Anyone have a pet rabbit? Are they clean/ smelly?

[Polmoche]

Hi there-- just wondering what it's like to have a pet rabbit. Are they horribly smelly? Do you let it hop about the house? If you don't have a garden to let them have a "free" hop -- is that being a bit cruel? Any tips on rabbit maintenance gratefully received!

[jennyh]

I fought my parents to have one when I was about 13 and as a result I prob wouldn't be keen on my kids having one! I found it a lot of work but then my rabbit was a bit sickly with skin and eye complaints. He had a large outdoor hutch which needed constant cleaning and changing which I rarely did. However I know people who have had indoor rabbits who are well trained, clean and a lovely source of companionship and happy to sit on your lap!

[BeccaL]

Our old neighbours had a house rabbit which was very sweet. I'd love to have some, but husband not keen, and couldn't keep them outside as we have ++ foxes in our garden, who would either just eat them or torment them so much it'd be cruel... I think they're lovely pets, but had them throughout childhood (too long ago to make an accurate judgement on smell/cleaning!!)

[scareyt]

We had loads of rabbits when I was little and I wouldn't have one now. The hutches get pretty grim if you're not vigilant about cleaning them out and it will always be you who does it. I think the main problem with rabbits is most of them are quite boring. We had one that liked to come inside and was cute and good company but most of them that I remember had no interest in people or in being petted whatsoever. Our arms were often all scratched up by antisocial rabbits who we tried to cuddle. (Although my mum did also kill them for meat so maybe that affected their attitude!)

In my experience guinea pigs have more personality and slightly less gross poos.

[crystal7]

I had various rabbits as a child and would echo everything scareyt says! Dreading my children asking for pets!

[Medusa]

Rabbits are less dull if they're not miserable from being cooped up all day. We have a couple who live in a hutch but come inside regularly and have housetrained themselves with 95% reliability. They are not to be trusted around my poor house plants, though, and I keep electrical cables out of reach of chewing chops. They are not cuddly like cats but they are responsive and come when I make the 'what have I got for you to eat?' noise. They sit on me if I lie on the floor and they photobomb my iPad.

If you get a rabbit,save up for the biggest hutch you can get. I followed the RSPCA's guidelines on cubic feet per bunnster. Also got an insulated cover, which keep them snug and keeps flies out. Rabbits poo about 25 times an hour. Fact. (I conducted thorough research...)

Final rabbity fact: avoid muesli and feed them only dried grass nuggets. A significant number of rabbits react badly to mixed food. Rabbits should really eat 90% grass and only 10% other foodstuffs. The one time our rabbits were fed muesli, one of them nearly died. Hefty vet's bills and awful, awful experience.

To state the obvious, any run in the garden needs to be fox-proof. We had our first rabbit *dug out* by a fox in front of my eyes. (I was too far away to save it.) RIP Fluffy.

[Polmoche]

Thanks for all the replies! Very useful to know about fox-proofing. Stupidly, had not even considered that...

[edd]

Worth remembering too that they live in large groups naturally, and still have this instinct. They will be miserably lonely on their own - human companionship is little comfort to them. You need to get at least a pair. That needs plenty of room!

[yeknomyeknom]

We bought a dwarf rabbit that the pet shop said had been handled a lot so super friendly. We got it home. It turned into a very very large rabbit that bit anyone that went near it. Very aggressive, bless her. We moved to Jennings road and the foxes broke into her very secure hutch. Very sad. Don't get one unless you are giving to keep her inside.

[shaunag]

I'm in a hotel at the mo and there is an indoor rabbit. I noticed the smell before seeing it, and the hotel is otherwise very clean so reckon they do pong a bit!

[claudineslu]

I have had my pet rabbit for 8 years now. Rescued her from the then horrible pet shop in Peckham.

She is amazing. I have to clean her out every 4-5 days to make sure that it doesn't smell, but she is house trained and only poos in her hutch.

Oh yeah she is an indoor rabbit. We also have 3 cats (I have a strong helper syndrome.) and they all get on amazingly.

Jack is a really lovely cuddly girl, so I can't say anything bad about her.

Although she does chew fabric and electric cables if you let her.

Hope this helps.

C

[BB100]

I would agree with above about having a pair. A couple rather than two males/females as they fight. Males are also more docile about being held.

We trained our rabbits to toilet in a litter tray so only the tray needed cleaning out and not the rest of the hutch. The litter tray needs cleaning out daily though to prevent fly strike which is a horrible disease where the fly's larvae eats the rabbttits insides until it passes away.

We never experienced any problems with eyes, etc and were very healthy having a run around the garden daily. Feed them lots of straw as the pellets are only a supplement and not the main food. Also hutch needs to be away from direct sun as their water will boil up and so will they.

All our rabbits have had amazing characters and are funny to watch leaping about. To avoid gets scratchers/biters you need to get the right breed, have them neutered and get some they have been handled well. They can turn nasty if ch are not kind to them. HTH