(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best small animal supplies

Don't give up on him! Give him a chance - he is not trying to be a bad bunny, it's hormones... you can fix this! Let me help with a few suggestions.

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Firstly you need to get him neutered! He is reached the age when he is hormonal and he can't help it....Getting him neutered will help this and many other things. It's imperative! I can share info on where to look for a vet and post op care and everything. It really is the absolute best investment you can make into his/her happy and healthy future. :)

In the short term give him a stuffed animals to take some frustration out on.

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Secondly a 36 inch space is not enough - he is frustrated with lack of space and acting out, try to expand it with a dog play pan ('ll suggest what you use for flooring below). You need a taller xpen so he can't jump out - 42 inches should be enough and it's under $50. Consider doing something like this and this. They are using a large dog crate (though you could use the one you have) and attached an xpen. The person kindly shared their set up and how they made it in this thread. You can use zipties to attach the xpen to the crate with ease. Or you can use the NIC griids you have to expand the space but just make them taller (again use zipties to attach).

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For flooring I got just the thing for you! :)

1. I highly suggest this indoor/outdoor rug - it is easy to clean, inexpensive, and due to a tight weave hard to chew. A lot of bunny parents on here use it and love it. :)
   
   1. This one chew and dig-proof, but if needed you can flip it upside-down and it's even more so. .. been tested.
      
   2. You can also get another one for when you let him out to explore to place over the carpet he loves to chew.
      
2. If he loves to dig though don't deny him, provide a good alternative instead on top of the rug below in one spot - these seagrass mats - they are safe and awesome.
   
3. Also try placing tiles (scraps are cheap) over spots he loves to chew temporarily, or weighed down boxes even.
   
4. Giving toys and things that are actually meant for digging and chewing will prevent the carpet digging (as in more targeted toys) - try to provide a box full for shredded paper to dig like this in or a cat scratcher like this one or something like this.
   
   No we have come to the last and most important point - bunnies are smart and they need toys to entertain them and stay out of trouble. In the absence of good things to chew they will chew the other things - chewing and digging is their natural instinct, so the solution is not to spot them, but to provide alternatives specifically meant for them to chew and dig and to reinforce them using it. Bunnies are very food-motivated so you can use food to train them to do what you want them to do. :)
   
   
5. I will mention some things to buy and make for toy for your bun below - don't think you need to get everything - start with some basic things and rotate toys to keep him interested. But the most important thing is reinforcing and redirecting. Bunnies unlike cats and dogs don't understand negative reinforcement or discipline at all, it scares them and actually leads to the opposite of desired results. But they do really understand positive reinforcement and build positive associations when you redirect bad behavior and reward good behavior. So you have to actively and diligently train the bunny overtime not to chew and dig the wrong things. Anytime you see digging or chewing, immediately try to offer a toy or some alternative instead and reward with a small treat when it works. This does need to be done very diligently each time you see him do things like that.
   
   So what to give as toys?
   
   
6. You say he likes to dig on your bed, provide to him a blanket or something you keep on your bed specifically for him - reinforce when he hops that that is his spot, he can dig that special blanket you give him just for him.
   
   1. Also give him a stuffed animal - so he doesn't feel lonely, that usually helps.
      
7. Bunnies like exporting type toys - tunnels, cardboard houses, willow and hay balls, chews, and treat puzzles . The two thread below have examples:
   
   1. https://www.reddit.com/r/Rabbits/comments/an8cut/rabbit_room_ideas/
      
   2. https://www.reddit.com/r/Rabbits/comments/ajf2vl/how_to_enrich_my_rabbits_life/
      
8. Also a couple suggestions below that are my personal favorites and all buns tend to enjoy:
   
   1. Treat/pellets ball - feed pellets in it vs a bowl
      
   2. Nesting cups - hide little treat bits between stacked cups, I have not met a bun who doesn't love these
      
   3. Plastic slinky - most buns love these
      
   4. Play house
      
   5. Dig box
      
9. Also try homemade things - the best I found was an empty egg carton stuffed wit favorite greens for him to figure out how to open. :)
   
   1. Or something like this https://www.reddit.com/r/Rabbits/comments/be338f/diy_pellet_dispenser/
      
   2. Or a homemade castle like this person did https://www.reddit.com/r/Rabbits/comments/bcl9p4/cardboard_castle/ - she has instructions on how to make one, send her a message.
      
