Create a routine to give your rabbit hay, pellets, and fresh greens every day. You also need to clean the litter box on a daily basis and make sure to give your rabbit at least 3-4 hours of exercise. Rabbits are also social animals that require your time and attention every day.
At a minimum, you should spend at least an hour with your rabbit every day. However, 3-5 hours (or even more) are ideal. You do not have to be giving your rabbit undivided attention during this time, but instead, make yourself available to interact with them if they want to.
Just like people, rabbit's are not meant to live alone. Rabbits who never get enough attention and are left in isolation all day will end up becoming lonely and depressed. They'll stop being curious and active, and instead they'll sit around all day with no interest in the world around them.
In general, rabbits will actively play in the morning and evening by chewing, digging, and foraging. In the middle of the afternoon and night, rabbits will settle down and sleep for a combined total of 12 hours in a day.
Rabbits should have a daily diet of mostly hay, a smaller amount of fresh vegetables, and a limited number of pellets. Hay is the most important part of a rabbit's daily intake. Unlimited, high-quality grass hay, such as Timothy, orchard or brome, should make up the bulk of a rabbit's diet.
To keep your rabbit happy and healthy, let it out of its cage at least once a day, giving it time to roam. Though at least one hour is necessary, aim closer to three or four. As a rule, never keep your rabbit cooped up for 24 hours at a time.
It's not that rabbits themselves are all that smelly, but for house bunny owners, living spaces can end up a bit stinky. An RHH (Rabbit Hole Hay) fan recently brought it to our attention that there aren't always great resources out there on the topic of reducing unwanted odors from living with rabbits.
If rabbits live in small hutches with nothing to do and no space to move, they get bored. Boredom can cause some serious health problems: Bored rabbits will fill their time by eating. If they eat too much and don't move around they'll put on weight.
Unwanted Cardboard boxes and newspaper always make fun toys. Cut rabbit sized holes in two sides of a large cardboard box, then at the bottom fill with scrunched up newspaper, hay or anything rummage-worthy. Your rabbit can burrow through, searching for perhaps a few treats amongst it all.
Rabbits are social animals, so a single rabbit is likely to feel lonely and depressed. Rabbits can live alone, but you'll need to provide your pet with the attention (company, petting, grooming, exercise, playing, and enrichment) that a bonded rabbit partner would provide.
The signs of an unhappy rabbit
Pulling at their fur and over-grooming - or not grooming at all. A change in feeding or toilet habits. Drinking a lot more. Repeated circling or pacing up and down.
Rabbits are social creatures with gentle natures and individual personalities, and they need just as much attention as a dog or a cat. They are not suitable companions for young children as most rabbits resist being picked up and cuddled.
Sit on the floor a few feet from your rabbit and roll a ball slowly back and forth between your hands. The idea is to show your rabbit that the ball rolls back and forth. When your rabbit is looking at you, try rolling the ball slowly toward your pet. This might make your rabbit move away or the ball might be ignored.
Fresh food – an adult-sized handful of leafy greens, vegetables and herbs twice daily. Nuggets – just one tablespoon of rabbit nuggets once daily (or twice daily if your rabbits weigh over 3.5kg).
A lonely rabbit may become hyperactive and angry. They may display destructive behaviour such as gnawing at the carpets and other furniture. Lonely rabbits may pull at their fur and overeat.
It is okay for a rabbit to eat cardboard. You don't want the cardboard to be a main source of food, of course, but ingesting cardboard in small amounts is not harmful to your rabbit. Cardboard is actually great for your rabbit to chew on to wear down their teeth. It's normal for them to eat a little while chewing.
You may worry that your rabbit will be lonely. If you spend a lot of time with your rabbit, they will undoubtedly miss you when you're away, the same way you miss them. The two of you have developed a bond and friendship that your pet rabbit also understands.
Rabbits can live quite happily indoors and they should be provided with secure accommodation where they can feel safe, sleep, use a particular area as a toilet, and be confined to when unsupervised.
The perfect sleeping area for rabbits is a place which approximates a burrow i.e. a roof over their heads and an entrance and exit route. Therefore, house rabbits tend to like sleeping behind sofas or under tables or beds.
Rabbits are amazing pets that can be great companions if we let them. They can race around our homes and spend time with us as they show their unique personalities. Letting your rabbit roam free in your home is an excellent way to make them a part of your family and an integral part of your life.
Rabbits shouldn't be kept in small cages
"They should be able to run back and forth, and have separate spaces to sleep, eat, and use the bathroom." Rabbits that are held in small cages often become depressed, and a lack of exercise can lead to health problems such as obesity and muscle weakness.
Likewise buttercups, foxgloves, primrose, delphiniums/larkspur, columbine (aquilegia) hellebore, comfrey, poppy, periwinkle, monkshood, rhubarb, nightshade, ivy, privet, holly and yew are all reasonably common garden plants and all are toxic.