Outdoor and Indoor Rabbit Safety

When you first get a bunny, your family has to decide whether or not you will have an indoor or outdoor rabbit.  Indoor rabbits in general can live longer than outdoor rabbits because they are not exposed to as many elements as the outdoor bun. This lesson will help you know what you need to know about outdoor and indoor bunnies.

INDOOR BUNNIES:

Most people have indoor rabbits. An indoor rabbit will live its life inside the house. An indoor bunny can hop in the yard if you have one but the cage and main living space is inside. A bunny that lives inside the house should have a large cage and a safe spot to play in indoors ( i.e a spare bedroom or an area in a finished basement). The bunny's cage should be in an area of the house that is somewhat exposed to main family areas (like a rec room, office etc) so bunny doesn't get lonely but also in a quiet area so she doesn't get stressed out by noise. One thing that many indoor rabbit owners do is put the cage in a spare room with a few windows, and then make an entire "Bunny Room". The bedroom door would be replaced with a baby gate. Bunny could hop freely around the "Bunny Room" and then be put in her cage overnight. You can find great rabbit room ideas online!

OUTDOOR RABBITS:

Outdoor rabbits live there lives outside. On a back porch/patio, or in the yard. Even so, an outdoor rabbit will need to come inside sometimes (like in bad, hot, or cold weather) so a cage should be available inside your house. If bunny will live outside then you need to make sure that her cage (or hutch as it is sometimes called) is safe and secure. It will need to be very big. At least 3 levels and a safe hiding spot for her safety. Just make sure that you can reach her hiding spot if you need to get her. The hutch should get at least 4 hours of sun a day and she should have an extremely safe rabbit pen to play in. Your yard will have to be rabbit proofed. Make sure that bunny is safe from predators like raccoons, possums, and wolves. She shouldn't play with wild rabbits or be near them as they carry illnesses that can make bunny sick.
You can find rabbit pens and rabbit hutches online as well!

A Healthy Bunny is a Happy Bunny

If you keep bunny healthy then she can live a long and happy life! Bunnies need special care and have many needs. If you know what things can help keep her healthy then you can have her for a long time. Here are ways that you can make sure bunny stays happy and healthy.

ENVIRONMENT:
Bunnies need an environment that doesn't have a ton of noise, no "enemy", and a cage in a good place. Noise can stress bunny out a lot so don't play loud music around her or have a party in the area her cage is in. Try to keep bunny's cage in a place that is not a main highway for your family but so she does have some time around you all so she doesn't get lonely. Put her cage in a place that has sunlight, but no direct sunlight. Also, make sure that if bunny lives outdoors there are no ways for her or anything else to come in or out. If bunny is kept outdoors make sure you bring her in for the night and take her inside if it is above 80 degrees or below 50 degrees. Make sure her cage is safe and secure.

FOOD:
Make sure that bunny gets a small amount of treats and fruit and a good amount of veggies and hay. Certain types of veggies are not good for bunny. Feed her a mixture of some greens 2x a day. Water is also important give her clean water with no chemicals or human water sweeteners. If you feed bunny pellets only give them to her once a day and in a small amount.

EXERCISE:
Bunny needs at least 2-3hrs of playtime a day. Bunny also needs safe toys in her cage to encourage playing. Beware of toys that have lots of dye in them. Some of the chemicals in the dye can be toxic to her. Give bunny some empty toilet paper rolls to chew on. They are safe toys and good for her teeth health. Let bunny play on floor that is not slippery. She shouldn't play on carpet that she could chew. Never give her a box filled with sand, newspaper, or cat litter to dig in. She should also have plenty of things to hop over and climb on to encourage fun play and exercise.

HEALTH CARE:
Give bunny a daily health check to see if anything is wrong. If you notice that bunny seems sick or depressed then take her to the vet. You can also take bunny to the vet once every 3 months for a check up or whenever you feel the need to.

Handling Bunny's Sweet Tooth

All bunnies have a sweet tooth. Some have more of a sweet tooth than others, though.

Making sure bunny has healthy food is essential. Good food keeps bunny strong, and happy. Too many treats will make bunny sick, chubby, and she may end up with health issues and die at an early age.

