mercannie
01.04.2010., četvrtak
5 Things That Will Make Your Rabbit More Comfortable In a Rabbit Cage
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After getting your new rabbit from the pet shop, the next thing that you have purchased is a rabbit cage. You find that buying it is extra important because that cage is going to be the house of your new pet. It is where your rabbit can spend most of his time, nibbling away, sleeping and maybe, just maybe making a family of his own. But here is something that you and any other rabbit owners should know. It takes more than a hutch or a rabbit cage to make your pet comfortable. Just like any regular houses, those cages too need accessories that can make them more appealing and comforting to a rabbit. What are those things you ask? Well, here are some of them to give you an idea. 1. Alternative flooring solution, especially if you got one of the hutches that have wire mesh for floors. This is important because wire mesh can hurt your rabbit's feet a lot. So instead of having them bear with that pain, then you may want to put hard perforated plastic on top of that mesh. Note, your choice would have to be tough enough to prevent your rabbit from chewing on them and it has to have holes in it so that your rabbit's urine and "poo" go through easily. 2. A rabbit bed that is soft enough to help your rabbits get the sleep that they need. In addition, apart from providing more comfort the bed is also useful to give them more warmth during cold days. 3. Toys. Yes, rabbits need chew toys too. They are handy to keep your rabbits busy enough to think of turning on the walls of their cage and chewing on them. When choosing them however, you just have to be particular in selecting the items that has no toxic substances in them otherwise you may end up putting your rabbit's health at risk. 4. Feeders and a water bottle that will give them the food and drink them need. Note however that if you are bent on choosing those feeders and water bottles that are fastened on the side of the cage, then you would have to train your rabbit how to use them first otherwise they may turn out to be pretty useless. 5. Lastly, you may want to make your rabbit's home more enjoyable by investing in a rabbit run that will enable your rabbit to have its much needed exercise. If you wish, you can get them individually or if you have enough space in your garden, they why don't you get something that is permanently attached to the hutch itself? To most, an attached run is a better alternative because it can give your rabbit the liberty to exercise when it wants to. Here is a last reminder though. If you are considering to get your pet a run, then make sure that you will be getting them a fox proof rabbit run that will not only give your pet some exercise but protection from other potential predators as well. |
Important Factors to Consider When Buying a Hutch
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Are you planning to buy a hutch for your rabbit? If you are, do you perhaps need some tips that can help you choose a perfect home for your pet? If you answered yes to both questions, then read on as we provide you some factors that you would have to look at when buying rabbit hutches. 1. The size of the rabbit hutch. Like practically anything else in the world, a hutch comes in assorted sizes. You can get a small one, a mid - sized unit and of course large rabbit hutches. Thing is, with all those sizes available in the market, how would you know which one should you pick. Well, it is actually easy. The rule of the thumb is, the structure should be thrice as tall as your rabbit and it should be 4 times the length of its body. A size below than that will make the cage too small for your rabbit and of course anything bigger than that of course will be better because it will give your pet more space to walk on and explore. 2. The features of the structure. Hutches in a way should be considered as regular houses whose structure can be as simple as a box or it can be as grand as a mansion. Technically speaking, a simple box - typed structure should be fine for your pet. But of course if you want to give your pet's home an extra flair, well, you should consider getting large rabbit hutches with 2 or 3 levels and a built in rabbit run. 3. The materials used in making the hutch. Generally, what you should be looking for are rabbit hutches that are not made with wood that are treated with harsh chemicals. This is because those chemicals can do 2 harmful things to your pet inside it. First, when those chemicals get exposed to direct sunlight, they may give out a toxic fume that may kill your rabbit and second, if and when they get access to the wood and decide to chew on the treated wood, your rabbit may end up getting poisoned. Apart from being free of harmful chemicals, the materials used on your rabbit hutch should be tough enough to withstand not only the weather but your pet's teeth as well. 4. It should be easy to clean. Well this is more of an advantage to you than your rabbit. This is because rabbits' urine and feces can stink a lot especially if they have been staying at the bottom of the cage for quite some time. As such, it is very important for an owner to spend time washing down the cage at least twice a week. Now that can be a pretty tiring task especially if you still have to disassemble the hutch in one way or another right? So when you are looking for a hutch to buy, make sure that it has more than one opening that will allow you to reach in the corners and scrub them easily if you have to. Those are some of the things that you may want to consider before buying a home for your pet rabbit. Should you want to look over some more designs and features, you can always go ahead and browse the Internet for that. |
3 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Buying a Rabbit Hutch
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When people attempt to get rabbit hutches in a hurry, they end up landing in a cage or a hutch that is not exactly perfect for them or their pets. See, what they fail to realize is that hutches in general is much like a home and you cannot just pick out in a hurry. You first have to research about them, make time to see some other designs and yes, even figure out if the design of the entire structure works with both you and the comfort of your pet. Now if you do not want to make the same mistakes that most inexperienced rabbit owners are doing, here are a list of the errors that you should absolutely avoid. 1. Picking out the wrong size. Technically, nothing should be wrong if you get a hutch that is too big for your rabbit. This is because with giving them a bigger home, you are also giving them more space to enjoy and more exercise that they need. The problem really comes in when you picked up something that is too small for them. Why you ask? Constraint of space brings several problems including obesity due to lack of exercise and death brought about by insufficient air due to improper ventilation. Those are quite serious problems right? That is why it is very important for you as rabbit owner to get the size that you need. After all, it just needs estimation on your end to know if the rabbit hutch that you are looking at is adequate enough for your pet. Here is a tip, according to some resources, the best proportion to follow is 1 pound of your rabbit = 1 square foot. If you do not know how much your pet weighs, then just measure his height and length and multiply it by 3 or 4. The dimensions you will get should be the perfect size for your rabbit. 2. Failing to consider the materials used in the structure. Generally, hutches are made of just two things - wood and metal wire mesh. And while the combination of those materials seems ideal, a few problems have been raised by rabbit owners especially on the "wood" part. This is because they apparently found out that some of the wood used on the hutches they bought are treated with toxic chemicals that tend to poison their pets when their rabbits chew on them. So if you want to avoid this from happening to your furry friend, you must do a research about the manufacturers first to see if the rabbit hutch that you are buying will not put your pet into jeopardy. 3. Getting lured by extremely low prices. This seems to be the biggest problem among all mentioned. Why? Because a lot of people think that cheaper is always better. But that thought is not entirely true because that word can almost always be related to being substandard. Think of it this way, yes you may end up saving some money upon purchase but the maintenance and repair that you would have to do in a few months' time may eventually just cost you more. So the lesson to be learned is, when buying hutches, always put quality first before anything else. Those are some of the mistakes that you would have to be aware of. Hopefully, knowing those will make you a smarter and a better "hutch - shopper" in general. |
