Reptile & Amphibian Forums

First off, I'm a snake guy. My wife and daughter are taking care of my animals while I'm in Iraq. I plan on getting my daughter (10 yrs old)a bunny when I get home as a reward for caring for my critters ( it was a test to see how responsable she was). I have all the basic questions...I have no equipment except for a small rabit cage and it won't live in there ( it was to house baby wild rabbits for a week or so).
What are the best beginner bunnies? Whats the best way to house them? What are the cuteset kind ( I don't want to be tempted to you know......the snakes an all....)
If you don't want to write a paper on this, just pop me some good links to go to.
And lastly, I saw a GIANT rabbit at Bush Gardens once, who has those? ( They wouldn't fit.....you know, the snakes...
Thanks in advance, Blue: Blue's Bayou Reptiles and a bunny.

Hellos!

Don't worry, I'm a reptile lover too, and you can definatly learn to love fluffy little bunnies too!

Usually rabbits arn't recomended for childrens pets. Parents get them thinking that they wont take much care, but they require the same amount of love and attention as any cat or dog. I'm sure your daughter is responsable, but just make sure there is someone in the house to take care of the rabbit if for some reason she doesn't.

As for a cage, I use creative cubes ...I got mine at Target for only about $15. They're made to make shelves or storage units but also make great bunny cages! You can make the cage however complex or large as you want them. Here is a site so you can get an idea of what I mean...

http://members.aol.com/bunrabtoo/neatcubs.html

Rabbits can be litter box trained as well, so if you can't make it a huge cage, it can come out for exercise.

As for what the best kind of rabbit is, it really depends on what your looking for. I personally wanted a smaller breed of rabbit, so the two I considered were Neitherland dwarfs and holland lops. I ended up getting a Neitherland dwarf because they are the smallest breed, but usually have a very hyper playful personality. Think of what would be good for you...you can start with what size you would like, then reseach the diffrent breeds that fit into that size range. If you have any ideas what you think you might want let me know and I might be able to suggest some breeds.

If you think you might want a breed that gets fairly large, I would suggest you look into sum of these...

Large - 9 to 11 lbs (4.1-5 kg)
American
American Chinchilla
Beveren
Californian
Champagne d'Argent
Cinnamon
Creme d'Argent
English Lop
Giant Angora
Hotot
New Zealand
Palomino
Satin
Silver Fox

Giant - 11 lbs (5 kg) and over
Checkered Giant
Flemish Giant (Patagonian)
French Lop
Giant Chinchilla

And I'd also like to suggest that you consider adopting a rabbit from a shelter. Alot of people don't know that shelters get in tons of rabbits! If you buy from a pet store, you'll usually end up paying around $50, but then anywhere from another $50 to over $500 in vet bills to get the rabbit fixed. Female rabbits that arn't spayed have a 80% chance of getting cancer of the reproductive organs. If you adopt a rabbit from a shelter, most places charge around $60 for adoption fees and they already come spayed or neughtered. So you save tons of money in vet bills and save a bunny!

If you tell me what area your in I could try to find some shelters near you that have rabbits.

Good luck, if you have any more questions feel free to ask!

Thanks for the help dustbunny, I looked into the Flemish giants already, those are cool! I live in south eastern NC if you can find some where around there we would prefer to adopt. It's either that or buy one from the 4H kids at the next county fair. Thanks again, Blue

I don't know if any of these are around you but you could take a look at some of these shelters...

http://www.adoptapet.com/RABBITS/US/NC/NAME/1

Sorry forgot to add this!

You can also search on

http://www.petfinder.com/

Good luck!

Awsome! Thanks. Go figure, I went to petfinder.com and there was a bunny....I mean rabbit adoption center in ...my neghborhood! I use there drive way as a turn around spot when I run, they exactly 3.2 miles away from the end of my driveway..and I didn't even know......Thanks again, you rock, Blue

Awesome, I'm glad you found a place to adopt from so close. Good luck finding a bunny!