Before You Buy Your First Rabbit Decide How You Will House Him
There’s lots of reasons why a rabbit makes a wonderful pet. Rabbits don’t eat a lot, aren’t expensive to buy, can be housetrained and are loved by children and adults alike. But before you get your rabbit there are some decisions to make, and one of the first decisions is whether he will be an indoors rabbit or whether he will live outdoors in a rabbit hutch.
It’s quite true that our little furry friends can be successfully kept indoors or outdoors. However there are different considerations for each. A rabbit is generally kept in a hutch, and can be kept in a hutch as easily outdoors as indoors.
If you’re looking to buy your first rabbit you should make some decisions about his housing before you buy anything. You should be aware for example that most rabbit hutches sold in pet shops or on the Internet are too small. He should be able to take at least 3 consecutive hops and be able to stand up in a hutch. Therefore it should be at least 6-7 feet long and 18 inches high. Many commercial hutches are way smaller than this, and it’s very sad to see rabbits cooped up in tiny cages.
If you have an outdoors rabbit you must give him a rabbit cage that gives him total protection from predators. Predators such as dogs or foxes are extremely wily and will exploit any weaknesses in a cage to get at your little furry friend. As well as protection from predators it must have a weatherproof sleeping area as well as an exercise area that is covered in so he can play during the day.
And if you do have your rabbit in a small rabbit hutch now you can overcome this problem by building him a dedicated rabbit run around the hutch so you can allow them out during the day to run around in the run provided this is also protected from predators.
Indoors hutches have different considerations. It is not necessary to protect him from predators as there (hopefully) will be no predators indoors, so it is not necessary to have a roof on the cage. However a rabbit still appreciates a private area where he can retire from time to time to sleep.
It is best to avoid placing his cage near open windows, or glass areas, which can become extremely hot or cold at certain times of the season. And you should also avoid placing his housing anywhere near gas appliances which can emit toxic fumes.
And there is no reason why, if you have the space, you should not give your rabbit an entire room of his own provided it is thoroughly checked for hazards such as small holes in which he may get stuck.
There is no doubt that rabbits make a fine pet, but makes decisions well before you buy your rabbit, and in particular organise his housing beforehand.
