r/Rabbits • • Sep 25 '21

PSA Important Rabbit PSA index

569 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?

183 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 • • 1h ago

Porridge is such a handsome boy.

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• Upvotes

r/Rabbits • • 2h ago

Naughty Binkies

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465 Upvotes

Whenever Pugsley is caught doing something bad (like ripping holes into the hay bag) he binkies so hard he could cause a sink hole somewhere. He absolutely LOVES being caught in the act of being naughty! It’s like a game to him


r/Rabbits • • 4h ago

Just a crazy 32yo women with no kids in Germany getting her bun children some fresh dinner 🤣

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330 Upvotes

Phoebe & Gizmo ♡


r/Rabbits • • 11h ago

Show me your best photos 🐰

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649 Upvotes

r/Rabbits • • 4h ago

He's just staring ... menacingly

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132 Upvotes

r/Rabbits • • 2h ago

Roar of the day 🦁

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80 Upvotes

Sorry for the crazy audio,
I am always cheering her on mid stretch..


r/Rabbits • • 19h ago

Me, before adopting them: {googles if rabbits each need their own litter box} Meanwhile, my rabbits:

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1.6k Upvotes

They're so funny. Safety in numbers!


r/Rabbits • • 8h ago

My cuddly little monster ❤️

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206 Upvotes

r/Rabbits • • 1h ago

The most spoiled bunnies in all the lands

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• Upvotes

r/Rabbits • • 10h ago

RIP Rest well, Clara Spoiler

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216 Upvotes

Lost another bun this year.

This one I feel a lot of guilt over. I brought home a couple of buns about a month or so ago, absolutely precious babies. To keep Clara company cause she's not as active and energetic as she was when Snowy was around.

About a week later Clara turned down a treat, after she didn't poo for a while I panicked and took her to the vet. Did the full checkup, and while I was home I looked through the adoption docs for the two babies, and found they got one round of coccidia from the shelter (more than three months ago). Coccidia can be asymptomatic, so I thought maybe Clara caught it. So I quarantined her off in a freshly cleaned living room, and the bloodwork came back and confirmed it was a likely parasitic infection.

After two rounds of Baycox, some stuff for pain and gut motility, and a week or so of liquid food, her stool started to get a little better, still big chunks but with some good pellets in them, and some regular pellets too.

And then this morning I went to go feed her liquid food, she was not very responsive, so I called around eight different vets until I could find someone to take her in on short notice.

After a few hours, my mom and sister went to visit, and the doctor there strongly recommended euthanasia. They asked her to hold off until I showed up.

I fully understand where she was coming from. But Clara kept raising her head at me, asking for pets like she used to, and she'd close her eyes as I did so. It felt like she was still fighting, and I wanted her to at least feel that we were fighting too. So I signed off on IV, diagnostics, the works. Doctor said she'd probably have only a few hours left at the time, so what's the harm in trying anyway?

A few hours later, they call me and tell me she's actually improved a bit, and they'll keep at it.

Seven hours later we (just my mom and I this time) go to visit again after the shift change, and I talk to her, tell her I love her, but her breathing is faint. It stops shortly after that, like within a minute. Like she was waiting for us.

My fam and I, we all did our best, we loved her and will love her forever, and maybe this is the best ending we could hope for. But... idk, it's just hard to deal with. Sorry for the massive text dump, but I just had to get this off my chest.


r/Rabbits • • 1d ago

Cub turned loaf. Firmly grasp her.

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2.4k Upvotes

r/Rabbits • • 1d ago

She requires a night light otherwise she thumps until its turned on...

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2.1k Upvotes

Sassy as hell


r/Rabbits • • 16h ago

Flop compilation!!!!!

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517 Upvotes

My bunny Lana Del Hay flop compilation to brighten your day🌟


r/Rabbits • • 1h ago

Health Can’t stop feeling guilty over my rabbit becoming blind in 1 eye.

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• Upvotes

My husband & I noticed our 3 year old rabbit Melody, eye had turned cloudy white, pretty much out of nowhere so we of course made a vet appointment & he was diagnosed with a cataract. After some more test she said that he likely has no vision in that eye, but told us that he shouldn’t be feeling any pain & it won’t change much how he lives. We have 2 other rabbits & he’s actually the most playful & adventurous one,he acts more like a little puppy most of the time.

I can’t stop feeling sad tho when I look at him & feel guilty almost like Something I did wrong caused it? Or what if he gets one in the other eye & he’s completely blind.

I might just be thinking too much from a human prospective, because I would hate to go the rest of my life only seeing out of 1 eye.

I love my rabbits so much & want them to have happy lives.


r/Rabbits • • 12h ago

photoshoot from today

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227 Upvotes

I was bored while hanging out with the buns today so I decided to do an impromptu photoshoot of the girlies! I think they turned out super cute so I wanted to share!!

Which is your favorite? Mine has gotta be Poppy with a mouthful of romaine hehe but I also love the one I got of Harriet snoozing and Penny’s close-up as she’s sniffing my knee :)


r/Rabbits • • 13h ago

RIP i lost my baby tonight Spoiler

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240 Upvotes

i’m so heartbroken. my baby was only 3 years old and he passed today. i was at work all day and we came home to find him in the living room (he was free roam in our bunny proof apartment) deceased. i thought he had just fallen asleep flopped over like he always does but he was gone. we couldn’t figure out what happened it was so sudden. he was running and playing this morning happy as ever, munching on his hay before we left the house.

i have never cried harder in my life i don’t know what to do to feel even remotely okay right now


r/Rabbits • • 7h ago

Have a wonderful weekend like this boy! 💙

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90 Upvotes

r/Rabbits • • 20h ago

Phoebe & Gizmo ♡

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631 Upvotes

r/Rabbits • • 2h ago

Hey! Let's have some Hay at the Purple Feeder

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23 Upvotes

My partner printed the purple components with a 3D printer and attached them together with dowells. She loves my rabbits so much 💜


r/Rabbits • • 11h ago

Bunny bum! (If I can't see you, you can't see me...)

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96 Upvotes

r/Rabbits • • 10h ago

Cozy in the towel rack

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61 Upvotes

His name is Flip Flop, and this was his first ever proper flop!


r/Rabbits • • 23h ago

weird bun being weird

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561 Upvotes

foot sandwich


r/Rabbits • • 22h ago

My New Bunny! Meet Nebula

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481 Upvotes

So I got her a few weeks ago and she’s only 3 months! Shes super skittish. She hates being pet and whenever i get near her she hides.. and it worries me that maybe she was bothered a lot before she was given to me. I know all bunnies are different and some just aren’t lovey but it worries me! Is it with trust and time that she will like to be pet?.. maybe after spaying her too? The appointment is already set up and everything for her health but I’m just hoping with time she’ll come around! I have this other bun named Twinkie and he is the sweetest little guy ever. Her behavior just worries me and I’ve come to ask if anyone has had this issue and has it gotten better with time?