Anyone have experience with lop-eared bunnies/rabbits?

[Saint Nick]

My girl wants a pet so bad, either a couple kittens or a bunny. Her birthday is coming up, so I am thinking about getting her one or the other. I have owned a cat before so I know how to take care of them, but not so sure about a rabbit.

After reading online, it doesn't sound like it is terribly difficult. And because they are creatures of habit (as most), it is easy to train them to use the bathroom in a specified area. I'm also interested if you are able to take them outside. The neighborhood rabbits are so quick, I am concerned it could possibly take off.

Looking to hear some personal ownership stories or care tips for lop-earned bunnies.

 

[sdifox]

Wabbits stink though.

Depending on the climate of where you live, you maybe able to keep them outdoors in a cage.

 

[Saint Nick]

I am really concerned with the smell. She doesn't think it would stink, I think otherwise. I feel that kittens will be more fun and be easier to maintain.

 

[sdifox]

go to a pet store and smell them first

btw, you don't have neighbourhood rabbits, you have hares and they are damn fast. Pets won't be like that since you tend to overfeed them.

Tell her that if it stinks there will be a rabbit on a spit for dinner :biggrin:

 

[Blackjack200]

I had rabbits growing up, and IMO they are pretty poor pets. They shit constantly, which is not a big deal if they are in their cage since they will indeed use whatever litterbox you provide, but if you let it hop around the house you will find rabbit shit all over the place.

They are also not really playful like a kitten or cat, and they will always be afraid of you - it's their instinct to run from anything that moves.

Still, they're cute, generally well tempered, and unlike a dog or cat, you can just leave it in its cage while you go on vacation, as long as it has food and water.

 

[mike2fix]

They get freakin' huge, unless you get a mini-lop and they kick like mules.

 

[lytalbayre]

They also chew the heck out of any wood furniture you have.... includes door jambs, and molding...

 

[protocol167]

I'd get a turtle and glue some ears to it and call it a rabbit turtle hybrid.

 

[brainhulk]

keep your man card. lop eared pitbull ftw

 

[alien42]

They also chew the heck out of any wood furniture you have.... includes door jambs, and molding...

they also chew electrical cables and cords.

 

[thegimp03]

My wife had a lop when she was growing up. It ended up getting huge. Also, it's lifespan wasn't too long...

 

[DrPizza]

Rabbits are easily trained to use a litter box just like a cat. They don't smell, unless they're sitting inside a cage directly on top of litter that contains their wastes. A litter box takes care of that.

 

[Saint Nick]

Do the rabbits care if the litter box is cat litter or grass? Everyone online is using grass, but how would that absorb the stench?

 

[Cheesetogo]

I've had a number of rabbits. Assuming you clean out the cage at least once a week, you shouldn't have an issue with smell. I agree with Blackjack though -- they really don't do anything besides hop around and look cute. They don't show affection towards humans like some other animals do.

 

[rasczak]

Wabbits stink though.

Depending on the climate of where you live, you maybe able to keep them outdoors in a cage.

mine never stunk. it's their piss that stinks. so long as you clean their litter like you would any other pet, then you should have no problems.

as an aside, I had my rabbit trained to use a cat box.

 

[Theb]

We had an indoor rabbit. It chewed everything; the baseboards, shoes, electric cords, everything, it even chewed holes in the linoleum and carpet. Occasionally it would chew on the toys we got it at the pet store, but it really preferred to chew on more expensive things.

We lived at a place with a small fenced yard so we let it go outside sometimes. It loved being outside and would race around and do really high hops in the air.

The smell wasn't bad at all, it had a large cage and it would use one side of it. We cleaned it out once a week or so. The cage had a base layer of kitty litter with a top layer of wood chips.

It was a fun pet, if it hadn't destroyed everything I'd be happy to get another one.

 

[sdifox]

mine never stunk. it's their piss that stinks. so long as you clean their litter like you would any other pet, then you should have no problems.

as an aside, I had my rabbit trained to use a cat box.

