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Is a Rabbit in a Bedroom Sanitary?

Hi everyone. My bunny Lemon currently is living in the basement (free roam), but I'd really like to move him to my room, as he would get a lot more play time, socialization, and attention. My parents however, are concerned that it's not sanitary. I agreed to purchase an air purifier to remove any odor and airborne pathogens, but it still seems to result in a red flag for my parents. The room would be bunny proofed, with a cage and litter box. If anyone has any experience with bunnies being kept in their bedrooms, please let me know if you find it sanitary and easy to upkeep? I'm really trying to convince my parents to let me keep Lemon in my room because this upcoming year is the final year I will have with my bunny before I have to go away to university. Thanks for your time!
 
Would bunny be free-roam in your room as well? How do you mean he would have more play-time in your room? Do you have a window open for the rabbit to breathe fresh air? Finally, what will happen to him when you go to Uni?
 
When you say sanitary, are you thinking about smells? I think we can get caught up on the idea of germs floating around the air, but there will be a certain amount of odour, even if you change the litter tray twice a day. Mainly hay though.

To me the other biggest issues would be safety to the rabbit (perfumes and the like), the difficulty of bunny proofing, whether there is enough space, and potential noise for you when you're sleeping.
 
I had a rabbit free range my room growing up, alongside many other small pets!, my rabbits and I didn't see an issue as long as I cleaned his litter trays daily. If the rabbit is already spayed/neutered it'll make things easier but by the sounds of it bunny is already toilet trained. The only smell my room had was from the hay as I stored some in there. Rabbits are very clean in my opinion :)
 
Hi :wave: Welcome to the forum :)

Well, we have a rabbit in our room and my dd has a rabbit in her room, so I'm ok with it, but it wouldn't be for everyone.

If you keep on top of cleaning, then it shouldn't smell bad and if they are reliable with a litter tray It should be fine, but I know people who would still find the idea unacceptable.

Some things to consider perhaps

How big is your bedroom?
Would Lemon still be able to roam free?
Can you rabbit proof it sufficiently? (do you have carpet, nice furniture etc)
Will the rabbit be in the way?
Might they jump on your bed (some rabbits like to wee on them)
Will you need to gate off the door, would this present an issue?
Will Lemon stay on in your room when you leave for uni?
Would night time noise be an issue (my bun can be very noisy at night)?

I'm sure there's more, but you get the idea :)

Lots to consider, but I get a lot of pleasure from having indoor rabbits (I also have 10 outside). Hth x
 
I don't really understand the sanitary issue..your parents seem a bit OCD. Rabbits are clean so long as you clean up after them. Loads of people have rabbits in their bedroom. :)

I mean, yeah, some rabbits might not be reliable with the litterpan, some rabbits might pee on the bed, etc. But these are more issues with upkeep and rabbit proofing, not whether rabbits are sanitary or not. A cat or dog can be the same way with 'accidents' on the bed or carpet.
 
The problem is William, some folk think rabbits are rodents, etc. One of my last handymen would not hold a rabbit because he was afraid of picking something up. I couldn't convince him that many people have rabbits and babies in the same house with no problems. Same person asked me did I have mice living in the hay. My hay is stored in a shed which, once you close the door, there is no way a mouse could get in, or more to the point, get , so it would be a trap. It's just lack of knowledge.
 
Rabbits are much like cats in this sort of situation :) Only bear in mind the destruction and sensitivity (of the rabbit) mentioned in above posts.
 
The problem is William, some folk think rabbits are rodents, etc. One of my last handymen would not hold a rabbit because he was afraid of picking something up. I couldn't convince him that many people have rabbits and babies in the same house with no problems. Same person asked me did I have mice living in the hay. My hay is stored in a shed which, once you close the door, there is no way a mouse could get in, or more to the point, get , so it would be a trap. It's just lack of knowledge.

Well as I'm also a rodent owner I'm not sure I understand it from that perspective either! :lol:

You're right - people can be really lacking in knowledge when it comes to animals. :(

Overall you've just got to clean up after pets, practice basic hygiene, and that's pretty much all there is to it when it comes to any pet and keeping things sanitary.
 
Thanks everybody for the replies! Firstly, to address a few questions, lemon would still be free roam in my room, but have his own corner/area with his litter box, toys, food/water bowls, etc. Also, after Uni my younger brother and mom plan on taking care of him. I think my parents are mostly concerned about the smell and also just any bacteria. My mom seems to believe that rabbits harbor lots of pests and it's unsafe for him to be kept in my room (convincing her to get Lemon was pretty difficult in the first place too, but we got to rescue him from neglegent owners). The thing is, my bed is too high for him to jump on, so it's not like he would take over my room. I mainly just feel bad because I'm not constantly in the basement so he doesn't get much time to play or socialize with me. I'm thinking maybe as a compromise, I will just bunny proof and build a play area for him in my room where he can stay for part of the day. That way his main area will still be the basement, where there's more room for him to run around, but I could still bring him to my room for a few hours each day.
 
Unless you are immuno-compromised, there is so much evidence starting to come out now that people need to expose themselves to a variety of bacteria etc in order to have a healthy immune system. I'm honestly struggling to understand the bacteria concerns.

If you don't mind a bit of a smell (which obviously can be kept down, but personally I find hay very stinky and wouldn't want it in my room), you should be fine with it.
 
I had three rabbits in my bedroom at one time and had none of the issues your parents are concerned about, but each to his own. I found them wonderful company and I hope they felt the same about me. :love: Hay is the hardest thing to keep clean though, especially on carpeting but it can be managed if you keep on top of the cleaning.

I felt my bunnies were more sanitary than my cats, who would occasionally bring up hairballs in inappropriate places or track cat litter, as they are wont to do. :?

(I am a mom myself, btw. ;) )
 
Unless you are immuno-compromised, there is so much evidence starting to come out now that people need to expose themselves to a variety of bacteria etc in order to have a healthy immune system. I'm honestly struggling to understand the bacteria concerns.

If you don't mind a bit of a smell (which obviously can be kept down, but personally I find hay very stinky and wouldn't want it in my room), you should be fine with it.

Yeah, I'm struggling with this too. :? It's being overly paranoid imo.
 
I'd be more worried about the buns and MY bacterias :D I have had bunnies that used to live in my room and I really enjoyed it. Bunnys are very clean animals and are great at using the litter tray. My bunnies live in the bedroom next door to mine. It's all good fun

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The problem is William, some folk think rabbits are rodents, etc. One of my last handymen would not hold a rabbit because he was afraid of picking something up. I couldn't convince him that many people have rabbits and babies in the same house with no problems. Same person asked me did I have mice living in the hay. My hay is stored in a shed which, once you close the door, there is no way a mouse could get in, or more to the point, get , so it would be a trap. It's just lack of knowledge.
I get really offended when people stroke my bun then framticly was their hands. Like the have diseases...

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