The Rabbit truth

I thought about calling this journal "Easter's Victims" or "Easter's Forgotten Casualties," but I knew that would just cause a lot of flaming. lol.

Yes, as Easter roles around pet shops all across america will be stocking up on their spring time pets---Bunnies. They're indescribebly cute and fluffy and every child's dream pet. Right? Wrong!

Parents every year buy into their child's pleas for this seemingly easy to care for animal. Their pleas will be laced with promises of resposibilty, but rest assured the adults will eventually end up taking care of the rabbit(s).

Rabbits require a lot of care and attention, they are not like cats where you can just leave food out of them and leave over a weekend, nor are they like dogs in that you can leave them to their own devices around the house. They are intellegent creatures that require interaction and constant care. They are also difficult to tollerate when they go through puberty, which is around 3-4 months of age...suddenly your nice bunny becomes an irritable rabbit. This is easily fixed by getting your rabbit 'fixed'---pun intended.

80% of rabbits sold in pet stores find themselves homeless at one point or another in their life. Why is the number so high? Because pet stores are out to make a buck and these animals are viewed as disposable. Often times, once the responsiblity of caring for this animal becomes too great for the child and the parent they will release the rabbit into the wild. Unfortunetly, this will lead to the rabbits death, either from freezing to death, for their coats are no longer able to withstand the cold from four hundred years of being domesticated or they will surcome to preditors easily since they are not used to being hunted. Or if they are lucky they will end up at the pound.

So why should you get a rabbit? Well, for one they are freakin' cute as hell....but that shouldn't be the only reason. They are very intelligent, they are easily contained, they are quite (perfect for appartment living), and they are very affectionate. You really need to know what you are getting into. For example....rabbits love to chew on things....everything, their things, your things...electrical cords, your ipod....nothing is really sacred to them. So you pretty much have to child proof your place for your rabbit and provide them with acceptible things to chew on to distract them.

You can't expect to just leave your bunny in her cage all the time...she will become depressed! Yes, rabbits are very intelligent and need interaction and "out time." They long to run around like little maniacs. A couple of hours a day will ensure great exercise for your rabbit and keep them happy---although they will probably beg for more time out.

Rabbits don't like other rabbits...plain and simple. They get a long best with guinipigs....so if you feel your bunny needs a friend in her cage that is the safest bet. You can also do two girl bunnies from the same litter, but don't expect too much as they hit puberty. Boys will fight! So get them fixed if you think you want two boys. (Girls will fight too if you get them at separate times.) So while one rabbit is great, two is not better. Trust me, I know....lol.

Rabbits are very rewarding creatures and I am constantly surprised at how damn smart they are....crafty evil little bundles of fluff. I love my Bunny-saurus and Scrappy, but I am glad I did research on them before I bought. So don't impluse buy for yourself or your kid...do yourself and the rabbit a favor and really think it through before you buy.


NONE of these pictures belong to me...I snagged them off DA for fun. I don't have picture of my bunnies, because I broke my digital camera.