rabbits as pets and problems if any
By anupverma
@anupverma (139)
India
December 19, 2006 11:12pm CST
I own many rabbits and as far as i know, there isn't any problem with them except their urine which is highly acidic in nature and whitens the floor as patches on drying.
1 response
@Pigglies (9329)
• United States
20 Dec 06
Oh there are tons of possible problems! I don't even know where to start. If not spayed, a problem could be uterine cancer. If males aren't neutered, spraying that urine could be a problem. If not fed a proper diet (or if you're unlucky and don't get a rabbit with good genetics), all sorts of teeth problems can crop up. The list goes on and on!And then of course, there is also the problem of overpopulation. Both the kind like with feral rabbits in Australia, or like in the United States with a large number of pet rabbits euthanized in animal shelters because there are just too many since some people don't spay/neuter.
I don't think rabbits are very cheap pets because they can require so much, and usually their trips to the vet cost more than a dog or cat because it's harder to find a vet for them.
See www.rabbit.org for more info on rabbits.
1 person likes this
@cheddah22 (28)
•
20 Dec 06
This is all true. Rabbits are not cheap pets because they require a lot of care and can get sick easily. You have to think about their exercise and whether they need a run; they don't travel well so you need a pet sitter for holidays; 50-80% of female rabbits over 2 years get uterine cancer so they need to be altered at a young age. Male and female rabbits become agressive after puberty (is that the right word for rabbits) so even males need to be neutered. Having said all this though, rabbits are fun to keep and quite easy to look after as long as you are prepared to spend time with them every day and let them have time out of their hutch/cage (at least 2 hours a day). Rabbits also hate being picked up and some don't even like being petted so they can be dissappointing pets for some people and not very appropriate for children. I love my baby rabbits!
@cheddah22 (28)
•
20 Dec 06
That's true, having 2 rabbits is ideal because they don't get lonely and get less bored. I probably don't spend 2 hours every day with my rabbits, but they do come out of their hutch for play time for more than 2 hours each day. Sometimes they just don't want to come out and that's fine, they stay in on those days. Today they were very excited to get out. Funny little things. The linoleum-dog run idea is a good one.
@Pigglies (9329)
• United States
5 Jan 07
With the linoleum puppy pen setup, if I don't have time to allow them to run around the house, then at least they still have plenty of room to get exercise (I have my pens at 16 square feet each, but I'm thinking of making that larger when I can finally introduce these two).
