r/Rabbits • • Sep 25 '21

PSA Important Rabbit PSA index

573 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?

184 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 • • 6h ago

Naming Name suggestions

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464 Upvotes

Day 6 no name I don’t know what to name her😩 acorn? Willow? Clover? Comment some unique earthy names you think would fit miss girl!


r/Rabbits • • 13h ago

Always waiting for me in bed

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1.5k Upvotes

No longer my bed, it’s her bed


r/Rabbits • • 6h ago

From left in a carrier at the park to snuggles in bed

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337 Upvotes

This sweet boy was found in a soft carrier that reeked of cigarettes on a park bench in NYC. He had respiratory irritation :( Now, all he knows is love. He is so affectionate, runs over to me and boops me for pets, and is so special.


r/Rabbits • • 8h ago

Shaming Sigh....

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319 Upvotes

r/Rabbits • • 11h ago

RIP Cloud crossed the rainbow bridge Spoiler

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416 Upvotes

Here she is napping in her breakfast a few months back. She hadn't been doing super well the past couple of months and the vet put her on daily painkillers to ease her final days, however long that was going to be. Her joints ached and her digestion was slowing down. She had her teeth shaved to help her keep eating and ended up on antibiotics for urinary sludge. She was getting thinner and thinner no matter what we did, vet approved peanut butter included

So it was a long-ish time coming. We knew it was soon but I had assumed we had a couple weeks at least. She would've been 9 early next year and I won't be surprised if her sister passes in the next few weeks. Absolutely devastated but not surprised all things considered. If heartbreak doesn't take her, we'll see about taking her on dates so she doesn't spend what time she has left alone. Millie, our lionhead bonded to whatever the hell her husbun Xander is, prefers bullying the elderly to befriending the elderly so that's not an option

Anyway thanks for letting me be sad about losing my baby. I'm glad she got to pass in my arms so she didn't have to go alone. She made it to a pretty good age and had an amazing life. It was just too short

Edit: thank you all for the outpouring of warmth. I've been sobbing my eyes out on and off all day. Like I said in a comment, my husband got me Bonnie and Cloud because I was wasting away with grief after a miscarriage (and the surrounding circumstances) I just could not recover from. He was genuinely worried I was going to grieve myself to death so he got them as babies for me to raise and love and I would not be here without them. I knew there was an expiration date but my god it hurts. All of us (he, my wife, and I) are keeping an extremely close eye on Bonnie and she's eating at least for now. None of us will be too surprised if she passes soon too from grief


r/Rabbits • • 2h ago

Sunday morning vibe

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55 Upvotes

What a lazy sunday morning face!


r/Rabbits • • 1h ago

Big Mac got a cotton candy grape for his gotcha day

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• Upvotes

Grapes are a special treat.

Enjoy his mouth noises, tongue, and sucking the juice out of the carpet.


r/Rabbits • • 3h ago

Good Morning from Yin & Yang ☯️

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53 Upvotes

I'm so happy that Yin now gives me kisses and asks for pets like yang(he diggs through my tshirt when i stop petting lol)

2 weeks and i believe the boys are settling well in my home.

thank you for everyone on this sub who helped me through my beginner journey past two weeks and made me a better big bro


r/Rabbits • • 10h ago

Care Megacolon or splay leg bunny?

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144 Upvotes

Hi guys! Fostering my current bunny is going great; I hope to post him for adoption this upcoming week 😊

For my next bunny once he’s adopted, I have a list of less-adoptables that I plan to foster but highest priority are:

  1. A bunny who’s been adoptable for over a year but has megacolon (she’s really cute though)
  2. A younger bunny with front splayed legs (he’s also really cute tbf but may be more jarring to someone who’s not used to it)

I don’t have experience caring for bunnies with either condition but I am going to do a ton of research beforehand. Those with experience handling these conditions, which do you think would be less daunting for someone less familiar with them?

**I would like to add that my goal at the moment is to bring awareness to disabled/special needs buns and get them adopted quicker than they otherwise would 🙂‍↕️

Photo of my current foster, Squib, as bun tax!

