r/Rabbits • • Sep 25 '21

PSA Important Rabbit PSA index

576 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?

181 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 • • 9h ago

sleeps like a corpse

Thumbnail
gallery
1.3k Upvotes

so scary but so cute. please rate his rigormortis


r/Rabbits • • 6h ago

Just shaping the dough

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

428 Upvotes

Very fluffy


r/Rabbits • • 2h ago

fascinating creature

Thumbnail
gallery
163 Upvotes

r/Rabbits • • 7h ago

Behavior Vet visit = pointy nose.

Post image
390 Upvotes

The closest he gets to 90 degrees, the more stressed he is!

Two hours earlier he was literally the happiest creature on god's green earth. Little did he know!

Vet check up went well πŸ’ͺ Choco is super healthy although he needs to lose 70 grams!

He's now literally the happiest creature on god's green earth again!


r/Rabbits • • 2h ago

My rabbit

Thumbnail
gallery
160 Upvotes

This is Oreo, my free roam rabbit.


r/Rabbits • • 14h ago

People say that he look like moldy bread, cant personally see it

Post image
1.2k Upvotes

Dont know why so many people think he looks moldy


r/Rabbits • • 21h ago

rescued this insanely sweet dumped rabbit. meet Sherlock πŸ₯Ή

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

4.9k Upvotes

he is the sweetest thing on earth. he loves to flop over and get full body massages πŸ₯°


r/Rabbits • • 5h ago

She comfy

Post image
158 Upvotes

Always comfy adjacent πŸ˜‚


r/Rabbits • • 1h ago

She loves the windowsill

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

β€’ Upvotes

Re-uploaded without my face lol


r/Rabbits • • 8h ago

I See No Difference

Thumbnail
gallery
174 Upvotes

Why are bunny butts so cute??


r/Rabbits • • 49m ago

look at those ears

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

β€’ Upvotes

r/Rabbits • • 21h ago

Little Shake 🐰

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

1.2k Upvotes

r/Rabbits • • 38m ago

Can I see pics of everyone's giant bunnies?

Post image
β€’ Upvotes

I want to see how big they get! The giant buns are my favorite! Lops are my 2nd favorite but I really love all bunniesπŸ₯° Any giant Lops mixes out there?! Thanks in advance!

These are my babies. The big girl is only 6 months.


r/Rabbits • • 2h ago

Sweet Bunny bee 🐝

Post image
34 Upvotes

Sweet honey 🐝


r/Rabbits • • 7h ago

Care Fun enrichment activities you do with your buns?

Post image
79 Upvotes

Cute bun pic added for tax.

Looking for new ideas to do for my babies!


r/Rabbits • • 19h ago

Woke up from a nap only to find ITACHI staring right at me

Post image
605 Upvotes

r/Rabbits • • 16h ago

i opened social media for my bunnies

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

309 Upvotes

i have 7 house bunnies and i wanted a place to share their photos and videos. am i weird? my tiktok is lovefromthebunnies.


r/Rabbits • • 13m ago

She's the Queen and I am merely her Peasant

Post image
β€’ Upvotes

Ciabatta loves sitting on higher places. It gives her a great view over her kingdom


r/Rabbits • • 5h ago

Bonding he needs a buddy and he's making it clear to me- any advice?

Post image
41 Upvotes

hi all.

my boy apollo (4m) has made it abundantly clear that he's fed up with being a lone rabbit.
we previously had a shih tzu in the house that recently passed away. despite apollo not being allowed outside of my room nor my dog inside my room, i feel like i've noticed a difference. he did LOVE that dog. pre-neuter, he was... very happy... TOO happy about the dog. post-neuter, he would get out of my room and consistently hunch down in a submissive pose under my dog. i thought it was a toned-down sexual thing, but now im seeing it could have been his beg for a buddy. now that the pup is gone, he had gotten more aggressive (biting, lunging, and growling) and i have been noticing his hay is disappearing at a slower rate. he's still eating everyday, but i've just noticed it's slowed.

