Any rabbit lovers out there?

[lucky'smom]

Hi, all, I was just wondering if any one had any rabbits as indoor pets? I recently lost mine and am considering getting a new one. I rescued mine from neglectful neighbors and brought him inside and spoiled him rotten. I got to clip his nails and learned how to clip his teeth. I took him to the vet's for annual checkups. He got along well with our cats at the time and also with our dogs. The cats where we used to live used to stick their paws down through the cage and Bandit would box at them. The cats never hurt him. They would snooze happily on top of his cage. I kept the rabbit cage stacked on top of the dog crate, so there was 3 stories worth of animals all in my room. Everybody is kept up and spottless (well not the rabbit, after all he was an English Spotted Dwarf rabbit) He was approximately 10 yrs old at the time of his death. People do not realize a rabbit can live as long as a dog if properly cared for. He was worth the care and expense I gave him, as all my animals are. Well worth it.

[Jenny]

Welcome to this site! I've had outdoor rabbits in the past (though now I realize they would have been much better off indoors...) and though I don't have any currently I still really like them! Have you read the "House Rabbit Handbook" by Marinell Harriman? I was reading it the other day and it's great- makes me wish I had my four rabbits and could start all over again with them, as INDOOR pets though. Also a neat rabbit site is www.rabbit.org , though you've likely visited already! That's wonderful that your rabbit was able to enjoy such a long, happy life with you, and I woudl love to hear more bunny stories from you!

[danno]

wow, i just read that rabbit teeth continue to grow thruout its life. what do they normally eat to keep them short in the wild?

[Love Bird B]

DANNO! We've missed you! How have you been? Have you checked out all the recent snake pics here from our dear Emroul?

Rabbit teeth? I know they chew on everything like rodents. Rabbits aren't rodents for those who don't live with a biologist, :)

B

[Jenny]

Wow, suprise suprise, Danno's back! Yay!!! My vet mentioned something the other day about them chewing on trees or bark or something like that to keep their teeth short... Thanks for the little tidbit of info regarding rabbits not being rodents B, I never knew that. Could you explain the difference a little (or have your husband)?

[danno]

Hello everyone, nice to see the site getting bigger. yep have checked out emerouls pics, very nice indeed. have been very busy and life dosent slow down for anyone lol . Family ,kids pets doing well. Sadly we had to put our eldest dog to sleep in sep, she was beginning to lose quality in her life[15 yrs] and her backlegs began to go. also we discovered she had developed a fast growing tumor in her stomach and it had grown to the size of a tennis ball in just 12 weeks. The vet came to our home and she lay on my lap, had a few snacks and an ear rub and went to sleep. broke my heart but it was the kindest thing, we couldnt see her suffer. we buried her in the backyard and kids planted bright flowers on top. miss her alot. Our other dog is 14 and still full of beans but slowing down now, she is missing her sister.
Turtles are happy and growing by day as is monty the python, and of course the fish are...well..they do what fish do! lol here is pic of kids with snake just recently.as you can see hes very placid. will try to get online more often and meet new members ,
but life is busy. c u all again soon~ Danno http://www.aussiepythons.com/albums/Dan-s-stuff/kids_monty1.jpg

[danno]

oops forgot to ask about rabbits! my youngest wants a rabbit, but
we dont think its a good idea with a dog in the backyard. we thought about having it indoors but are a bit concerned about both ours and rabbits health. dont bunnys need lots of space? how could you provide that indoors and what kind of enclosure?
most rabbit houses here are timbre frame with enclosed box at one end and the rest is wire including the bottom, the cage is moved about on the grass so mess does not accumulate. any ideas? thanx Danno

[Jenny]

I'm so sorry to hear about your dog but at least she is now out of pain forever. Are those your kids in the picture? That is such a cute photo! About rabbits, check out the site I mentioned above and the book too if you can find it. Indoor rabbits make terrific pets and are very intelligent & loving. Many people who have rabbits teach them to use a litter box (it's usually easy to do that) and let them have full run of the house much like a dog or cat. That way they get alot of attention and exercise as well. The only problem is that they like to chew so you have to "rabbit proof" the rooms you allow your rabbit in very carefully, and also provide them with branches and toys to chew on. If you do let your rabbit have full run of the house then you should still get an indoor cage for when you need it, and the best is a cage without a wire bottom that you've filled with bedding. You can then keep a litter box in there and voila, the cage keeps pretty clean! Rabbits and dogs can be taught to get along and lots of times they do, but they still need supervision when they're together. Also I've read many times that it's best to keep at least two rabbits. They will still love attention from people, but they love the companionship of another bunny and it keeps them happier. I wish your kids could've come to Kansas last week, there was a huge rabbit convention going on that I went to and there were nearly 20,000 bunnies there! Also health seminars, contests, and other fun stuff.

