Newbie on food, handling, and freedom.

Hi,

Apologies in advance for the list of newbie questions.

We've had Gizmo for coming up to two weeks now, which makes him about 8 weeks old. We bought an indoor hutch from Pets At Home but he's got run of the spare bedroom where the hutch is kept.

I'm making steady progress bonding with him, and he's getting more comfortable being held in my arms when feeding him, but the second he's finished what's in my hands he's outta there. This is a little concerning as he seems ready to wriggle and jump no matter how high off the ground he is. Is perseverance the key?

Also, he's acting more adversely each day to being put in his hutch overnight or when I'm going out. He climbs up it waiting to jump out when someone walks into the room, and now he's beginning to try chewing the bars. Should I leave him out all the time or am I just being soft?

And finally about his food. I weighed him in at 1.5kg and giving him 50g pellets spread out during the day and as much hay as he wants. When can I start introducing some veg? I've been told to start at 4 months onwards but wanted a second opinion. Or is just pellets ok?

He absolutely loves his pellets and will eat them all in one sitting if I let him. He acts like he's being starved and I'm worried he's not getting enough since he's clearly dying for more whenever someone walks in the room again - chasing you around and waiting for to open the cupboard where he knows the food is stored. Any opinions?

Some ooos and aaaahs if you please:


Vik and Kam

HI:wave: welcome to the forum...your little bunny is incredibly sweet! Ill try to give some advice in regards to your questions.

Most bunny's don't like being picked up. Being a prey animal, being off the ground usually means bad things are going to happen. Over time he may become more used to being handled and i would continue to gain his trust because handling becomes very important on vets visits etc.

I think your bun is just wanted attention and playing up because he can:lol: if you feel its best for him to go back into the cage when your not in etc then i would continue. I have a free range house bun but she has to go back into the kitchen on a night or when we leave the house (she's doesnt like it but thats the way it has to be)

I personally would wait another month or so before introducing veg. I would slowly give little pieces as a fast change of any food can quickly upset bunny tums.

Lola also seems like she's always hungry but i give her lots of hay to fill her up and just a bowl of pellets (she's a giant conti so eats a lot) I'm sure you'll get some much better advice soon

I would also suggest speaking to your vet about getting your bunny vaccinated against Myxi and VHD

Aww, he's lovely

Excellent advice Kirsty

How big is the cage/hutch? If the room is bunny proof then there is no reason you need to shut him into the cage when you're not there. You do need to make sure there is nothing no safe for him to chew first though like houseplants, electrical cables etc.

He'll probably enjoy interacting with you more on the ground. Try sitting/lying on the floor or even following him around. I've had several rabbits that enjoy chasing games when you follow them around the room - they'll stop and wait if you get too far behind.

Rabbits always tell you they are starved As long as he always has hay then he's telling fibs! There is no minimum age for veg but big changes in diet in young rabbits are a bad combination. Six weeks was quite young for him to be leaving home - do you know what he was fed before? You could start with small pieces of veg (greens not fruit) enough for a bite or two. As he's young build up the quantities very slowly.

Toy's are another important thing. He sounds very energetic so it's important as well as giving him space you give him something to do in it. Things like a range of different boxes, things to throw/jump on, a treat ball, toilet rolls, sticks etc. will all help stop him ffrom becoming bored. These will help too when you shut him in his cage.

Tam

Lots of toys will help any boredom, especially as he's still a baby bunny, most bunnies don't leave their mum and litter till 8-10 weeks.

My two are on fresh veg even though they're still young (nearly 12 weeks) but it has to be introduced slowly and in small amounts and the advice is generally from 3 months onwards. Start with spring greens or something, don;t go for carrots as they're very sweet so should only be given as a treat when they're older.

As for picking him up, perserverance and lots of patience, even so, some bunnies will never like being picked up as it's not natural to them unless being carried off by prey :shock:

He's gorgeous by the way. I really need to weigh my two and see how they measure up!

Thanks.

This is Gizmo's home. Is the cage big enough?


When he's on alert mode, he sticks one ear way in the air. Is this common?

Some more pics: http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?p=2268260#post2268260

Vik & Kam

To me, that cage actually looks quite tiny...

I think its a nice set-up but the cage is minuscule compared to others; was it bought from a pet shop under the label of rabbit cages?

I think he'll probably out grow it pretty quickly. That room looks nice and easy to bunny proof though so if you're happy for him to be out all the time I would just use the cage as a base with the cage door open all the time.

Another thing you might like to do if he has a room for himself is fit a baby gate so you can watch him as you walk past but don't have to open the door.

yeh the ear thing is fine
Only my opinion and i think your set up looks great but the cage is a little small to be in for a long period of time. Would it be possible to leave the bunny out in the room, it looks quite bunny proof or maybe buy and indoor run for when you out or night times.

I'm fairly sure it was advertised as an indoor rabbit hutch. Didn't pay much attention as it was the biggest one there (Pets At Home) and it was picked out as an option from one of the staff. On a side note, it came with a large water bottle which Gizmo doesn't like at all. I even took it back thinking it wasn't working properly at first, but now he's drinking normally from his other smaller bottle.

The cage was supposed to be an in-between until I get round to making a dedicated indoor hutch that blends into the living room, but even then it won't compare to having his own bedroom, so not sure what to do for the long term.

The room is completely empty. There's a fitted wardrobe, a radiator and a few power points (one with a light sensitive switched light so he always has some light) that he can reach. So I think it's already bunny proofed. He doesn't seem to chew the wardrobe or skirting and he's litter trained so the carpet only has hay on it really. We took the wood shavings out of his cage to help litter train him I'm not sure if he needs any, or will just a fleece do?

The baby gate is a great idea. At the moment we just leave him out all day and close the door. He doesn't even want to escape if we tempt him with leaving the door open.

I'm fine with leaving him out in the room all the time, I was just wondering that if and when I build a dedicated hutch for him downstairs whether it would be a bit traumatising moving to a considerably smaller space (albeit far far larger than that cage).

Vik & Kam

The cage is fine if he gets the run of the room all the time, as he can use it as a base, as long as you're not shutting him in.
Even pets at home's biggest indoor 'rabbit' cages are not big enough unfortunately.

As long as he doesn't eat the fleece you should only need litter in the litter tray. My two little terrors have vet bed in their cage to lie on.

I have the same cage and yes it's far too small. Muppet is the size that your bunny is - and he's fully grown. Your baby will get bigger I presume!

Just because it's advertised as a indoor rabbit hutch, that doesnt mean anything really. And remember the RSPCA recommended minimum is 6' x 2' x 2' - iindoors or out. And even then the rabbit would need a decent amount of free time. The more running around the better - it helps digestion and mood.

Here's Muppet at home:


As IzzyTwig says, I only use the cage as a base and Muppet has the whole room to range in. I shut him in that room at night and when I'm out. When I'm home he joins me in the sitting room if he feels like it, but it's not bunny proofed so he's only allowed in supervised.

Thanks for the pic, I've set up his cage similar to Muppet's. I've also opened up a few more bedrooms and he's enjoying the exploring. Hopefully he won't become ambitious enough the try going down the stairs anytime soon.

He still seems a little bored though and less active then we he first arrived. I really feel like he needs some bunny company...

We have a similar plastic base cage (very easy to clean) and we have created a loft or mezzanine to give them a little more space, but our buns have free reign of the lounge, kitchen, deck, stairs and garage. They worked out the stairs at about 3 or 4 months old and now they run up and down the stairs all day!