10. Chew toys specifically - there are what you need to get to offer as alternatives to him chewing furniture!
    
    1. Willow and hay balls are great - good quality ones here https://shop.smallpetselect.com/collections/natural-toys-and-chews-for-rabbits
       
    2. They also have these logs where you can hide treats and pellets for fun - the bun would love to chew those I think and they last too. :)
       
    3. Great quality toys that are super fragrant and yummy to chew here https://www.farmerdavepetsupply.com/toys
       
    4. And thicker good chew sticks here https://www.farmerdavepetsupply.com/chew-sticks
       
       ​
       
       Why neutering is essential:
       
       It will help with the territorial hormonal behavior you may be seeing for sure but more than anything it will also tremendously improve you boys quality of life... imagine how frustrated you would be if you could not act on your instincts ever, and his are making a lot of little babies and he can never do that.. that is not the best thing for a bun. That in addition to litter habits and long term health (risk of testicular cancer and inflammation) are all reasons why I think neuter is worth it. Keep in mind though that after neuter, it takes about 4 to 6 weeks for the boys hormones to subside, so the behavior change won't be instant, but it will come.
       
       Neutering is a simpler and less risky (less costly) procedure than spaying, which is a big plus for boys. rescue! Do not hesitate! It is worth the risk and the cost!
       
       Take a look at this thread for a great summary of a personal account https://bunnyapproved.com/neutering-bunny/
       
       Having said this, picking a GOOD rabbit savvy vet is really key here. I would not go with the cheapest, not most expensive, but really try to get a good experience vet for bunnies and then ask for the cost (btw they offer payment plans).
       
       Try to google your local rabbit rescues, see what the closest House Rabbit Society chapter is. Dedicated rabbit rescues do a lot of spays and neuters (they never leave the buns unfixed) so they can always recommend a good and well priced vet. Often you can find this info right on their websites (look in different sections there) but if not an email with a question will get you a response. Also here you can also find a list of rabbit savvy vets by state to cross reference the info:
       
       https://rabbit.org/vet-listings/
       
       http://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Category:United_States

Your response was very unnecessary and pretty insulting. So allow me to clear the air.

>I didn't know anything about caring for rabbits when I got it, and now that I know how to take care of it, it's too much work/too expensive/too boring.

We knew exactly what we were getting into. Why do you think this was necessary to include in this post?

We willing left our rabbits with their genitals because we wanted to do a litter of kits. My gf is very attached to her rabbit and wanted him to make a litter. We went into this knowing we'd take care of them if we couldn't find good homes.
The buck and doe are separated at all times. They're not pumping out babies.

The buck got taken into the vet to be neutered today. As a matter of fact, you even commented on the post I made about an hour before this one talking about it.

> once your name gets out there as somebody who takes rabbits in...

Get out where? To who? This is one of those comments that was incredibly unnecessary. I'm not starting a rabbit farm. I'm not adopting. I'm not taking in strays. And we're not having more kits. We wanted 1 litter. We got 1 litter. And he was already at the vet for neutering before I even posted this. So what is your point?

> If you ever again find yourself in a situation where you have two rabbits but would prefer to have eight, please check Petfinder and your local Craigslist (or equivalent).

Again, we WANTED this litter. Do you go around telling pregnant women they're wrong for not adopting? Good god.

>You likely won't be able to keep any of them together in pairs or groups if they are not spayed/neutered

Again, why does this merit mentioning? Are you assuming I don't know that rabbits have sex constantly?
The males and females will be separated when they're 8 weeks old and the floors between the two cages will be sealed. I specifically designed this to accommodate both sexes before they're fixed. Even more proof we went into this with intent.

> Your cage isn't THAT big.

A cage with 4 floors where EACH FLOOR is 70 inches long by 14-28 inches tall by 28 inches wide isn't big? You have to be kidding. I'm over 6 feet tall and this thing is as long as me when I lay down. A 4x4 single floor isn't even in the same ballpark as a 4 floor cage where each floor is 70x28 inches. Can you please post a pic of your cage because you're being unrealistic with your sizes and you're assuming my cage is much small than it is.

