Toys For RabbitsWritten by Sarah Giers
Just like a dog, a cat, or a child, rabbits love to play. They need mental, physical, and social stimulation just like any other pet does. A rabbit cooped up in a cage all time with nothing to do is a bored rabbit. Some breeds in particular are apt to get bored. These include Tans, Checkered Giants, and Britannia Petites, among others.Toys keep your rabbit from being bored, and they also keep its mind sharp. Toys that make your rabbit think are best. Some parrot toys are exellent because they are designed to keep a parrot thinking, which keeps it from being bored. Toys keep a rabbit active, which in turn keeps it in good physical condition. This promotes health and vigor which can lead to a longer lifespan foryour bunny. If you use toys to play with your bunny, your bunny will associate fun with you. This will cause it to bond more closely with you. Try rolling a ball toward it and watch how it will curiously approach ball. When
| | Weather Extremes and Your RabbitWritten by Sarah Giers
Rabbits do well both indoors and outdoors, but they cannot handle certain weather extremes.Hot Weather Rabbits do not handle hot weather well at all. To them, 80 degrees is hot. In order to prevent your rabbit from suffering in heat, there are several things you can do. 1. Make sure it has fresh, cool water throughout day. 2. Put water in plastic soda bottles or milk jugs and freeze them. Place onein cage and rabbit will lean against it to stay cool. 3. Make sure rabbit's hutch or cage is fully shaded. 4. Set up a mister system or a fan near your bunny's cage. Those things will generally keep your rabbit cool enough. However, be on lookout for signs of heatstroke. These include heavy panting and wet mouths. Another side affect of heat is in reguards to breeding rabbits. Bucks may go temporarily sterile, especially older bucks. Does may refuse to breed or loose litters. Cold Weather Rabbits usually handle cold weather a lot better than they do hot weather. So long as they are kept out of wind and are kept dry, they usually do fine. However, if they are not used to cold weather, or are particularly sensetive to it, there are some things you can do to help. 1. Provide hay for them to eat and to dig into. The hay will create extra calories for them to burn, which makes more body heat. They will also nest in it, trapping body heat close to them. 2. Be sure they have fresh water at all times. If water freezes, get ice out and give rabbit fresh water. Ice is not enough for a rabbit. Do not give them warm water, as that actually freezes down faster than lukewarm water does. 3. If you do bring your rabbit inside, do not put it in a warm room. Keep it in coolest room you have, or when you take it back outside, temperature change will be a drastic shock on its system. 4. Place tarps or blankets over hutch or cage, leaving a corner open for fresh air. This helps retain rabbit's body heat in cage, increasing temperature a bit.
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