[danno]

Hi Jenny, thanx for your well wishes. yep those are my babies in the pic[all 3] lol. wow 20,000 bunnies, that would be something to see, my kids would have loved it. Thanks for the info on rabbits, i will look at the site/try to find the book too. only thing that concerns me about having bunnys running about the house is that they do tend to poop non stop, due to fast metabolism. not sure id trust them, also monty the python in the pic gets free reign of the house during certain times[ pythons generally predictable re pooping and therefor its quite safe, never had python poop in the house yet, lol] so this would definatly not be a good idea, bunnys being on the menu, so to speak, could lead to tradgety. thinking along the lines of large aviary with sheltered area might be better, that weay no poop stress and kids can let bunnies out on lawn for play whenever. I dont think my dog would tolerate a bunny, shes 14 yrs and even a puppy would stress her too much. Kids do want a puppy, we may wait till our dog passes on befor any new mammal pets, then qwe could poss introduce a puppy and bunny together. Just incidently, how long do rabbits generally live? im guessing about 10 yrs? ~Danno

[Jenny]

All 3 of your kids (skin & scaly) are adorable! Yep, 20,000 bunnies + 500 cavies was quite amazing! You might be suprised to know that rabbits can be trained to use a litter box very quickly and naturally. I know many people with house bunnies who poop only in their boxes (the rabbits...not the people...). I can imagine that having a bunny roaming around with a snake wouldn't be the brightest idea, so you'd definitely have to work something out there. A large cage outdoors would be nice, but bunnies are alot more likely to get sick housed outdoors rather than indoors. In the clinic I've seen bunnies who had diarhea (sp?) which attracted flies who laid their eggs right around the tail area. Talk about gross, 100's of maggots crawling around in the rabbit's fur! Also there's a type of insect who lays its eggs under the rabbits skin, and other things that are more likely to happen when the bunny's housed outdoors. I know of people who keep their rabbits indoors most of the time but let them out in the yard to play for a little bit each day, which seems to work great. Your idea about introducing the puppy and rabbit together when they're about the same size is very good. It'd probably be best to wait till the rabbit's full size and been with you a few months, then bring home the puppy. They can live around 10 years, sometimes a bit more with great care.

[danno]

ewww bit too much infi lol. will give bunnies further considerationbetween now and jan. cheers ~dan

[teri]

hey danno,
we have missed you greatly, welcome back, you are such fun to have on this board. sorry to hear of you dog, my heart goes out to you and your family.

[danno]

Hi Teri, thanks for kind thoughts, Im only online sporodically at the momemt because i have used up my 1 gb monthly cable downloads, got carried away downloading some music lol. so till the end of this month im using dialup, which of course is kinda frustration and becoming expensive. from the the beginning of next month ill be back mor regularly, till then ill pop by from time to time. nice to see the site has become so big! Im a bit lost :) c u all soon ~Dan

[wolf_luver]

my rabbit is a brown and white floppered and we have to keep him out side with my duck my mum is evil its winter and she won't let them indoors coz Spydah ((my rabbits name)) er made the floor a mess last year so now i try and stay with them in the hutch as long as possible

[eth_ng]

neighbour's neighbour's neighbour has a rabbit and one night we were going out for some waffles and we saw it on the road so we got out of the car and tried to catch it so the rabbit got scared of us trying to catch it and just nice there was a dog on the other side of the street and of all things that had to happen the rabbit ran to the dog and of course got chewed up.

[danno]

I have decided not to acquire any rabbits for now. Kids are still pestering occasionally, but i dont think they will be quite as responsible as required, between school and freinds etc. I wont have a pet neglected so no pet. [rabbits anyway] considering some green tree frogs though. just waiting on my license.