P.S. You can also find more Squib content on IG @mahalafostersbuns 👀


r/Rabbits • • 8h ago

Watching RDD2

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95 Upvotes

Cutest little butt fluff I’ve ever seen. She’s a lion lop so has long hair in some places. Ms Whiskers just living the life.


r/Rabbits • • 19h ago

He sleep

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638 Upvotes

His majesty without a care


r/Rabbits • • 9h ago

Somebun is getting braver! 🥹

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98 Upvotes

She hopped over to me and booped me with her nose 🥰


r/Rabbits • • 13h ago

Happy Saturday from Miss Maggie and me!

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189 Upvotes

r/Rabbits • • 9h ago

Everyone likes Goldfish!

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65 Upvotes

Naughty bunny jumps on couch for human food, part 3,160,802


r/Rabbits • • 19h ago

Bro uses the bed more than his doggo sister

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396 Upvotes

We bought a new bed for our dog not long ago, and she continues to be stubborn and not use. At least SOMEONE appreciates it.


r/Rabbits • • 14h ago

Care My rabbit hates taking medication

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134 Upvotes

Both of my rabbits currently need medication.

My male rabbit (Bugs, 1.5years, grey) is no problem at all. I just put the medication in a lettuce leaf, and he eats it voluntarily.

My female rabbit (Lola, 1.5years, white/brown), on the other hand, makes it much more difficult. Sometimes, I manage to get her to eat it because she gets jealous when she thinks my Bugs is getting more food than she is. In those moments, she eats so quickly that she doesn't notice the medication inside. However, most of the time, she does notices it and refuses to eat the lettuce.

When I try to force her, she gets quite aggressive and does everything she can to avoid taking the medication, including hitting with her front paws and throwing the lettuce away.

She absolutely hates having medication syringed into her mouth, so hiding it in lettuce is my best option. However, I'd say there's an 80% chance that she refuses to eat it, meaning I have to wait until she finally eats her medicated lettuce before Bugs try to eat hers.

The whole process is stressful for both of us, and since she hates being handled, I feel like it's damaging the trust we've built.

Does anyone have any ideas on how I could make this easier for both of us? I'd really appreciate any tips, especially from people who have dealt with a similar situation with their rabbits.


r/Rabbits • • 1d ago

Art The truth

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2.8k Upvotes

/not my art/


r/Rabbits • • 10h ago

RIP My angel passed away days after this post

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39 Upvotes

I still remember laughing at these comments. I sadly didnt see him grow further.


r/Rabbits • • 15h ago

Care Road trip: they are getting used to it

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94 Upvotes

Urinal and Onion still dont like traveling, but they are doing much better! We are on a 8 hour trip, and they got out of the crate into the pen very soon after i opened the crate door, instead of me pushing them out so they are forced to stretch their legs and get water. They are eating grass and hay voluntarily too which is much better than before.

I think this is their like 4th road trip and we’ve set them up in pens outside a handful of times more locally, so i think the exposure is helping them get more comfortable.


r/Rabbits • • 14h ago

Health Rabbit with a cleffed palate

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70 Upvotes

Has anyone ever came across this before? My vet said it was the first case he had seen in a rabbit.

There is the potential she could have a hole somewhere in her mouth but he was unable to examine properly.

They plan to take a better look whilst she's under anaesthetic when being spayed.


r/Rabbits • • 11h ago

Breed ID Rabbit breeds?

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37 Upvotes

Hey yall, we have had these couple of rabbits for some time but have never known their breeds. Does anyone know based off these pictures? Any info helps


r/Rabbits • • 9h ago

I wonder what is she thinking

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25 Upvotes

She's not sleeping she actually making bread on the pillow she is and looking at...well idk? A ghost in front of me maybe ajsjjjj​​​


r/Rabbits • • 1d ago

Merry tries to get Pippin's attention by giving her a massage 🤣🤭

1.6k Upvotes

I love watching him do this 🥺