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Posts: 1,277My sister is thinking of getting a bunny as a pet. She'd like to get a smaller sized one so I was wondering if Kassie or any other bunny experts might be able to point us in the right direction. Thanks!
Kim-Bee BearsA mini rex bunny is the my answer. They are tiny :)
Here is a link with more info... http://animal-world.com/encyclo/critter … inirex.php
Back Road BearsI've had mini lops and dwarf netherlands. The netherlands, in my experience, are quick, more active, harder to catch when you want to and aren't as cuddly. My mini lop was a love, easy to litterbox train and loved to cuddle. Just easier, more laid back. If I had it to do over I'd get another lop. Just a warning... it's hard to tell the sex at a very young age in case this makes a difference!!
Posts: 1,277Thank you, girls, for your advice. Every lit bit will help.
Lisa, I remember my mom got a bunny for my little brother years ago. We got one from a pet store and he was supposed to be a dwarf...yeah right! He turned into a really BIG bunny!
Flying Fur StudiosYeah, I was gonna say be carefull. I worked at pet store for many years.
It can be tough to know what you're getting. Oftent that 'dwarf' lop will be 12 lbs. And an animal that big really can't live in a cage, or at least a small one.
If you really need a dwarf, try and find a breeder, see the parents, or check or ask the pet store about where they get thier bunnies. If they don't have good info for you, find another pet store. You would be suprised where alot of their animals come from.
Good luck! Show us pictures of your cutie
Posts: 1,277Yes, good advice, Heather! After getting a not-so-dwarf from the pet store, I'll look around and try to find a breeder.
Back Road BearsIts just like buying a dog!!!
Posts: 1,277Yes, aside from fish, I wouldn't buy anything from a pet store.
Baird'sBears
Sandi,
I'd suggest checking in at your local HumSoc or animal shelter. You might not find a baby, but most bunnies will get used to careful handling, and you might have the opportunity to handle several, to find out which is friendliest. Very few like to be held for a long time, though--lap sitting is something else, if it's their idea!
My Toby and Lily are both Humane Society adoptees. One great advantage is that they've both been neutered. I've been told that ths means they'll live longer with fewer health problems.
I've had mini-lops, big whites, a variety of mutts, and an angora. Unless you're fond of grooming, I wouldn't suggest the angora. Among the others, I couldn't say which breed was the most sociable. It varied a lot, from hostile (abandoned in the park) to snuggly (sent to me for fostering because he was supposed to be antisocial!)
I don't think rabbits are the best pet for kids who want an animal they can pick up and carry around, and most young animals scratch and bite a bit. If bunnies are not held properly, they'll struggle and scratch like mad. They need complete support underneath, and should never, ever, be picked up around the shoulders or tummy. If frightened, they can struggle hard enough to break their own backbones, usually by kicking with those very powerful hind legs.
I admire anyone who can chase and catch a rabbit! I always have to corner mine, if they don't want to be rounded up!
Eileen
Hey, can one of you explain how one litter trains a rabbit? I'm very curious about this. I've always had cats and they just kinda "know" to go in the litter box, once you've shown them where it is. Other than one male cat with a nasty habit of spraying, which isn't really the same thing as toileting, I've never had problems with cats peeing anywhere they weren't supposed to.
What's the process with bunnies???
Thank you!
Flying Fur StudiosShelli, I may have an answer for you.
Cats are litter trained by their mom's. YOu an have a real problem if you get a kitten that was taken from it's mom too early. That's why when you just show them the litter box, they know! Their mom taught them.
As for bunnies, I have litter trained all of mine, and all of mine I get as adults as rescued bunnies. Some rabbits are better than others. My rabbit right now will hold it for hours, while other rabbits had to have several litter boxes.
So what you do, is get a little box or two ( I'm assuming the bunny is runny free somewhere ) put some poo of theirs in there and that just may do the trick. But more often than not, you'll see your bunny only wants to go in one corner of the room, if you put the litter box there they will use it.
The rabbit I have now, she is very large as was couped up in a very small cage untill I got her. Now she runs free in the basement, but is soo used to going in her cage she still does. Only this time she can get out whenever she wants. She only eats and poops there.
Bunnies, you neer know what you're going to get, but most of the time you can get a pretty good litter trained bunny.
Back Road BearsShelli... **snicker, snicker**
Here's how I did it.....
Rabbits tend to 'go' in corners... corner of their cage, corner of a room, corner to the yard, by a bush, etc. So to take advantage of that natural instinct I placed small litter pans in all the corners of the room that the bunny had free run of (just one room he was allowed in to start.) I also put a litter pan in the corner of his cage that he prefered. I put his poo (just hard little pellets so it's not like squishy dog poo) in the littler pans to give him the 'idea' and after about two weeks I had us down to only two littler pans plus the one in his cage. As he gained more roaming space in the house he knew where to go back to to 'poo' pr pee. During those two weeks I picked up a lot of bunny poo. He had this thing for only peeing in his cage litter box from the start so no problem there.
It's wise NOT to fill the littler pan with HAY they love to eat and lay in hay... not too sanitary if it's potty hay! I used a recycled newspaper litter as other litters can cause health problems. It doesn't clump and had to be changed daily (every other day for us and he used numerous littler pans) but I read a lot of horrible things about the clumping litter and other clay litters. Can't remember the details now, sorry.
