Whilst the idea of having a new furry friend introduced into your family sounds like a fun exciting journey it is most important that you do heaps of reasearch before committing to a new fur baby.
Main key points are: - Rabbits can live up to or exceed 10 years of age. This isnt a couple year entertainment nor a short lifespan, its a committment just like a dog or cat. - Rabbits are very social animals that demand your attention. Multiple rabbits can be housed together however i only recommend either 2 females or 1 male and 1 female together never 2 males as they are very terrortorial majority of the time. But also one rabbit by itself is also very much recommended as they will bond with you.
Rabbit health and husbandry
- There is some work involved with the maintainence of the health of rabbits which include calici vaccinations, their nails trimmed, mite and lice treating and grooming on a regular basis. - Rabbits can contract calici and myxomatosis virus which is fatal, this is exposed via carriers such as flys and mosquitoes and passed between rabbits. It is highly recommended that you vaccinate your rabbit, this covers them for 2 types of calici virus however there is a rogue strain we cant vaccinate against yet, unfortunately myxo there is no vaccine for. Fly screening cages is also recommended to stop carriers getting into hutches. - Rabbits dont like hot weather, heat stroke is fatal in rabbits as they cannot sweat to cool themselves down. Days that are over 35° i bring my rabbits inside to air conditioning, avoid putting them in direct sunlight if keeping outdoors and place frozen water bottles in their cages. - Rabbits can get a range of diseases which can be due to stress, housing arrangements, diet and husbandry. These include: floppy bunny syndrome, pasterella, head tilt, GI stasis, fur block. It is a good idea to reasearch these to understand how they can develop and how to treat them accordingly.
I have included below more information on the health of bunnies bellow, this is what i send to new bunny owners when picking them up.