Adopting a bunny can turn out to be a very tough experience, especially when it’s the first time you’re taking care of one.
Despite what is believed, rabbits are not “starter pets” or “low-maintenance pets”. It is actually the other way around. Bunnies are sensitive animals, who require an owner that can understand their behavior and their needs. For this reason, children are not suitable to take care of them.
One of the most basic things to do before bringing your fluffy cloud home is researching. Educating yourself about their feeding, their behavior and housing is essential.
Knowing the “do’s” and “dont’s” is the first step to give your bunny the best life ever!
So here you’ll find 10 important “dont’s” that you must avoid!
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You may find this interesting: Bunny Products You’ll Need Every Month
1. Keeping them in a cage/hutch
Rabbits are smart, social and highly curious creatures that love to explore their sorroundings.
Keeping them in a cage or in a hutch will cause a variety of health problems, being obesity and depression the most common. If they’re not able to move around, deformities may appear.
It is cruel to prevent them from the freedom they deserve.
Source: Bunny Approved 
Source: ebay
Obviously, the perfect situation would be free room. Unfortunately, not everybody has that possibility. If that’s the case, think of giving your bunny at least one divison of your home and make sure it is safe.
If you don’t have a division for your rabbit, think of a playpen. You can find them on several sites, like Amazon, for an affordable price.
Here’s a link of a playpen on Amazon, as an example: https://amzn.to/31jXbkC
My bunny is free room, but I also have a playpen. So I advise you to purchase it even if your pet is free room. It’s super useful when you have guests, for example.
2. Bathing them
Bathing your rabbit is extremely harmful!! I don’t know how to emphasize it more.
DO NOT BATH YOUR RABBIT!
Bath can kill your bunny from high levels of stress or hypothermia.
Rabbits groom themselves, just like cats do, which prevents them from smelling bad. However, bunnies may need a “butt bath”, in case their genital area gets a little dirty. But only this part of their body should be bathed.
3. Wrong Litter
This was a mistake I made in my first days as a bunny mom.
In the beginning, I used wood shavings for my bunny’s bedding, which is harmful to them. It emits gases that are toxic and can cause respiratory illness as well as urinary infections.
Pine, cedar and cat litters must be avoided.
It is recommended to use other litters, such as recycled paper or wood pellets. Find them on Amazon:
4. Feeding them mixed rations
Muesli contains fruits and seeds that even if they look great, they are often associated with serious teeth and tummy diseases. They are one of the worst things you can give your bunny to eat.
You should feed them good quality pellets in very small quantities. You can find more details on my post “Bunny Products You’ll Need Every Month”.
Until they are 8 months old, they should be fed alfafa pellets, like these ones:
5. Not giving them toys or attention
Bunnies are playful creatures who hate being bored. Providing them with a variety of toys and giving them attention is essential for them to be happy and healthy.
Besides being entertaining, toys provide exercise and diversion!
You don’t have to spend lots of money on their toys. A piece of cardboard, toilet paper tubes or a tissue box will give your bunny so much joy <3
6. Keeping them outside
When kept outside, bunnies are exposed to several dangers. You should consider the presence of predators (like cats, dogs or foxes), from which pet bunnies aren’t good at protecting themselves.
If allowed to run free, your bunny may eat vegetation that is poisonous and can lead to death. It is also important to consider the weather. Rabbits don’t handle really well extreme temperatures or wet weather conditions, like rain.
Don’t forget the loneliness factor. If they are outside, they won’t have as many social interactions as indoors, especially if they don’t have a partner.
For these reasons, it’s advisable to keep your bunny in the safety of your home, surrounded by love and affection.
7. Not spaying or neutering
Spaying (female) or neutering (male) your rabbit will bring them lots of benefits.
A fixed bunny will likely live a longer and healthier life since the risk of cancer and urinary infection are highly reduced.
If your rabbit is neutered/spayed, they will also become calmer and easier for you to manage. Their litter box habits will also improve and it will be easier for you to train them.
Finally, fixed bunnies bond more easily with their humans.
Male rabbits are old enough to be neutered when they are between 3 and 5 months old. Females should be spayed when they are between 4 and 6 months old. It’s important to fix them before the age of 5 when they are considered too old for this type of surgery.
8. Giving them too many treats
Those cute little eyes and tiny paws make it quite impossible for you to say no, especially when they beg…But you need to be strong!
Everyone deserves a treat, but only once in a while. Try to give your bunny natural treats, like fruit. They are healthier, after all. You can even dry fruits so you can vary a little.
House Rabbit Society guidelines no more than 1 TBSP fruit per day. Inform yourself here about which fruits are good or not for them.
