what do you need for a bunny

A Checklist of What to Buy for Your New Rabbit

• A sturdy, plastic-bottomed rabbit cage
• Bedding
• Good-quality rabbit food
• Timothy hay
• Food dish
• Hay rack
• Large water bottle
• Chew sticks
• Toys
• Bunny treats (optional)

More items...

Full Answer

What are the best things to feed your Bunny?

• Arugula
• Carrot tops
• Cucumber leaves
• Endive
• Ecarole
• Frisee Lettuce
• Kale (all types)
• Mache
• Red or green lettuce
• Romaine lettuce

More items...

What are some fun things to do with your Bunny?

Netherland dwarf bunnies love to play games and learn simple tricks

• Throw and fetch. In this game, the bunny is the thrower you are the fetcher. ...
• Logic games. Rabbits are naturally intelligent and most curious. ...
• Treat Tease. This is the most common bunny game, and certainly the most enjoyable. ...
• Run and catch. Crawling toddlers love this game, so do rabbits. ...
• Back Riding. ...
• Lap Jumping. ...
• Peek a boo. ...
• Bunny Thief. ...

What supplies do you need for a bunny?

• Food Container - The material can either be ceramic or plastic. ...
• Water Supply - It can either be in forms of a bottle attached to a cage or a bowl. ...
• Carrier Storage - Whenever you would want to take your rabbit outside and not want them to linger around, or you are taking them to a vet, you will need ...

Should I buy a bunny?

Rabbits can be wonderful and loving pets, but they take a lot of work. If you want a rabbit, your parents may have reasonable reservations. Before talking to them, do some research to show you know how to care for a rabbit. Talk to your parents directly and make the request politely. In the event they say "No," you can search for a compromise.

Housing solution

Will your rabbit have free run of your house 24/7 or will they have some sort of a safe place to be when you’re not home? If it’s the latter, you’ll need an exercise pen, a condo, a bunny gate, or some other sort of housing set up for them. Visit our Housing FAQ to find out about some options for housing for your bunny.

Food & water bowls

Buy two heavy bowls for food and water. You’ll also need something to hold your rabbit’s hay; you may want to put the hay into their litter box, or may want to try one of the many cool hay feeders on the market today.

A carrier

You’ll want a hard-sided, top and front opening (non-collapsible) carrier to bring your rabbit to the veterinarian and any other place you may travel. Keep it someplace easily accessible in case of emergency. And don’t forget to put a nice soft blanket in it for comfort!

Care book

We recommend the House Rabbit Handbook, the first, and still the best, book on house rabbit care in the world. Written by Marinell Harriman, the founder of House Rabbit Society, it is based on over 30 years of collected knowledge of Harriman and dozens of House Rabbit Society fosterers.

Litter boxes

Depending on how large your home is, and how much space in your home your rabbit will have access to, you should plan to have at least two litter boxes; one for inside of your rabbit’s “home base,” and at least one for outside of it. Plan to clean them as often as they get dirty.

Rabbit-safe litter

Avoid litters made of clay and litters made of soft woods. Check out this great flyer of safe litters for your rabbit!

Pellets

You’ll want to buy good quality rabbit pellets, made of either alfalfa or timothy, with no added treats or snacks. Learn more about rabbit food.

1. A proper cage

Rabbits are always under the constant threat of predators. If you’re planning on letting your bunnies roam around unsupervised in the yard, then they’re probably going to get attacked by predators.

2. Litterbox

For the majority of the time, your bunnies are going to be inside their cage. But you can’t let them poop in it; they’ll soon get sick, if you do.

3. Rabbit bedding

Nothing’s more useless than peanut butter without jelly and a litter box without litter.

6. Rabbit carrier

Rabbits should never be allowed to roam around freely without supervision. If they do, they’d be under grave danger of being hunted by a predator.

8. Rabbit Food and Treats

Hay is a necessity for all rabbits, but it’s certainly a great idea to buy rabbit foods and treats for your bunny.