I still prefer them outside.

 

[Blackjack200]

I still prefer them outside.

There are lots of hawks and falcons in my neighborhood. I don't think a pet rabbit would last very long outside D::thumbsup:

 

[0roo0roo]

I had rabbits growing up, and IMO they are pretty poor pets. They shit constantly, which is not a big deal if they are in their cage since they will indeed use whatever litterbox you provide, but if you let it hop around the house you will find rabbit shit all over the place.

They are also not really playful like a kitten or cat, and they will always be afraid of you - it's their instinct to run from anything that moves.

Still, they're cute, generally well tempered, and unlike a dog or cat, you can just leave it in its cage while you go on vacation, as long as it has food and water.

Yea rabbits are decorative pets, like birds pretty much, while you can pet them, dealing with a cage and constant piss and shit makes it a chore. Animals that can't be easily house trained....just aren't as good.

On the flip side you can always eat the bunny, but well, that says it all in ranking the animals.

 

[sdifox]

There are lots of hawks and falcons in my neighborhood. I don't think a pet rabbit would last very long outside D::thumbsup:

In a cage, not free roaming...you do let them out when you are out back. I would never keep a pet (other than fish I guess) indoors since they stink and it is too cruel to keep them out in the winter.

 

[El Guaraguao]

A rabbit? How old is she? 8?

 

[classy]

We had an indoor rabbit. It chewed everything; the baseboards, shoes, electric cords, everything, it even chewed holes in the linoleum and carpet. Occasionally it would chew on the toys we got it at the pet store, but it really preferred to chew on more expensive things.

We lived at a place with a small fenced yard so we let it go outside sometimes. It loved being outside and would race around and do really high hops in the air.

The smell wasn't bad at all, it had a large cage and it would use one side of it. We cleaned it out once a week or so. The cage had a base layer of kitty litter with a top layer of wood chips.

It was a fun pet, if it hadn't destroyed everything I'd be happy to get another one.

Same thing for us. He didn't live long, died after 3 years, but he was sickly from the very beginning. But he did destroy everything. They will chew on anything. I am still amazed he didn't get electrocuted, because he chew through a cord that was still plugged in. They need lots of room and would fair much better outside.

 

[blinblue]

I've had a rabbit for the past couple years. Not a bad pet at all, certainly 'lower' than a cat in terms of affection and personality. But rabbits are easier and cheaper to take care of. And our rabbit does show affection, she'll come up to us and wait for us to pat her head, she'll lick our fingers while we are holding her. Don't expect the same level of intelligence as a dog or a cat, but they do have some personality and they are really really cute.

Smell isn't bad, their poops are basically odorless and very easy to clean. Their urine on the other hand is awful. It stains orange and it smells quite strongly. However they do tend to stick to one area to pee/poop (though ours isn't perfect at it) so the litter box takes care of most of it.

We don't let her free reign of the house. She stays either in her cage, or trapped in the bathroom (the rest of our house has carpet and it would very easily stain from her pee). She does come sit on our laps sometimes when we are watching the TV. We also have a harness that we can put on her to take her outside. Can't really 'walk' her, she mostly just hops around a bit and then finds some shade to lay down in. Still really cute though

Also, its easy to find people to take care of her when we go on vacation. If needed you can keep her in her cage and pretty much forget about her. Try doing that with a cat or a dog.

Anyway, best of luck, and don't rush into pet ownership, these things stay around for a while and its your job to keep them happy and healthy.

 

[Texashiker]

I had rabbits growing up, and IMO they are pretty poor pets. They shit constantly,

Rabbit poop makes good fertilizer

My girl wants a pet so bad, either a couple kittens or a bunny.

Rabbits make no noise, they mass produce free fertilizer, and when your tired of taking care of it, you can eat the rabbit. But for some reason people frown on eating cats.

 

[lord_emperor]

Rabbits are cute and all, but all they do is eat, sleep and cuddle, A cat can do all those, play and kill pests for you.