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Hi, about 4 weeks ago i got my first indoor rabbit. It’s a boy called Basil. Are you meant to take it to the vets for a check up? And are any vaccinations needed? Also do you have to cut their nails often, and how? I brush him about once a week, but he has very short hair, so does that need trimming often? He has a light brown coat, with bits of black and a white tail by the way. He lives in a pink cage upstairs, and goes out everyday on the front lawn is his out door run/hutch. But he sleeps inside as it gets quite chilly. We have 2 other pets (Cat and Dog), but they aren’t very keen on him, so we tend to separate them. Is that a good way for him to live? Thank-You, from Sophie
Rabbits do not need any vaccinations.
If you want to schedule a ‘wellness’ visit with your vet, just to give your rabbit a once-over and essentially introduce rabbit and vet to each other, that is fine.
However, rabbits really need only see the vet when they have health issues.
Go to the pet store and purchase special clippers to trim your rabbit’s nails.
Keep checking the nails. If they are too long, trim them. Just clip the ends off. If you go too deep you will cut the rabbit.
Think of it as trimming your hair. If it’s a little too long you can always go back and shorten it a little more, but once you’ve over-cut, it is not fixable, so better to err on the side of caution.
The rabbit is going to hate having this done so be sure to have a firm grip on him or you will accidentally hurt him.
This process will be smoother if the rabbit is familiar and comfortable with you, so the person who handles the rabbit the most is the best candidate for nail trimming.
You should not need to give your rabbit a haircut. If you are brushing him once a week and he seems to not have matted or knotted fur, that’s fine.
You may bathe your rabbit if need be (he pees on himself or whatnot).Never leave a rabbit unsupervised outside of their cage, particularly in a home with other pets. If Basil is out of the cage, be sure you are always close enough to immediately scoop him up if one of your other pets becomes aggressive.
Even if they don’t harm Basil, they will scare him half to death and he will not want to come out of his cage after that.
This will make handling him very difficult.I do not recommend bathing a rabbit. They are normally good at self grooming and take care of themselves pretty well. Getting them wet makes them suceptible to getting chilled, which can make them sick. If you do, make sure the room is warm and dry them ery well before take them out of the room.
Thank-you very much for your help! I will get some of those nail clippers, and take him for a check over soon.
I know, my Basil sometimes licks himself, and scratches. Thank-you for that advice.
I have a new boy too! His name is Howl well he’s not that new I guess. He is nearly 4mths old now. All I know is that his first vet appointment will be made when he’s ready to be desexed… (I’m waiting for him to beef up a bit…)
When I got him home first I made sure he had a secure indoor hutch and let him out occasionally now he roams free when ever I’m home… If he can go a few weeks without any ‘accidents’ on the bed/couches I’ll let him roam when I’m not home.
I guess I’ve made sure that there are no cords or other dangerous things around for him. He has lots of toys and his own patch of fake grass he seems to love a lot! He digs at that and chews his toys and hasn’t really taken an interest in my furniture/carpets.
I cut his nails a couple of weeks ago as they were scratching me when I handled him. So for him maybe every 8 weeks or so? I found that having an extra pair of hands helped.
I watch his poo a lot too lol I only let him eat vegies at 12 weeks and introduced them one at a time making sure none upset his tummy.
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