With their big personalities, small size and (usually) gentle, social nature, rabbits make ideal additions to many households. How your rabbit lives and how you handle and interact with it are keys to ensuring a long, happy relationship. This article discusses how to achieve that.
Note: Some warnings in this article may sound overcautious. After all, many rabbits do well with a wide variety of living situations and diets. As a veterinarian, however, I often see what can happen when things go wrong, so I’m presenting all the possible risks and listing the most strict ideal so you can decide what is best for your bunny.
Home Sweet Home
More and more pet rabbits are living indoors and, from a health perspective, this seems to be ideal. Outdoor rabbits are exposed to diseases of wild rabbits, including bacterial infections, fleas and ticks, and the deadly Encephalitozoon cuniculi parasite. Predators like raccoons can be ingenious at breaking into hutches or grabbing a limb through cage wires, which can severely injure or kill a hutch bunny.
For the full article, pick up the 2012 issue of Critters USA or click here to buy the issue.