Bunny care

Jones0911 · Mar 1, 2015

we got New rabbit for the kids, first off can someone tell me the species, we want to double check if it's dwarf as it was sold to us?

Second, we brought a food dish and put food in it but he purposely turns it over and dumps the food out to eat it, .anyone know why?

Third, we have a poop box for him but he stills poops around the enclosure, I read that rabbits are easily house trained however it seems to be the opposite with this guy.

Do rabbits needs companions like mice/rats?

Why do some. rabbits ears stay up and some stay down

Ripa · Mar 1, 2015

Most domestic rabbits belong to the same species, actually- the European rabbit/ Oryctolagus cuniculus

. You may be asking for the breed, however, there are a few dwarf rabbit breeds out there, not just one.

1. Any size to compare it to?- generally, dwarf breeds have a standard maximum of 4.5-5lbs, but most range between 3-4lbs. Also, what's the coarseness/ texture of its fur? It's proportions are not very reminiscent of any dwarf I've ever seen, to be honest. All dwarf rabbits (officially labeled as so) rely on the same specific dwarf gene to attain their small sizes.
2. If he's young (presumably), expect him to do this quite a bit. What kind of food dish do you use? Heavy ceramic is the best so there's the least probability of him tipping it over. You can also find food dishes that latch on to the side of a cage. Make sure they're sturdy, though.
3. Rabbits from pet stores generally have little social investment by the caretakers and thus, are not trained to poop where they want them to. Here's a good guide to help you with litter training. He may still be quite young with a limited attention span http://rabbit.org/faq-litter-training-2/
4. Rabbits prefer to have social bonding with other animals if there are no other rabbits around. Gradual and monitored introductions should take place. Don't keep rats and rabbits in the same cage unless you're absolutely sure in the deepest confines of your gut that they are best buds with no squabbles between one another. Mice are a bad choice because they are far smaller and most mice are better off alone with no social interaction- rats actually thrive off attention (and aren't prone to biting like mice are). Humans can very well be the companions for your rabbit, but make sure your kids are gentle and don't startle the rabbit. Rabbits can literally be startled to death- they can get heart attacks quite easily if precautions aren't taken.
5. Because rabbits with floppy ears are of different breeds than those with straight ears. All are of the same species like mentioned above, some just have the lop gene while others do not. The rabbits with floppy ears are commonly referred to as lops.

Jones0911 · Mar 1, 2015

Ripa said:
Most domestic rabbits belong to the same species, actually- the European rabbit/ Oryctolagus cuniculus . You may be asking for the breed, however, there are a few dwarf rabbit breeds out there, not just one.

1. Any size to compare it to?- generally, dwarf breeds have a standard maximum of 4.5-5lbs, but most range between 3-4lbs. Also, what's the coarseness/ texture of its fur? It's proportions are not very reminiscent of any dwarf I've ever seen, to be honest. All dwarf rabbits (officially labeled as so) rely on the same specific dwarf gene to attain their small sizes.
2. If he's young (presumably), expect him to do this quite a bit. What kind of food dish do you use? Heavy ceramic is the best so there's the least probability of him tipping it over. You can also find food dishes that latch on to the side of a cage. Make sure they're sturdy, though.
3. Rabbits from pet stores generally have little social investment by the caretakers and thus, are not trained to poop where they want them to. Here's a good guide to help you with litter training. He may still be quite young with a limited attention span http://rabbit.org/faq-litter-training-2/
4. Rabbits prefer to have social bonding with other animals if there are no other rabbits around. Gradual and monitored introductions should take place. Don't keep rats and rabbits in the same cage unless you're absolutely sure in the deepest confines of your gut that they are best buds with no squabbles between one another. Mice are a bad choice because they are far smaller and most mice are better off alone with no social interaction- rats actually thrive off attention (and aren't prone to biting like mice are). Humans can very well be the companions for your rabbit, but make sure your kids are gentle and don't startle the rabbit. Rabbits can literally be startled to death- they can get heart attacks quite easily if precautions aren't taken.
5. Because rabbits with floppy ears are of different breeds than those with straight ears. All are of the same species like mentioned above, some just have the lop gene while others do not. The rabbits with floppy ears are commonly referred to as lops.

just to clarify all we have is one pet when I said rabbit/rats I meant "for example" I'd never place two different species like those together.

thanks very much for your time and lengthy reply. I'll get more comparable photos soon.

Ripa · Mar 1, 2015

Jones0911 said:
just to clarify all we have is one pet when I said rabbit/rats I meant "for example" I'd never place two different species like those together.

thanks very much for your time and lengthy reply. I'll get more comparable photos soon.

Ahhh, I see. Well, it's not uncommon for rabbits to bond with other species, but how much money are you willing to bet on it? Well, it all depends on the two individuals- then again, even two rabbits can sometimes not get along.

Also, it's not a problem!

pyro fiend · Mar 1, 2015

Ripa said:
4. Rabbits prefer to have social bonding with other animals if there are no other rabbits around. Gradual and monitored introductions should take place. Don't keep rats and rabbits in the same cage unless you're absolutely sure in the deepest confines of your gut that they are best buds with no squabbles between one another. Mice are a bad choice because they are far smaller and most mice are better off alone with no social interaction- rats actually thrive off attention (and aren't prone to biting like mice are). Humans can very well be the companions for your rabbit, but make sure your kids are gentle and don't startle the rabbit. Rabbits can literally be startled to death- they can get heart attacks quite easily if precautions aren't taken.
.

please do not mix rodent species.its believed they dont speak the same language based off each noise is def different.. so you shoudlnt mix them ever.. sure one bunny may like to chase and wrestle with a specific rat as a friend.. but not all will ^_^ some see them as a predator as rats will happily eat bunny babies in the wild [iv found mice eating dead baby bunnies on our farmland]

as for the species and size its super hard to tell based off your pics. def not a rex or lop tho

looks like your normal run of the mill bunny

as for the ears its genes partly i believe as many people nowadays prefer a lop eared bunny as its "cuter" and not so "wild looking"

Drache · Mar 1, 2015

Rabbits are not rodents - they're lagomorphs, not even the same order, let alone family or genus.
Whether two pets will get along has less to do with how closely related they are, but how social their "background" is. Herd/flock type animals that normally live in social groups are more likely to form social relations with strange fellows when isolated from their own kind.

pyro fiend · Mar 2, 2015

Drache said:
Rabbits are not rodents - they're lagomorphs, not even the same order, let alone family or genus.
Whether two pets will get along has less to do with how closely related they are, but how social their "background" is. Herd/flock type animals that normally live in social groups are more likely to form social relations with strange fellows when isolated from their own kind.

sorry ment mix them with rodent species *derp* my bad XD but indeed but i wouldnt suggest puttin any animals not the same sp together =\

Ripa · Mar 2, 2015

Drache said:
Rabbits are not rodents - they're lagomorphs, not even the same order, let alone family or genus.
Whether two pets will get along has less to do with how closely related they are, but how social their "background" is. Herd/flock type animals that normally live in social groups are more likely to form social relations with strange fellows when isolated from their own kind.

Yea, that's sorta why I considered rats as better companions than mice or hamsters, if it ever really came down to it, that is. Mice and hamsters like to beat up (and kill) one another. A sociable rat is probably among the friendliest pets you can buy. You can even keep unfixed male rats (bucks) together with no fighting, which is quite the opposite of how keeping mice bucks together would result in.

HungryGhost · Mar 2, 2015

I would venture to guess that a rabbit forum would be a better place to seek advise. Try this one:
http://www.rabbitsonline.net

Bunny care

Jones0911

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pyro fiend

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