Rabbit Questions - Before i get one

I have had a rabbit before but only as a kid. Now we're moving into our first home and we want a rabbit. We want to keep it indoors and have found a good cage 1200mm x 600mm x 550mm. is this suitable for a rabbit, and if so which ones?

the main concern for us is money, the food and bedding isnt a problem but we know vets bills can be costly. firstly, the claws. how often do these need to be cut and roughly how much does it cost? i read on one website that the vet will show you how to do it safely and then you can do it yourself. next, what vaccinations do rabbits have, how often and any approximate cost? is it as important to get them vaccinated as they wont be outside in contact with other animals. saying this, we will let it out in the garden, but theres unlikely to be any wild rabbits in the area we're living in.

lastly, is it better to buy from a shop, a person in the freeads or get a free rabbit from the free-ads? and whats best to look for when chosing a rabbit?

thankyou for taking the time to read this post and (hopefully) to any answers given

Hi there, well domne for checking all this out first!

I'm not sure about hutch sizes but soemone will be.

Nails cost me about £5 every few months, but teeth cost about £9 every 3-4 weeks!

Vaccinations cost around £25 and they really do need them, even if they are indoors.

I recently insured my rabbit (£10 a month) and so glad I did as looking into his current problem has cost £220 so far..... all I paid was a £50 excess.

Get the bunny from a rescue if at all possible. This will save you as they will probably be neutered/vaccinated already and you will be helping out a bunny in need. If you go to www.rabbitrehome.org.uk which this forum is part of, you will be able to search for bunnies in your area.

Hope that helps!

Hiya if your keeping the rabbit inside id recomend a dog cage or puppy pen there more roomy than any petshop cages for rabbits,My house rabbits are vaccinated id deffo recomend you do it costs anywhere from £20 per vaccination,Id also recomend getting insurance as one of my rabbits died recently his vet bill came to nearly £500 and he wasnt insured
I cut all my rabbits nails myself every 3 weeks.All my rabbits are rescued,id definatly get one from a rescue as they will already be neutered and vaccinated

I'm no good with measurements, but I would recomend looking through the housing section, and seeing the different type of set ups people have for indoor bunnies, sometimes you can find cheaper, and much more effective, bunny friendly houses, you can build yourself... I've made mine from NIC grids at B&Q... I can change the shape, and size whenever I like, incase I want to move to another place, or build it around my furnature/cubby hole etc.

I'd recomend getting a pair of rabbits, as bunny's are very very social animals, and get ever so lonely without a partner. I'd also recoment looking into local rescue centers, as there are sooooo many unwanted bunny's all over the country just waiting for a loveing home. Also when getting a rescue bunny, you know what your bunny will be like as a fosterer will tell you all about your bunny before you adopt... store bought bunnies or breeder bunnies, are just picked for their looks not charactor.

You're bunny needs 3 vaccines a year costing anything from £10-£20 depending on your vet (mine cost £15 each) They will need a myxi jab every 6 months, and a VHD jab once a year... Claw clipping costs around £5, and I do mine myself about every 6 months, but this varies alot with different rabbits.

I'd also recommend getting insurance for your bunnies too, as they can suddenly get sick which can cost a fortune, or require ongoing dental treatment etc.

I'd advise you to get any bunnies neutered which costs anything from £40-£90 depending on if it is a boy/girl, and again what vet you use. This will prevent the getting uterine or testicular cancer in later years.... it also has a lot of health and behavioral benefits as well (ask any rabbit savvy vet)

I hope this helps a bit.... there is soooooooo much to think about! I'm sure many more people here will be glad to offer help

Sorry the pic isn't fantastic!

Hiya

Here is good link to info on rabbit care:

http://www.rabbitrehome.org.uk/rabbitcare.asp

specifically, look at this link on cost:

http://www.rabbitrehome.org.uk/care/rabbit_costs.asp

and this one on indoor housing:

http://www.rabbitrehome.org.uk/care/hutch2.asp

The diseases you vaccinate rabbits against are myxomatosis and VHD. These are transmitted by flies, not other animals and flies can get indoors so its important to vaccinate any pet rabbit.

The size of the cage will depend on how much ime they will have outside of it - they can be quite energetic wee creatures and require a lot of exercise.

