| Why Rabbits? |
| Rabbits make wonderful pets; for the right people. Because of their unique needs, rabbits are not the easiest creatures to care for. This is something that you, as a potential owner, need to seriously consider. Please answer the following questions: Can you make a possible 10+ year committment at this time? Can you afford to purchase all of the necessary equipment and to have your rabbit spayed or neutered when she or he is old enough? Do you have enough patience to deal with a rabbit (rabbits can really push your buttons at times..)? Will you clean your rabbit's litterbox every 1-3 days? Are you willing to do the proper research before you bring your bunny home? If you answered "no" to any of the questions above you are not ready to bring home a rabbit at this time. Rabbits, with the proper care, can live to be older than 10. This means that you are committing yourself to about the equivalent of a dog. They may not need daily walks and yearly immunizations, but they do live almost as long as a dog. In some cases, longer. Rabbits are not cheap. The rabbit itself may not be too expensive, however a cage, the cage necessities (water bottle/crock, food crock, litterbox (if you plan on litter-training....highly recommended), etc.), good quality feed, hay, bedding, nail clippers, the cost of spaying/neutering, etc. can and most likely will cost you a bundle. To deny your rabbit of such things is cruel (with the exception of altering your rabbit if you have responsible breeding or showing plans). If money is short, this can be one more reason to wait until the future. Bunnies can and will test your patience. They are very curious, inquisitive creatures that need plenty of mental stimulation to hold their attention! Rabbits need attention from you everyday. This does not mean talking to the rabbit during commercials. Your rabbit will need time out of his or her cage for at least half an hour daily. More time is better, however they will be fine if half an hour is all the time you can give. If they are denied attention, bad habits will develope. This can mean anything from being aggressive towards you or other people, chewing carpet when they do get time out of the cage, or self destructive behavior. A bored rabbit will chew on his or her cage. This can pull their teeth out of allignment creating a condition known as Malocclusion. Malocclusion is when the teeth are crooked. The teeth do not wear themselves down normally (a rabbit with normal teeth wears down its teeth by chewing the pellets..) and they can start to curl in (or out in some cases) causing your rabbit extreme pain. Some rabbits are born with this genetic defect. Most breeders will cull rabbits with teeth such as this, as in some cases the rabbit cannot eat properly. (Please note: "cull" does NOT always mean "kill!" The word cull is also used in reference to selling an animal as a pet or breeding stock, or retiring from breeding. In other words, removing the animal from the breeding herd. Only in extreme cases of bad health or ailments such as malocclusion will the breeder cull the rabbit in terms of euthanasia.) If you chose to take in a rabbit with this teeth condition you will need to take it to an experienced veterinarian or breeder to have iots teeth clipped every few weeks. If you give your rabbit daily attention and exercise, he or she will be a happy and healthy bunny! Rabbits are naturally clean creatures. They cannot clean their cages themselves, so in order to avoid dibilitating diseases such as coccidiosis (a liver disease transmitted through parasites in the feces), one must clean their rabbits cage or litterbox everyday or every 2-3 days. (I clean my rabbits litterboxes out everday or every other day.) When considering ANY type of animal, one must do research and plenty of it. To bring an animal into your home without doing the proper research is just wrong. You wouldn't have a baby without reading at least some books, right? Bringing home a pet is almost like bringing home a newborn in some aspects. Research is the key. By reading this page you have already shown that you are interested in giving your potential pet a good life. You should be very proud of yourself! There are far too many pet owners out there who shouldn't have any animals because they have no clue as to what they are doing. By educating yourself on the unique needs of rabbits, you are guarenteed to have a happy healthy pet. Both your rabbit and yourself will benefit from having learned all you can. Home Click to go to the HOMES 4 PETS site ! |
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