Bunnies?

[Miranda]

I want a bunny. SO says no. Apparently the few friends he's known who got bunnies couldn't stand them after they hit maturity. He says they become destructive. Is this true? I've always heard they're just like cats most of the time.

[horsepoor21]

I've had rabbits the majority of my life . I'm not sure what your SO means by descructive ? I've never really noticed a change in my bunnies as they've gotten older except for urinating , but I've read that getting your bunny neutered helps with that . I think they are awesome pets but I wouldn't personally compare them to a typical cat . Our new bunny ( no name yet ...) and Floppy ( who I just lost recently) are/were house bunnies . They have litter boxes in several rooms of the house , he spends the majority of the day exploring , playing with toys , napping on the couch , eating . Ok  , I guess that sounds alot like a cat . LOL But my bunnies are always happy to be around us , always looking for attention and cats that we've had were not like that , they got to choose when they wanted us to love on them . It seems my bunnies are always ready ! So ,I hope that kind of answers your question ? Talk to Gypsy Jazmin , she's got two house bunnies 

[Miranda]

I guess his friends' bunnies destroyed things when they got older, like carpet, pillows, blankets, etc. I don't know. The one house bunny I've ever had didn't live much past maturity, but he didn't destroy things.

[horsepoor21]

Well Floppy and my new bunny are only about 4 months old so not to maturity yet but my old house bunny I had when I was little , and several I've has since lived long lives and I didn't have that problem . Yes , they have chewed on stuff , all bunnies seem to find the electric cords that you haven't hidden well enough . And Floppy was obsessed with my daughter's Sippy Cups ! LOL But I would say , if anything , they're like cats and dogs in the sence that as they get older they mellow out more . In my experience anyhow ! What kind of bunny are you thinking of getting ?

[Miranda]

I'd really like a Giant Lop or an Angora. But more than likely, I'd just go to the shelter because I've heard the shelters in Ft.Worth have way too many bunnies.

[horsepoor21]

My Floppy and the new bunny ( brothers) are English Lops so they are on the giant side . I've also had Rex's , Mini Lops , Himilayan ,Californians and Lionheads . My favorite thus far is definetly the English Lop . They have such great personalities ! But my mini lop came in a close second . I think that's a great idea to adopt one from the shelter ! I was interested in doing that but I really wanted to find a bunny that wouldn't be scared or scratch up my small kids so I went with a breeder . My bunnies lost their mom this summer so they are hand fed , super sweet ! ... and spoiled ! 

[Miranda]

Yeah, the inside bunny I had as a kid was a mini rex. He was a 4-H rabbit and had even won at a few fairs before I got him. He was awesome, but a few months after I got him he ran outside and the outside dogs got him

[horsepoor21]

Awww , how sad ! When I was little , I had a rabbit hutch outside that had three seperate cages to it , and I kept my three rabbits in there . We were gone for the day and when we got back there was rabbit hair all over the yard .... Our black lab and irish setter/golden retriever got them ...

[Gypsy Jazmine]

Bunns can be very destructive in the house if not supervised closely...They like to dig & will start in the corners of a room & tear the carpet up in no time flat...They also are very attracted to electrical cords & will bite them in half resulting in electrical shock or death...If you are going to leave a bunny to run the house covering the cords in something they can't chew through is a MUST!!...Bunnies turn very hormonal when they reach maturity & can be nasty...I have a 3 inch scar on my left thigh where Jack layed my leg open with his powerful hind feet...I also suffered many bites that left broeken skin or blood blisters...I strongly recommend neutering male bunnies by a vet experienced with them...They will spray & it stinks to high heaven...Bunni es do not like to have their feet off of the floor so do not usually like to be cuddled & held...They are not the docile sweet creatures they are made out to be...They are highly intelligent animals & need things to keep them occupied or they will find things to do & usually you will not like it...I have read one bunny expert compare them in intelligence & temperment to a parrot & I would tend to agree with this...Make sure if you get a bunny to do much research first as to their nutritional requirments &  behaivor...If not kept as they should be they do not live long...They are fragile animals when things are not right for them...But they are a joy to have & ours will hang out in the living room with us jsut like our dogs...We really enjoy them!

[horsepoor21]

How Chelle , no wonder you call them "the evils" ! I've had bad scratches , but never bites , or the digging probs either . Whew , hope my new bunny isn't "evil" hehehe   

[Miranda]

Heh...after a little prodding, Justin revealed the source of his hatred of bunnies. It turns out, I was there for some of it, just wasn't aware of the extent! One of his roommates in college had a bunny, and she let it wander the house, but it wasn't litter trained, so it left little souveniers everywhere. I had completely forgotten about the rabbit! This certain roommate wouldn't even clean up after herself, so cleaning up after the rabbit was out of the question. Since I was dating Justin, whenever I would come to stay the weekend or anything I'd do a little vacuuming. It turns out that bunny did the digging thing and dug up a bunch of carpet in the living room. Nobody really noticed it because he did it behind the furniture, so when Justin went to move out, he moved the furniture and there was no more carpet! Needless to say, he didn't get his deposit back for that place!

[horsepoor21]

Ooooh , well that would explain it ! Well , maybe he'll go for it if you both pick out the bunny together and share the responsibility in caring for it ? It doesn't have to be loose 24/7 .