment period where you don't mess with it too much, let it have it's space to get used to it's new home so that it isn't being overly stressed. But even some rabbits just never like to be held. In fact most rabbits don't reallyl like to be held but some can be taught to tolerate it to a point. The biting could be the rabbit trying to communicate that it is scared or trying to tell your brother something, like stop doing that. The thumping can be a sign of nervousness, irritation, or even when they are happy about something. My rabbits thump at me all the time, especially after I've just trimmed their nails, which they do not like at all.

Your brother needs to read up on rabbits. The library section on this forum has a lot of good info, as well as the HRS website.

http://www.rabbit.org/index.html

 

[LakeCondo]

You don't push that hard & the rabbit knows what it means. No one has mentioned on RO that their rabbit squirmed when they did it & my Honey certainly didn't the couple times I had to do it.