Beginner’s Guide to Pet Rabbit Care

diet Rabbits are herbivores, meaning they eat plants. They’re built for a diet consisting of mainly large amounts of grass and leaves, as well as some flowers and fruits. Grass hay is the most important part of a rabbit’s diet. Examples of grass hay include timothy hay, meadow, oat, rye, barley and Bermuda grasses. Rabbits should have grass hay available to them at all times. It’s rich in vitamins, minerals and proteins and encourages healthy GI motility and the appropriate wearing down of teeth through chewing, and also decreases inappropriate chewing of other objects. Furthermore, grass hay helps create a full feeling in the rabbit’s stomach to prevent overeating and obesity. It’s proper for all ages. It’s suggested to feed a variety of two or more different types of grass hay. It is also better to feed sun dried hay over commercially dried hay because it retains more of its nutrients.

Some fruits an vegetables that you can feed to you rabbits

Dandelion greens
Collard greens
Kale
Romaine lettuce
Broccoli
Brussel sprouts
Celery and parsley
Apples
Blackberries
Blueberries
Raspberries
Cherries
Cranberries
Carrots
Green or red bell peppers
Mango
Peach
Pineapple
Squash

Commercial pellet feed 12-18% according to bag with free choice timothy hay an fresh water!

Manna pro
Kalmbach rabbit
Oxbow

Cage

A rabbit’s CAGE should allow them to stand on their hind legs without hitting their heads on the top of the cage, have space for a litter box and a resting area, be easy to clean, and be made of metal or another indestructible material. Cages should be kept in a cool and well-ventilated area. It’s not recommended to place your rabbit’s cage in the basement because it is usually too damp and could cause respiratory disease. If the area is too hot, the rabbit can potentially suffer from fatal heat stroke. Rabbits can be caged outdoors, although it is not ideal. If they are going to be outside, they will require shelter from precipitation and extreme temperatures. They should be safe from predators like dogs, coyotes and raccoons. The cage should be kept clean to not attract parasitic insects. In the winter, straw bedding can be used as insulation. The water bowl should be changed daily, especially in the winter when it can freeze.If you do allow the bunny to freely roam the house, you should first rabbit-proof the area. Block all escape routes out of the home, and cover or block all electrical cords. You can also cover your furniture to protect it from teeth or claws. Remove all toxic plants, rodenticides, insecticides and other toxins from your rabbit’s reach.The best bedding to use in the litter box is pelleted litter. It is non-toxic and if eaten, it's digestible. It also draws moisture away from the surface, keeping it drier and controlling odor well. Do not use clay or clumping kitty litter because if the rabbit ingests it, it could cause a potentially fatal intestinal blockage.Rabbits also need a RESTING/HIDING AREA in their environment. A box full of hay is enough for some rabbits, while others prefer an enclosed box to hide in. You can use an untreated wicker or straw basket, litter pan, or a cardboard box with an entrance hole and bottom removed. If the cage has a wire floor, they should also be provided with a solid area they can rest, with washable or disposable material. Don’t use carpet squares because they are not absorbent, are abrasive to their little feet, and they can’t be cleaned. They can also be easily eaten and are the #1 cause of obstruction in rabbits.Lastly, they should be provided with plenty of toys for mental stimulation and to help wear down the teeth. Dry branches from untreated trees, wooden chew toys for birds, and unfinished, unpainted wicker or straw baskets are perfect chewing toys for rabbits. They also like things that can move, such as toilet paper rolls, small empty cardboard cartons, and small piles of shredded paper, or air filled balls. You can hide treats in their toys to encourage foraging behavior

First Aid - I always recommend that rabbit owners keep themselves up to date on rabbit healthcare and symptoms that they should look out for. It can be very difficult to find good, rabbit savvy vets - if you have a tried and true rabbit savvy vet, that is wonderful! But many people don't have great rabbit vets nearby, their vets say they know rabbit well but in reality they don’t, or they can't get appointments quickly, so being able to research and advocate for your own animal can make a huge difference in their health outcomes.

Small towel
Scissors
Nail clippers
Q-tips
Tweezers
1ml,2ml,3ml syringes
Quick stop
Saline
Silver honey
Scale
Hothands
Vet wrap
Gloves
Iodine
Milk replacement
Metacam
Baytril
Doxycycline
Amoxicillin
Ivermectin
blue - kote

These are just some things you need to have on hand; most are interchangeable with all-purpose animal first aid kits.