Domesticated rabbits are now right up there in the thick of things as far as the most widely owned animals as pets. They are always exciting, and much like other animals come in a variety of shapes and sizes too. You can find them owned by both apartment owners and home owners. They are extremely smart and naturally curious about the world around them. Rabbits can even be taught to use the litter box too! There is a downside to all of this though. Many children expect these animals to love on them and cuddle with them. However, rabbits are very picky about getting picked up. If they are not interested they can scratch or bite, thus why these are not recommended pets for small children.


Appearance & Characteristics

The breed is going to play a huge part in the size and coloration of the rabbit. They can live up to 12 years if they are properly taken care of. The mating can begin when they are just several months old, and there is a 31 day gestation period as well. Doe’s can have litters of up to 12 babies, although 4-6 is a bit more common. In the United States, you can find over 45 breeds of rabbits that are recognized. You can find short haired, long haired, spotted, and just about everything in between.


Health Issues

One thing you have to be prepared for with rabbits are health issues. They can commonly have overgrown teeth or digestive problems as well. You can easily prevent these from happening if you keep your rabbit occupied with chew toys and hay. Pet rabbits are also going to need to be mentally healthy. This may require you to play with them and make sure they have plenty of toys to gnaw on. Some cages or pens will actually have an exercise area too that you can use for this purpose.


Rabbit Diet & Housing

Make sure that you have an adequate size cage, as rabbits generally need a lot of room to run around in. Even more so when you have more than one rabbit. Which is recommended, so that they don’t get lonely. They can be very loving, so they are not biting and scratching all of the time. Just when they don’t want to be held.  A rabbit is a herbivore, which is a fancy way for saying they only eat vegetables and plants. They do not eat meat. Usually their diet will consist of water, rabbit pellets, and a lot of hay too. The hay, as stated earlier, really helps with digestion and nutrition.