Lastly, I would have to agree with the previous posters and recommend getting a rabbit from a rescue. There are thousands upon thousands of rabbits in animal shelters in the UK so its nicer to give ahome to one of those, than to increase the problem by buying from pet shops. I have four rescue centre rabbits and they are all a total joy. and you get to find out their temperament and any health problems before you take them on, which you dont with a shop bought animal.

best of luck finding your rabbit

ollie3686 said:

I have had a rabbit before but only as a kid. Now we're moving into our first home and we want a rabbit. We want to keep it indoors and have found a good cage 1200mm x 600mm x 550mm. is this suitable for a rabbit, and if so which ones?hi there firstly an indoors bun you want a neutered one else will spray and get a dog crate or build your own area with nic cubes... let bun out free run if you can in house as they love at least 4 hours min excersise a day....i would cover wires with cabe covers etc and ensure nothing for bun to knock over

the main concern for us is money, the food and bedding isnt a problem but we know vets bills can be costly. firstly, the claws. how often do these need to be cut and roughly how much does it cost? i read on one website that the vet will show you how to do it safely and then you can do it yourself. next, what vaccinations do rabbits have, how often and any approximate cost? is it as important to get them vaccinated as they wont be outside in contact with other animals. saying this, we will let it out in the garden, but theres unlikely to be any wild rabbits in the area we're living in. definatly get your rabbit vaccinated even if a cat wanders through your garden they can have fleaswhich can transmit viruses even with otu this flys and mosquitos can transmit myxi from mmiles away so please please get vaccs done....myxi is 2x a year or 1x a year in not such high risk areas this is about 15 pounds a go. the general check up is aroun 17.50 each time. and claw clipping is fine to do yourself if bun isnt a wriggler and if light nails if dark nails you will need a torch if not vet nurse wil do for about a £5 a time. the vhd vaccine is annually and should be given 2 weeks after myxi so system is not overloaded it is also around the 15 mark. regarding vet costs in general if taking on a rabbit i suggest you either set up a vet fund keep a credit card spare or do rabbit insurance for those emergancy bouts of stasis etc. food will need to be a pelleted form about n egg vupful a day of any that is complete pellets and over 14% fibre. science selective burgess excel, allen and page are all good one.... hay should make up 85% of diet or grass adn a variety of veg is nice as treats beware tho carrots are high in sugar and very fattening...dont feed to much any food chanegs should be done gradually.

lastly, is it better to buy from a shop, a person in the freeads or get a free rabbit from the free-ads? and whats best to look for when chosing a rabbit?

get a bun from your local rescue there are hundereds needin homes and it will save you the cost of inital vaccs and neuter(can be over 100 just for entuer alone) also if you wanted a pair of buns as they are such sociable animals then the rescue wil lhave bonded pairs of all ages remeber a rabbits lifespan can be up to 14years of age. taking the time to read this post and (hopefully) to any answers given

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hello i hope iv answered your above questions on buns here are a few more things you might be interested to know
rabbits should now be wormed to prevent ec(a nasty parasite whici is commenly associated with worms) pannacuur from vets will d othis also you shold protect buns against fly strike by rear guarding in summer months this stops any eggs that are laid by flys from hatching as this costs many buns their lives.

other major risk which is eliminated by speyeing is 85% of females die sfrom uterine cancer over age of 4yrs...which is really sad as its so preventable.
rabbits need as much space as a small dog in general and the leads/harnesses many people have found are no good for buns as can cause injury. a lot of rabbits prefer drinking from bowls to bottles tho i leave a bottle to ensure always fresh water

main point is to get a rabbit from a rescue centre

never buy a rabbit from pets at home - they have no idea what they are talking about :evil:

thankyou everyone for your help, ill take these into consideration and ive certainly change my plan about how and where im going to buy, and house the rabbit. i especially like the idea about the NIC grids. im going to B & Q tommorrow anyway so ill have a look.

one last thing id like to tell you a true story that my mum just told me about her rabbit that they had years ago.

My dad built a concrete slab for the a hutch to sit on in the garden. The garden didnt have a fence but backed onto a huge field where crops were growing. They decided to move the hutch onto the grass to allow the rabbit to eat the grass. The next morning dad woke up to find the rabbit had escaped the hutch and it was sitting under the tree. He called for mum for some help to catch but as he did their cat chased the rabbit, and the rabbit ran into the field with the cat chasing after it. Mum thought she'd never get the rabbit back as the crops were about 1m tall. About 10 minutes later she looked out of the window at the right time, and saw the rabbit hop out of the field of crops and sit right on the concrete slab (that was built for the hutch) with the cat shortly following it.

i thought this story was amazing as id have thought the cat would have killed it, the rabbit and the cat never had much known interaction together. but it obviously shepperded it back to safety.

once again thanks for your help, ill let you know how i get on

awww thats a lovely story cats and rabbits are an odd combination - you never know what will happen - thre are people on here whose cats get on great with their buns, but my cat was terrified of my rabbits!