Can you keep a rabbit in your room?

In: Animal Life [Recategorize]

Yes, rabbits can very happily live as house pets.

There are many house rabbit associations in the US, UK, Europe and Aus and this is becoming a popular way for people to have pet rabbits.

The best place to start looking for answers is http://rabbit.org which has a wealth of information about house rabbits.

the key points

Neuter/Spay (this applies to both indoor and outdoor bunnies) they are generally far happier, less hormonal and hence aggressive and make much better pets in the home. It also reduces issues of smell.

Bunny Proof Rabbits has a natural inclination to chew... and this applies as much to hay is it will to wires and delicate furniture if they can get there teeth on it. So, hide away wires, protect the things you don't want chew.

Quick Tip Rubbing Soap base/skirting boards is a great way to stop a bunny eating them, also you can do this on fabrics, i.e. Sofa bottoms etc.

Proper Diet Make sure you bunny gets a decent diet. They cannot and will not live on scraps from the table. The diet should consist mainly of good quality hay, fresh greens and a small amount of pelleted food. Sugar is actually very bad for bunnies, as is dairy, meat etc.

N.B. Chocolate is extremely poisonous to rabbits!

Litter Training Litter training a rabbit is generally a straightforward thing, but is greatly helped by having spayed and neutered animals as they will not mark areas for territory in the same way.

Most rabbits will pick an area they want to use as their "toilet" you just need to put the litter tray down there. Make sure there is a good absorbent base of non clumping litter and add a little hay to the tray as it will encourage them to come over and use it.

A last Word... Consider giving a home to a rescued rabbit. There are many many rabbits out there without homes who would make wonderful house pets.

Make sure you spend some time researching and learning about any pet you want to give a home to. Nothing can beat knowledge when it comes to caring for another life.

Carrie Lyons