My new rabbit.

Hi I'm 16 turning 17 on Friday and have received a netherland dwarf rabbit for my birthday. (I know irresponsible present) I love small animals and have had several in the past. Most recently a much loved Syrian hamster who passed away from old age last week. The vet said he was very old and it was just his natural decline. Anyway because of this I have been very upset especially as I have several medical conditions which limit my movement and leave me in constant pain. He was very comforting during bad spells and extremely tame and docile his whole life. So my mum decided to buy me a rabbit to cheer me up however I have not had a rabbit in several years and my last was a large rabbit (exact breed unknown the father was a wild rabbit who'd gotten into the mothers cage and I'm not even sure of the mothers breed). I am very willing to do the work necessary to look after him but any advice you have on how to look after him would be greatly appreciated. He is a beautiful and wonderfully sweet little bunny and I would like to give him the best quality of life possible on my budget. I know the basics of things such as litter training, diet and grooming but even within those subjects extra information I may not be aware of would be appreciated. Here are some pictures of him. I've decided to name him Bob.

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Aww he is really cute and how wonderful that you have chosen to ask advice on a forum to give him the best you can. So they need access to unlimited hay. Lots of exercise space, a cage or hutch should only ever really be a resting place and additional daily exercise is a must! My rex rabbit is only ever locked in when we go to bed. My outdoor buns live in a 7x5 shed and have a run attached from morning through until evening. I also give them some pellets and a small amount of green veg, maybe the odd piece of carrot! I check them all over a couple of times a week to cut nails and check teeth and coat. Im sure lots of others can give advice and there are lots of people here who have masses of knowledge, you've come to the best place!!

Hello and welcome, Bob is very cute. . There is a wealth of information on here such as diet, exercise, vaccinations and neutering. Feel free to ask any questions.

Welcome

I love the name & he's so cute.
I guess he's going to be an indoor bunny?

So diatry wise he needs constant access to fresh clean hay, around a handful of veg and an egg cup of a good quality pellet (such as science selective or burgess).

Rabbits need at least 60sqft of living space. An outdoor set up this comprises of a 6ft x 2ft hutch with constant access to a 6ft x 8ft run.
Indoors, a lot of people use a dog crate or similar as a place for litter tray and water bowl then allow access to a bunny proof room, or even the whole house. My buns have their own bedroom, but get the whole house during the day.

Neutering is highly recommended and classed as a must. Males can be neutered as soon as their bits arrive. Normally around 4 months of age.

You will need to find a vet that is rabbit savvy. Rabbits class as an exotic species and not all vets are suitably trained to deal with them.

They need vaccines.... myxomatosis and VHD are one vaccine every 12 months, VHD2 is new and recommended every 6 to 12 months depending if your bun is classed as high risk. (Indoors buns still need vaccines as its spread by shoes/clothing and insects).

Many buns aren't cuddle so please don't be upset/concerned if/when he outgrows cuddling.

Rabbits are very smart, so get involved in creating food puzzles and interesting ways to keep bun active.

Have a good explore of the forum as there is tons of information here.
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I'm not worried if he doesn't enjoy affection so long as he's happy. I'll research vets in my area. My sister has a cat so the whole house is not viable but I'll look up bunny proofing my room and we are getting a run for him outside exercise wise and his cage is fairly large. Until my room is bunny proofed I've been letting him out for short supervised runs around. He has a water bottle and hay in his cage and pellets. I won't let him outside until he's had is shots.

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Welcome to you and Bob :wave:

If you'd like some rabbity reading, here's some links

http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk

http://houserabbit.org

http://www.therabbithouse.com


And if you'd like to post some photos:

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?136183-Tutorial-How-to-Post-Photos

Lovely to have you here

Hello and welcome! What a lovely rabbit. Good on you to come onto this forum to find out the best thing for your rabbit. Another idea is bunny toys such as cardboard boxes, they love to play and this can also help to stop them chewing the furniture. There are lovely indoor set ups on here for you to look at.

CometLucy195 said:

Hello and welcome! What a lovely rabbit. Good on you to come onto this forum to find out the best thing for your rabbit. Another idea is bunny toys such as cardboard boxes, they love to play and this can also help to stop them chewing the furniture. There are lovely indoor set ups on here for you to look at.

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That's a great idea. He's such a lively little thing I'm sure he'd love playing with them. He has a cardboard tube and a ball with a bell in it which he likes playing with and I'm sure he'd like more. We're a family of six so we end up with a lot of cardboard boxes from various things.

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