Gonna get a bunny now, Shel??
Back Road BearsHeather, we were typing at the same time. Didn't mean to be redundant.
Also sorry about the typos!!!
Baird'sBears
I was going to answer, but Heather and Daphne have said it all! Not that this is going to shut me up 
Very important if you're training a rookie: multiple litter stations at first, note bunny preferences, follow the bunnies' leads. Once the litter training has taken, you can remove some of the boxes and move your main box in stages to a spot both species can agree on.
Mine hate shredded paper. Well, actually, they like to eat it, but not to poop/pee in it, so I use a woodpulp-based product called Carefresh over a newpaper liner. Vinegar/water solution is a great cleaner of the residue.
http://www.petplanet.co.uk/product.asp? … pf_id=3231
Mine still forget at times and leave the odd little poo, but it's hard and small and about as inoffensive as poo gets
Eileen
but it's hard and small and about as inoffensive as poo gets
HA! 
Thanks, ladies! Sounds like a combination of following nature's path, i.e. where Mr. Rabbit leads... combined with some good old behavioral conditioning.
Daphne... No, I don't think I'm going to get a bunny. We have four cats and I'm having a hard enough time keeping up with them. They're all rescued and three of them are totally nuts.
Having said that... Noah's gecko recently moved on to the Great Reptile Beyond, and he's been asking for a pet "of his own." Given that he never did ANYTHING to care for the gecko, and after a while stopped playing with, or even noticing!, it altogether, I'm somewhat disinclined to go down that road once more. But for something soft and furry and cuddly, I do have certain soft spots...
Flying Fur StudiosShelli, the PERFECT fuzzy very low maintenance
pet is a tarantuala. No kidding.
Mine went over 2 yrs without eating, his choice of course. Crickets are cheap and really, they poop a clear liquid that has no smell whatsoever. So cleaning their cage once a year or so is plenty.
I have had them live for many years, and the one i have now is very friendly and I let kids hold him all the time.
Sounds gross to some people I know.... but they are the most low maintenance pet EVER!
Back Road BearsSounds gross to some people I know.... but they are the most low maintenance pet EVER!
.....except for the nightmares that'll keep some of us awake resulting in poor production, attitude and health!!
Then it's the squeemish humans that become high maintenance!!!
No offense, Heather! :hug:
The lowest maintenance pet I ever had was my hooded rat, Molly. She was SOOOO easy!! But like with the thought of a spider as a pet, a pet rat can be a turn off to many as well! 
Baird'sBears Wow, Heather!
It never even occurred to me that Tarantulas pooped, much less to ask what they pooped!
I've been strongly tempted to get one, but they're really expensive. I might check the Humane Society. How long do they live?
Shelli, hugs to poor Noah on the loss of his gecko 
Our StrangelyBrown went feet up twice. He came back just as I was about to bag him for his last journey. I even tried to raise my own crickets, but forgot that I'd need a very fine mesh to keep the babies in. They were all over the house for a season, until the cats finished them off, but you've never seen such fine, fat crickets.
Does that say something about my housekeeping, or what?
Eileen
Posts: 1,277I'm with Daphne on the tarantulas. EEK! I would never sleep knowing that something so big and hairy and creepy and crawly was in my house!
I had some mice before...never again! On a whim one day, we were at the pet store and decided to get a mouse. The lady told us if we got females we could get more than one. So we did. We got three of them. I played with them and they got pretty sociable. But one of them was a little runt and after a while the other two were picking on her. So we gave little Minnie to my aunt. So down to two until one morning I got up and went to watch TV in the living room. Their cage was next to the sofa. I looked over and only saw one mouse. As I looked closer I saw the other mouse, well, what was left of her. Maggie had killed and eaten most of Molly. As soon as Daniel got home, Maggie was gone too. So, never ever again.
Thank you all for the lessons in Bunnies 101. I've done some research on the different types of bunnies. They are all so cute, how can you decide? I'll be looking for breeders as soon as my sis makes her decision.
Baird'sBears
How horrible, Sandi!
The little rodents can be awful, sometimes. I think it can be a result of inbreeding.
We had a gerbil explosion some years ago, when the 2 males my daughter bought turned out not to be. I gave away as many as I could, because they were doing the same thing, fighting and biting. I donated a mom with youngsters to a classroom of tots at the local school. They were delighted. When the kids arrived the next morning, they found the mother eating the babies! I'm glad I wasn't the one who had to stand up in front of that class and explain . . .
Eileen
Sunnie BearsCome on out where I live. The tarantulas travel in HERDS! In the summertime, there are areas on the base where I work, where you will be driving down the road and see what looks like a big dark shadow crossing the road. When you get close enough you can see that it is a herd of tarantulas. I once had someone catch on for me and I brought it home for my sons in a can. We put it in an aquarium. Now that tarantula ATE! A LOT! It had a piece of wood inside the aquarium that he used to climb. Everytime I came in the door and walked by he would leap at the glass like he was going to attack me. Scared the bee-gee-bees outa me! He had to go!!
Sonya
Baird'sBears Cripes! Herds of Tarantulas?
Eileen