9. Hitting them when they don’t behave
Bunnies can cause quite a mess. Their obsession with chewing cables and destruction are their human’s nightmares. Especially if the cable they decide to chew is….the internet cable. The disaster.
However, punishing your bunny with aggression is never the solution. This will only cause your bunny to be afraid of you and won’t stop their behavior.
You should DISCIPLINE your rabbit, which is different. I found this article extremely useful. It explains and teaches you all the healthy ways in which you can educate your fluffy cloud: https://pethelpful.com/rabbits/Bunny-Care-Guide-How-To-Discipline-Your-Rabbit
10. Adopting without educating yourself
Before adopting your bunny, it’s extremely important that you do a research.
It’s sad to see people buying these animals for impulse without knowing how to take care of them, or bringing a rabbit home just because it’s Easter and it’s cute.
Rabbits are not toys. They should be respected and treated well. For that, make sure to learn everything you can about them, so you can give your future bunny the best life ever.
And…That’s It!!
I hope you’ve learned more about this topic! Rabbits are beautiful and loving creatures, if you give them affection they’ll give you all the love in the world. <3
What’s your bunny’s name? Leave their name in the comment section down below 🙂 I’d love to know <3
Stay safe,
You’ll find this interesting: Bunny Products You’ll Need Every Month
Hi back to Artic!❤️ Loved this post! I never litter trained a rabbit, so the info about which litter to use was helpful for me to know!! (Next time I get one, I want it to be inside and litter-trained😅)
Awww thank you so much <3 I'm glad you liked it. Yes, bunnies can be litter trained just like cats. Artic's litter habits are perfect since day one, so I was very lucky 🙂
Ozzy & Harley Quin
Both Girls. Both indoor and very spoiled 🥰
Excellent informative post! I’ve had 3 Bunnies🫶🏼
1. Boo Bunny
2. Hazel named after Hazel in the book Watership Down a must read
3 Chocolate Brownie my fabulous amazing Bunny now.
I have & will definitely be sharing your very accurate informative info 👍🏼🥰🐰🐇
We have just adopted a Flemish giant named “Django”. We are slowly allowing him to roam the house one space at a time. He has a 4’x8’ dog pen for his “home base”.
Peanut♥️ She’s the best lionhead ever!
Excellent post on rabbit care! I did a ton of research before adopting my girl and so glad that I did!! She wasn’t hay before I got her, and that was the first thing I did, made sure she had access to hay all day long.
I’m so glad your bunny found someone like you 🙂 Hay is super important, I’m happy she has access to it all day long!
love this
Thank you so much!
love this
Thank you! <3
My fur babies are Toffee and Peter with new additions Coco and Latte. Toffee is the only female. I’m still in the bonding process but getting there!! Great article, people really don’t understand the work involved looking after bunnies!!!
Those names are so sweet! How’s the bonding process right now?
And thank you much! Bunny care isn’t easy at all…
Well my rabbits are spoiled apparently buy what I’ve read here.
I have2 females and one male. Their names are Ruth and Naomi. And the boy is Boaz.
Such cute names! <3
It’s really tough taking care of my bunny and I have just one. I keep her in a hunch all day because she destroys cables a lot and messes the house. It’s really difficult taking care of her. Tell me how to make her stop messing everywhere in my house. Her name is Shami.
Oh dealing with a destructive bunny can be a nightmare. I never had that problem with my bunny Artic. However, I suggest you providing her with tons os safe rabbit toys. U can find lots of them on Amazon at cheap prices or you can create your own! I would highly suggest you to try making your house bunny proofed. U can find lots of cable protectors that can fix that issue. Ultimately, every time Shami destroys something, let her know that her toys are the only things she can destroy, by bringing her toy to the place she is destroying something. I hope this can help your situation <3
My bunnies are Fido and Callie
Such beautiful names <3
On Easter morning 2:30 am our security light was going off and on, my husband went to see what was causing the light turning on and a cat chasing a bunny in our backyard. We posted signs and no one claimed it. My husband had raised pet rabbits when a young boy and well not that we wanted another pet we are taking care of “Clover”. We don’t know if it is a girl or boy as it is still getting use to us. Clover likes to be outdoors in the early morning which i keep an eye every 15 min. and have the sliding door open and then back inside after a few hours. How do we get Clover to eat hay? Clover eats only a few bites of pellets. Loves to eat the grass outdoors. We don’t know much about this bun but we are trying to care for it. Oh and can someone tell me how high the pen must be so they will not jump over? Until Clover get’s use to us we will not let her/him have the run of the house.
Thank You for any info.
Hi Teresa! I would recommend you putting hay in rabbit safe toys. Bunnies also love playing with cardboard rolls, so try to put hay in there as well. another good idea is to add dried herbs amongst the hay.
