Help?

[BunnyLove360]

Hi, so, i have owned rabbits before but haven't
for a while and will be getting some soon. I wanted to know some information prior to give the rabbits the best life possible.

1- Can rabbits wear clothes? i know that plenty of people do put clothing on their rabbits and that the clothes should never be left on them unsupervised or for a long period of time. I wanted to know whether i can put small dog/cat clothing on a rabbit, as no pet stores around hear make rabbit specific clothes. (this is only if i do decide to put clothes on them)

2- Can tarantulas harm rabbits? i do not own any tarantulas at the moment but my sibling(s) may be getting one or more soon and i want to be prepared as to keeping them safe.

3- Has anyone on here had experience with rabbits dying of fright? i know that it is possible but not common, i want to know whether i need to watch for any signs of this.

4- Do i need to watch out for the normal house/blow fly in my area? They would be getting their vaccination annually but i know the vaccination doesn't 100% protect them against disease.

5- What hay is best for rabbits? I know there are many types of hay that they can have, but i would like to know which is (in your opinion) best for them.

Thank you.

 

[Blue eyes]

It is best to avoid clothing a rabbit. Anything put on could get snagged causing them to panic. If that happens, they could frantically struggle to escape and could injure their back or neck. It could also seriously stress a rabbit just to be toyed with like that.

Will you be housing your rabbits indoors? If so, the possibility of them being frightened to death is slim. Even outdoors, it would only possibly happen depending on the rabbit. A predator attempting to get in the hutch or sudden loud noise like close thunder might cause a problem.

House flies aren't an issue if a rabbit's cage and litter box are kept clean. Also, if bunny is given a healthy diet that prevents poopy bum, then flies won't be attracted to his back end. Moist, yucky litter box or moist, yucky bottom is what a fly may use to lay eggs. That is when flystrike happens. Keep things clean and there should be no problems.

Grass hays (as opposed to legume hays like alfalfa and clover) are fine to offer rabbits of any age. Rabbits under 6 months can have the richer legume hays, but it is still a good idea to mix some grass hay in with the alfalfa. The reason for mixing is that alfalfa is rich and often more favored. That can cause problems with some rabbits when they turn 6 months and may resist switching to grass hays. If the hay has been mixed, they will already be used to the grass hay. Grass hay includes timothy, orchard, brome, meadow, bermuda, etc. You can click here on my website for more on feeding.

 

[katlupe]

I do not know about all rabbits, but I know my rabbit would not want to wear clothes. Like Blue Eyes said above, it may cause your rabbit to struggle while being dressed or to panic while dressed and that can cause them to get injured. I think it may also affect the temperature of their body and may cause them to molt off their schedule. I can't see why anyone would do that to their bunny.

Can tarantulas harm rabbits? I have no idea. Google it and do some research on that.

I live in an apartment building that is fairly quiet, so nothing has frightened Rabbit here. If he hears a noise that he is not familiar with, he goes under my bed till he figures it is safe. But he does like to investigate if someone is here or the handyman is fixing something. He lived outside in my barn before being brought inside and was dropped by an owl with big wounds on one side. So he didn't die from being frightened then. But I would not take unnecessary chances.

I feed Rabbit Timothy hay and recently got some orchard. Depending on where I get the hay, sometimes it has weeds in it and check it see if it is something he can eat or will eat. He is a Californian rabbit, which is usually a meat rabbit so I try not to feed him anything that will pack the weight on. So I avoid alfalfa. I use the hay for food as well as bedding.

When I lived in my house in the country, where I have horses too, he tended to get the poopy butt at times, but even there with house flies and deer flies (outside) they did not bother him. Now here he has never had poopy butt at all and we barely have any flies. One or two will get in from time to time. But does not affect him at all. Keeping his cage very clean, daily cleaning it, helps.

Good luck with your bunny. It is a learning process for me, as he is the only house bunny I have ever had.

 

[Cookiemonster]

Im not sure for all your questions but i use timothy hay