r/Rabbits • • Sep 25 '21

PSA Important Rabbit PSA index

571 Upvotes

Since the subreddit only has two spots available for public announcements, this will be a new index post for important PSAs for easy reference that we can sticky to only use up one spot.

You can also find the whole collection in the sidebar menu on the Reddit re-design when you open one of the PSA posts.


r/Rabbits • • May 17 '22

PSA I found a rabbit outside - what should I do?

181 Upvotes

This is the time of year for many people to find both domestic rabbits and wild rabbits outside due to Easter and baby season.

For a comprehensive overview on stray domestic rabbits, please see the wiki article here: https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Feral_and_stray_rabbits

For a comprehensive overview on wild rabbits, please see the wiki article here: https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Wild_rabbits

Is the rabbit I found wild or domestic?

It can be very difficult for the average person to tell the difference between a wild and domestic rabbit, especially if they are a baby and/or a common agouti brown.

In general, if the rabbit has long hair or does not have brown fur, it is most likely domestic - although there are exceptions. Please note that wild cottontails in North America cannot breed with our domestic rabbits, but wild rabbits in the rest of the world (e.g. Europe, Australia) can.

Please see the wiki article here for more specific tips on distinguishing domestic and wild rabbits, especially in North America: https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Wild_rabbits#Is_the_rabbit_I_found_wild_or_domestic?

I found a domestic rabbit! What should I do?

Please do not hesitate to contact your local rabbit rescue for volunteers to help you catch a stray domestic rabbit.

For more tips and resources on how to catch a stray rabbit, please see the wiki: http://bunny.tips/Stray#Catching_a_stray_rabbit

For tips on how to house and care for rabbits indoors in an emergency, please see the wiki: https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Feral_and_stray_rabbits#What_do_I_do_when_I_find_a_rabbit.3F

I found a baby wild rabbit! What should I do?

If you find a baby wild rabbit that is not injured, please leave it alone. It is most likely not abandoned unless you know for a fact that their mother was killed. Rabbits return to feed their young only once or twice a day for a few minutes, usually at night. Just because the babies have been by themselves for 5 minutes does not mean that they have been abandoned. The mother is typically gone from the nest to eat and draw attention away from the nest.

A detailed image guide to whether a baby cottontail rabbit is in need of help.

If it is old enough to be exploring outside of its nest and has no injuries, please put the baby rabbit back under a bush near where you found it. It does not need any additional care or feeding.

As Rainbow Wildlife Rescue writes,

There is a 90% mortality rate with orphaned baby rabbits in human care, especially cottontails. This number increases if the rabbits are very young and their eyes still closed. They are extremely hard to "save". There is little substitute for the nutrients their mother's milk provides.

Baby wild rabbits can survive on their own at a surprisingly young age. In most countries, it is illegal to possess and take care of wildlife without proper permits. Wild rabbits also do not do well in captivity due to the possibility of fatal stress because of their high-strung and flighty nature.

If you find a baby wild rabbit because your dog picked it up but you can't find the nest, try putting a leash on your dog and quietly following them to see if they will lead you to the original nest. If you absolutely cannot locate the nest, you may keep the rabbit in a dark and quiet box and contact your closest wildlife rehabilitator that accepts rabbits

If you find a baby wild rabbit because your cat found it, please take it to a rabbit-savvy vet or wildlife rehabber as soon as possible, especially if it was carried in the cat's mouth. Cats have very lethal bacteria in their saliva, and contact can easily be fatal for a baby rabbit in 48 hours.

What do I do if I am positive that the mother was killed or the baby rabbit is injured?

If you are positive that this is an orphaned baby rabbit, it is best to just keep the rabbit quiet and warm until they can be transferred to an experienced wildlife rehabilitator ASAP. Baby rabbits will do fine overnight without food or water as they are usually only fed once a day by their mothers.

