First Ever Rabbit

[Moon]

Hello again everyone! I've been very busy recently transitioning to a different job but the rabbit and I are still doing very well. I did have some questions, though, as he grows (he's going to be 4 months near the end of the month).

First is about food- I've read that rabbits should be eating a bundle of hay the size of their body every day, but that they should also have hay available at all times. My question is- what happens if he just sits there and eats hay as long as it's in front of him? Is he eating too much? Or is he just that hungry? I make sure he always has access to hay, but on my off days I notice that he will just sit there and eat ALL the hay in his cage as soon as I put it in. He will also quickly chomp down any greens I put in (which is fine), and the small serving of pellets. Basically, he doesn't save anything for later. So when I leave for work, even if I give him a big portion of hay, I'm pretty sure he eats it all within the first half hour I'm gone. Any info or advice for this would be great. I don't want to overfeed him, but I don't want to starve him either obviously.

Second question I had was about chewing. He's big on chewing wires, which is to be expected. I got bundles of sticks (willow mostly) that many people said he would love to chew on but he seems completely uninterested in them He will chew everything except what I bring him that he can specifically chew. Not sure if that's normal but it probably is. I'm just trying to figure out if I can divert his attention elsewhere.

Third and last question I have is about litter training. ANY advice for this would be great. I have a litter pan in his cage but he doesn't use it. He usually just sleeps in there hahaha. He poops/pees all over the cage instead. He doesn't do it outside of the cage at all, though.

 

[shazza]

hay: from what i understand you can't really give 'too much' hay, unless it's alfalfa, as it's very rich. but timothy/meadow/etc hay is pretty much just fiber and not much calories, so it's ok if he eats a ton of it. him eating it all and not having any for later shouldn't really be a big problem either as long as he's pooping good. i would be curious if you are not feeding enough pellets though, but i know every rabbit is different. if he's a good weight and active i wouldn't worry about it that much.

as for chewing, they usually chew on bars because they're bored or want attention. make sure he has lots of toys and has plenty of outside run around time to wear him out. if he's doing it for attention, you'll need to teach him that bar chewing does not = attention. ignore him or leave the room when he does it and reward him when he stops and settles down.

i'm still trying to do litter training with my bun. put the box in the corner he most likes to pee in, and try setting his hay rack in front of it so that he has to sit in it to eat. bunnies poop a lot when they eat, so even if he never quite "gets" it, at least you'll have some of the poop contained, lol. so far it seems my house bunny will pee in the box but not poop, and honestly i'm satisfied with that for now. poops are easy to clean up off the carpet...pee isn't

 

[Moon]

Agreed, the poop is MUCH easier to clean/deal with than pee all over the cage. At this point he's peeing all over the back of the cage (it's about 4' across) so I just randomly chose a corner for his litter pan... and then he moved to peeing on the opposite end... then I moved it to that end... and he moved again.. lmao. I think I'll have to buy a bigger litter pan and see how that goes.

Yes, he's pooping a LOT. I'm assuming because he's munching a lot. As for pellets, I give about 1/4 cup a day. He's extremely active- for an indoor bunny, since of course he would be more active if he had the run of a yard or something. He's out of the cage when I'm home and he has full run of the living room. He loves jumping and twisting and running and getting into trouble. ^_^ He surprisingly doesn't chew on his bars! He actually doesn't chew much in his cage at all, despite the fact that I have several toys in there made for chewing. Mostly he chews when he's running around the living room, on my wires x)

I actually just, as in a few minutes ago, moved his cage from the living room to the kitchen. I wanted to try out that space because there's a LOT less nooks and crannies for him to get into (in the living room he has learned to climb my book case, which is where I keep all of my grandfather's old cameras and don't want him to chew on them, hence the move) and a lot less wires. So we'll see how he does there. Tile is also easier to clean than the hardwood in the living room.

Thank you!!

 

[AnnClaire]

A junior rabbit like yours should still be on free-feed pellets. This is why he is eating so much of the hay. At 6 months I start regulating the pellets to what they can consume from once-per-day feeding of pellets between feedings. I want to see the feeder empty by about an hour when I next feed, and feed at the same time each day so your regulation is truely based on his needs and not his wants LOL you will see his hay consumption slow down, but you still want to provide free feed of the hay as it helps keep his guts working correctly.

As for litter training, he Likes his cardboard box, so try lining the inside sides of the plastic litter box with strips of cardboard until you can eventually remove one side at a time.

As for the "greens" you mentioned, iceburg lettuce is not necessarily good for rabbits, but dark green and/or red lettuce leaves are not harmful in small quantities.

Remember, he is still a "teenager" and is testing his boundaries ... get the cords and cables up out of his reach, install a baby gate to restrict his roaming for now ... once he is an adult, and with proper supervision he can be allowed to roam in other areas of the house.

And, shame on you leaving him out of his cage while you are not there ... too many opportunities for injury while you are gone. He doesn't know what is dangerous and what is not! OK, maybe a bit harsh, but seriously, this is a prey animal and will do the absolute darndest to off himself occasionally!!! And they can Jump!!!

Other than that, he will give you many years of love and affection that is absolutely precious! And, along with the cage you have, he will get great enrichment if you can provide a nice, dark hidey hole inside his cage and some place elevated where he can lounge with some sunshine during the day. They do like to look around and he will even fall asleep with his eyes open! LOL

 

[Moon]

A junior rabbit like yours should still be on free-feed pellets. This is why he is eating so much of the hay. At 6 months I start regulating the pellets to what they can consume from once-per-day feeding of pellets between feedings. I want to see the feeder empty by about an hour when I next feed, and feed at the same time each day so your regulation is truely based on his needs and not his wants LOL you will see his hay consumption slow down, but you still want to provide free feed of the hay as it helps keep his guts working correctly.

As for litter training, he Likes his cardboard box, so try lining the inside sides of the plastic litter box with strips of cardboard until you can eventually remove one side at a time.

As for the "greens" you mentioned, iceburg lettuce is not necessarily good for rabbits, but dark green and/or red lettuce leaves are not harmful in small quantities.

Remember, he is still a "teenager" and is testing his boundaries ... get the cords and cables up out of his reach, install a baby gate to restrict his roaming for now ... once he is an adult, and with proper supervision he can be allowed to roam in other areas of the house.

And, shame on you leaving him out of his cage while you are not there ... too many opportunities for injury while you are gone. He doesn't know what is dangerous and what is not! OK, maybe a bit harsh, but seriously, this is a prey animal and will do the absolute darndest to off himself occasionally!!! And they can Jump!!!

Other than that, he will give you many years of love and affection that is absolutely precious! And, along with the cage you have, he will get great enrichment if you can provide a nice, dark hidey hole inside his cage and some place elevated where he can lounge with some sunshine during the day. They do like to look around and he will even fall asleep with his eyes open! LOL

Considering I specifically said that he's only out of his cage when I'm at home, please feel free to actually read my posts before trying to "shame" me for something I'm not even doing. It's incredibly rude considering the only time he's been out of his cage alone was when I went to get extra supplies at a store that is literally directly beneath my apartment or run to the store across the street. He's not alone for multiple hours. Not to mention that I stopped doing it almost immediately because he became much more curious and I figured it wouldn't be safe. I also never said that I gave him iceberg lettuce because I actually do have reading and comprehension skills and know that it's not good for rabbits. So, yes, he gets greens, without the quotation marks, that are safe for him.

 

[AnnClaire]

**He's extremely well behaved. I've actually let him roam the living room when I've gone out to do errands (gone about an hour or less) and he simply went to lie down beneath the bookcase.**

From post #1