Before You Buy Your First Rabbit Decide How You Will House Him

There’s lots of reasons why a rabbit makes a wonderful pet. Rabbits don’t eat a lot, aren’t expensive to buy, can be housetrained and are loved by children and adults alike. But before you get your rabbit there are some decisions to make, and one of the first decisions is whether he will be an indoors rabbit or whether he will live outdoors in a rabbit hutch.

It’s correct that you can keep rabbits indoors or outdoors, though you need to think about different things in either case. A rabbit is generally kept in a rabbit hutch, or rabbit cage, and you can keep your rabbit like this either indoors or outdoors.

If you’re looking to buy your first rabbit you should make some decisions about his housing before you buy anything. You should be aware for example that most rabbit hutches sold in pet shops or on the Internet are too small. He should be able to take at least 3 consecutive hops and be able to stand up in a hutch. Therefore it should be at least 6-7 feet long and 18 inches high. Many commercial hutches are way smaller than this, and it’s very sad to see rabbits cooped up in tiny cages.

If you have an outdoors rabbit you must give him a rabbit cage that gives him total protection from predators. Predators such as dogs or foxes are extremely wily and will exploit any weaknesses in a cage to get at your little furry friend. As well as protection from predators it must have a weatherproof sleeping area as well as an exercise area that is covered in so he can play during the day.

If you do have a very small hutch it’s important to provide a dedicated rabbit run near or around the hutch so that he can play in a much bigger space during the day which is also protected.

And if your rabbit is to be an indoors pet it is not important to have a roof on the hutch, and a roof inhibits cleaning, so unless you have a pet cats in the house a roof is not important. But he will still need his own private sleeping area.

It is best to avoid placing his cage near open windows, or glass areas, which can become extremely hot or cold at certain times of the season. And you should also avoid placing his housing anywhere near gas appliances which can emit toxic fumes.

And there is no reason why, if you have the space, you should not give your rabbit an entire room of his own provided it is thoroughly checked for hazards such as small holes in which he may get stuck.

Undoubtedly rabbits make great pets, but do some careful thinking and make some serious decisions, in particular about his housing, before you buy your first rabbit.