Beginners guide to rabbitsPart 2 What you need to buy

Beginners guide to rabbitsPart 2 What you need before getting a rabbit:
REUPLOAD!! Sorry but my page got some troubles and erased part of this post and pictures, this is the updated and restore version!

Either if you are planning to adpot your bunny from a shelter or get it from a breeder. There’s some stuff you need to get set. As most shelters ask you to have everything your pet might need ready at least one week before bringing your new friend home.

So before we decide which rabbit to adopt we bought everything we knew our new bunny needed, so here is my bunny starter kit list:

♡Litter tray (this is optional, some people even use cat litter trays, but it’s important you can have something that will delimited or mark the section of the cage  you want them to poop, as it would make it easier for you to litter train your bunny)

☆Rabbit nail cutter:  I got mine from the small pet secction at the pet store, but some say you can use cat nail trimmers,, I never trim my cats nails before so I never owned a cat nail cutter, but I’ll show you a picture of the one I got as the package explicitly said its for Guinea pigs and rabbits.
☆Nibbling toys:  Paper rolls, wooden toys, apple tree sticks and willow.

☆☆This items are extremely important as your bunny needs to have their nails and teeth trim. Bunny teeth never stops growing, and with the breed  of Netherlands dwarf rabbits their upper and bottom teeth are not  aligned, making it not able to stop the growth of them as in other breeds☆☆

♡Water bottle or plate: Some people prefer plates over bottles, because bottles are supposedly more difficult to clean, but with plates you have to constantly check your pet don’t drop food inside and make sure he/she always have fresh and clean water available.
♡Food plates (the most often advice I got all the time when I was researching for to which type of plates to get for your bunny is, do not get plastic plates, it might be cheaper at first, but bunnies like to chew on plastic stuff and it might hurt their tummy or destroy a brand new plate)
♡Pellets (please check my previous post for advices in which type of pellets you should buy or ask which one is your bunny currently eating)

♡Hay
Please read my previous post in which hay type you should get according to your rabbit age.

☆☆Click here to check the previous post☆☆

♡Litter/bedding = hay, straw, wood shaving, paper bedding 
♡Cage (one of the most important ones, decide first where you are going to keep your rabbit, inside or out, if you are getting a hutch for your garden please do as much research as you can, and do not try to get the cheapest one, have into consideration that he or she has to live outside expose to all kind of weather and predators, yes, you have to keep your bunny safe from foxes, cats and ferrets, get a strong one and please do not harm an animal in order to protect another have in mind that foxes and other feral animals used to live where you house is now built, so be fair) (● ˃̶͈̀ロ˂̶͈́)੭ꠥ⁾⁾ other tip is do not buy the cage or hutch before knowing the size of your pet, meet the bunny first and if it’s from a breeder ask to see the bunny parents, they are not the  same size, but you can get a rough idea of how much it can grow. 

Ideal  dimensions for a cage:

3-4ft= 120 cm
18 x 24 x 14 inches = 45 x 60 x 35.5 cm
4 x 2 x 2 feet = 121 x 60x 60 cm
☆☆ I got the first measurements  from one lady that rescues and breeds dwarf rabbits. The other two are from the website, House Rabbit Society http://rabbit.org/ from an article they did using information from two articles of universities in USA. 

♡Travel cage (I got mix reviews about wether getting a cardboard box or a travel cage, if the bunny get nervous on the way home she or he might not be able to hold their pee and most boxes will get wet, ruined and might wet you (　ﾟдﾟ),my advice is to research the many types or carriers available for rabbits and buying the one most suitable for your pet, and have into consideration that you need to take your rabbit to the vet for checkups the same as you would do it with a cat or dog, so getting a travel cage might be more convenient)

♡ Soft grooming brush (Other common tip when it comes to brushes for rabbits, buy a plastic one, not the metal ones, as the bunny skin is more sensitive than the one from cats and dogs, and they need a softer brush)

 

Next I’ll show you my Bunny starter kit:

Litter tray

My bunny breed is The smallest breed, so I got a this type of litter tray, some do not recommend this kind for larger bunnies, but I don’t mind buying a bigger one in the future.

 

Rabbit nail cutter

Nibbling toys

There’s many types of toys you can make our buy for your bunny, cardboard toilet rolls are ok, as long as you always pay attention that they do not eat the part with the glue, most common ones are wooden toys, and branches, such as apple tree branches, or toys made out of willow tree, do not buy or diy toys made out of woods that are fragrant or a mixture or woods.

Water bottle or plate:

Remember to wash any plate or bottle before using it to feed your rabbit, the cage I got came with a bottle, and my bunny is used to drinking from this kind of bottles, remember to constantly wash the plates, specially the one you use for water as it can get mouldy, or just imagine your mom feeding you from the same plates and glasses over and over again without washing them!!! ((((；ﾟДﾟ)))))))

Food plates:

The cage I bought came with a plastic bowl, that I’m not going to use it for my rabbit. So I decide it to get this super cute ceramic bowls.

I got one for each type of food I’m giving my rabbit.

One for her vegetables

Pellets

And the smallest one for her ocasional treats, fruits this is one of the foods you should give the least to your bunny, as this are high in calories and sugars.

Pellets

Cage

Is important that the cage has room for your rabbit to go to the toilet, eat, drink, play, hide and sleep.
Also the tips I got from the shelter is that baby dwarf rabbits are very small so they do not need a big cage that might overwhelm them, or the ones with ladders and high places from where they can easily fall down and harm themselves.

This cage comes with a section that works as a hiding and sleeping are, and on top it can be use as feeding space is not very tall but in any case that I see my bunny struggling to go up or down I’ll remove it and replace it with a bunny bed.

Travel cage:

I got a slightly small pet carrier, I think is for small rabbits and ginnie pigs, I chose to buy  a smallest one first, to secure my bunny won’t be like a pea in a bucket, my sister got a big carrier for her kitty,I looked after her for a couple of weeks and when it was time to give her back to my sister I notice the kitty was stumbling and with the slightest move she would fly from side to side, and she wasn’t very comfortable.

 
So to avoid that I preferred to buy a small one, don’t mind buying a bigger one later, as I’m thinking about buying a cat traveling bag.

 Soft grooming brush: I still have to buy a soft brush, I went to 2 pet stores and they only have the ones with metal bristles >: /.

Thank you for reading, and sorry I had to reupload my post and lost some of your likes :(, but the app I use to edit my posts got crazy and delete all the pictures and info.

And please follow me if you want to meet and know more about my rabbit, as I’ll be constanlty posting videos and pictures of her.

 

♡Love, Eden&Ai♡