10 Fun Facts About Rabbits
This article is written by Pet Circle veterinarian,
Rabbits are often misunderstood as boring pets, or mislabelled as cheap starter pets that don't need attention, and sadly, nothing could be further from the truth. These cute, furry little animals are intelligent and display complex behaviours, and they also have lots of special requirements that actually make them challenging pets to keep. However, they make up for the effort by being funny little companions that are small in size but big on personality.
Pet rabbits need space, enrichment, friends, and a special diet. They're also capable of being toilet trained, and shouldn't be kept in a cage. In the proper environment, pet rabbits blossom and allow their humans into their special little worlds.
1. Rabbits are not rodents
Rabbits belong to their very own order - the Lagomorphs. Lagomorphs consist of over 100 species including rabbits, hares, and pikas. There are several characteristics that distinguish Lagomorphs from rodents, such as four incisors in the upper jaw as opposed to two in rodents, furred feet instead of footpads, and a solely herbivorous diet. There are also many species of rabbit, with our domestic pet rabbits belonging to the species Oryctolagus cuniculus. The American cottontail rabbit belongs to the genus Silvilagus. There are even endangered species of rabbit, such as the Volcano rabbit (Romerolagus diazi)!
2. Rabbits are not a "starter pet"
Rabbits require a lot of care, and many pet owners feel that they are more difficult to care for than dogs or cats! Sadly, this misunderstanding has led to serious welfare issues in many pet rabbits. Most rabbits do not like being picked up and cuddled, and as they are prey animals, they have a strong flight response. Because of these characteristics, rabbits are not good pets for children. They also require a complex diet consisting of fresh hay, a variety of leafy greens, and a small amount of quality pellets, and a single product will not fulfil their needs like a dog or cat. Furthermore, rabbits should be kept indoors in Australia due to the hot summers we experience, as well as the rise of urban predators like foxes. Finally, rabbits tend to hide symptoms of illness, and tend to become timid and withdrawn in less than ideal surroundings, leading to the impression that they are unsociable and unintelligent.
3. Rabbits are intelligent and interactive
Because rabbits are prey animals, they will not show their full range of behaviour and personality when they feel threatened, and it can take rabbits several months to fully relax in their environment. Once they relax and feel safe, they are funny, demanding, audacious, and inquisitive pets! Having rabbits as free-roam indoor pets also allows them to demonstrate their full range of behaviour, and they can also properly integrate into the family when kept indoors. Rabbits benefit from food puzzle toys, a variety of fresh leafy greens, and they love to chew and tear apart items like cardboard boxes. They are also very routine-oriented, and have a very strong opinion about mealtimes, especially if they’re late! They can also be trained to perform tricks, and will often train themselves to respond to common household noises like packets crinkling and fridges opening!
4. Rabbits are very clean and easy to litter train
Rabbits are extremely clean and will groom themselves thoroughly on a regular basis. They also prefer to toilet in the same place, usually in corners, and so they are very easy to litter train, and litter training rabbits often just involves putting litter boxes in the corners of a room! Rabbits clean themselves so much that they can put themselves at risk for developing gut problems due to ingested hair. They will also groom each other as a social behaviour.
5. Rabbits need friends
Rabbits are social animals, and their natural behaviours include lots of social activities like grooming, snuggling, and playing. However, they make it difficult for rabbit owners as not all rabbits will get along! Rabbits need to go through a process called “bonding” to become friends. This is because rabbits are very territorial, and will see a new rabbit as an intruder to their home at first, and they need to be introduced in a neutral environment prior to moving in together. This makes sense as you wouldn’t want some stranger just showing up at your door with a suitcase! Sadly, this is misinterpreted by some owners as their rabbit not wanting a friend. Many rabbit rescues will allow bonding on site, and they will also have an initial grace period in case it doesn’t work out.
6. Rabbits need special veterinary care
Although they are a common pet, they are considered an exotic species as their needs, anatomy, and physiology are so different from cats and dogs. Some general practice veterinary clinics will have vets on staff that are comfortable seeing rabbits for routine procedures and checkups, but they may still need to refer to a more specialised vet for other procedures. This can be challenging for rabbit owners that live in rural areas. This also means that veterinary care for rabbits can cost the same or more than a dog or a cat. This makes sense when you think about it, as these little animals have complex body systems that are more difficult to deal with due to their size and fragility.
7. Rabbits' teeth grow continuously throughout their lives
While rabbits do have baby teeth, these are lost before they are born and their adult teeth grow constantly. This is an adaptation to a diet rich in fibrous, coarse vegetation like grass. As their diet wears down their teeth, new tooth erupts. If this didn’t happen, they would lose the ability to eat very quickly due to wear and tear. Because of this adaptation, a proper diet is very important for rabbits, as if their teeth aren’t worn down appropriately, dental disease can develop where their teeth grow sharp points, causing pain and soft tissue damage. Dental disease can even cause jaw fractures, bony infection, and once it develops past a certain point, it can never be cured. This is very different to dogs and cats where they have a single set of adult teeth.
8. Rabbits eat hay, not carrots
Hay and grass have a special inclusion that makes them uniquely suited for wearing down teeth. These plants contain silicates within their leaves to allow them to stand upright - silicates are basically glass! Other vegetables aren’t hard enough to wear teeth down appropriately, and even wood isn’t good enough for the job! It’s like how only diamonds can be used to cut diamonds. Hay should be 80-90% of a rabbit’s diet, and just like us, they are less inclined to eat foods that are good for them! That means that rabbits will eat other food like treats or pellets preferentially over hay. This is because high calorie foods like those are few and far between for wild rabbits, and so they feel like they have to eat as much of that as they can while it is available. Because of this behaviour, hay should be offered ad lib, but all other foods limited to encourage hay consumption.
9. Rabbits can live for 10-15 years
Rabbits can live longer than some breeds of dog! As we learn more about their needs and develop veterinary care to suit rabbits, we are continuing to extend their lifespans long past their natural lifespan in the wild. As rabbits are prey animals, they may live only 1-2 years in the wild due to natural pressures. Management of rabbit illnesses are also continuing to improve, and exotic veterinarians are constantly finding new ways to manage disease. Choosing to have a pet rabbit is a long term commitment, and they will require the same level of care when they are older as a dog or a cat.
10. Rabbits need environmental enrichment
Rabbits are complex animals, and so they need enrichment in their lives just like dogs and cats. Many rabbits are very food motivated, and high value food like pellets and treats can be fed in food puzzle toys. Many food puzzle toys designed for cats will work well for rabbits, but keep in mind that they do not use their front legs to bat or paw like cats do. They are also natural tunnellers, and so cat tunnels are a great enrichment item for them. They also love to chew and destroy things, and cardboard boxes or cardboard cat scratchers are great options for rabbit toys.
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