Pet Rabbit – An Introduction to Owning a Rabbit

Rabbits are cute, snuggly, soft and a true source of joy to its owners. Despite their cuddly looks, they are not supposed to be held. A well cared pet rabbits may hop in and out of your lap in its own schedule. They amuse you while playing with each other and through binkying. Binkying is the way the rabbit expresses joy by jumping and twisting around. With all these characteristics, rabbits are more and more preferred for great pets.

But choosing a rabbit should be well planned in advance and decided wisely. About 50 varieties of breeds are recognized by the American Rabbit Breeders, though the numbers are actually more. Some breeds weigh as little as few pounds while few weigh more than 20 pounds. There are short eared and long eared breeds and long furred and short furred ones. Their life expectancy is between 5 and 15 years. So to choose a pet that lives so long with you should be done after reasonable analysis.

Rabbit Care
It is the responsible of every owner to learn how to take care of a rabbit. The diet of rabbit is quite easily available and simple to provide. They consume fresh vegetables, hay and other plant materials. They are herbivorous and pet rabbits prefer raw vegetables so no need to cook or process their food. Though a variety of commercial nutritious rabbit foods are available, many rabbit owners prefer fresh diet due to their ease in availability.

Rabbit Health
Caring the pet rabbits is quite essential as with dogs. Rabbits are susceptible to a variety of medical problems and infections. Female rabbits should be spayed as soon as they mature to avoid uterine cancer which is very common among rabbits and the mortality rate is up to 65%. They are vulnerable digestive diseases to some extent. One of the fatal diseases among rabbits is gastrointestinal stasis that causes death if left untreated in as less as a day’s time from the onset of symptoms. Fly strike is another medical condition that demands equal attention.

It may sometimes be difficult to locate a vet specialized in rabbit care. Vet care is easily available for dogs and cats but to treat and diagnose rabbits the vets have to be specialized and experienced. With the number of pet rabbits in US shooting up to millions, it is however not that difficult to find a knowledgeable vet in your locality.

Rabbit Training
Training a rabbit is not as effective or as tough as with dogs. Though there is no necessity to train a rabbit as it is for dogs, some may prefer to train their bunnies to carry objects on their heads or to hop over an obstacle course and other amusing behaviors. Litter training is not quite required since they are clean animals by instinct, however to use a litter box it may be a little strenuous than training a puppy for the same.

Rabbit Grooming
Grooming a rabbit is required to keep it healthy than to look good. The efforts of grooming a rabbit are lesser than with most breeds of dogs. Rabbits have a natural tendency to clean its fur, so a weekly brushing is sufficient to avoid matting of fur. Rabbits do not require to be given a bath and it is risky to give one since the rabbits gets highly stressed and overheated. Once a month nails should be trimmed.

Rabbit Cages
Rabbit cages provide a sense of comfort of that of a warren they use for protection in the wild. You can make a rabbit cage if you can or may choose from a variety of innovative designs available in pet shops.

Rabbits require regular exercises and should not be caged throughout. To avoid damage to your furniture, rabbit proofing is a good idea. Children should be educated on rabbit care and preferably monitored, since they are very fragile and not suitable for cuddling.

With proper care these delightful rabbits can be comfortable and feel as a part of your family amusing you throughout.

         

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