Inappropriate care can be fatal to baby rabbits - see this story from Blue Ridge Wildlife Center as an example: https://twitter.com/BRWildlifeCtr/status/1420472056139984896?s=20

Please hand off the baby rabbit to a local wildlife rehabilitator as soon as possible.

How should I keep a baby rabbit until I can get it to a rehabber?

To keep a baby rabbit overnight, please leave it in a quiet dark box with no food or water. You can provide a heat source such as a microwaved sock filled with rice and beans or an electric heat pad on low placed under half the box. Do not handle the rabbit more than necessary to prevent deadly stress.

How can I find a local wildlife rehabilitator?

If you need help locating a local wildlife rehabber: https://bunny.tips/Wild#Wildlife_rehabilitator_listings

How can I protect a wild rabbit nest from bad weather and dogs, cats, and other predators?

Keeping your pets indoors while the babies grow up is generally the best option, but if this is impossible, you can protect the nest a few different ways.

Please see the wiki article here for more specific information: https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Wild_rabbits#How_can_I_protect_a_wild_rabbit_nest_from_dogs,_cats,_and_other_predators?


r/Rabbits • • 9h ago

rescued this insanely sweet dumped rabbit. meet Sherlock 🥹

3.3k Upvotes

he is the sweetest thing on earth. he loves to flop over and get full body massages 🥰


r/Rabbits • • 2h ago

People say that he look like moldy bread, cant personally see it

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241 Upvotes

Dont know why so many people think he looks moldy


r/Rabbits • • 9h ago

Little Shake 🐰

729 Upvotes

r/Rabbits • • 12h ago

Her bed is RIGHT there.

805 Upvotes

r/Rabbits • • 7h ago

Woke up from a nap only to find ITACHI staring right at me

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286 Upvotes

r/Rabbits • • 13h ago

RIP I wanted to honor my little Ruby who sadly and suddenly passed away today. She was my little princess and I'm so glad she let me rescue her.

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652 Upvotes

This loss has been exceptionally hard because it was so sudden. Even if I only had her for 16 months she leaves such a little void.

I found Ruby last summer under a car in my neighborhood. It took about three weeks of daily visits with treats before I was finally able to catch her. With no intention of keeping her I set her up temporarily on my porch until we could treat her fleas and then move her into my office. She was underweight and overall in rough shape. Nearly all of the local shelters were full and after caring for her for a few weeks I grew to really love her.

We decided to keep her and get her spayed. The vet couldn't really determine an age and I couldn't get anything useful from the neighborhood I found her in who were all quite indifferent to her. It took a few months for her and Harrison to work out their relationship, but she ultimately adored him.

She wasn't an energetic bun. She was quite, gentle, and finally opened up to ask for pets, but never made big stinks.

Sadly, yesterday morning around 7:00 AM we noticed she wasn't very interested in her morning pellets so we administered some baby gas drops and tummy massages as we had done before, but this time around the early afternoon she wasn't better. The rabbit specialist wasn't in at my vet and we called 5 more vets around and none had the resources to see rabbits. We tried to feed her some critical care and water and then around 7:00 PM took her to an ER for pain medicine and fluids. They also didn't have a rabbit specialist so we took her home and kept her as warm and comfortable as we could. This morning her normal vet took us in 30 minutes before they even opened and set up fluids. X-Rays didn't seem to show any blockage, but her bloodwork wasn't good. Sadly, she would pass from her hearts shortly after. They believe there was an unknown condition and that the G.I. stasis was a symptom and not the cause. Ultimately, I feel some level of comfort knowing we tried our very best to save her, but it sure hurts to lose her and so very suddenly.

I loved my little Ruby - Ruby Booby, Rubles, Rutabaga, Rhubarb, Roo, Roo-Roo - she was my little princess. It hurts terribly and I miss her dearly. It saddens me that she went through such a tough life, but I'm so very grateful that I was able to make her last 16 months pleasant with a bed of her own, unlimited hay, treats, food, binkies, and pets. I'm so grateful she let me catch her.

