Amy's RabbitRant of the Month Archives

September/October

Fall is approaching and the weather is starting to turn cooler. Do you have a rabbit (or several?) in a hutch in your backyard or living on your porch or balcony? Rabbits make excellent house pets and now's the time to bring them inside permanently and see what fabulous beings they are! Their charm, cuteness and the love they'll give you are being wasted unless they get to interact with you on a daily basis!

And don't forget: fall also means longer nights...so your rabbits are at greater risk due to their natural enemies -- dogs, owls, etc. Did you know a rabbit can die simply from the fear caused by the presence of a predator? It doesn't have to lay a claw on your sweet little rabbit to scare it to death. Please consider bringing him or her inside with you where it's warm and safe.

Here are a few things to consider in order to make both you and your bunny happy with your new living situation:

• Take some time and look around your house for objects your bunny might like to chew on. For example, do you have treasured books on a bottom shelf? Simply move them above waist level. Exposed cords and wiring are very tempting to a bunny! So just visit your local building supply store and buy some vinyl tubing (about 20 cents a foot). Slit the tubing and slip it over phone cords, computer wires or power cables. Now they're bunnyproof! And you might want to remove any rugs from the area, cause bunnies love to chew on them and they can cause blockages which might be fatal to the bun!

   

• The bunny's home (aka cage) should be in an area free from drafts. If you have a wire cage for your bunny, please line the wire grid floor with something like a piece of wood or, at the least, many sheets of newspaper. This will prevent your bunny from getting sore feet! And don't forget to put a litterbox in the cage! Almost every bunny can be litter trained, even an older bun who's never used a box before. Bunnies are VERY clean animals!

   

• You say your bunny's cage just doesn't go with your decor? Well, our bunny's cage is in our living room, so what we've done is purchase a really nice piece of cloth and drape the top and sides of the cage with the cloth. Now it looks like a very large end table, and the cloth also gives our bunny added privacy.

Okay, now your home is bunnyproof. What do you do with this adorable ball of fuzz? How do you get him or her to enjoy spending time with you?

Well, it's time for me to send you to a place that knows more about bunnies than I ever will! The House Rabbit Society is a great organization that has all the information you'll ever need, all on one website. Visit them at www.rabbit.org and you can read all about bunny behaviour, diet, training secrets and everything else you'll need to know.

Bunnies are intelligent, sweet and fun animals that will reward a patient bunny person with many years of amusement and love. You will be very glad you brought your bunny in from the cold!