What you may think isn't a treat and is just a "healthy snack" might not be.

Common things that people call "rabbit friendly food" are any kind of rabbit "fiesta" mix and pellets (depending on the brand). "Rabbit friendly" fiesta mix often has things that are bad for bunnies. They have things like seeds, extra sugar, and honey. Never feed bunny something that isn't meant for rabbits! Pellets were meant to get bunnies fat. Yup. That is the truth. Now, however, pellets are made better and healthier. Still, if you give bunny too much of even a good brand, she could get chubby. If bunny has never had pellets before, then don't give them to her. Pellets are generally pretty sweet (even fairly good pellet brands) so bunnies like them as treats. A bunny should be given pellets only once a day. A large bunny can have have 1/2 a cup. A small bunny can have a 1/4 cup. I only give Snowberry 3tsp. because she is extremely lazy. I know that she would get chubby overnight if I gave her more than that!

Good treats for bunny are carrot tops and carrots (half a carrot is good for a big bunny, a baby carrot is good for a small bunny). Apple slices, and papaya chunks are healthy and great. (No seeds for either fruit as they're toxic)! Don't buy fancy store bought papaya chunks, buy the papaya at a store where it is cheaper.

Papaya is a very healthy sweet treat for bunnies. The papaya is good for poop health and digestive health. Papaya is a great first aid for pearl poops. 
You can buy papaya at the store, cut it up into small cubes, and then freeze some in the freezer. If you freeze them then you can thaw some out if you want to give them too her. Do not feed bunnies the seeds of papaya as they are toxic!

Signs of Poor Health

Bunnies don't like to show it when their sick. Because of this it can be very hard to tell if bunny is sick.
It doesn't matter how well you know bunny, she'll hide as best he can. There are things we'll never know about our bunnies (and people!) no matter how well we know them. However, knowing bunny well can help you to identify bad health in bunny.

Know Your Bunny's Likes:
By recognizing what bunny likes you can see if poor health affects that. Does she like to eat and is not eating? Does she love to hop and play and is suddenly too weak to play? You get the idea, right?

Know Your Bunny's Behavior:
If you know how bunny behaves around certain people, noises, and/or situations you can see how her behavior will be affected by poor health. Does she like to be around people and suddenly is lethargic? Is she most often happy and sweet and now seems aggressive and depressed? Seeing her behavior change rapidly is bound to give you a clue.

Call Your Vet If You See These Changes:
.Not eating anything or vomiting up food**
.Lethargic, not responsive or sitting in a hunched position**
.Not pooping or peeing (ALWAYS check the litter box)**
.Diarrhea, mushy poop, or peral poops**
.Poops that are strangely small*
.Hard, doughy stomach**
.Rapid and/or labored breathing** Do not wait! Go to emergency vet care ASAP!
.Loud tooth grinding (either a sign of pain or a happy "purr")*
.Coughing, rasping, sneezing, and labored breathing*/**
.Overgrown front teeth, or lumps along the jaw**
.Discharge from nose and eyes*
.Straining to pee and poop and/or  peeing or pooping blood**
.Scabs, wax or crusty stuff around ear*
.Non lop rabbit with a flopping ear**
.Head tilt, difficulty balance, sudden weakness,** Do not wait! Go to emergency vet care ASAP!
.Sore hocks (red swelling on heels. change litter brand and clean cage more often)*
.Dandruff (possible fur mites)*
.Unable to lift head or support herself. Falling over. Do not wait! Go to emergency vet care ASAP!

**=Needs to be taken to the vet within 5hrs or ASAP.
 *=Needs watching. If it doesn't go away or gets worse then go to the vet within 12-24hrs.

Please view later posts on some of these health issues in detail.

And no----She REALLY didn't eat the cake!!!!!!

First Aid: Minor/Severe Bleeding

Eek. Such a scary thought I know. My bunny has cut herself before. Not severely.

Since I'm sure you hope that you can know how to care bunny for bunny, let us take a look at first aid.