Thank you for letting me share this.


r/Rabbits • • 10h ago

I feel like 80% of what they do is eat hay and shit it back out. Rabbits are truly remarkable animals.

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316 Upvotes

I adore them. They are beginning to tolerate me 😂.


r/Rabbits • • 1d ago

How many other have a rabbit shelf in their living room?

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4.4k Upvotes

r/Rabbits • • 18h ago

Müther! Müther! Another bowl of mush, please.

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1.3k Upvotes

r/Rabbits • • 4h ago

i opened social media for my bunnies

78 Upvotes

i have 7 house bunnies and i wanted a place to share their photos and videos. am i weird? my tiktok is lovefromthebunnies.


r/Rabbits • • 5h ago

Look at his little pose 😭

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71 Upvotes

r/Rabbits • • 8h ago

Health You guys are awesome.

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116 Upvotes

My little lady (on the right) was showing early signs of GI stasis. Lethargic, not interested in food treats or water. We’ve been through this before almost losing her, we have rushed right to the emergency vet in previous situations but this time I feel like it was caught early. I came to the sub to check for home remedies and saw lots of people recommending baby gas drops. I went to the pharmacy to grab simethicone drops and gave them to her right away. Within an hour she was using her litter box and back to eating hay. Our vet has never brang up using gas drops, without this sub our lady could’ve been in a much worse situation then she is in now. Thank you all :)


r/Rabbits • • 17h ago

Behavior Happy or Mad Hops?

409 Upvotes

It feels silly asking but I wasn't sure if this is her running around happily or if she was upset about something and thats why she was kicking the air. I'm just so used to her doing tiny binky hops for her food and husbun.


r/Rabbits • • 17h ago

Ahh to live life rent free. 🐰❤️

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374 Upvotes

r/Rabbits • • 17h ago

Nami is wishing everyone a happy Friday!

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399 Upvotes

….or wishing for more bananas idk


r/Rabbits • • 19h ago

Whatcha gonna do with all that junk, all that junk inside that trunk…

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532 Upvotes

r/Rabbits • • 3h ago

The perfect way to start the weekend.

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31 Upvotes

r/Rabbits • • 11h ago

Happy 9 years of gotcha

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123 Upvotes

Nine years with this sweet boy and he still snuggles against me on the sofa! Thank you Bunji, for “gotcha”-ing me nine years ago 💙💙💙💙


r/Rabbits • • 12h ago

who did yo hair 😭😭

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100 Upvotes

maple is a rescue and doesn't like being petted very much. she started shedding like 3 weeks ago and she's only gotten off the fur off that allows me to touch. i love my little weird looking girl


r/Rabbits • • 6h ago

Care Enrichment

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34 Upvotes

Hey all, i see plenty of ideas for enrichment using pellets, greens etc but I really dont see a lot of hay enrichment ideas. Our rabbit loves the hay stuffed toilet roll and eats hay 95% of the time so much quicker with this method, we dont want to have to use pellets or greens always for obvious reasons, ive also seen using twine and suspending toilet rolls etc, just really seeing if there are any ideas out there that you dont easily come across really! Thankyou 😊

Also bun tax included (always forget but the boy is toooooo gorgeous to not show off)


r/Rabbits • • 11h ago

Shaming what do you think he wished for

79 Upvotes

r/Rabbits • • 12h ago

Health Vet cost for fractured leg

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88 Upvotes

Not sure how it happened, but my boy managed to fracture his leg. I was able to get him in to the vet the same day I noticed him limping, but I had to drop him off this morning to get his cast, and then pick him up again.

So we're three vet trips and $1,117.38 in at the moment. The vet wants me to bring him in once a week to assess the cast, and in four weeks get another x-ray.

He's doing well, still a little high and keeps spacing out while eating hay. If anyone has any tips for stopping him and his bondmates chewing the cast, I will take them.


r/Rabbits • • 12h ago

This is why we can’t have nice things

88 Upvotes