This archive article (written 2009–2016) contains advice that may be out of date and is waiting for veterinary review. Please check with your vet before acting on it. About our articles
| Encyclopedia on rabbit faqs |
| Binkies aka
Jumping around like a jack in the box: A binky A binky is an expression of joy from a rabbit. When a rabbit binkies, it jumps into the air, often twisting and flicking its feet and head. Unfortunately they often don't judge where they are going to land properly, and binky into the wall, furniture etc. Binkies are hard to photograph as they are so quick! How do you know when your rabbit is sleeping? Sleeping Rabbit: Rabbits mostly sleep during the day. They often sleep with their eyes open so its hard to tell when they are sleeping. However a giveaway is that when they are sleeping rabbits often twitch, and their noses stop wiggling. Other rabbits will close their eyes and totally flake out, looking like they are dead. This can result in quite a fright! Why do rabbits thump? Rabbits thump their hind feet to signal danger. Some rabbits will thump one foot on the ground, some will thump both hind feet at the same time. Rabbits aren't very vocal so thumping is their way of communicating. Usually this means they have heard something odd and it could be potentially harmful e.g.. A cat outside the door. Sometimes when you surprise rabbits they will thump at you to show their displeasure at being caught unawares. Thumping can also be an expression of displeasure, for example "Don't ever pick me up and hug me ever again!". Periscope Bunny: Rabbits sit up on their hind feet to get a better view of the surroundings. Usually per scoping occurs when a rabbit hears something is trying to figure out what it is. Rabbits also use this technique to become taller so they can reach the snack you are holding. Why do rabbits grunt? Fuzzy grunts when she is playing with toilet rolls. She also grunts when cornered somewhere and she knows she can't escape. Basically it is a warning that a rabbit is about to attack. Rabbits can grunt softly as they run round and round you. This is a dance of love, and the rabbit is expressing his/her feelings for you. Squealing bunny? A rabbit will squeal to express extreme fear or pain. A rabbit that has never been caught by a person may squeal in fear as it is picked up from the ground. How do you trance a rabbit? Rabbits can be tranced by laying them on their back. However you need to be very careful, as some rabbits won't tolerate being put on their back and will kick and struggle. A rabbit can easily snap it's spine if it struggles while being restrained. If you have a cooperative rabbit, you can gently lay the rabbit down on your lap. You will need to support the rabbit's neck. Slowly the rabbit will close it's eyes and trance out. This is often a good way to trim your bunny's claws as you have easy access. Do rabbits really watch tv? Yep. Fuzzy will watch tv from a safe distance. They may be attracted to the movement on the screen. Why do rabbits eat their poops? This is not bad bunny behaviour, in fact you should encourage it :-) Because their diet of plants is hard to digest efficiently, and they have to make two passes at it to get everything out of the meal. They don't all their poop, only soft mushy poops called cecals. Rabbits are unable to absorb the nutrition via the intestinal wall, but can still get it by eating their cecals. If you find a lot of cecals in the litter box your bunny may not be well. Keep an eye on him/her. Dancing Rabbits? Yep. Rabbits dance. When Fuzzy is in a binky mood, she shakes her head a lot. If we jump up in the air doing the human equivalent of a binky, Fuzzy will binky with at exactly the same time. When we do this a couple of times in a row, it looks as though we are dancing together. Another rabbit dance is the dance of love. Basically the rabbit runs round and round you or another bunny pal. This is a bunny expression of love. This is often accompanied by affectionate nips. What your bunny doesn't realize is that bunny nips hurt! Why do rabbits rub their chins on things? Marking Scent Rabbits have scent glands under their chin and will rub their scent glands on almost everything in order to claim ownership and mark territory. Even people can be marked. People cannot smell the scent so there is no need to be concerned. Why won't my rabbit let me touch it? aka. My rabbit hates me |
| Bonding rabbits Bonding rabbits can be quite difficult. You need to read your rabbits behaviour to understand what is happening. Its best to let your rabbit pick a companion, often you can take your rabbit to a shelter or rescue for this purpose. Some shelters also let you return a bunny and swap it for another if its not working out between your rabbits. How long do rabbits live for? Rabbits can live into their early teens. Should I get my child a rabbit?? The short answer is no. Rabbits hate being picked up and cuddled. Most children will want to hug the rabbit and may end up being scratched and bitten. Bunnies don't like losing contact with the ground. They can't run away from predators if you are holding them and they will fight to get put back on the ground. After a while children lose interest in the rabbit, and it ends up in a small cage in the backyard with virtually no human interaction. Rabbits have such a subtle way of communicating that it can be irritating for children who just want to play with the rabbit. Also a child may be unable to tell if a rabbit is unwell. It takes a perceptive eye to realise that a rabbit is not well, or that its teeth are growing too long, or its claws need clipping. We generally recommend that children under the age of about 12 have parental guidance when looking after rabbits. The problem is mainly with younger children that might try and poke the bunnies eyes, or pull his ears etc. Click here to read a real story emailed to fuzzy-rabbit about the problems with rabbits and children. If your child wants a rabbit, you (as parents) need to be prepared to help look after the rabbit and teach the child