so, now for my conundrum.

i want to get him a buddy. ALWAYS have. but i live at home and my parents don't agree. nonetheless, that part will no longer stop me from getting a rabbit, especially now that my parents have both made it clear that they miss having a furry snuggle buddy (my mom has made the fair rule that we cannot get a dog until we fix our fencing and swamp pool). having said that, i get the idea they'll be the type to be mad at first, but snuggle up to the new pile-o-fluff quickly.
another thing is that i'm not home a bunch. i know it's bad on apollo but id rather have him be alone to free-roam my 12x12 bedroom with plenty of hiding spots than to succumb to the absolute horrors that is stereotyped rabbit care. still tho, this means im limited to the time frames in bonding the rabbits and i will have long asf periods where they'll be alone and possibly fight. i'm scared of that. but i know to only get a spayed girl.

given these circumstances, what do i do? can anyone share their stories about a long period of having only one rabbit and the difference in behavior before and after giving the bun a bun? especially with aggression levels. my absolute fear is having unbonded rabbits.
if anyone can provide tips i will take ANYTHING!

but also, would it be any better to get a cat for him instead? one that would stay in my room and cuddle him. what's the likelihood of a bond?


r/Rabbits • • 1d ago

Her bed is RIGHT there.

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

992 Upvotes

r/Rabbits • • 17h ago

Look at his little pose 😭

Post image
250 Upvotes

r/Rabbits • • 1d ago

RIP I wanted to honor my little Ruby who sadly and suddenly passed away today. She was my little princess and I'm so glad she let me rescue her.

Thumbnail
gallery
846 Upvotes

This loss has been exceptionally hard because it was so sudden. Even if I only had her for 16 months she leaves such a little void.

I found Ruby last summer under a car in my neighborhood. It took about three weeks of daily visits with treats before I was finally able to catch her. With no intention of keeping her I set her up temporarily on my porch until we could treat her fleas and then move her into my office. She was underweight and overall in rough shape. Nearly all of the local shelters were full and after caring for her for a few weeks I grew to really love her.

We decided to keep her and get her spayed. The vet couldn't really determine an age and I couldn't get anything useful from the neighborhood I found her in who were all quite indifferent to her. It took a few months for her and Harrison to work out their relationship, but she ultimately adored him.

She wasn't an energetic bun. She was quite, gentle, and finally opened up to ask for pets, but never made big stinks.

Sadly, yesterday morning around 7:00 AM we noticed she wasn't very interested in her morning pellets so we administered some baby gas drops and tummy massages as we had done before, but this time around the early afternoon she wasn't better. The rabbit specialist wasn't in at my vet and we called 5 more vets around and none had the resources to see rabbits. We tried to feed her some critical care and water and then around 7:00 PM took her to an ER for pain medicine and fluids. They also didn't have a rabbit specialist so we took her home and kept her as warm and comfortable as we could. This morning her normal vet took us in 30 minutes before they even opened and set up fluids. X-Rays didn't seem to show any blockage, but her bloodwork wasn't good. Sadly, she would pass from her hearts shortly after. They believe there was an unknown condition and that the G.I. stasis was a symptom and not the cause. Ultimately, I feel some level of comfort knowing we tried our very best to save her, but it sure hurts to lose her and so very suddenly.

I loved my little Ruby - Ruby Booby, Rubles, Rutabaga, Rhubarb, Roo, Roo-Roo - she was my little princess. It hurts terribly and I miss her dearly. It saddens me that she went through such a tough life, but I'm so very grateful that I was able to make her last 16 months pleasant with a bed of her own, unlimited hay, treats, food, binkies, and pets. I'm so grateful she let me catch her.

Thank you for letting me share this.


r/Rabbits • • 22h ago

I feel like 80% of what they do is eat hay and shit it back out. Rabbits are truly remarkable animals.

Post image
475 Upvotes

I adore them. They are beginning to tolerate me πŸ˜‚.