5 things to do to care for your bunny

(to avoid the big vet bills)

  1. More fibre

A rabbit’s diet is THE number one most important aspect of rabbit ownership, and incorporating plenty of fibre and limiting the ‘junk’ is essential. The most common killer of domesticated rabbits is Gastrointestinal Stasis where a rabbits gut slows down or stops working all together, and this can be prevented through incorporating enough fibre. This includes foods such as grass hays (Rye, timothy or orchard grass hay), fresh grass (that has not been accessed by wild bunnies), roses, dandelion, calendula flower (that has not been treated with pesticides) all have a high fibre content for your rabbit and help gut motility. Limiting foods such as leafy greens like kale, spinach and bok choy, vegetables, fruit, pellets and some treats will also greatly help your little one in lowering the risk of gastrointestinal upset.

2. Chew Toys

Did you know a bunnies teeth can grow 1mm a day! That’s why it’s important to provide them with plenty of bunny safe chew toys. You can easily DIY bunny toys out of toilet paper rolls, or you can buy lavish bunny castles from Etsy made from untreated pine. Along with access to plenty of hay, bunny’s need some safe toys they can chew to help keep their teeth healthy and at the correct length!

3. Keeping your bunny indoors

Keeping a bunny outdoor all the time exposes them to deadly viruses such a calici and myxomatasis along with other predator animals that may roam the neighbourhood. It’s also much harder to detect if something is wrong with your bunny if there not around you for you to catch on quickly if they get sick or stop eating. Not only can keeping your rabbit inside protect them from these viruses and protect their overall health, but there too cute not to keep them inside all the time.

4. Giving them enough space

Rabbits are not meant to live solely in small spaces like cages or hutches, bunnies need space to run, zoomie and binky as well as flop and stretch out. Allowing them space to move helps to keep there gut moving which is vitally important for their health. It helps them with gut motility, appetite and defecation which are necessary for your bunny to thrive. Not being given enough space can also affect there mental health and they can become depressed, anxious or even aggressive without the proper amount of space.

5. Regular Grooming

Believe it or not rabbits do need regular grooming, generally every 4-6 weeks and this applies to both short and long haired rabbits. Grooming is an important part of rabbit care as it helps prevent breakage of their nails which can happen when they get too long, and it helps to limit the amount of loose fur that can get trapped in their digestive tract. When there is a build up of loose fur, this can lead to a blockage in the GI tract and if they cannot pass it naturally through defecation, surgery may be required in order to remove the blockage, which can present other risks, and is why regular grooming is so important for their health.

Testimonials

 

Daniella, Canberra,

“Renee was amazing with our little bunny Toto, I would highly recommend Renee she was lovely and professional. Will be getting her to come back when Toto needs her amazing skills!”

Laura, Canberra,

“Renee groomed our two mini lops today and we were very impressed by her patience and caring nature towards our buns. We could tell she is confident when handling rabbits and was great with our fussy boy who can be a little temperamental. We would highly recommend her services. Thanks again Renee we will be in contact to book you in again soon.”

 

a little bit about Renee

Hi, I’m Renee - also known as the crazy bunny lady. I’m the creator behind The Pampered Bun, married to my amazing husband Kenn and fur mama to two of THE most adorable bunnies Bean and Luna.

I have always had a major soft spot for rabbits and small animals since I was a kid.

I created The Pampered Bun when I noticed there was a lot of misconception, misunderstanding and misinformation around how to care for these pets.  Plus, there were no grooming or similar services specialised for small animals.

So, with several years’ worth of rabbit ownership under my belt and experience in grooming them I decided to provide a convenient, high quality and personalised bunny grooming and sitting service to Canberra locals, to provide an option for them to get their bun pampered.

Rabbits and small animals need our voice to protect and advocate for them so they can have the best quality of life possible, and this is something I am invested in for many years to come.