How To Care For Rabbits Indoors

Having a rabbit as a pet is becoming popular day by day. However, many of us buy or adopt new pet rabbits without doing any research at first, and that’s why many pet rabbit owners do not know how to take care of their rabbits. As a result, their bunnies end up with various health issues. So here in this guide, we have rounded up all the things you need to know if you want to bring a new pet bunny into your home. I will try to cover all things about how to care for a pet rabbit indoors.

Housing Your Rabbit

Rabbits are very active, but still, there are several options for how you can house rabbits inside your home. You can keep them in free reign in a room, or you can also keep them within a puppy pen, bunny condo, or a large rabbit cage.

Free Reign or Enclosures?

Now, if you think of keeping it in a cage, then you should ensure that their space is large enough so that the bunnies can hop around. Also, keep in mind that your bunny should be out of their pen for at least a few hours every day for exercise. You also need to make sure that your primary location of the rabbit is not isolated from you. That’s why a place like a family room or living room is the ideal option.

Bunny-Proofing Your Space

To run and explore, your bunny will need a proper space. In order to create a perfect space for your rabbits and to protect your belongings, you will need to bunny-proof your area. Cover all the wires and lift them out of the reach of your bunny. It is also required to block certain areas since rabbits like to chew the undersides of beds, plants, and books. Yes, you got it right. Basically, your bunny will try to chew whatever is in its reach. You can also read my article where I broadly discussed step by step about how to bunny proof your home.

Rabbit Diet: What Should You Feed Your Bunny?

The diet of a rabbit mainly consists of hay. Fresh hay should be given to your rabbits at all times. You should give alfalfa to your baby rabbits, and the adult rabbit should be given timothy hay, grass hay, or oat hay. You can read my another article where I talk about what should rabbit diet and which food harmful for bunny.

Feeding Essentials

Using a large hay feeder is ideal because it allows large amounts of hay to be dry, clean, and accessible. Moreover, to keep your rabbits always enriched with vitamins, you need to provide fresh vegetables and a fiber-rich pellet alongside fresh water. If you want to learn more about what your bunnies would love to eat, comment down below so we can make a article on bunny’s favorite food.

Litter Training Your Rabbit

Rabbits naturally tend to poop and pee in one area, so you need to take advantage of that. You can set up a medium-sized cat litter box or shallow storage bin near their food or water bowls and hay feeder. You can read this article where I discussed step by step how to litter train your bunny.

Safe Litter Choices

Do not use the wood shavings that you might use for your cat because they are not safe for your rabbit. You can use rabbit-safe recycled paper and then place hay in the litter box because rabbits like to eat hay and poop, so this will encourage good litter box habits for your bunnies.

Keeping Your Rabbit Entertained

Your rabbit can get bored easily, so not only do they need space to exercise, they also need to encourage their mental stimulation.

Toys and Activities

You can try cardboard castles as they are great, and your pet rabbit will spend hours chewing a new window or door. Moreover, it will also provide a good refuge to your bunny when it’s necessary.

Grooming Your Rabbit

Naturally, rabbits are clean animals, and they like to wash themselves frequently. But when you have a pet rabbit indoors, you need to groom your rabbit on a regular basis because your rabbit goes through shedding cycles a couple of times a year.

Grooming Tips

It’s important to brush your rabbit regularly to remove the excess fur, or your rabbit may tend to ingest that fur and become sick. Also, you need to do regular clipping of the nails because long nails can get snagged on things or also can curl into your rabbit’s paw and hurt themselves.

Handling Your Rabbit

Normally, a rabbit’s backbone is fragile, and they can fracture very easily if the rabbit gives you a strong kick. So, it is always important that you support the hind end.

Safe Handling Techniques

You also do not need to pick up a bunny by the ears because it may be painful for them, so it’s best to avoid it. You need to place your hand under the back legs to lift them from the floor, so even if your rabbit jumps up from your arms, it won’t hurt itself.

Spaying and Neutering

Neutering or spaying your bunny is important, just like cats and dogs. The best age to spay or neuter a rabbit is between four to six months of age, which is just before sexual maturity. You can read the importance of neutering and spaying rabbitwelfare.co.uk here.

Health Benefits

A rabbit should be examined by a vet. Spaying is the surgical removal of the ovaries, which prevents cancer of female rabbits. So, spaying is crucial for homes where male and female rabbits live together to prevent pregnancy from occurring.

So, that’s all with our indoor rabbit care guide for beginners. Hope this guide is going to be helpful for you, and please let us know if you enjoyed your cuddly time with your fur bunnies. Thanks for reading. Comment, and share with your friends if you find this guide useful.