Living with pet rabbits can be awesome, they are wonderful pets that can be kept, free roam inside the house. Pet rabbits are super cute, good with kids and can be a lifelong companion. So here are 11 useful pet rabbit hacks for new rabbit owners that I have picked up on in my years of having many many rabbits as well as other rabbit parents.
1. DIY Rabbit Cage Cleaner
This one is perhaps the most important hack for most rabbit owners. Rabbits are neat freaks, they have an impeccable cleaning routine and spend much of their day grooming themselves. They keep themselves so clean that they do not even need to be bathe
That being said, Rabbit’s pee can smell real bad! It often has a strong ammonia smell that can be hard to get out of their cage and litter box.
Even though rabbits can be litter trained, they can still sometime pee on the carpet or on the sofa plus male rabbits also use their pee around the house as a territorial behavior.
There are some cleaners on the market that claim to remove rabbit pee smell but they often contain harsh chemicals that are not safe for rabbits. The best option is to prepare a DIY Rabbit cage cleaner.
Here is what you need to prepare some of your own.
- White Vinegar (The cheap kind)
- Water
- Spray Bottle
Mix the vinegar and water and in a 1:1 or half and half ratio and fill up your spray bottle. Spray and soak anywhere which smells of rabbit pee for 10 minutes and wipe it down with a moist piece of cloth.
Not only is this highly effective at removing rabbit pee smell from their cage and litter box, it can also help you remove pee smell or stains from carpets or walls.
Best of all is that it is perfectly safe for rabbits and if you hate the smell of the vinegar solution you can customize it with some essential oils that you like it make it smell even nicer. Isn’t that a pet rabbit hack?
2. Cool Down Your Rabbit
Summer months in a hot climate can be exhausting for rabbits, especially for the ones with thicker fur like Lionhead or Angora rabbits. They can overheat and suffer from dehydration.
The best way to cool down a rabbit is by using a frozen or cold plastic water bottle. Just place the bottle next to them when they are resting and if the want a bit of coolness they can simply lay next to the bottle and chill out.
Remember to make sure that there is not water leakage or your bunny is getting all wet from the condensation on the bottle, keeping a rabbit in a damp environment is never recommended.
You can also give your bunny some chilled vegetables and fruits as well as rubbing some water with a q-tip on their ears.
Some rabbits really enjoy cold treats and water but keep it in moderation and never during cold days.If your rabbit does get wet from the bottle just dry it off with a towel.
3. Reuse Old Cardboard
Rabbits are suckers for cardboard, an old box? a used toilet roll? More like your bunny’s next favorite toy!
Most brown cardboard boxes are made of cellulose which is a fiber that comes from plant material. This exactly the type of fiber that rabbits need to have in their diet. They get this naturally from hay or grass.
That is why to rabbits cardboard feels just like home and they love to play with it and chew on it. Most cardboard items that do not have any ink on them are safe for rabbits to play with.
Check out our article 10 DIY Rabbit Toys Made From Household Items to learn more about some easy rabbit toys that you can make from cardboard.
You can use any card board box, shoe boxes, toilet paper rolls, packing boxes and even brown paper bags. Again, make sure that any thing your rabbit chews is free from ink, chemical glue or staples.
4. Healthy Treats For Rabbits
Finding healthy treats for a pet rabbit can be difficult. Store bought treats are often laden with sugar and other artificial ingredients which are never good for a rabbits health.
Using DIY healthy treats can be more simple and definitely healthier for rabbits. Small pieces of fruit and vegetables are often the best items for rabbit treats.
Choose ones with low calories and high amounts of dietary fiber, that is the stuff that rabbit need to have a healthy digestion.
Some great examples of Fruits and vegetables that can be used as rabbit treats are.
- Apples
- Bananas
- Carrots
- Watermelons
- Plums
and these are just a few from an exhaustive list that you can find in our post The Balanced Rabbit Diet Guide – Feeding Rabbits Simplified
If you want to take a more hands on option and want something that can be kept in a jar as an occasional treat you can try out 5 Homemade Rabbit Treats To Make For Your Bunny
Homemade treats are not only healthy, they are a good way to bond with your pet. They will love your hand made treats.Just make sure that treats do not account from more than 10% of a rabbit’s diet. Excessive amounts of treats can cause tummy problems as well as obesity.
5. Hand Feeding
Hand feeding is perhaps the best way to bond with a new rabbit. Hand feeding your bunny will not only make it trust you as their provider. They will become more comfortable being themselves around you.
Hand feeding your bunny also lets them know that you bring the food so they know who to trust. Rabbits are social animals and establishing a social hierarchy with them is a big part of the bonding process.
Hand feeding is a good indicator of your rabbit’s health as well. Rabbits are prey animals that tend to hide their sickness and injuries. This makes it harder for us to identify problems until it is too late.
Hand feed them them something everything and if suddenly one day they do not come for it then you’d know that something may be wrong.
Some folks also groom and play with their bunny while hand feeding them or teach them interesting tricks.
6. Get A Rabbit Playpen
A rabbit playpen can be a great addition to your home, they can be a great alternative to a rabbit cage or simply used to keep your bunny in a space space during playtime.
Playpens are especially useful for rabbit breeds which are on the larger size. Conventional rabbit cages can be a tight fit and very restrictive once the rabbit grows up.
Rabbit cages with the floor made from metal wires are known to cause sore hocks, which is a type of ulcer, in a rabbit’s feet. Play pens allows your rabbit to have an even surface and prevent any problems with their feet.
Play pens offer more flexibility to adjust the space as you see fit. It all so allows you to have a rabbit’s litter box, toys and bedding all in one enclosure which is impossible to do in most rabbit cages.