$50 cage - 27 x 19 x 20 - 1 floor

$140 cage - 63.8 x 23.6 x 19.7 - 1 floor

$230 cage - 63.8 63.4 X 23.6 - 1 floor

None of those are even close. The largest one is still about 1/2 the square footage of our cage.

> 5x2 (even with multiple levels) is definitely not large enough for six adult rabbits

Again, math... How are you going to say 5x2 is the same thing as (2x6)*4? You can double your quoted 10 sq feet and still be closer to 0 than to the actual 48 sq feet they have.

To put that in perspective, here's a video of a 100 sq foot apt a guy in NYC lives in.

I honestly think you were intending to help and you may have been trying to be nice, but you failed at both.

This is a damn good home and far better than almost any rabbits get. They have gobs of space, someone who actually gives them a proper diet and doesn't gorge them on just pellets and/or hay, they're all setup to be fixed, they have access to fresh water 24x7, they have tons of toys including homemade ones, their cages get cleaned out regularly, they stay clean and get their nails trimmed regularly...and yet your comment made me feel like I was some shitbag redneck who jams 8 rabbits into a cat carrier and leaves them there most of the time because the responsibility can't be handled.

I didn't come for a lecture, especially one that doesn't apply to me. I just came here to share some pictures with this community.

If I could give one suggestion to you, it would be "Be more graceful with your posts."




Edit: Response from walkaroundtime that I caught before deletion:

> I think you misunderstood what my post meant. I should have been clearer.
>
> I wasn't referring to YOU with that first part. I meant the people giving up their rabbits. My main point was that there are lots of homeless rabbits.
>
> By "your name," I meant "one's name". As in, from my own personal experience, as a "rabbit person" known in the area, I hear from a lot of people looking to find new homes for their rabbits.
>
> I didn't mean keeping opposite sex unfixed rabbits together. I meant that even a group of unspayed females will likely have issues coexisting peacefully because of hormones. Nothing to do with reproduction.
>
> When I said your cage isn't "THAT big," I didn't mean that it's not a nice big cage. It's just not big enough for six adult rabbits. Multi-level cages are good, but it's not the same as having the same square footage on one plane. I'd be happy to have a discussion with you on the merits of multi-level cages for rabbits if you're interested but I won't go into too much detail now...
>
> I'm honestly not sure why you're so angry. Can you read my original post again with my clarifications in mind? Sorry if my wording wasn't the clearest.



Original post before it gets deleted, too:

> I and probably the majority of people here are generally anti-breeding in most cases. This is a perspective I've developed over the years as my house has basically become a repository for unwanted rabbits. To a casual observer, it might seem like the problem of homeless rabbits isn't as widespread as with cats and dogs, but once your name gets out there as somebody who takes rabbits in, you start getting inundated with calls from people with just the worst reasons for getting rid of them. ("I didn't know anything about caring for rabbits when I got it, and now that I know how to take care of it, it's too much work/too expensive/too boring.") To their credit, at least these people are acknowledging they can't care for the rabbit and finding it a better home rather than relegating it to a short miserable life in a tiny cage and no attention. If you ever again find yourself in a situation where you have two rabbits but would prefer to have eight, please check Petfinder and your local Craigslist (or equivalent). At least in the US, there are unwanted rabbits EVERYWHERE. Just something to keep in mind.
>
> But, your rabbits are very cute, and it looks like you're taking good care of them! I do have some suggestions:
>
> You likely won't be able to keep any of them together in pairs or groups if they are not spayed/neutered, even if they are the same gender. Unaltered rabbits can be very territorial.
>
> Your cage isn't THAT big. It's certainly a big improvement over the commercially available cages, but it's pretty standard for what people in the rabbit community usually recommend for a pair of rabbits. I never keep a single rabbit in anything smaller than 4'x4' unless they're recovering from surgery or something. 5x2 (even with multiple levels) is definitely not large enough for six adult rabbits, even if they are allowed to roam free for most of the day.
>
> If you do find other homes for any of the babies, please make sure you have an agreement with the new owners that they will get them spayed/neutered at the appropriate age, not just to prevent unwanted litters but for the health and happiness of the rabbit.

I get all my fleece from JoAnn stores. They often have fleece at 50% off per yard, so you can buy it in bulk and use it as needed. Any large fabric store will have lots of fleece in stock (I just prefer JoAnn because that's the best one I have in the area I live in). I'm sure you know this already, but just in case, please don't use cedar or pine chips as bedding for your rats; it's harmful to them. You can use fleece or aspen chip bedding (but freeze the aspen for 48 hours prior to use to make sure it's free of parasites).

I buy many rat toys on Amazon, and make some myself. If you're buying any kind of wooden rat toy, do be aware that many of them are made from soft woods like pine and cedar, which are super bad for rat respiratory systems. Hardwood toys are usually safe—just make sure it's not a combination wood that also has pine or cedar in it along with the hardwood. I personally do not buy wood toys on amazon, because the products often don't list what kind of wood they're made of. The only wood product I buy on Amazon is bags of untreated apple branch chewing sticks. I'll link you to some rat-safe toys and accessories I buy on amazon below! :)

Kaytee Lava Ledge
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00176F466/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s03?ie=UTF8&psc=1

15" Chin Spin - Small Animal Exercise Wheel - Handmade in USA (Expensive, but it's the very best and safest wheel for rats.)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GJ6SDBQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Bright Starts Lots of Links Accessory Toy (Great for hanging things up in the cage.)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001ABZGU2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&th=1

Small Animal Activity Toy Cotton Rope Net For Rat and Ferret Pet Bed for Parrot and Hamster Parrot
https://www.amazon.com/Animal-Activity-Cotton-Ferret-Hamster/dp/B0777NWKT9/ref=sr_1_2?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1519011945&sr=1-2&keywords=rat+rope+net

Kaytee Igloo Hideout, Large
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00068K132/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

ACCO Binder Clips, Medium, 2 Boxes, 12/Box (A7072050) (If using fleece as the bedding/liner in your cage, this helps to secure fleece to the Critter Nation pans.)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TQ8FDB8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Dr. Bronner's Pure-Castile Liquid Soap - Baby Unscented, 32oz. (I don't use any scented products with my rats since rat respiratory systems are so fragile, so this is the non-scented liquid soap I use to wash my hands and their non-fabric toys.)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DAI76TC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Pawliss Teeth Grinding Lava Block for Hamster Chinchilla Rabbit
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HGHA6VW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Aspen/Booda Corporation BBX56134 Byrdy Cable Cross Bird Toy, Medium
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003WRHTG6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

200g(7oz) Apple Sticks Pet Snacks Chew Toys for Guinea Pigs Chinchilla Squirrel Rabbits Hamster(About 50-70 Sticks) by MAIYUAN (The only wood product I buy on Amazon.)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06WLL641Y/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Ware Manufacturing Fun Tunnels Play Tube for Small Pets (Medium.)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001LUMU9M/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Ware Manufacturing Plastic Scatterless Lock-N-Litter Small Pet Pan- Colors May Vary (Regular size, not jumbo.)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003SLICDA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

JW Comfy Perch for Birds (Large, 36".)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002AR754/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Lixit Critter Space Pod 2 Large (You can hand these on the ceiling of the Critter Nation. My boys LOVE these!)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002X2NBNQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Lixit Lbg-16 Glass Small Animal Bottle 16 Oz (16oz is always best for rats because of the bigger water spout. I've found that smaller bottles are a struggle for my boys to get water out of, so I only use the small ones for rat carriers/transporter cages. Tip: filtered water is best for rats, so if you can, get a Britta water filter.)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002WYCFK0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Yummy Time Tiny Small Stoneware Pet/Dog Bowl
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01NAUMYDC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I buy Harlan Teklad (Envigo) food blocks for my rats, which is one of the top two for rats (the other is Oxbow Regal Rat). Harland Teklad is hard to find though, so I buy mine through this animal rescue:
http://weecompanions.org/healthy-food

If you get these blocks, freeze them to extend their shelf life, and take them out from the freezer as needed to fill your ratties' bowls. Harlan Teklad is great because they have several formulas for rats based on their age, which is super helpful for their health. Young rats up to 8 months usually eat Harlan Teklad 2016 (16% protein), and after 8 months they eat Harlan Teklad 2014 (14% protein).

Also, I don't have a link for this, but the best laundry detergents to use to wash your rats' cloth toys or bedding with is one that's non-scented and is sensitive on skins.

Um, if I think of anything else, I'll add it. But for now, it's already a ton. :P Enjoy!

(And feel free to message me if you have any questions!)