Prevention:
Make sure that there are no sharp objects in the grass, or bunny's cage. When clipping her nails be careful not to cut too close to her blood vessels. Bunny skin is very delicate. If she cuts herself it can go from 1 to 10 in minutes. You have to treat her very quickly or get vet care.

A note for you:
I know this is hard in the moment but have to stay calm. This will keep bunny calm. When you are calm you can think clearly. 

MINOR BLEEDING should be taken care of ASAP to prevent infection and/or worse bleeding.

Apply a damp cloth to the cut using gentle pressure. Clean the wound daily with warm water. Sometimes you may have to wrap it with a small ace bandage if the cut is on her leg. It is wise to seek medical attention.

SEVERE BLEEDING is an emergency. Call your vet and go to them at once. Take a bigger towel/cloth and apply direct pressure to the wound. Put an ace bandage over the wound and then appy a towel for pressure. STAY CALM AND IT'LL HELP BUNNY STAY CLAM. 

Note to parents: If something very bad happens (such as a loss of limb or eye etc.) then you need to do the samething that you'd do in the event of severe bleeding. Apply a large towel and pressure. Call the vet. 

A Note For Parents:When should my kid get a bunny?

While this blog is meant for young children I think that this post is very important to parents.
Parents all ask themselves, "When should I get my kid a bunny?". So they make up excuses for the cute lil' love of their life. She's great with animals. He's ALWAYS wanted a bunny. This'll teach them about responsibility. So when do you know if your child is ready? Well consider the following things......

1.How responsible is she?
2.How good is she with caring/respecting animals?
3.Is she good with instructions?

1.Kids who want a bunny need to understand one thing:The child (who the bunny belongs to) is the one to clean the cage, feed, and groom the bunny.  Unless your child is young enough to need your help, he should be able to feed, groom, clean the cage, and watch bunny. I got SB (short for Snowberry) when I was 9. SB was mine. All mine. Not my mom's or dad's. I was the one to do all the bunny stuff. Unless I was sick the job was mine. Your child should also be responsible BEFORE you ever get her rabbit.  A rabbit is a reward for showing responsibility, gentleness towards animals, and a desire for a bunny. Not a something to make the child be hard working, gentle, and motivated.

2.Children like animals. However some may not be as good to them as others. Younger children (in general) tend to be more rough around animals than older ones. If your child is young (6 or younger) it may be good to hold off. This will be a great time to let your child learn more about bunnies! Children will need to learn about holding positions, and what bunny shouldn't eat etc. A young bunny owner (like 7 or 8) doesn't mean anything bad. I got my little Snowberry when I was 9. She has grown up with me into my teen years and remains a big part of me.

3.This kind of goes back to #2. If your child is young she may not understand the importance of why there are rules about certain things and how important they are when it comes to bunny. What if she doesn't listen about food importance and feeds bunny a chocolate chip cookie? Or lets bunny out of the cage and doesn't watch her and bun gets hurt? Or gives bunny a pipe-cleaner to play with which bunny chokes on? She/He must be old enough to understand the absolute importance of instructions and why they must obey them.

In the end it is up to the parent to decide. I would say the child should be 7 or older, responsible, caring, and a good follower of directions. Even if she doesn't meet all the "requirements" she should at least know what you require of her to do on a daily basis. If the bunny is hers then she will carry the bulk of bunny's care.

Seriously! Who doesn't want a cute lil' ball o' fluff?

A Note on Treats

So.....What is a wise treat (or treat amount) to let bunny have?
Everybody likes a nice sweet. With bunnies it is very important to watch her sweet intake. Please note that pellets (depending on the brand) and "rabbit friendly" fiesta mixes are almost just as sugary as sweets. It is always better to avoid any store bought treat unless its a very special occasion. ;)
Bunnies like natural foods. And- believe it or not- they like veggies and fruits for dessert! Not only will bunny be healthier but she will be happy too! Bunny would be happy with just 3 or 6 baby carrots. (Remember small bunnies get a little less). Carrot tops are great. So are small apple chunks, pear chunks, and papaya (no seeds). Pineapple is good too.
Give bunny treats 2x a week. Twice a day. Not to much though.