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Additional Rabbit Care

There are a range of other things you can do to take care of your rabbit and promote good health.
Toys - rabbits are very intelligent and can get bored easily. Toys are a good way to reduce boredom and many can be found around your home. The favorite 'toy' of the Honeybuns rabbitry is overwhelmingly - cardboard toilet paper rolls (without the paper of course). Our rabbits have endless hours of fun with those! Another favorite has been cellophane balls - small 1" diameter cellophane cat toys which can be found in almost any pet store. They rabbits also like teaspoons, small keys/keyrings, plastic cat toys with bells in them, small cloth beanbags and many other things. Almost anything can used...just make sure the pieces are safe. Eventually the rabbit will probably rip it apart!

Trimming - you will most likely need to trim their nails as well. This keeps them from getting so long that they can get caught in things, tear, or scratch you too much when handling the rabbit. We have found that cat nail trimmers work quite easily or you can even use people nail trimmers if you are careful to make sure it 'cuts' and doesn't just 'smash' the nails. The important thing to watch on any animal is the vein that runs up the inside of the nail. In most instances you should be able to hold the nail up to the light in order to see the vein clearly. Make sure you properly support the rabbit in case they kick or squirm- you don't want want to damage their spine.

Vitamins and Electrolytes - We use this in order to help out a despondent rabbit and to boost health. The vitamins are not too expensive and give the rabbits essentials they need to maintain their immune system and overall health. This helps greatly when the rabbit becomes stressed (due to new situations or temperature changes). We purchase ours at jefferslivestock.com.

Papaya, Pineapple and Yogurt - we provide papaya to our Lionheads in order to help digestion and prevent wool block. We have been told that enzymes promote good digestion. Our rabbits eat the papaya readily if it is dried. We purchase some at the store and dry them in very thin rings. You can also purchase yogurt or papaya treats at your pet store (usually expensive) or online (usually provided in cubes and much more reasonably priced). We have heard conflicting reports as to the effectiveness of these treatments - but our rabbits seem to love it and have had no problems with hair balls or digestion so it's something we will continue.

Good Treats vs Bad Treats - a variety of treats can be used when getting your rabbit to be more friendly or to just provide some variety. Carrots are high in protein but are ok as treats. Spinach and other leafy greens are good for treats and provide valuable nutrients - especially with a stressed or sick bunny. Strawberries, bananas and other fruits are ok for your bunny in limited amounts.
Things you want to avoid are any type of peppers, beans, chewing on house plants, poinsettias (deadly), milkweed (deadly and can be in hay), broccoli, junk food, meat and alcohol. Here's a link to Island Gems Rabbitry for a list of good treats and bad. They are an excellent source for rabbit health information.

Litter Training - all of our rabbits are litter trained. It is not necessary, but is usually quite easy if you want to do it. We use it in order to control the smell (both indoor and outdoor) and to reduce the amount of flies that show up when the rabbits are outdoors. Older rabbits are easier to train than babies and our experience has been that overall does are easier to train than bucks. You can use NON-scented wood chips or other 'organic' litter. (Woodie's brand pellets are also excellent) It is recommended that you do not use clay litter (never use clumping clay litter) because the rabbits will sometimes nibble on the litter. This can cause digestive problems. Rabbits will typically choose 1 corner of their cage to urinate in. Put the litter box in this corner. Usually they will start to use the litter quite quickly. Sometimes they will choose a different corner. If that happens we just put in another litter box. Eventually they choose 1 litterbox and use that exclusively. Then we just remove the other boxes. Typically a rabbit will learn to urinate in the box before they learn to poop in it. Just remember to be very patient. If you are house training (rather than using a cage), remember to give the rabbit a very small area to start in - ie a bathroom. Once they learn to use the litter in that small area you can gradually increase the run around space they are given. If you increase to a large room watch the rabbit carefully. Sometimes they will require 2 litter boxes in a large area. If the rabbit pees somewhere it's not supposed to - scold the rabbit loudly (as they are peeing), then put it in the original small area with the litter box. Clean the area with watered down white vinegar - this will remove the smell (if the smell is left, the rabbit will go back to that area). You must watch them carefully when they are given a new area.