New Rabbit looking for advise.

[kala83]

Hello there I am new to the group! I am planning on getting a new bunny fairly soon, either from my State Fair in Sedalia MO or from a local shelter. I really would like to get one from the State Fair just because right now if I was to pick it up there it would be a lot more convenient a location. But there is a chance that I might not be able to get it from there so I am going to keep my option open of adopting as well.
But even if I don't end up getting a bun from my local shelter I would love to adopt one eventually.
Anyway I have been planning on getting a rabbit now for quite a while and I am planning on in a few days probably Friday or Saturday of this week going and picking up a rabbit cage. I would have liked to do a whole area that was closed off just for the bun...but I just don't have the time to put one up...even though it would probably not be that expensive to do either. And for me personally I just think getting a cage would work better, since most of my house carpeted.
lol please don't verbally chew me out for this I have had several people on other sites already do that. And it’s not like I like doing it this way it’s just what is going to work best for me!
I am planning on getting the largest cage I can find so my new bun will have a lot space to jump around, and I plan on letting him or her out once every day for at least two-three hours when I get home from school so that it will get plenty of exercise. I can easily keep an eye on him or her while I am sitting in my basement doing homework or watching TV...and I can feed it fresh vegetables as well.

What I am really looking for the most is just any other things I might have forgotten in my mind as to what I would need to prepare for my new arrival...I am picking up
1. The Cage
2. Food and Snacks
3. And a big bag of bedding
I have been trying to plan this out in my head for quite a while now to make sure everything will go ok and for the most part everything has been planned out pretty well. I just want to make sure that I have everything I need and if I need any other things for when my new arrival, arrives Please give kind and positive advice, I will try my best to put up pictures of my girl or boy once I get him or her.
Thank you for listening.

[kala83]

Just a little up date on the situation...I have decided to put off getting my girl or boy for a little while..not sure just how long right now...just due to the fact that I have a lot of crap going on right now and feel its best that I get all of that taken care of first and then get the rabbit after all that is taken care of.
I would like to get peoples opinions on things but just thought I would let you all know that I am not planning on getting the bunny as soon as I orignally had planned.

[Dragonrain]

I hope whatever you have to deal with isn't anything bad!

Just a quick note - if you can adopt a bunny from a shelter it will probably be cheaper for you in the long run because bunnies in shelters are already spayed or neugered. Bunnies from the fair won't be and rabbits really should be fixed. Females that arn't spayed have a very high chance of developing reproductive or mammory cancer and both males and females have some behavioral problems that are if not completly elimated, greatly reduced by fixing - Things like urine spraying and aggression. If you don't get a rabbit that is fixed already when you get it, then you're looking at a vet bill that could range from $200-$400, more if there are any problems. So it's a lot cheaper to adopt a rabbit from a shelter then to get one somewhere else and have to pay for it to get fixed.

There's nothing wrong with keeping rabbits in a cage as long as they get time outside the cage to play and exercise. My Zeus lives in a cage, indoors, but I let him out in a bunny proofed room for at least 2 hours a day. Just make sure the room you let your rabbit play in is rabbit proofed - you couldn't imagion the trouble one little bun can get in! They love to chew on things they're not sapose to, especially wires should be out of reach. Get the biggest cage you can and if it has a wire bottom, make sure to cover the wire in at least part of the cage because standing on the wire all the time can hurt the rabbits feets.

What are you planning on using for bedding? I'm just asking because you might not need it, a lot of people don't use bedding for their rabbits because it just gets messy so fast and rabbits tend to make a mess with it on the floor around the cage. You could just use yesterdays news - or litter box train your rabbit and just put bedding or hay (Zeus won't use his litter pan unless theres hay in it) in the litter box.

Have you considered at all getting 2 rabbits instead of 1? Rabbits love the company of other rabbits esp if your going to be out all day at school or something. I wish now that I had gotten 2 in the first place, because I think Zeus would love to have a friend but now when I get another one I have to go through the bonding process with them. If you get 2 that are already bonded to each other, you won't have to worry about that. I'm not saying you have to get 2 - just something to think about!

Another thing you can add to your list of things to get is a litter pan. Rabbits can be litter box trained and it makes it so much easier to clean the cage if you get a litter pan and train them to use it. Umm...other things is you will need a water bottle if you don't have one already. Toys of course - diffrent rabbits like diffrent kinds of toys so maybe a few toys to find out what your rabbit likes. Also, I buy cage whipes from the pet store because they make it a lot easier to clean out the litter box. Rabbits are messy, I clean Zeus's litter box everyday and his whole cage gets cleaned every other day. Maybe some kind of bed for it would be kewl, I got Zeus a little dog bed from the pet store and he LOVES it.

I don't know if I missed anything, but if you have any more questions or I missed something please feel free to ask!

[Dragonrain]

Ooops I wanted to add, as if I haven't made you read enough already...

For treats and snacks, healthy stuff is best! They make a lot of rabbit treats that you can buy in stores, but that stuff really isn't that good for them and they enjoy a piece of fruit just as much as they would enjoy a treat from the store, plus its better for them.

I give Zeus fruit and veggies for treats/snacks. The only store bought 'treat' that I give him is paypia tablets because those prevent hairballs and he loves them.

But if you just give fruit and veggies for treats, then you have more money to buy toys, and everybunny loves toys!

[Jess]

Smudge gets sick if he eats veggies...
He hates his toys too...
Hes a wierdy...lol

Buns are alot more work than most people think they are. And they can be little fuzzy nightmares if you get one with a bad temperment. Theyre not hard to litter train wich is nice, and as Draigon rain said, you dont have to use bedding. Smudge gets mad and sleeps in his litter box if I give him bedding lol. What breed are you planning on getting? I think Dutch buns are great because they are so calm and easy to handle. Good Luck!

[kala83]

Quote: Originally Posted by Dragonrain I hope whatever you have to deal with isn't anything bad! J

No nothing to serious just lots of different things cluttering up my life that I would just like to see taken care of before I look at getting the rabbit. But thank you very much for your concern though ^_^

The advise you guys have given is great, I really apricate it! Yeah Iagree I think I am going to end up adopting my girl or boy it will a it will save me a ton of time and cash if I do it that way. It just might take me a while is all. I really have my heart set on getting a loop and I'll have to shop around a bit if I really want to get one but...who knows I might fall in love with someone thats not a loop too!

I had never thought of using old newspapers for bedding thats a great idea and another big money saver I could use too lol and since I am college student the more ways I can find to save money the better. I never did consider getting more then one either, and truth me told I would look into it but my mother and grandparents were so shocked when I told them I was going to look into buying a bunny anyway I think it might cause heart attacks or strokes if I got more then one.
This is mostly due to the fact that me and a good majority of my family help take care of any kind of pets we get, thought that might change if my bun lives long enough that he or she moves with me to KS to move in with my BF which I plan on doing in about 3 or 4 years after I get out of college for good!

Hopefully if my bun is here by then I can find some good ways of keeping him or her in good spirits while adjusting to the move at the time. Never had to deal with moving myself and a pet before so that will be interesting when the time comes.

Anyway thanks for the advise and support guys! I'll keep you all posted and make sure to let you know when I am going to get my addition...hopefully not to long a wait I hope.