It also means that you can get in with your bunny and spend some time playing with them plus cleanup is a breeze, just vacuum up any loose dirt, mop the floor and you are done. Much easier than trying to clean out a rabbit cage by hand.
7. Start Using A Nail File
We all know that keeping a rabbit’s nails clipped short can be tough but extremely essential.
Rabbits are diggers, they love to dig. It is their natural instinct to dig into the ground and make burrows. Rabbits in the wild live underground within many layers of tunnels which can have multiple openings.
These tunnel systems are called warrens and house many adult and baby rabbits with close social ties. Rabbit nails have developed to give them the ability to dig these vast expansive burrows in the ground so imagine the damage they can do to your floor, bed, sofa or carpets?
This is why keeping rabbit nails appropriately short is a must. We may not be able to completely stop them from digging but we can divert them to digging into safe objects like cardboard, old newspapers or some old cloths. That way we can prevent any damage to our house.
Most rabbit owners use special rabbit nails clippers that can cleanly clip off their nails at the right spot but it does take a bit to get a hold off as you will need to hold onto a squirming rabbit as well.
But be careful cutting the nail a bit too deep can really hurt your rabbit. It can also cause bleeding which can lead to an infected nail. The best solution here is just to get a good nail file.
With a nail file you can file down their nails without causing any pain. It is most comfortable for your bunny too.
Any good nail file should work just fine. Try this one if you do not have one at home.You can also learn a bit more in our article How To Keep A Rabbit’s Nails Short Without Cutting?
8. The Vacuum Is Your Friend
Anyone who has a rabbit is all to familiar with cleaning up after they mess they can leave in their wake.
Don’t get me wrong, rabbit are the one of the cleanest house pets. Its your house that will need the cleaning.
A vacuum cleaner can be quite useful especially if you keep your rabbit indoors. Vacuum cleaners can easily deal with with all the loose hay around the house.
Vacuum cleaners can be great for getting all of their hay, shed fur or dry rabbit poop of the sofa and the carpet. Compared to picking up or brushing off with a broom, vacuum cleaners are much more efficient.
They also help prevent fleas and mites that can quickly become a problem if the rabbit’s enclosure remains dirty.
Regular cleaning as well as the occasional deep cleaning will make sure that the rabbit’s enclosure as well your home remains germ and smell free.
Some folks even use a air purifier to keep the air clean in their rabbit’s home as well, but for me regular vacuuming works just fine.
9. Grow Grass For Your Bunny
If you have a green thumb then you can try growing some fresh grass for your rabbit. Grass and hay makes up the bulk of a rabbit’s diet. They have a lot of dietary fiber along with lots of nutrition which is essential for pet rabbits.
DIY growing grass for rabbits at home can be interesting and useful for people who have some space around the house and some free time to grow the grass.
Grass can be grown anywhere with some fresh air and sunlight. Most herb planters or planting pots work quite nicely. Grass grown at home is 100% organic and pesticide free and essentially the freshest grass you can get. Much superior than dry packaged hay.
Store bought rabbit hay can sometimes be moldy and weeks old. Whereas home grown grass is fresh and much cheaper compared to some of the premium brands of hay like Oxbow.
You can also start a small grass patch for rabbit grass in your lawn or backyard. Rabbits can safely eat these types of grass
- Oat Grass
- Wheat Grass
- Timothy Hay
- Meadow Grass
- Barley Hay
- Brome Grass
- Bermuda Grass
- Herbal Hay
and most of these can be grown easily without much effort. So go ahead, try out growing grass for a rabbit. Lean more about the topic on
10. Get A Friend For Your Rabbit
Rabbits social animals, they form close ties with other rabbits and live in large groups. They love to play, groom and stick with each other. Pet rabbits rely on this companionship to to be happy and healthy.
Even though rabbits are known to do quite well being alone, rabbits are generally happier and live longer in a group or in a bonded pair. They are known to get depressed while living alone which could lead to eating less and feeling lethargic which are not good for a rabbit.
Most of all rabbits can feel lonely when you are at work or when you sleep at night. Having a two more rabbits makes sure that they have a friend to be with even when you are not there.
Rabbits can keep each other company and this way of keeping more than one rabbit is also suggested by vets. So if you are adopting or already have a rabbit at home then consider getting them a rabbit friend too.
11. Keep A Rabbit First Aid Kit
The last and final pet rabbit hack that you should have at the ready is a rabbit emergency kit. Rabbits can be active pets who love to jump and hop around.
That being said like any pet they can get hurt or fall ill. Having a pet rabbit emergency kit at hand will keep you prepared to deal with any injuries and symptoms till the time you can reach a vet.
Small injuries like scratches or bleeding nails can be treated right at home and for minor tummy problems you can keep some baby gas drops.
Lean how to prepare one for yourself on our article 17 Must Have Items For A Pet Rabbit Emergency Care Kit
Remember being ready for an emergency not only improves that chances of saving a rabbit’s life, it is also proven that effective first aid can improve recovery times from injuries and diseases as well.
Closing Thoughts About Pet Rabbit Hacks
If you are a new rabbit owner or a long time bunny parent, I hope you find a couple of pet rabbit hack that make your life easier living with a bunny. If you would like to learn a bit more about rabbit care then check out some of our articles on the topic below.
- Top 10 Best Breed Of Rabbit For First Time Owners
- Rabbit vs Bunny vs Hare – What Is The Difference Between Them?
- Why Do White Rabbits Have Red Eyes?
- Why Do Pet Rabbits Bite & How To Stop Rabbits From Biting?
Do share this post with your friends and let them know how great bunny rabbits are as pets. See you next time!
