 |
Daily news for Seattle's Ballard neighborhood |
DDF
offlineMember
Anyone have a pet rabbit? I'm thinking of geting one for the kids, since hubby won't let us get a dog (and we already have a cat).
What's it like to have a rabbit as a pet? Are they fun, or boring? I hear they do their business in a litter box, and can run around the house and yard without getting into too much trouble.
phoo
offlineMember
Try this: http://www.rabbit.org/
Locally, Rabbit Meadows adopts out rabbits, so does SAS. Rabbits have varying degrees of tolerance for being touched. Even the ones that enjoy being in a lap still want it on their own terms.
They do use a litter box, but are not always as faithful about it as a cat (depends on the bunny).
"fun or boring" depends entirely on how you define those terms. Personally, I like guinea pigs more, but that's me.
If you "get one for the kids" keep this in mind: Most bunnies need a buddy because they are social creatures (as are guinea pigs, humans, etc), so you'll need two. And it will need to be a family pet, maintained and supervised by the adults. Generally, a rabbit is a very poor substitute for a dog. They are slightly closer to the experience of having a cat than a dog.
You will also need to rabbit-proof the room/s that they will be allowed to roam in. Otherwise, you may suddenly not have internet anymore once the ethernet cable is chewed through or no rabbit anymore after an electrical cord is chewed on. Watching them is not a substitute.
House rabbits can make good pets, but please please do your research and know what you are getting into.
Pastafarian
offlineMember
I have a rabbit. A Mini Rex specifically. They can make excellent pets for a family but there are certain things to consider, like with any other pet.
They need to chew on things on a regular basis in order to wear their teeth down, and as a result any wood, cords, plants, etc etc etc that they can reach they will potentially chow down on. My current one used to have a particular affinity for the canvas material I used for the walls, ripped it up from the baseboards in a few places. I just give mine a large board to gnaw on and that seems to be work, but even so it still bites other things sometimes.
Another thing to consider is that rabbits are extremely social creatures, if you only get one, you'll need to pay it plenty of attention.
Their nails also grow and need to be clipped on a fairly regular basis, you can do this yourself if you learn how or have a professional do it. I do it myself with the help of a second person, but in my experience it isn't exactly something that they'll like having done to them, so if you aren't confident enough to have someone hold them still while someone else cuts their nails that's something to consider as well.
They're easily trainable to a little box and water bottle in my experience, but will probably poop outside of the cage some still. Luckily its in the form of a compact dry ball so it doesn't make much of a mess. Just be aware that they do produce cecal which is processed food that they then re-ingest to process for further nutrition. The cecal IS wet, unlike the normal feces. If an animal re-ingesting its already-been-eaten food is disgusting to you, I wouldn't recommend getting a rabbit.
And they're crepuscular animals, meaning that they're most active periods are during dawn and dusk, mine will sit for hours during the middle of the day and not do much of anything besides go in to eat and use the bathroom.
As far as putting it in the yard, there's no way the one I have now could ever go outside, its the most high strung animal that I've ever run into and gets freaked out at the slightest strange sound. My last one was the complete opposite and nothing bugged it, so their personalities can vary widely. There's really no telling exactly how an individual animal will be until you get it home and have lived with it for a while.
You don't have to walk them, or bathe them. Just feed and pay attention to them and they're happy. You do have to be careful what sort of food you give them. They need a certain type of hay depending on their age and there are plants/foods which are toxic to them which you can read more about here:
http://adoptarabbit.org/articles/toxic.html
http://adoptarabbit.org/articles/packet/abcvegi.html
pennygirl
offlineMember
Didn't we do this about a year ago?!
lakreitz
offlineMember
The Seattle Animal Shelter has two pairs available to adopt right now. One is at the shelter now, the other is in foster care. I am an SAS kitty foster parent and go to the shelter often to pick up supplies, etc. The critters often have volunteer working with them - cleaning,etc. I am sure one of them would be delighted to expand on Pastafarian's comments. Saturday is best.
Edit to add link; http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/17563057
phoo
offlineMember
SAS has more than 2 pair. They just transferred 6 from Rabbit Meadows and have a couple other pairs besides. I was in the critter department last weekend socializing the guinea pigs and rabbits.
lakreitz
offlineMember
Good update. Thanks. I haven't been to the shelter in three weeks or so..... I only looked on petfinder and the new arrivals haven't been.
Attn DDF! See how well cared for the SAS critters are? Our own Phoo was just with them giving them lots of love.
phoo
offlineMember
Yes, there is no organized photography team for critters, unlike for cats and dogs. So updates tend to happen sporadically in batches. Perhaps this summer I'll do some photography for the critter department again. I was the only one doing it for a number of months and I got burnt out and had some things in life to attend to.
DDF
offlineMember
Well, nevermind. I think while I'd love them, my boys maybe wouldn't care too much for them. I've wanted a sweet Pixie-bob for awhile anyway.
You must log in to post.