how to handle and care for the rabbit. We have heard stories where a child has given some chocolate to a rabbit as a treat. Chocolate can kill rabbits. Try a cat or dog instead. Where can I get a rabbit from? Please adopt a rabbit from a shelter or rescue where possible. If you really want a baby rabbit, you can most likely adopt one, as many litters are surrendered/dumped at shelters. Buying rabbits from pet shops encourages people to breed rabbits. There are far too many rabbits being dumped to warrant more being bred. Also some pet shops end up making cat or dog food out of rabbits that don't sell. Often you can see a rabbits true personality at a shelter, where it may have been handled daily, and is socialising with other rabbits. Some shelters also spay and vaccinate rabbits before allowing them to be adopted, which will save money and time. Should I get a baby rabbit? Baby rabbits are very cute for a while, but they will grow up. If you get a fully grown rabbit, then you know exactly how big the rabbit will be. Many pet shops sell rabbits as "dwarfs" but they grow up into big rabbits. Also baby rabbits will grow up and go through bunny puberty. This is where male rabbits spray everything in urine to mark territory, and both male and female rabbits can get aggressive. Until the rabbit is old enough to be spayed, there is nothing you can do. Also rabbit's personalities can change with puberty. A cuddly friendly bunny may turn into a big territorial finger biting terror. When you adopt an older rabbit (>6 months), his/her personality won't change much. If you do end up buying a baby rabbit, please make sure it is 8-10 weeks old. May pet shops take the baby rabbits away from their mum's far too early. Baby rabbits need to stay with their mum (doe) to develop intestinal bacteria. While the babies are drinking milk from the doe, their intestines are sterile. When they start eating solid food, they also eat the doe's poops. Taking the babies away too soon means they may develop intestinal problems later on due to the lack of healthy bacteria. Should I get a male or female rabbit? Once a rabbit has been spayed/neutered, their personalities are quite similar. The decision really depends on whether you already have a rabbit. It is easier to bond a male and a female rabbit than it is to bond two males or two females. (Bonding is the process of getting two or more rabbits to make friends). Bonding can be incredibly difficult, rabbits seem to be very fussy as to the companion they want. The best matches tend to be a neutered male with a spayed female. Two Unbuttered males will tend to fight, as will unsprayed females. It is possible to bond an unneutered male with a spayed female, however the female rabbit may become upset if the male rabbit continually mounts her. If he mounts her head, she may bite his genitals. Should I spay/neuter my rabbit? Female rabbits should be spayed to prevent development of uterine cancer. There is a high chance of female rabbits contracting the cancer if they are not bred from. If you want to have more than one rabbit, then you will need to spay or neuter your rabbit. Two unneutered male rabbits put together will tend to fight, and two unspayed female rabbits can often fight just as viciously. An unneutered male and a spayed female can live together, but the male rabbit may become obsessive about marking territory, and may annoy the female rabbit by continually mounting her. Obviously an unneutered male and unsprayed female will mate. Many people find that after their rabbit reaches 4 months of age, their rabbit has starting urinating everywhere, mounting objects and has become aggressive towards them, actually lunging and biting. Neutering rabbits tends to reduce, if not eradicate, this behaviour. Neutering to alter behaviour may seem cruel, however it is far preferable than a rabbit being euthanised due to behavioural issues. Why should my rabbit live inside?? Rabbits outside in a cage don't get any external stimulation. Its hard to become close to a rabbit when you only see it once or twice a day. Whenever we walk past the rabbits, we always reach in and give them a pat or two. Fuzzy likes to sit in places where she can watch what we are doing. Its difficult to tell when a rabbit is sick at the best of times, as they hide it very well. When your rabbit is inside, it is much easier to observe, therefore you can pick up when its not acting as usual. Depending on where you live, there can be dangers like cats and dogs, mozzies and other diseases. Even a busy road is a worry if your rabbit escapes from its cage. Rabbits aren't meant to be in small cages, and are much happier being able to run around whenever they feel like it. See the section on Indoor Rabbits to learn about living inside with a bunny. Should I get one rabbit or two? Rabbits are generally happier in pairs. After all wouldn't you like to have someone to talk to? Rabbits groom each other, keeping hard to reach places clean. They also provide each other a warm cushion to lean on, and often one will be the sentry while the other takes a nap. Having said that, it can be difficult to bond two rabbits. Often they fight when they are first introduced until one rabbit is deemed to be the dominant rabbit of the pair. As you can imagine, this can be quite a problem with two headstrong bossy rabbits. Some rabbit owners are lucky as their rabbit is very accepting of a new friend. Its better to get two rabbits from the same litter as they will be less likely to fight. Read about Fuzzy and Thumper to get an idea of how I bonded them together. How much time does rabbit care take? A rabbit's cage needs cleaning out at least every second or third day for hygiene reasons. Rabbits themselves do not stink, rather their uncleaned litter boxes are causing the odour. Rabbits enjoy socializing with people and other rabbits, and if left alone they get bored and start being destructive. Rabbits also love being stroked and patted. Rabbits need feeding at least once a day, if not twice. Rabbits also need their claws trimmed every 6 weeks. |