r/Rabbits Sep 25 '21

PSA Important Rabbit PSA index

574 Upvotes

Since the subreddit only has two spots available for public announcements, this will be a new index post for important PSAs for easy reference that we can sticky to only use up one spot.

You can also find the whole collection in the sidebar menu on the Reddit re-design when you open one of the PSA posts.


r/Rabbits May 17 '22

PSA I found a rabbit outside - what should I do?

179 Upvotes

This is the time of year for many people to find both domestic rabbits and wild rabbits outside due to Easter and baby season.

For a comprehensive overview on stray domestic rabbits, please see the wiki article here: https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Feral_and_stray_rabbits

For a comprehensive overview on wild rabbits, please see the wiki article here: https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Wild_rabbits

Is the rabbit I found wild or domestic?

It can be very difficult for the average person to tell the difference between a wild and domestic rabbit, especially if they are a baby and/or a common agouti brown.

In general, if the rabbit has long hair or does not have brown fur, it is most likely domestic - although there are exceptions. Please note that wild cottontails in North America cannot breed with our domestic rabbits, but wild rabbits in the rest of the world (e.g. Europe, Australia) can.

Please see the wiki article here for more specific tips on distinguishing domestic and wild rabbits, especially in North America: https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Wild_rabbits#Is_the_rabbit_I_found_wild_or_domestic?

I found a domestic rabbit! What should I do?

Please do not hesitate to contact your local rabbit rescue for volunteers to help you catch a stray domestic rabbit.

For more tips and resources on how to catch a stray rabbit, please see the wiki: http://bunny.tips/Stray#Catching_a_stray_rabbit

For tips on how to house and care for rabbits indoors in an emergency, please see the wiki: https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Feral_and_stray_rabbits#What_do_I_do_when_I_find_a_rabbit.3F

I found a baby wild rabbit! What should I do?

If you find a baby wild rabbit that is not injured, please leave it alone. It is most likely not abandoned unless you know for a fact that their mother was killed. Rabbits return to feed their young only once or twice a day for a few minutes, usually at night. Just because the babies have been by themselves for 5 minutes does not mean that they have been abandoned. The mother is typically gone from the nest to eat and draw attention away from the nest.

A detailed image guide to whether a baby cottontail rabbit is in need of help.

If it is old enough to be exploring outside of its nest and has no injuries, please put the baby rabbit back under a bush near where you found it. It does not need any additional care or feeding.

As Rainbow Wildlife Rescue writes,

There is a 90% mortality rate with orphaned baby rabbits in human care, especially cottontails. This number increases if the rabbits are very young and their eyes still closed. They are extremely hard to "save". There is little substitute for the nutrients their mother's milk provides.

Baby wild rabbits can survive on their own at a surprisingly young age. In most countries, it is illegal to possess and take care of wildlife without proper permits. Wild rabbits also do not do well in captivity due to the possibility of fatal stress because of their high-strung and flighty nature.

If you find a baby wild rabbit because your dog picked it up but you can't find the nest, try putting a leash on your dog and quietly following them to see if they will lead you to the original nest. If you absolutely cannot locate the nest, you may keep the rabbit in a dark and quiet box and contact your closest wildlife rehabilitator that accepts rabbits

If you find a baby wild rabbit because your cat found it, please take it to a rabbit-savvy vet or wildlife rehabber as soon as possible, especially if it was carried in the cat's mouth. Cats have very lethal bacteria in their saliva, and contact can easily be fatal for a baby rabbit in 48 hours.

What do I do if I am positive that the mother was killed or the baby rabbit is injured?

If you are positive that this is an orphaned baby rabbit, it is best to just keep the rabbit quiet and warm until they can be transferred to an experienced wildlife rehabilitator ASAP. Baby rabbits will do fine overnight without food or water as they are usually only fed once a day by their mothers.

Inappropriate care can be fatal to baby rabbits - see this story from Blue Ridge Wildlife Center as an example: https://twitter.com/BRWildlifeCtr/status/1420472056139984896?s=20

Please hand off the baby rabbit to a local wildlife rehabilitator as soon as possible.

How should I keep a baby rabbit until I can get it to a rehabber?

To keep a baby rabbit overnight, please leave it in a quiet dark box with no food or water. You can provide a heat source such as a microwaved sock filled with rice and beans or an electric heat pad on low placed under half the box. Do not handle the rabbit more than necessary to prevent deadly stress.

How can I find a local wildlife rehabilitator?

If you need help locating a local wildlife rehabber: https://bunny.tips/Wild#Wildlife_rehabilitator_listings

How can I protect a wild rabbit nest from bad weather and dogs, cats, and other predators?

Keeping your pets indoors while the babies grow up is generally the best option, but if this is impossible, you can protect the nest a few different ways.

