The Bunny Chat Thread - For Bunny Owners

[igorsMistress]

Hi everyone. I'm usually on here for chicken chat, but my daughter just got a bunny for Christmas (dwarf double maned lion head) and its been a few decades since I've had a bunny!! This one will be a house bunny. We picked him up yesterday. He is 7/8 weeks old. He has been very inquisitive and friendly so far... any tips on getting him potty trained? we have the food at his litter box in the cage, and were told to not feed him any where else/keep moving poops to little box etc..if he pees, clean with vinegar etc... so he can't smell any accidents. He's also not as cuddly as my daughter wishes. Is there a way to make him more cuddly/less active? LOL

Move poops to the litter box and clean up pee with a paper towel and try putting it under the litter in his box so he smells it in there. When you clean the litter box don’t wash it at first but once a week and just use a little dish soap so it has his smell in it. That should help litter train. If you’re going to let him run around the house then have more than one box and don’t forget to bunny proof.

 

[Minky]

Move poops to the litter box and clean up pee with a paper towel and try putting it under the litter in his box so he smells it in there. When you clean the litter box don’t wash it at first but once a week and just use a little dish soap so it has his smell in it. That should help litter train. If you’re going to let him run around the house then have more than one box and don’t forget to bunny proof.

great- that is what I have been doing (with the poop and pee). We will be sure to not wash the litter when we dump it. (haven't done that yet). We leave his door open- my hopes are that when he is out and he has o poop and pee he hops back into his cage to do it- we have a bungalo...

Can you explain "bunny proof". Like what types of things?
thx

 

[igorsMistress]

great- that is what I have been doing (with the poop and pee). Can you explain "bunny proof". Like what types of things?
thx

They’ll chew your baseboards so I’ve seen people cover them with hardware cloth. Or wooden table and chair legs. Make sure all electrical cords are in something that can’t be chewed or behind heavy furniture he can’t get behind! I’ve read about them making nests in the box springs of beds and in sofas. They can tear up carpet too. You just need to keep an eye on them. The easiest thing is to bunny proof one room or the area where you’ll let him out and close doors to bedrooms, bathrooms etc to keep them out of trouble. Kids toys, whether stuffed or plastic, basically anything that can be chewed will get at least a bite if not more.
My buns aren’t too bad about baseboards but they do chew on their rug a bit and my female took a little chunk out of the rubber on the vacuum cord while I was cleaning their pen. I was right there but she came out from under a piece of furniture and gave it a bite when my back was turned. They are quick and curious, like puppies on steroids because they’re quiet and sneaky.

 

[Minky]

They’ll chew your baseboards so I’ve seen people cover them with hardware cloth. Or wooden table and chair legs. Make sure all electrical cords are in something that can’t be chewed or behind heavy furniture he can’t get behind! I’ve read about them making nests in the box springs of beds and in sofas. They can tear up carpet too. You just need to keep an eye on them. The easiest thing is to bunny proof one room or the area where you’ll let him out and close doors to bedrooms, bathrooms etc to keep them out of trouble. Kids toys, whether stuffed or plastic, basically anything that can be chewed will get at least a bite if not more.
My buns aren’t too bad about baseboards but they do chew on their rug a bit and my female took a little chunk out of the rubber on the vacuum cord while I was cleaning their pen. I was right there but she came out from under a piece of furniture and gave it a bite when my back was turned. They are quick and curious, like puppies on steroids because they’re quiet and sneaky.

LOL we just built our dream home. If the bunny chews a baseboard he's outta here. We will keep an eye on him or he will be a barn bunny.

 

[igorsMistress]

LOL we just built our dream home. If the bunny chews a baseboard he's outta here. We will keep an eye on him or he will be a barn bunny.

Good luck bunny! Mine haven’t really bothered with the baseboards but I do give them wood to chew on. They also love the tubes from toilet paper and paper towels lol.

 

[Minky]

Yes, he will need to be lucky- or tidy! LOL. We are on 27 acres of mixed forest so he has his choice of wood and forest things.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Suggestion, spray your baseboards and such with bitter yuck spray or super hot pepper spray and then provide high quality chewing items that aren't sprayed. They may well learn the difference on their own pretty quick. :O

 

[Birdie mom]

Rest assured that if your parents tried to enter that rabbit as a "New Zealand Red" it would be disqualified and you MAY be laughed at a lot.

Since red eyed white is recessive to everything it's really easy to have it in your stock and never know it until you have a litter with white rabbits in it.

Lol!!!

 

[Skye'sDucks]

I hope everyone had a good Christmas!!

The white spot in Lion's eye actually disappeared yesterday, which I was so happy about, but today it's shown back up. Hopefully the antibiotic will keep helping him. The eye isn't even watery anymore, but the white of his eye keeps getting bloodshot. I totally forgot to check this morning for that.

 

[EverythingDucks]

great- that is what I have been doing (with the poop and pee). We will be sure to not wash the litter when we dump it. (haven't done that yet). We leave his door open- my hopes are that when he is out and he has o poop and pee he hops back into his cage to do it- we have a bungalo...

Can you explain "bunny proof". Like what types of things?
thx

To protect baseboards you can either use NIC grids or wire shelving. The wire shelving works best for long areas, and NIC grids work best for shorter areas.
Cord protectors are a must have. A lot of wite have soy in them which a lot of animals can smell and will want to chew.
You can also keep the wire behind the NIC grids or wire shelves in addition to the cord protectors.

If you find him chewing on wall corners you can get these clear corner protectors. You can paint them to match your walls too