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Newbie - help on how to prepare the home of my rabbit

Liloupricou

Young Bun
Hi all,

I decided to adopt a rabbit, I wanted one for ages and now that I've got plenty of time to take care of a little one I decided to adopt a rabbit from a rescue.

As I'm off for few days, I will go to the refuge next Saturday to pick up the little one, but before I want to have everything ready for him or her! And I want to be sure that I'm buying the right thing :wink:

I went to P@H this morning (Sorry...) to buy a huge cage as my bunny will be in the house with us. I bought a water bottle, some toys, a ceramic bowl, some food.. but I didn't know what to buy for bedding.

Can you please help me on this? And tell me what is the best thing to buy?

Thanks a lot in advance :D
 
Hi. Well done for having a rescue rabbit. Which rescue are you going to? What sort of food have you bought? Often when you take a bun from a rescue it's best to continue feeding it with the same food that it's been used to. Pellets are the best as it can't then just pick out the favourite bits from the mixes tht are sold for rabbits. Hay, however, is the most important(unless you have a very young rabbit...butI expect the rescue will give you guidance on that anyway). As it will be a house rabbit it might be best to give him/her old towels for the bedding as straw gets everywhere :lol: Good luck, and keep us posted!!
 
Some newspaper and old towels are good. You might want to put in a litter tray with newspaper and paper based litter in it.
Obviously you will need lots of hay available 24/7 - you can either put some in a tray or box so she can climb in and munch and snuggle up if she wants, or you can put some in a hay rack.
If you have room in the cagem try and provide her with a space to hide in, like a small cardboard box with a hole cut in the side - also excellent for chewing!
 
think you will do a good job as you havent bought on impulse and you have really thought it through


well done
 
I use something called Megazorb in my litter 'corners'. It is very cheap to buy (it is a type of horse bedding) in large sacks and is totally safe for small animals. I just cover it up with a layer of hay and if you stick newspaper underneath it is really easy to clean out. You can buy Megazorb from farm suppliers (not sure if you have those in London).

Perhaps easier to find is 'Bio-Catolet', which you can buy in most supermarkets, it is a plant based cat litter but is safe for small furries.

A fantastic book for any first time rabbit owner is 'The Problem with Rabbits' by Pat Rees. It is quite a no-holds barrred read but has some excellent information, although she is not a fan of house rabbits!

Good luck, rabbits are fab!
 
Hi and welcome. Congratulations on your new bunny :D In my bunnies cage I layer newspaper on the bottom, then cover this with hay. When it comes to cleaning I just roll the whole lot up and dispose. Their litter tray is in a corner with again some sheets of newspaper topped with a pelleted, recyled-paper based litter. Try and make sure the paper is flat so hopefully less likely to dig andd nibble it. Mine like to hide under their hay!! They also get dried grass. I hope this helps but you will find your own way of doing things.
 
Mine have different types of litter. Salt and Pepper have wood pelleted cat litter, as Salt is prone to snuffles and the dust in Megazorb seems to aggravate it. Squidgy refuses to 'go' on the wood pellets, so we use megazorb for him and Bobby and Ruby.
We always put a layer of hay over the litter, and the best 'toys' we have are big boxes full of hay, and plant pots with readigrass and a bit of veg in. They love to throw them about!
 
I quite liked "The House Rabbit Handbook" as a good read - it covers all the basics of protecting wires etc that you don't think of if you have only had outdoor bunnies.

I tend to see the cage as a base for my rabbits and allow them as much time to run around (supervised) as possible. I use a litter tray with wooden pelleted cat litter and hay on top as they tend to poo where they eat so it keeps the poo confined to the tray. The rest of the cage is covered in lino. They have their water in their and their fresh food in there plus some boxes to shred but I give them their pellets in a treat ball which they chase all over the floor.

Def make sure you get a sample of the food they are on at the rescue and make the change over to your food slow (over a week or more). We tend to recommend pellets like Science Select, Allan & Page or Burgess Supa Excel lite because they are high in fibre and prevent selective feeding.

Don't expect the bunny to be friendly right away, some are but most need time to get to know you before they become friendly - they are naturaly prey animals so their instinct is to fear you as a predator until they realise you have lots of yummy food and aren't that bad after all as you give great nose rubs :wink: !

Caz
 
Thank a lot for all your advices! :D

I will ask the refuge for the food that he was used to have and also what type of litter he prefers. (I'm going to the rescue in Greenwich)

I've been reading lots of books and browsing the Internet for quite a while now as I wanted to be sure that I will be able to care for the little one and all the things you have to know.

As soon as I've got the little one, I will let you know and post a picture!
Thank you all for your help!

Lilou
 
good luck with your new one! It sounds like you'll be a great bunny owner :)

This is a great place for advice - I was new to rabbits last August, but now have my Rolo and Ozzie (also rescue rabbits) and this place has really helped, both before and after getting them.
 
Hi. You have certainly done lots of research and preparation before getting your bunny which I'm sure will be very lucky to have such a caring owner. Well done for going to a rescue for him/her. :) Have you considered having a pair so that they will be company for each other when you are out of the house? Rabbits love to have a companion to snuggle with, and the rescue may even have a bonded pair which are just waiting for someone to love! :)
 
capel said:
Hi. You have certainly done lots of research and preparation before getting your bunny which I'm sure will be very lucky to have such a caring owner. Well done for going to a rescue for him/her. :) Have you considered having a pair so that they will be company for each other when you are out of the house? Rabbits love to have a companion to snuggle with, and the rescue may even have a bonded pair which are just waiting for someone to love! :)

I agree! As i said, my two were rescue rabbits (both 4 years old) and I really wanted a pair so they had company when I was at work. They have turned out to be brilliant. And there were at least 3-4 paired bunnies in the rescue I went to. Including a pair of giants, who were absolutely gorgeous.
 
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