9. Container for pellets

This isn’t an outright necessity for rabbits as food bowls should be enough. However, having a cute container for pellets can make your rabbit’s pen a lot more aesthetically pleasing.

10. Rabbit toys

No pet likes to be confined within a cage all day without getting the chance to play and have fun. Rabbits are certainly no different.

How to Prepare a Rabbit Hutch for a New Pet

When bringing a rabbit into your family, accommodation is essential. Some families decide to let a rabbit run free at all times. The rabbit will enjoy this, but it comes with several problems.

Should the Hutch be Set Up Indoors or Outside?

There are benefits to both of these settings. The advantages of either set up are addressed in the table below.

Does an Outdoor Rabbit Hutch Set Up Differ from Indoor?

Deciding whether your rabbit will live outdoors or inside is an important concern. There are pros and cons to both approaches. If you do decide to settle your rabbit outside, there are additional considerations. If you’re leaning toward placing your rabbit’s hutch outside, consider the following:

Where Can I Find a Rabbit and What do I Need to Care for It?

Because of the rabbit’s misrepresentation as an easy pet, many shelters have rabbits that were given up by people that couldn’t take care of them. To adopt a rabbit, check with local animal shelters, small animal rescue groups or the closest chapter of the House Rabbit Society.

How to Feed and Groom a Rabbit

Rabbits require a mix of the following items in order to maintain a healthy diet:

What Type of Medical Care Do Rabbits Need?

There are no recommended vaccines for rabbits in North America, but pet rabbits should be seen by a veterinarian at least once a year for a checkup and all pet rabbits should be spayed or neutered when they reach maturity.

Caring for a Rabbit Over the Course of Its Life

There are dozens of different rabbit breeds that vary in size, color and body and ear type, but all have their own charms. A common misconception is that smaller breeds need less space than larger ones, but they actually need just as much room to run and hop around in.

Setting expectations: Rabbit lifespan

The average lifespan of a rabbit is about 10 years. This estimate will vary a little bit, depending on the breed of the rabbit and the conditions they live in. But when you get a pet rabbit, you need to understand that this is a long term commitment.

Part 1: What to feed your rabbit

Let’s start with the basics. Having a healthy diet is absolutely necessary for your rabbit’s well being. Rabbits have a very sensitive digestive systems, and problems with their gut is one of the leading causes of illness and death. So what does a healthy rabbit diet look like?

Part 2: How to set up an indoor enclosure

Most pet stores will try to sell you a small cage for your rabbit, similar to what they would offer for a guinea pig. In the vast majority of cases, the cages sold as ‘rabbit’ cages are much too small. Unfortunately this is because there is still a lot of misinformation out there about rabbit care.

Part 3: How to litter train your rabbit

Rabbits are actually very clean animals. They will naturally want to keep themselves and their environment clean. Rabbits can even be trained to use a litter box, just like cats! It just takes a little bit of extra work to help your rabbit understand that the litter box is where they should use the bathroom.

Part 4: How to bunny proof your home

Rabbit’s instincts to chew and dig are easily the most frustrating part of bunny ownership. We want to give our rabbits a chance to live the good life and zoom around the living room. But the little troublemakers just keep getting into things they shouldn’t. They chew on wires and dig into the carpet.

Part 5: Enrichment toys for your rabbit

Rabbits need toys to keep their mind and teeth healthy. They are actually very intelligent animals and they need toys to keep their mind active. Rabbits need toys they can throw around, pull on, and dig into. And they like to use puzzle toys, so they can use their natural foraging instincts to figure out how to get at the treats.

Part 6: Grooming your rabbit

Rabbits shed a lot and you’ll have to brush them to get rid of excess fur. While rabbits shed a little bit all the time, they’ll have two big molting seasons where they shed their winter and summer coats. During this time, there will be clouds of fur, and you’ll need to brush your rabbit often to keep their fur from getting matted.