Regarding the pen height, I also had trouble with it in the first weeks with my bunny. Rabbits can easily jump a meter, so I would recommend you buy something to cover the top (remember that your bunny should still be able to stand up).
Hopefully I could help you <3
I’ve just adopted a rabbit that’s only 4 months old. I’ve named her Fleetwood after the band. She’s litter trained for the most part only leaving the odd dropping here or there but urinating in the litter tray after only two accidents after rehoming her.
She was only with her previous owners a couple of weeks before they were told they couldn’t have any pets.
She’s got the full run of the living room but managed to get out today and essentially had the whole of the downstairs for 6 hours whilst I was at work. No chewing or urinating…I was super happy and quite surprised! When I walked through the door I was surprised to see her waiting there for me in the for mat!
I find a little wiggle on her tail lets her know not to nibble on something and she stops. The foot stomp is a Def winner for getting her attention though.
I have had dogs all my life and was considering getting another reptile as I haven’t had one for about ten years but I’m so pleased I’ve got a bunny. She’s showing me some real love and affection and the way she comes and licks my face if I lay on the floor and when she flops on me when I’m sat on the sofa is just adorable.
Thanks for the tips in the blog!
Bunnies truly are amazing and affectionate animals <3 And such a sweet name your bunny has, love it!
A great post without any doubt.
That means a lot! Thank you so much!
Great references to other links, like healthy ways of punishing your fluff ball. Thanks for posting
Thank you so much! I appreciate it 🙂
My bun has the nick name baby or beautiful but her real name is Almond for the shape of her cute bunny eyes. Almond loves pats & cuddles lots of food & to be carried around just like a baby does. If Almond spends time in my bedroom she wont allow you near her as she will thump her hind quarters to say leave me alone or get out Im here now. Almond even has her own soft chair to lounge on.
Almond is such a sweet name <3 loved to know more about her. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Great post! I did quite a bit of research before I got my girls (sisters). I had NO idea how to take care of Bunnies. the knowledge sure paid off. I had to learn to down size there enclosure though, it was way to big and incredibly hard to keep clean. I ended up with a soft sided pet pen. Absolutely perfect and easy to clean. We are in the potty training mode right now. My girls (I call my love bugs) are 4 months old. So it’s slow but we are gaining on it. My girls are Willow (broken black) and Lizzie (black silver) Every night is bunny bonding time after work. I don’t think I spent this much time on the floor since I was a toddler lol. They are amazing and starting to show their little personalities. My two cats even join in the bonding time. Well until one of the bunnies goes nose to nose. Then they leave. Still a little afraid of the bunnies. Interesting enough my kitties have become more play full since I brought the bunnies home. Thanks again for the great post.
Good read! I did quite a bit of research before I got my girls (sisters). I had NO idea how to take care of Bunnies. the knowledge sure paid off. I had to learn to down size there enclosure though, it was way to big and incredibly hard to keep clean. I ended up with a soft sided pet pen. Absolutely perfect and easy to clean. We are in the potty training mode right now. My girls (I call my love bugs) are 4 months old. So it’s slow but we are gaining on it. My girls are Willow (broken black) and Lizzie (black silver) Every night is bunny bonding time after work. I don’t think I spent this much time on the floor since I was a toddler lol. They are amazing and starting to show their little personalities. My two cats even join in the bonding time. Well until one of the bunnies goes nose to nose. Then they leave. Still a little afraid of the bunnies. Interesting enough my kitties have become more play full since I brought the bunnies home. Thanks again for the great post.
So amazing to see all the effort and dedication you put in taking care of your little babies <3 I also ended up down sizing Artic's enclosure, which is fine because he doesn't spend much time there.
How's the potty training going?
Also, they have such beautiful names. they are so lucky to have you!
Amazing how you seem to get your point across withouth being too pushy. I like it.
Nice response in return of this issue with genuine
arguments and describing the whole thing concerning that.
Thank you so much!
My parents got my rabbit for me. i had no idea what it would be like owning a rabbit. but after a few weeks i started learning even more than i did before. now we both are happy but, no matter what he will always be a very crazy and energetic potato (that’s what my my family and i call him sometimes!)
I have two mini lops, Milo and Floppy (or as my son calls him Toast) neither are neutered or potty trained and whilst for the most part they are sweet face-licking arm-humping angels, they like to spray pee everywhere and poop all over the room and enclosures… any tips?
Nice article, thank you. When our 12 year old son wanted a bunny, he did the research before he was allowed to get one. His bunny’s name is Beans and is the love of our lives!
Aww! that’s so sweet! 🩷
[…] Feeding your rabbit too much can cause health issues. […]
This helped so much! thank you! Now Po can be a happy little boy! ❤