So the one day I decide to walk home from work at night, a brilliant white rabbit is in the street. So he lets me take him home. Someone has been dumping rabbits where I live. I bought timothy hay and pellets and is resting on some extra straw with fresh water in a bowl. I don’t know where to begin. I’ll take him to the exotic vet once my crazy work schedule dies down.
Also any ideas what mix/breed? Full white with blue grey eyes and very docile.
by Appropriate_Cut1747
34 Comments
Incoming mob of people telling you not to keep the poor baby in a cage
Get a big dog pen, a large cat litter box, pine pellets for litter, a lot of fresh green timothy hay, some adult rabbit pellets (Oxbow or another brand with a homogenous texture/no add ins), a big heavy water bowl, and a big upside cardboard box with some exits cut out for the bunny to hide in. Add an old rug to the floor for traction.
Put the litter and a lot of hay in the litter box to kick start litter training. Refresh the hay at least once a day.
That’s all you need for a beginner set up!
For meals, ~1 cup of mixed greens + 1 tablespoon of pellets twice a day, spaced out by about 12 hours. A spring mix from your local supermarket is fine. Anything sweet, such as fruit and carrots, should be given as a treat. The hay you have looks a little bit stalky and thick. Better to find some that includes blades and is a tad greener. EDIT: Nevermind the last point I see you mentioned that’s straw. Bun could probably use a bit more hay to eat in that case. Hay should account for 80% of the diet, so it’s a good idea to give your bun a pile roughly the same size as their body each day.
Thank you for giving this beautiful rabbit a home.
They are such wonderful animals.
When I was a first time rabbit owner this helped me a ton: https://bhrabbitrescue.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Rabbit-Information-Packet-2022.pdf
Also this is a great feeding guide: https://rabbit.org/care/food-diet/
My biggest recommendation is don’t underestimate how destructive they can sometimes be. It depends on the bun but biggest things to look out for are carpet, cords, and walls/baseboards. Some people can manage this destructiveness with just distraction via toys and other enrichment, some need to bunny-proof (lots of great info out there on this) and watch their buns anytime they are free-roaming, and others, like me, have buns that require their own completely bunny-proofed room because they are just that destructive and good at getting around bunny proofing.
I would search out a rescue in your area. They often sell fresh hay and food stuffs along with toys and more. They can do grooming and boarding and have the best vet advice.
Good going, OP!! What an absolute sweetie. You both hit the jackpot.
In terms of diet, bunnies should have celery only as treats, so like 2 of those pieces you have in the bowl per day, not more, since they don’t get any nutrients from it. You want to provide unlimited hay for the bunny (either timothy, orchard grass, or oat), it should account for 80-90% of its diet, and they usually eat the equivalent of their body size in hay daily. You also want to provide pellets, oxbow essentials adult bunny pellets are great. Start with 4 tablespoons a day, reduce if the bun is getting chubby. You also want to provide fresh greens daily, about 2 cups worth. Good greens for them are: lettuce (but NOT iceberg lettuce), cilantro, dill, basil, carrot tops, and kale (in moderate quantities). Bunnies cannot get fat from hay or greens, but you want to make sure not to overfeed greens as they can lead to diarrhea in excess.
Awww reminds me of when I gotcha’ed my own white rabbit almost 10 years ago. She was being kept in terrible conditions so I took her and never looked back. I had NO idea what I was doing and never intended to keep her. Luckily all the rescues were full. I fell for her pretty quickly and she’s still super healthy at about 10 years old now.
I too only had a dog crate for a bit and eventually added on some wire cube panels to make an extension. I was going to share a picture but it doesn’t seem like I can. 🫤
Try rubbing your new rabbit’s nose and forehead. Rabbits lick each other there to show their affection to one another. If he’s docile now, just wait until he gets confirmation that you are his friend. I have a feeling that this is going to be a beautiful relationship. I’m jealous. Good luck! ❤️
Let him run around in your home as much as possible. Lie on the ground holding pellets in your hand. Let him come to you. and he will gradually learn to trust you and love you.
one of the most helpful (& long-term) things for us, has been to give a high-pitched “yipe” when Willow (our bun) does something we don’t want her to do. this includes chewing carpet, chewing baseboards, the temptation of biting something that she knows she shouldn’t eat, nipping us for attention or to move out of the way, etc. doesn’t have to be particularly loud (I’ve learned to trust she can *always* hear us lol, and just *chooses* to ignore us 🙄), just loud enough to get her attention. it’s like speaking her language.
congrats on your new precious bun!
