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First time rabbit question

A

Auzelia

Young Bun
Hi guys,

I'm Caroline, I have 3 children and I'm fingers x getting a rabbit tomorrow.
Saw an ad on gumtree for a little black and White mini lop looking for a new home (4 months old) as he doesn't get along with the other rabbits in the household. He has had his vhd and mxcy (sp) jags.

Is there anything I should ask when I go to see him tomorrow? Like if he is hay or rabbit food fed? Really looking forward to it, was really wanting to avoid going to a pet shop.

Thanks for any advice
 
Well, you should ask what food he is fed, and even if its not a great food, buy some of that so you can switch him over if necessary. Ask what hay and veggies he likes.

I'd also ask to see his vaccination card :wave: or ask to have it.

Best of luck! All 3 of mine are Gumtree bunnies and it was the best thing I ever did :D
 
Hi Caroline :wave:,

Firstly, I'd want to see a veterinary record card as evidence of the jabs. Then I'd want to know exactly what he was being fed on so that you could replicate the diet initially before gradually swapping onto your chosen diet (hay/veggies and a small amount of pellets).

I'd also want to know if he preferred to drink from a bowl or bottle (or both), whether he was litter trained etc. And perhaps a little of his personality so that I could tell if he was behaving fairly normally or showing signs of stress.

When you get him home, it's really important that you try to leave him alone for a day to allow him time to settle in. Make sure he's got plenty of fresh hay and water and he should be absolutely fine. Just quietly keep an eye on him for signs of not eating or illness etc.

Once he's settled in and comfortable, I strongly suggest getting him neutered and then you can get him a bunny companion from a local rescue. Bunnies should never be kept on their own as they are not solitary creatures and crave company of their own kind.

Please post pictures of him!
 
Thanks, so they would be given a card detailing the vaccinations then, I would deffo buy the same food to gradually change him if it's rubbish.

Do they need hay and food or just hay? Is it any hay as my hairdresser has a stable and when I was last there telling her about my hunt for a rabbit she told me she can get me a bale of hay for the rabbit.


I have been reading the forum for about a week or so but now I'm actually going to see one my mind has went blank.
 
Thanks for all your info, she is giving me an indoor cage and his feeding stuff, he is an indoors rabbit but im hoping that at 4 months I can turn him into an outdoor one, is this best to do straight away or once he has settled in.

I saw pics of him but she has taken the ad down from gumtree since we have been in contact, I presume so no one else contacts her.

I will deffo be getting him neutered. Does the pdsa do this or just a normal vet, a friend of mine is vetinary nurse so i could ask her.

I'm so excited, roll on 4pm tomorrow. I know my son already has a name for him, are rabbits ok with name changes?
 
Auzelia said:
Hi guys,

I'm Caroline, I have 3 children and I'm fingers x getting a rabbit tomorrow.
Saw an ad on gumtree for a little black and White mini lop looking for a new home (4 months old) as he doesn't get along with the other rabbits in the household. He has had his vhd and mxcy (sp) jags.

Is there anything I should ask when I go to see him tomorrow? Like if he is hay or rabbit food fed? Really looking forward to it, was really wanting to avoid going to a pet shop.

Thanks for any advice
Click to expand...

Hi there.

Not sure if you aware just from the wording above, but all rabbits must have hay in their diet, in fact it is their diet. They should be given atleast their own body size of fresh hay daily (always buy the best quality you can find locally to encourage the rabbit to want to eat hay). You can feed pellets just as a top up to the hay and his veg. That should only make up a tiny amount of the food he receives daily.

Best not to make too many changes to his diet when he comes home and then gently change to what you find works best. If he is on a muesli mix, then I would recommend changing slowly over to a good quality pellet.

Re questions to ask. You need to check his sex - if he is a she and happens to be be pregnant, you could be unlucky so have a look before you bring bunny home.

Ask for the vaccination record and failing that which vet they use so you can get confirmation. Ask if he has had any other issues with health or behaviour.

Ask what treats he has been fed - there are so many things he shouldn't have so good to understand if his tummy is going to be in good health, based on what they've fed before.

Ask to see his poos - you can tell a lot about health from his poos. If they are wet and sticky, you will need to find out why and if they can tell you why, you can see if it's something you can fix, like correct the diet. If he has a mucky bum it could be clue to a health problem too.

But really, you won't know him well until he comes home.

Just take care that you get him vet checked as soon as you can (when he settled in a bit) to make sure he's in good health.

Good luck.
 
All vets should supply a vaccination card for any pet that goes to them for jabs. I'd definitely ask to have it so that you can transfer it to your own vet.

Hay (or grass) should be the bulk of any rabbit's diet (80%). As most of us can't provide fresh grass 24/7, 365 days a year, we feed hay as a substitute. Good quality long stem hay also has the benefit of keeping their teeth in good order. The remainder of their diet should be fresh veg (spring greens, cabbage, herbs etc - see RU threads for lists of bunny safe foods) and a small amount of a quality pellet such as Science Selective, Oxbow Bunny Basics or Burgess Excel (although some people say Burgess Excel causes excess poops). A recommended maximum amount of pellets is an eggcupful per day but I only feed half a tablespoonful to each of my buns (I'm a mean mummy!!).

A bale of hay from your local stables is great to feed to your bunny. It's much, much cheaper than buying hay in pet stores and is probably much better quality if it's for horses (horses, it appears, are more fussy than bunnies :lol:).

ETA - please remember to make any changes to his diet GRADUALLY - over a period of weeks. Especially when introducing fresh foods if he's not had any previously.
 
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Thanks everyone, im going to write all this down and will hopefully get on well with him tomorrow, as for checking his sex is it quite obvious as to if he is a male rabbit?
:p
 
Auzelia said:
Thanks everyone, im going to write all this down and will hopefully get on well with him tomorrow, as for checking his sex is it quite obvious as to if he is a male rabbit?
:p
Click to expand...

Maybe not at 4 months, some boys plums don't drop until a bit older, but most have descended.
 
Last edited:
Hello, and welcome to Ru you'll love it here

Like above ask for evidence of both vaccinations. E.g. A vaccination card from the vets they vaccinated their rabbit with

Also you should find a local professional rabbit vet (rabbit savvy vet) these vets will specialise in rabbits and will know more about rabbit than a vet who doesn't specialise in rabbits.
What area do you live in ? Maybe a RUer can advise you about a rabbit savvy vet in your area :)

When you find your vet, book an appointment for a health check up, the vets should check for the sex of the bun, teeth, eyes, nose, nails, ears etc.

Also your rabbit savvy vet should also neuter rabbits which I would recommend you do :)
Because it stops them breeding, prevents sexual hormonal behaviour, testical cancer and behavioural issues - neutering also helps litter training :)

After 2 months of your rabbit being neutered, you should consider thinking about adopting a female friend for your male, contact your local rabbit rescue as they will find a suitable partner and bond them for you, as bonding rabbits is very hard and stressful to both humans and rabbits.
Rescuing a partner rabbit will also save you money as she will likely be spayed already and she should already be vaccinated against both VHD and Myxo :)

Spaying usually costs £60-100 and each vaccination £20 ..
A rescue will already have a rabbit who's been spayed and vaccinated so you'll save loads of money and be helping a rabbit in need :love:

:wave:
 
I'm in the dunbartonshire area, in Scotland.

Is there a section on how to rabbit proof a house, it's already child proof but it's more wires I'm concerned about.

Mini lops. Are they good with children?
 
Welcome to the forum. :wave:
He'll be very shy when you first get him so make sure he has his own space away from the children. In time he will come out of his shell. :)
 
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