Pet Topics

We actually adopted our rabbit from the local animal shelter. I highly recommend a shelter rabbit to everyone. Our rabbit is very friendly, never bites, and likes to sit in a lap. He’s great.

You’d think all you have to do is provide a cage, some rabbit food, and a water bottle. But there is so much more if you want to take the best care of your pet rabbit.

House Rabbit Society

Did you know there is actually a group of people whose number one goal is to provide information about how to take proper care of your rabbit? The number of homes that have indoor rabbits has been increasing at such a pace that there now exists a House Rabbit Society organization to distribute useful information about how rabbits may be kept safely and in a healthy manner within a home situation.

One feature about rabbits that interferes with them enjoying free run within a home is their propensity for chewing. Although rabbits can be successfully trained to use a litter box, it is more difficult for them to be convinced not to chew such things as furniture legs and electrical wires. This is why many owners of house rabbits seek an indoor hutch or rabbit cage in which their long-eared pets may be kept when they cannot be supervised.

According to the House Rabbit Society, a rabbit’s housing should provide several things. They need to be able to fully stretch out in all directions. They require at least two levels, so they may jump up and down for exercise. They need a supply of food, especially hay, as well as water. And, of course, a litter box is needed.

Bunny Condo

A recent trend in building indoor rabbit hutches is to make a “bunny condo” out of modular storage cube squares. Many hardware and home furnishing stores sell 14-inch square wire cube components for making modular storage units.

These squares can be used to construct a multi-level rabbit house that provides sufficient space for all the requirements as specified by the House Rabbit Society.

Building a rabbit condo that is three squares wide, three squares high and two squares deep will create a space measuring more than 28 cubic feet in capacity. This is far more spacious than the average dog carrier that many people use for housing their indoor rabbits.

When building a rabbit condo, several other considerations should be kept in mind. The bare wire floor should never be used by itself, but should be covered with a material such as plywood.

Easy Cleaning

For ease in cleaning, covering the flooring and shelving with vinyl tiles or linoleum is recommended. However, it should not be too slippery a surface, as rabbit feet were designed for hopping on natural earth and grass, not on smooth artificial surfaces.

Finding a Condo Plan

Numerous plans for rabbit condos are now available across the Internet, and most of them would provide all the safety, security and living space a house rabbit needs. Still, they cannot be locked away all the time. Even a rabbit in a fancy condo needs to get out into the house for some good exercise including running and jumping for several hours at a time.

Rabbits can make great pets. They are quiet, well-mannered, and can be very friendly. Sadly, many people who get a rabbit for their child end up putting the rabbit outside in a cage where it sits for the next few years until its death.

If your child wants a rabbit, make sure they are old enough and responsible enough to take care of it properly, and make sure you have the proper housing for it, and will give it the attention the rabbit needs and deserves. We love our rabbit, and are very happy that we rescued him from the animal shelter.

Here’s a video that tells you how to litter train your rabbit in a week: