Many breeds of rabbits have been domesticated as pets, and today, they’re the 3rd-most-popular pet in the United States. While pet rabbits can be kept outdoors if provided with the correct environment and safe shelter, many owners keep their furry friends indoors where they can interact and engage with them more easily.
If you plan to adopt a rabbit and keep them indoors, the information below will help you make your rabbit feel right at home. We’ll discuss everything you need to know about keeping a rabbit indoors.
The 11 Tips to Keep Your Rabbit Indoors
1. Provide Your Rabbit With Plenty of Space
Before getting a rabbit, consider if you have sufficient space and time to give them. Even when keeping rabbits inside, their hutch should be spacious, including at least one resting sheltered area, as well as an exercise area. This means setting out a large pen, or even dedicating a whole room for your bunny.
Rabbits thrive in a space they can call their own, including a spacious area where they can stretch, move around, run, dig and burrow into when they want to relax. Some rabbit owners prepare a large indoor hutch for their rabbits, and others give their pets an entire room to themselves, which is why it’s crucial to consider these requirements before getting a rabbit.
According to the PDSA, the home base area needs to be at least 10 ft x 6 ft x 3ft (3m x 2m x 1m) for a pair of bunnies, and this is the bare minimum they need. This doesn’t involve the exercise pen, which should be much larger. It’s also best to purchase or make a hutch with a wooden or metal base but not one made from chicken wire. Walking around on chicken wire all day, every day, can cause injuries to your rabbit’s hocks.
2. You Must Rabbit-Proof Your Home if Your Rabbit Runs Freely
Just as you would for a dog or cat, you must rabbit-proof your home if you plan to give your pet free rein in your house. That includes removing toxic plants and anything else that could harm them. It also includes securing the wires in your home since rabbits may chew on them. Rabbits should exercise outside of their hutch at least once daily, and need to be able to express their natural behaviors, such as chewing, grazing on fresh grass and digging. All of this ensures their needs are met and their wellbeing is looked after.
3. Your Rabbit Needs to Run Around Outside of Their Hutch
Another important tip about keeping a rabbit indoors especially if you have no means to provide them with an outdoor exercise area, is that you should let your pet explore and run outside the hutch at least once a day. A rabbit that’s kept in their hutch all the time can suffer from behavioral disorders, frustration and boredom, and may become anxious and stressed. Allowing your pet to run around in a controlled area outside of their pen is thus essential to your rabbit’s health.
4. Your Rabbit Needs a Constant Supply of Fresh Hay
Not only do rabbits eat a lot of hay, but they also do it for several specific reasons. First, eating a constant supply of hay helps keep a rabbit’s digestive system healthy and functioning correctly. The second is that eating hay helps a rabbit keep their teeth at adequate length. If they don’t have enough hay, their teeth will grow longer until they cause several health problems.
5. A Paper-Based Litter Is Best for Your Rabbit’s Litter Box
Although it’s relatively easy to train a rabbit to use a litter box, you must purchase suitable litter for them. Many cat litters, especially those made from clay or softwood, can make your pet rabbit sick. Rabbit lovers recommend using paper-based litter made from organic materials.
You can also line your rabbit’s litter box with newspaper and put hay on top. If you use the latter method, be sure to replace the hay frequently.
6. To Prevent Chewing, Keep Your Rabbit Occupied
Just like a dog that becomes bored when left alone, your rabbit might chew or dig when they have nothing to do. That’s why you should ensure your rabbit has plenty of toys to play with, safe materials to chew and fun ways to stay physically and mentally engaged. One excellent suggestion is to fill a paper towel roll with hay and give it to your rabbit. It will keep them occupied and give your pet something yummy and healthy to munch on. Dedicate sufficient time every day to play with your rabbit.
7. Expect Your Rabbit to Engage in Chinning
When you have a pet rabbit, one of the activities you might see them engage in is rubbing their chin against different objects and people. This activity, called chinning, isn’t for pleasure but to allow the rabbit to leave their mark, much like a dog urinates or a cat sprays.
Rabbits have a specialized gland under their chin that allows them to do this. When they rub their chin against something, including other rabbits and people, this special gland releases a scent undetectable to humans. What’s truly fascinating, however, is that every rabbit has a unique scent, much like a human fingerprint.
8. Your Rabbit Needs a Constant Supply of Fresh Water
Like all animals and pets, a rabbit needs water to drink, thrive, and survive. You should ensure that your rabbit has water available to drink 24 hours a day and that you refresh their water daily. Most rabbit owners use a large water bottle with a straw that they attach to their rabbit’s hutch, but some rabbits like to drink from a bowl.
Using a low-rimmed, heavy water bowl is also possible, but you’ll need to attach the bowl securely to prevent your rabbit from constantly tipping it over and spilling the water.
9. Learn Your Rabbit’s Body Language
Make sure to familiarize yourself with your rabbit’s body language so you are able to detect subtle cues from them, meant to tell you how they are feeling and coping with their environment. When the pet rabbit stands up on their hind legs, many owners believe they’re trying to get attention or engage with them. However, this activity is typically performed when a rabbit scans the area for danger, including predators, or feels frightened. You might find that surprising, considering that your rabbit is being kept indoors, but as a prey animal, a rabbit’s instincts are incredibly strong.
They tell them to constantly scan for danger, even in the relative safety of a house. This behavior is usually reduced the longer a rabbit is housed indoors and feels safer in their environment. Make sure other pets are kept away from the rabbit’s hutch and exercise area, in order to avoid any unnecessary stress for the rabbit.
10. Head Butting Is a Rabbit’s Way of Asking to Be Groomed or Petted
Like chinning, head-butting is an activity you may occasionally notice your rabbit engaging in. It is a method rabbits use to tell other rabbits they want to be groomed. If you have more than one rabbit at home, you might see them head-butting each other occasionally, which is nothing to worry about.
Some rabbits will head butt or nudge their owners for the same reason or to encourage their favorite human to pet them.
- Related Read: How to Feed a Baby Rabbit (And What to Feed Them)
11. Your Rabbit’s Hutch Must Be Taller than They Are
As mentioned earlier, it’s normal for a rabbit to stand on its hind legs while it scans for danger and predators. Because of that, any hutch you purchase for your rabbit must be taller than your pet when standing on its hind legs. That way, when your rabbit scans the room, it doesn’t hit its head.
It’s also best to purchase a hutch with a wooden or metal base but not one made from chicken wire. Walking around on chicken wire all day, every day, can cause injuries to your rabbit’s hocks.
Final Thoughts
As the 3rd-most popular pet in the United States, you’ll find rabbits in many American homes. It’s certainly possible to keep your pet rabbit indoors as long as you follow and understand the important tips covered in this article. If you do, you and your furry friend will have a long and fascinating life together.
Featured Image Credit: New Africa, Shutterstock
Contents
- The 11 Tips to Keep Your Rabbit Indoors
- 1. Provide Your Rabbit With Plenty of Space
- 2. You Must Rabbit-Proof Your Home if Your Rabbit Runs Freely
- 3. Your Rabbit Needs to Run Around Outside of Their Hutch
- 4. Your Rabbit Needs a Constant Supply of Fresh Hay
- 5. A Paper-Based Litter Is Best for Your Rabbit’s Litter Box
- 6. To Prevent Chewing, Keep Your Rabbit Occupied
- 7. Expect Your Rabbit to Engage in Chinning
- 8. Your Rabbit Needs a Constant Supply of Fresh Water
- 9. Learn Your Rabbit’s Body Language
- 10. Head Butting Is a Rabbit’s Way of Asking to Be Groomed or Petted
- 11. Your Rabbit’s Hutch Must Be Taller than They Are
- Final Thoughts
