Ask the Expert: Domestic Rabbits

How do I litter train my rabbit?
from Pierce O., Chicago, IL

First of all, the rabbit has to be spayed or neutered.  If you don’t do this, the rabbit will continue to mark its territory by urinating all over the house.  Once your rabbit is “fixed,” it’s a snap to litter train!  You can use several things as a litter box itself: One obvious option is a small or large size cat litter box.  You can also use an appropriately sized plastic under-the-bed storage container or the plastic bottom of a guinea pig cage.  Try checking your local Craig’s List to see if anybody is getting rid of their cage.  Just make sure that depending on the size of your rabbit, make sure you get one that will be big enough to hold your rabbit with some room to spare.

Next, fill the litter box with good old Timothy hay ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP.  Don’t skimp on the hay!  Place your rabbit’s food and water containers at the far edge of the litter pan, inside, on top of the hay.  Your rabbit will gleefully hop in, snarf hay, munch food, slurp water, and go to the bathroom all at the same time!  Your bunny will not eat soiled hay or food, and when it’s time (usually 3-4 days) just empty your hay-filled litter box into a compost pile or your trash can.

If you don’t have a compost pile going, this might be a good time to start one!  Bunny poop is the world’s best fertilizer, and combined with the hay it makes fantastic compost.  Check with your local gardening center to see if there is an organization around you that could use your bunny’s soiled litter for their compost pile.

My precious bunny Riley is 5 years old and I’m worried that he might be getting old! How long do rabbits usually live?
from Amy, Akron, OH

Well, Amy, the new statistics show that a rabbit’s life span is 7-14 years, due in no small part to the incredible care given to our house rabbits, and by advances in bunny medicine.  If Riley is 5 years old (go Riley!!!), then it would be wise to trundle him off to the vet for a baseline in bloodwork.  This will show us how his kidneys and liver are doing and help warn of any possible future problems.  You might want to revisit his diet as when our bunnies age, they don’t need the same caloric intake as when they were younger and more rambunctious.  We have a whole section on geriatric bunnies, so please visit that for more information on diet and exercise…  But your Riley isn’t ready for the Bunny Assisted Care Center yet!

I love having my rabbit run all over the house, and I don’t have a cage set up for her.  Does she really need a cage?  Am I depriving her of some basic necessity since she doesn’t have a cage to go to?
from DevAnn M., Flower Mound, TX

Absolutely not!  Congratulations on knowing the boundless joy of having a house rabbit!  What a cage provides is security and a place to hold food, water, and a place to go to the bathroom.  What you might want to do is get a large cardboard box, tuck in or cut off the flaps, turn it upside-down, cut out a keyhole, and voila!  You have a rabbit castle!  Feel free to decorate as you desire.  This will provide her with a wonderful little hidey hole to hang out in during the day — and to chew on to her heart’s delight!

Are there any toys I can get for my rabbit to play with?  Do rabbits even play with toys at all?
from Lee W., Vancouver, WA

Rabbits love to play, you just have to think in bunny terms instead of dog and cat terms.  Stop at your local pet supply store and ask if they have any round balls made of wood.

Wicker balls may be available in the small animal or bird section of your local pet supply store.

Rabbits love to throw things, and if he can get his teeth on it, cock his head, and throw it, you’ll be very impressed at how much they’ll play!  Toilet paper/paper towel tubes stuffed with hay and little bits of carrot make a wonderful toy as well.  You can also look for plastic cat toys with jingle bells in them.  They don’t play like cats and dogs do; theirs is more of a curiosity-driven play.  So hide-and-seek some things for your rabbit!  Bunnies also like to play “tag, you’re it” where they come over and bonk you, and then run away.  Your role in this game is to be the bonkee, and the rabbit is the bonker.  Upon being bonked, get up and chase your rabbit gleefully down the hallway!  Rabbits do this in the wild to help hone their predator-prey instincts, so playing with your rabbit on his terms is psychologically healthy for him, and lots of fun for you.

Why does my rabbit seem to sleep all day?  Is something wrong with him?
from Lewis V., San Francisco, CA

Nothing is wrong with your bunny.  Ok, get ready, I’m going to use big words here.  Because of their natural history, rabbits have a behavior that is associated with the time of day.  Rabbits tend to sleep or lounge during daylight hours, coming awake around 4 in the afternoon, and staying pretty darn active until the early morning hours.  This is known as corpuscular behavior, which means they are neither diurnal (day-active) nor nocturnal (night-active) animals.  They are fulfilling a vital part of their natural history because when they were wild bunnies, they would forage for food at dawn and dusk (when there is dew on the grass).  What’s great about this is that they are just waking up when you get home from school or work, ready to participate in the evening’s events (which, of course, all revolve around them)!  However, if your rabbit seems more lethargic than usual, not interested in his food or playtime, then it might be time to call a rabbit professional or visit your vet.

My rabbit, Suzie, loves helping me eat my fruits and veggies.  I’m wondering, though, if there are there any toxic foods or plants that I should avoid giving her?
from Jessica D., San Bernadino, CA

Yes, Jessica, there certainly are!  Watch out for dark green, glossy-leafed plants as they traditionally are bad news for bunnies.  This would include some common houseplants like wandering jew, swedish ivy, and pathos (philodendron).  I would suggest hanging houseplants or just keeping them out of reach and out of the tumble zone from your bunny.  You can visit rabbit.org for a comprehensive list of what fruits, veggies, and plants your bunny should not eat.

Philodendron and other waxy-leafed plants are bad news for bunnies.