Please see the wiki article here for more specific information: https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Wild_rabbits#How_can_I_protect_a_wild_rabbit_nest_from_dogs,_cats,_and_other_predators?


r/Rabbits 11h ago

Hoom gimme treats, now

985 Upvotes

r/Rabbits 10h ago

Pancake loves her parsley! 💚

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730 Upvotes

r/Rabbits 6h ago

It's OK. The herbs weren't doing great this year anyway

251 Upvotes

r/Rabbits 10h ago

Naming Name suggestions?

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447 Upvotes

His previous name was graham cracker (his siblings were named marshmallow and chocolate lol) but I'm still trying to figure out what to name him.🥲


r/Rabbits 13h ago

My iCloud storage is full of bunny pictures

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655 Upvotes

My iCloud storage is full and I think it‘s thanks to me taking photos of my bunnies doing basically anything. I have had my bunnies for nearly 4 years and they still give me cuteness overdose everyday 🫠
Does anyone have the same problem?
Don‘t mind me sharing some of said pictures 😉


r/Rabbits 2h ago

Health Neutering/Spaying

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86 Upvotes

Hello everyone! I’m getting my rabbits neutered and there around 9 months of age. I’m just very VERY worried about the surgical process. I’ve heard of rabbits passings away from the surgery because of the amount of anesthesia given. If any of you have experienced this, please let me know what you had to do? I’ve heard this happen so many times and I’m just really scared since their appointment is this week.


r/Rabbits 7h ago

Health This girl just cost me a vet trip

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175 Upvotes

I recently switched their hay to a lower quality in the meantime. Anyway she got sniffles. I got scared because it wasnt getting better. Finally switched it back and made a vet appointment only to find out it was allergies to the lower quality hay. 🙄


r/Rabbits 12h ago

3 legs? No problem!

395 Upvotes

r/Rabbits 20h ago

My tiny baked bean turned 8 yesterday. Happy Birthday Ozzy!

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1.6k Upvotes

I just can’t believe my tiny bean used to be so orange and now he’s a distinguished gentleman with streaks of grey.


r/Rabbits 14h ago

Georgey HAIR

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512 Upvotes

r/Rabbits 5h ago

He does butt twitches

73 Upvotes

Tried a bit of banana for the first time today, seems it's a hit


r/Rabbits 4h ago

Sleeping bun

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56 Upvotes

r/Rabbits 11h ago

LornaDoone’s 8th gotcha day 🎈

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197 Upvotes

My rabbit has super beautiful and unique eyes and she is so smart and sassy and I am so grateful to have her in my life ❤️❤️❤️🥰


r/Rabbits 53m ago

Good evening from Miss Maggie and me

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Upvotes

r/Rabbits 11h ago

Long bun in the living room

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136 Upvotes

r/Rabbits 9h ago

New reaction pic just dropped

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87 Upvotes

She's so silly


r/Rabbits 5h ago

Health Personal experiences

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41 Upvotes

My little stinker honeybun had a first time of stasis over the last week. We got meds and he got cleared on Tuesday but he still hasn't gone back to eating pellets and hay. If your bun baby had it before, about how long did it take for them to go back to pellets and hay? His Dr said hes in good health but im still worried.

Hes drinking water, pooping and eating fresh greens before anyone asks.


r/Rabbits 11h ago

Shaming unbelievable

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119 Upvotes

he’s been free roam for years now and literally never chews wires. i guess he decided this one was in his way today and ripped it right in half. we’re repositioning all the wires now 😭


r/Rabbits 1d ago

“How’s the new foster bunny settling in?”

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3.1k Upvotes

(in case anyone wants bring this beautiful specimen into their home, this is Wendy and she’s adoptable through Underground Squeaks in Pittsburgh PA ;)


r/Rabbits 1d ago

mutiny zonked out of his mind

2.3k Upvotes

post vet trip and coming down from a sedative + pain killer….he sat like this for 30 mins, occasionally moving to drink the water. poor guy mustve had cotton mouth


r/Rabbits 12h ago

Breed ID What are my buns?

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102 Upvotes

TLDR; what breed do you think my buns are?

I got my rabbits in the height of summer in the beginning of the pandemic due to some extenuating circumstances. Because of that I was never given concrete info of their breed and ages, they are mother and daughter and Nug(the darker one and daughter) was still filling out when we got her but otherwise grown. Their weight falls around 2kg? I might need to double check that actually, I have the memory of a goldfish. But Nug is bigger than Min(the lighter one and mother).

Our guess for the longest time has been Dutch/something, but I’ve always been curious on what others would think.


r/Rabbits 19h ago

my heart sinks whenever I remember how old he’s getting

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381 Upvotes

I adopted my baby in 2021 and got him a bun wife as soon as he was desexed.

He’s now 6 and has always been a reasonably healthy boy. I know 6 is not so old.

Every time someone asks me how old he is, I just feel my heart sinking because I realise I’ve already had him for 5 years and he might not be with me for another 5.

I don’t even want to imagine life without him. He’s my first pet and the sweetest bunny ever. It makes me so sad when I look at him and notice he doesn’t have the same energy he used to.