Dude is adorable and a little thin. If s/he is peeing in normal pee colors, adding some Oxbow pellets or alfalfa hay for a bit until you can see an exotic vet probably wouldn’t hurt.
Thank you for rescuing this luvbun, kind human.
No silly rabbit, Trix are for kids!
Breed is New Zealand.
Trix are for kids, silly rabbit!
Only give them kale maybe 1 or 2 leaves perhaps once a month , maybe twice , not much
I lost three rabbits this way
Kale has a ton of calcium in it and it will cause bladder stones that will kill them
I didn’t know until my vet figured out what hurt my bunnies by going through their diet
That it has more space
Looks like a young new Zealand maybe? They’re beautiful! Thank you for caring and rescuing this baby! I learned my info from the YouTube channel Lennon the bunny and sincerely cinnabun!
“Silly rabbit; Trix Are For Kids.”; so write that one down.
Not the celery. Dark leafy greens. Celery has too much water & can lead to runny poops
In all honesty, you need to either get a way bigger kennel or create a space with a barrier. This isn’t enough room for a bunny – they need space to be able to run around, have zoomies and flop(stretch out). This will just stress the bunny out and make them unhappy. Pls consider changing this ASAP. If you go with a barrier set up, make sure to hide any cables, and put items in the corners of carpets so they can’t destroy it.
I would also consider getting a second bunny to keep this one company as they are social creatures unless you’re going to spend all day with them.
I always keep to a small dog cage for the 1st night, just to get used to things slow and steady. My rabbits are free roam after they are toilet trained.
Amazing that you rescued that rabbit! We are all grateful ❤️ I myself have been owning rabbits for a long time and would like to give some tips! So all rabbits need to be freeroam/have a big enough pen, you should research on what size of enviroment is appropiate for them if your unable to freeroam. When they qre freeroamed/have more space you need to bunny proof your house. So hide/block off anything that you dont want them to chew/would be dangerous for them. I recommend for them to have safe rabbit toys and they also need hides. Tunnels are also very great. I recommend giving them a water bowl since its better than a bottle. Having a friend for your rabbit is heavily recommended but not always possible. I recommend getting a friend but only if its possible. Best pairings are neutered male and sterilized female or two sterilized female rabbits. Some rabbits require brushing but you should check the fur lenght for yourself. Also I hevaily recommend getting them neutered/sterilized. You also would need a litterbox which you already probaly have. Also recommend looking into the diet, also I recommend always having some spare money incase of emergencies, also look into pontential health issues so you know if your rabbit gets one. This ended up being very long but you already seem to be doing great! I hope for the best❤️
Timothy hay 24/7, bigger cage (play pen at least), leafy greens twice a day to start
They are great as free roaming pets! Neuter/sterilise and they will toilet train themselves
OP, thank you for reaching them. No more celery, though. Please read this Bunny 101 handout. It has everything you need to have a happy and healthy bun!
https://www.houserabbitga.com/bunny-101-class-handout
Make sure he eats hay most of the time. Hay is EXTREMELY important, more so than pellets and vegetables.
Be prepared to clean pee off everything until he gets litter trained and lots of zooming!
I watched the YouTubers Victoria Raechel and Lennon the Bunny!
They helped me a lot when I first got my buns 🙂
Well done for rescuing them! Just remember bunnies aren’t caged animals (think of them like cats) so I would be looking at how to bunny-proof a room for her/him and then researching litter tray training. A lot of bunnies will toilet train naturally if they have plenty of hay in/above the tray and also are neutered. Unneutered bunnies tend to poop a lot of more all over the place lol
Let him out of that prison please.
Celery looks awesome, but no need to cut it up for the bunny. He’ll do that on his own! My tip would be to collect all the veggie scraps from cooking dinner (lettuce ends, cauliflower leaves, pepper cores, carrot tops) and make them his dinner! There’s also lots of grocery stores that will give you vegetable scraps for free. You’re feeding your bunny, saving money, and reducing trash/compost at the same time!