Can I have more than one rabbit in my house?  I’d really like to get a playmate for my rabbit Sidney but how do I know if they’ll get along?
from Billy, Katy, TX

Oh, yes, please!  He would love you forever!  Ok, this can go a good way or a bad way.  When you have a single rabbit, that rabbit is bonded to YOU, because you are his companion.  When you bring another bunny into the mix, then you are going to change the bunny equation permanently.  Which isn’t a bad thing!  You see, you can’t groom his ears, nose, face, and mouth or put your head under his chin for attention.  But another bunny can!  So what you are doing is giving him what all bunnies love most: Another bunny.  Together, they will romp, play, sleep on each other, and be constant companions for the rest of their lives.  It’s a wonderful thing to see.  As long as you stay involved with your bunnies and give equal attention to both, the world will be good.

A huge word of warning: Unless they are siblings, I advise you to not put two males together, even if they are both neutered.  Rabbits can and do fight to the death, and there is no reason to do that to your bunnies.  Girls are also territorial, but it is much less likely to cause problems having two girls together than two boys as long as both are spayed and have been for a time.  See our section on how to introduce a second rabbit into the mix for more information.

My rabbit is pulling all of his hair out on his back!  What’s wrong?
from Steve T., NC

Uh oh!  Let’s take a look at this.  Do you see a white, powdery, flaky substance like dandruff on his back?  Does the fur come out really easily?  Are the bald areas running along the spine down to the base of the tail?  Bingo, we have walking dandruff, otherwise known as skin mites.

Evidence of skin mites on a rex rabbit denoted by fur loss parallel to spine

Close-up of "walking dandruff" or evidence of skin mites, shown on a rex rabbit

This isn’t something to try to do at home, and please do not bathe your rabbit!  He needs to go see your vet who will diagnose the disease and prescribe the appropriate treatment.  Skin mites are most likely in this situation, but another culprit could be (gasp!) fleas if you don’t see the white dandruff.  You can tell it’s fleas by the “flea dirt” around the base of the fur, which looks like tiny cracked pepper.  Don’t panic, fleas are not uncommon, and the very very best way to get rid of them is to purchase Advantage for kittens and cats under 9 lbs.  This is a topical spot treatment that you place between your rabbit’s shoulder blades, following the instructions on the package.  If it is indeed fleas, then you will have to treat the house appropriately.  To read more about home flea treatments, see our section on home and yard treatment for fleas.

Do I really have to brush my rabbit?
from Donna, White Plains, NY

Yes, you do!  I have found that a cat slicker brush, the Furminator, and curry combs for cats are the best tools for taking out your rabbit’s dense undercoat.  Rabbits molt 2-3 times a year and rabbits that are housed exclusively indoors lose track of their internal seasonal clock.  Rabbit molts start at the nose and progress up the head and down the back.  If you do not brush your rabbit, the likelihood of him ingesting too much loose fur can and does lead to stomach impaction and stoppage of the gut, otherwise known as fur block or stasis.  This disease has taken more sweet companions than any other in the bunny world.  So you can see, a little bonding time with your rabbit will actually help keep him happy and healthy!

My rabbit urinated on the kitchen floor and his urine is dark orange!  Does that mean there’s blood in it?  Do I need to take him to the vet?
from Matt D., Little Elm, TX

No, Matt, put your horses back in the corral!  If it is truly a dark orange color, then that is just excess proteins spilling out in the urine.  A rabbit’s urine is compositionally and physically different each time it comes out.  The orange color just means that you might want to look at his diet and assess how much protein he is getting.  It’s nothing to worry about, but if you see it often then it might be time to take your bunny to the vet for a urinalysis, just to make sure.

I just caught my rabbit eating an avocado, which I read is toxic to them.  I know rabbits cannot vomit, so what do I do now?
from Justin A., Camden, NJ

Don’t offer him tortilla chips and salsa!  The bit of the avocado that is closest to the peel is actually the most poisonous, so please, no more sharing your guacamole with Pancho!  Depending on how much avocado was eaten, you just need to keep an eye on him for any out-of-the-norm behavior, and if you are really worried, take him to the vet.  A rabbit is related physiologically to a horse, and can and will colic just like a horse will.  This means that when he has a tummy ache, the bad stomach contents can’t go anywhere.  If your rabbit is sitting in the corner hunched up and looking none too happy with the world, chances are he has a tummy ache.  This condition does warrant a visit to your vet.

What does it mean when my rabbit runs in circles around me and makes a grunting sound?  Is she trying to get attention or food or does this mean something bad?
from Jennifer C., Denton, TX

Well, Jennifer, it looks like it’s time to spay your bunny!  She is exhibiting mating behavior.  If your rabbit is at least 4 months old, she can be spayed by a qualified, rabbit-savvy vet.  Since you are in our neck of the woods, be sure to check our list of approved rabbit vets in the DFW metroplex.  This adorable but annoying behavior will quickly disappear.

I’ve heard that neutering my rabbit will make him a better pet, but it’s so expensive! Is it really worth it?
from William N., Gresham, OR

Completely worth it.  As your rabbit ages, the likelihood of him contracting testicular cancer (or for the girls, ovarian or uterine cancer) is very high.  Tons of unwanted behaviors will dramatically decrease or disappear when rabbits are either spayed or neutered.  The benefits of having them “fixed” or altered outweigh everything 10 to 1.  You will have a more affectionate, easy-going, litter trained companion.  So get over it, and get it done!  Just make sure that you find a well-experienced, rabbit-savvy vet to do the surgery.  If you need help finding a rabbit vet in your area, please let us know!