Hi coolmama, years ago my family had a female dwarf who I think was crossed with an Angora. I feel very badly about this but at the time I didn't know that rabbits can and should be spayed/neutered. It's definitely something you'd want to look into.

Our little girl was a great pet; we even litterbox trained her so she had mostly free reign of the house during the day.

The House Rabbit Society has a wonderful Web site with all kinds sorts of information on rabbit health and behavior. Definitely check it out. You may want to see if there is a local chapter near you that can recommend a vet.

Enjoy your bun!

Here is a link that might be useful: House Rabbit Society

Something to immediately check for is coccidea...take a fecal sample to your vet. Coccidea is very common in bunnies and can quickly kill them...it is zoonic, too (via contamination).

The reason I mention it is that sometimes a firm and plump belly can be an indication of this.

Go easy on the fresh greens...sometimes this will give them loose stools. They like hay, too. You can probably find a bale at a local feed store.

Congrats on your new baby & I hope s/he helps you heal from your recent loss. My friend has about a dozen pet rabbits. From what little I know they require Timothy straw, preferably in strands, a particular pellet - from a feed mill as opposed to pet store & fresh water at all times. Certain veg. & fruits should be included in the diet, while some, even though rabbits love to eat them, should be avoided. Don't be alarmed if you see bunny eating it's droppings, as this is natural containing required nutrients or such. My friend's rabbits live beyond their life expectancy, so I'm confident she knows what she's doing. I'll ask her anything you'd like to know.
PS. What a sweet DH you have.

Summer

Thanks!!!! Summer,I have seen her eating her droppings.Glad to know THAT is normal.
webcat5,she hasnt really had any loose stools,just a whole lot of regular ones,LOL.
sully6~I did know that bunnies have to be spayed/neutered and I absolutely plan on doing that soon.However,I have heard they dont become reproductive until around 4 months.She is a baby,but I have no idea what age.Just hope while she was at the pet store she didnt become pregnant.DH said they had male and female all together.
sully6~thanks for the link,will check it out!

do not feed your bunny lettuce. it has no nutritional value in it whatsoever, I learned this the hard way:( Alfalfa pellets from the feed store and the bunny hay is all my mother feeds hers, I have heard other things like carrots and broccoli are good too. if she does happen to be pregnant (and you would know fast as they only carry for around 30 days) it is no sweat, give her a birthing box and she will take care of them herself, but! they do have to have a box (moms are connected to the back of the cage like a bedroom) if they do not have a seperate place to have them she will do not so nice things to the babies, don't know why this is. If you have a hutch for her it is a simple matter of attaching a box to the back of the hutch.
in order to find out if you even have a female watch her when she goes pee, if it shoots out behind her you have a female:)

Hi - I am not an expert on rabbits, but have had several, including one now. Please make sure that you do get timothy hay for your rabbit and make sure that it's always available. Rabbits are prone to hairballs and they do not have the ability to vomit up a hairball as a cat does. They must have hay to keep the hair moving through the digestive tract.

I agree that lettuce shouldn't be given. However, greens are very important (micke - please make sure your mother gives her rabbit greens!), the darker green, the better.

Carrots and broccoli are Ok, but are very gassy, so only occasional and not big pieces at a time. I tend to give Harey one broccoli florette at a time, every few days. Kale and other leafy dark green veggies are best, along with the hay, always fresh water, and some pellets.

I don't know how old your daughter is, but please make sure that when she picks up the rabbit she is sitting down either on the floor or a couch where the rabbit will not drop to the ground if it scrambles out of her grasp. Rabbits are quite fragile and can be terribly hurt if a child is standing and the rabbit jumps.

Also, when holding the rabbit, make sure that your or your daughter's hand isn't holding in the middle or top of its back. Rabbits' back legs are very strong and if the rabbit is held against your chest, for example and it kicks off while your hand is tightly holding its back, its back could break very easily.

Rabbits are wonderful pets - so congratulations! Just remember to be very gentle. My rabbits (I have one at a time) live in the house with me and my cats and they are easily litter-box trained. They share the litter boxes with the cats! Harley (my current rabbit) has full run of the house and his cage door is always open. He runs in there to eat or to use the litter box in there.

You do have to be very careful that the rabbit doesn't chew wires, for obvious reasons. They tend to love to do that, unfortunately. Harley, though, doesn't bother wires and is very well behaved, so I'm comfortable with him always being loose. Also, I've quite rabbit-proofed my home by this time.

Anyway, yes, spay or neuter, and feed dark, leafy greens, timothy hay, and some pellets.

Have fun!

I just wanted to add that the link you provided sully6 was extremely helpful and informative. A total must for any bunny owner.
I have learned why my bunny's belly seemed kinda fat and why he/she was pooping such tiny droppings.Improper diet! The pet store provided the wrong type of food! The bunny apparently didnt have enough fiber in it's diet which was leading to a sort of constipation.(I did notice for one whole day my bunny didnt seem to poop at all)
I also noticed since I have begun providing more veggies such as carrots and leefy greens the bunny has no problems at all with going to the bathroom.
The link also provided info on finding a vet nearby that will spay/neuter bunny for low cost.So,thanks so much!!!

Have you figured out if you have a he-bunny or a she-bunny? Turn your bunny over, under the tail, is the "pee" hole.. spread this with your thumb and pointer finger. GENTLY. If it is a slit, you have a she bunny. If you get a little hole (or a weiner sticking out), you are the proud parent of a boy bunny. When the boy bunny gets older he will get testicles.

Vickey-MN

Coolmama,

If your bunny does have diarrhea it is considered an emergency.

Just because she doesn't, does not mean she shouldn't be checked by a vet for coccidia. He/she will probably need both a fecal and a cecal sample. Diarrhea will be noticable within the final stages of the coccidia infestation. It is just sooooo common for bunnies to have this, that it is probably one of the most important things to test for. Easily treated, if found.

Hope that helps explain more clearly.

You can get the timothy bales at a feed/farm store much cheaper than at a pet store....just a suggestion.

Coolmama,

Do you have pictures of your bunny? Does he/she have a name yet?

Hello to everyone! Yes,I have nicknamed the bunny choodles (not sure on spelling) my husband and daughter call it bugsy.
It does have a little nubby thing in private area,no little slit.But because I saw no testicles i thought it was a girl.On that bunny site it says they dont "drop" until about 3 and a half to 4 months.So,I guess "HE" is not that old yet,LOL.
I do have some pics that I will try to post tomorrow.

All good advice here! I had a dwarf bunny for 9 years! He always had hay and lots of veggies, I think that is why he lived so long. Good luck!!!