I would recommend a large open set up maybe like a play pin with a litter box because they naturally pee and poop primarily in one spot. This will make cleaning very simple and help eliminate odor because rabbit pee is very stank. I would also keep some hay kind of close to the litter box so they can snack on it. They should be eating 80% hay & 20% of the pebbles (Figure out what kind of hay they prefer most enjoy Timothy) I would also add some wooden toys and some interactive stuff. You can use empty toilet paper rolls, even a cereal box as a tunnel if you can’t afford a lot of toys. I would also say a bowl of water rather than that thing that they suck water out of. A small dog bed or little cat hut with a blanket would be nice too. I just think the main thing is to not cage them like they are a dog they really require an open setup and a lot of interactive things or they can become veryyy destructive.
As a new bunny owner, definitely read this whole website please. https://bunnylady.com/rabbit-care-guide/
– buy a dog exercise pen (or 2) [like this one](https://a.co/d/0HUvplc — there are cheaper ones from Midwest that you can buy 2 of and put together for sufficient space for an adult rabbit. A baby rabbit can live in a smaller space and the x-pen bars should be covered with cardboard, fabric, or NIC grids since a baby can often squeeze through them.
– buy a litter box [such as this one](https://www.chewy.com/frisco-high-sided-small-pet-litter/dp/291362?)
– get [paper based litter](https://www.chewy.com/carefresh-small-animal-bedding/dp/122289?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=20822266073&utm_content=155815203109&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADmQ2V14S3_xrbTIcMG4BkcRFWbDD&gclid=CjwKCAjwreW2BhBhEiwAavLwfDmkPmvLIFY8tuT1PRZsuN51ZDSJgeWNAScuafK5vf-D-SKTiXHRiRoCINkQAvD_BwE)
– get [Timothy, orchard, and/or oat hay](https://shop.smallpetselect.com/collections/hay-for-rabbits) — typical hay is Timothy 2nd cutting. Baby bunnies get alfalfa hay.
– put litter and hay in litter box
– get flooring such as an [indoor/outdoor rug](https://www.homedepot.com/p/Foss-Unbound-Smoke-Gray-Ribbed-6-ft-x-8-ft-Indoor-Outdoor-Area-Rug-CP45N41PJ1VH/202800194) and/or [fleece](https://www.joann.com/fabric/fleece-fabric/). You can put something like exercise or [ABC mats](https://www.target.com/p/5-39-x-5-39-abc-floor-mat-set-36pc-gigglescape-8482/-/A-89973255#lnk=sametab) under the fleece/rug.
– get [hidey homes (wood or cardboard)](https://store.binkybunny.com/collections/rabbit-playhouses) that have at least 2 openings. You can make them yourself out of cardboard boxes (remove all tape, try to use boxes with no writing/dye on them if possible, no strings or staples)
– get bunny safe [wood sticks](https://store.binkybunny.com/collections/sticks), [baskets](https://store.binkybunny.com/collections/baskets), etc for them to chew
– get a good quality hay-based pellet such as from Oxbow or Small Pet Select if you’re in the United States. Timothy-based for adults and alfalfa-based for babies.
– adult bunnies should get a very tiny amount of pellets morning and night, baby bunnies get more
– hay should be unlimited (add hay daily)
– you can feed [bunny safe fresh veggies](https://rabbit.org/care/fruits-vegetables/) daily
– have a large water bowl (not bottle) and refill / wash daily
It will be much easier to clean and take care of your rabbit when they have sufficient space and a nice home. Your rabbit will also be happier, healthier, and bond better with you. Bunnies are not cage animals, they need to run and jump and have fun! They should have at least a room dedicated to them or a floor of your house.
ALMOST THE MORE IMPORTANT PART!!! BUNNIES ARE SOCIAL ANIMALS. If you have the means to have 1 bunny, you usually can manage two, it’s not very different. I would STRONGLY suggest looking into getting a second bunny. A few things about bonding rabbits. Especially after you’ve gotten comfortable and learned more.
1. There’s a whole bonding process that can be difficult, but if you educate yourself, be patient, don’t skip steps, and do it right, it’s seamless.
2. They both need to be spayed/neutered. In general, they should always be fixed as they are healthier and happier. But also, if they aren’t fixed, the bonding process can lead to injury or death.
3. Bonded bunnies are so lovely and happy..it’s well worth any struggle. It’ll lighten the burden on you as the owner and make them live longer.