2torial #0931:
Learn2 Care for a Pet Rabbit (continued)

Care for it

Contact with your bunny--watching it and touching it--cements your relationship and helps you check for signs of illness.

The pick up. Rabbits can be injured if you pick them up the wrong way--usually by straining their backs as they jerk in your grasp or breaking bones if they jump from your arms. Baby bunnies can be picked up by the scruff of the neck, but their rumps should be immediately cradled in your hand or arm. To pick up larger rabbits, place one hand across its chest and support its rear end in your other hand, then lift. When you carry a rabbit, support its whole weight. If you can help it, don't hold on to a struggling rabbit--it doesn't want to be held or carried.

Pet and groom the bunny. Stroke a rabbit gently in the direction its fur grows. Don't pat it like you would a dog. Brush its coat every week, or more often in the molting seasons (spring and fall) or if it has long hair. Like cats, rabbits groom themselves by licking. Unlike cats, they can't vomit up their hairballs, which can cause intestinal blockage and death. Ask your vet or breeder to show you how to clip the rabbit's toenails.

Should I "fix" it? Even if you don't think your rabbit will ever get the chance to breed, there are good reasons to spay or neuter it. Altered male rabbits tend to be less aggressive, and they usually stop spraying urine to mark their territory. Both males and females have significantly lower rates of reproductive cancer if they are "fixed."

The three best things you can do for your rabbit's health are:

1. Buy or borrow a book on rabbit care and read up on common health issues.

2. Find a veterinarian who is experienced with pet rabbits (as opposed to a dog and cat specialist, or a vet who treats farm rabbits).

3. Take loving care of the rabbit. Give it plenty of good food and water, exercise, company, rest, and recreation. Spend as much time with it as you would a dog or cat, and it will stay as healthy and affectionate as can be.

-end-

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