Easter is coming up soon so I thought it would be a good time to put out a blog post about my experience owning rabbits, and some misconceptions of owning rabbits. This is also a small tribute to my two rabbits who I’ve had for about 3 years now.
**Before I begin, I just want to clarify that not everyone would have the same routine as I do with my rabbits. While doing research before I went to bring the two rabbits home, I had sort of realized that there wasn’t a solid template on rabbit care. There were basic (but kind of vague) templates, but other than that, the majority were personal routines and etc. So I worked with what I found to make a routine that worked best with my rabbits and I.**
One misconception about rabbits (that I even believed at some point): Rabbits make good “starter” pets.
This is one of the biggest “nopes” out there lol, when I was much younger (before I had my rabbits) I had thought that rabbits just needed carrots, water, a cage and wood shavings. The carrot part is mostly due to binge-watching bugs bunny in a lot of Looney Tunes episodes before school. However, they need much more than that. They need hay (the biggest part of their diet), pellets (a slightly smaller part of their diet than hay), other fruits and veggies, certain non-aromatic wood shavings and most importantly (in my opinion), room to run around and play.
This is one of the biggest “nopes” out there lol, when I was much younger (before I had my rabbits) I had thought that rabbits just needed carrots, water, a cage and wood shavings. The carrot part is mostly due to binge-watching bugs bunny in a lot of Looney Tunes episodes before school. However, they need much more than that. They need hay (the biggest part of their diet), pellets (a slightly smaller part of their diet than hay), other fruits and veggies, certain non-aromatic wood shavings and most importantly (in my opinion), room to run around and play.
Another thing to note is that your rabbit’s cage has to be around or past a certain size (I think it also depends on the size of the bun), I just remember that it has to have enough room (vertically) for the bun to stand on their hind legs.
Some foods also need to be limited to rabbits, especially carrots because apparently they eventually cause diabetes in rabbits.
Personal Experience Owning Rabbits
Personally, I do agree that rabbits are not good starter pets. Usually around Easter, rabbits are commonly bought for children with the thought that they’ll be easy to take care of and cuddly for their children. Unfortunately a few weeks later those rabbits are typically dumped at various locations from parks to shelters, after they find out that they aren’t the easy pets they’re thought to be.
Not all rabbits share the same temperament, so while some people believe that they’ll warm up to their new kid owners, not all of them will. Of my two rabbits, Ash is loveable, super affectionate, loves to lick anyone and nearly anything, and is willing to cuddle. However, winter, my other rabbit, is somewhat mean. She took the longest to get used to her new home with us, and won’t always tolerate petting or cuddling.
She does however, allow me to hold her long enough to trim her nails, and to hand feed her (sometimes). Cleaning their cage is a whole different thing though, sometimes my rabbits get grumpy at me if I muss up their “property” too much so I spot clean their cage every day. Then depending on how the rest of their cage fares I then, fully clean their cage.
In the end, I don’t regret getting my rabbits because I was somewhat prepared to take on the challenge of being responsible for two loaves (bunnies). However, it wasn’t an easy ride to befriend my rabbits, nor was it easy researching the little gaps of information that I didn’t know I would later need. I had a little head start with owning hamsters years before I had my rabbits , and they were similar to take care of yet also a little more challenging in their own way.
In the end I do advise against getting a rabbit for a young child during Easter, however if you do get one, please be patient and guide your child (or etc.) on how to properly take care of their new pet. With time, rabbits do eventually become ingrained in family life, and there are also benefits to owning them (they almost act like composters, not really, but kinda). But take your time doing some research and planning before you go out to add a little rabbit to your family.
