Good Bunny, Bad Bunny: The House Bunny
Can you keep your rabbit indoors? Yes, you can. In fact it's even recommended by most rabbit experts. This section contains advice on bringing your rabbit indoors and making it as much a part of the family as Whiskers and Fido.
Starting Out
It is not recommended that you give your rabbit free range of the house, especially when it is young and new to your home. One room is usually more than enough space for you to spend time with your rabbit, and for it to get exercise. It's also a place in which you can remember to look out for the bunny. Some rabbits just love to get underfoot, and unless you want to spend your days shuffling through the house, afraid to take a full step in case you either squish the silent bunny or boot it across the room, it is best to have a designated bunny area, especially if you have children, or if you happen to be a child yourself. Kids love to run about in their own little universes, and a kid vs bunny collision very rarely has a positive result for the child or the bunny.
Bunny Proofing
That's right, just like a baby, if you intend to let a bunny lose in your home, you will need to bunny proof. Rabbits have a charming habit of wanting to chew at electrical cords, so the first order of the day should be to get all cords in the room where your rabbit will be out of the way. Covering cords in insulation piping is an excellent idea, as it keeps the cords safe from prying bunny teeth.
Some people think that the electricity running through the cords attracts the bunny, others posit that cords remind a rabbit of the roots which would naturally grow through underground burrows. Whatever the reason, I can assure you that rabbits adore cords, and will think nothing of casually hopping up to them and slicing through them with their sharp incisors, then hopping away again, satisfied with a job well done, leaving you gaping at a now blank television screen and contemplating a hefty repair bill or a replacement set.
House plants are also a potential hazard for a bunny. If you have house plants, either remove them from the room where the bunny roams, or put them up in high places. Domestic rabbits take a guess and test approach to supplementing their diet, and that can be fatal.
Next:House Bunny Litter Training
Back to Contents: Good Bunny, Bad Bunny
