Why have pet rabbits?
Rabbits make excellent pets! They are intelligent, fun and inquisitive creatures with strong little personalities. However, they do live up to 10+ years and so are a long term commitment. They also have other complex nutritional and care requirements and can cost you up to £3000 each during their lifetime.

Your rabbits' hutch is their home.
The ideal environment for your pet rabbits should comprise a hutch or house with separate toilet and sleeping areas, as well as somewhere they can burrow and dig, as this helps keep your furry friends stimulated and happy.

A rabbit's hutch should be dry and well-ventilated, and kept at a cool temperature. The hutch should be lined with newspaper, and covered with bedding, which could be hay, barley straw, or dust-free wood chippings. Never use ordinary wood chippings, as dust can cause serious respiratory problems, and steer clear of cat litter.

The hutch should be large enough for rabbits to stand up on their back legs and make at least three or four hops in any given direction. Rabbits should also be exercised either in an outdoor run or in the house as often as possible. Aside from keeping them fit, regular exercise also reduces boredom, known to be a key factor in the development of behavioural problems. To help ensure yours are happy bunnies, make sure their hutch includes items such as plastic tunnels, plant pots, hay or planters of earth to dig in. Outdoor runs should be covered; otherwise rabbits are at risk of being taken as prey by foxes or sparrowhawks. An ideal environment could be an old wendy house, perhaps with cat flaps leading to an enclosed run.

Both the hutch and the run should be placed where a rabbit is safe but protected from the sun, wet weather or frost. If a hutch is raised a few feet off the ground this will protect a rabbit from potential predators and makes you appear smaller to your pet when you try to handle them. An outdoors hutch should always be covered at night, as rabbits will become stressed by the sight of predators such as foxes, that may roam your garden after dark.It's important not to over-clean a hutch, as rabbits leave scent markings, which will be removed by cleaning, causing stress. However, hygiene is important for happy rabbits, and the hutch should be cleaned every two-three days, perhaps leaving a small corner untouched to maintain familiar smells.

Rabbits are clean animals by nature, and require a separate litter area within the hutch, which they should have access to at all times. This area should be deep-sided and lined with newspaper and hay - which should be regularly replaced.

Rabbits are also social animals and ideally should be kept in pairs, although it's important that hutch-mates should be a similar size. If one is much larger than the other, it may bully the smaller rabbit, causing injury or stress. Rabbits should never be kept with guinea pigs, as they are liable to bully their smaller hutch-mates. Guinea pigs also have different nutritional needs than rabbits, so the two cannot be given the same food to share.

Despite being social with one another, rabbits also like their own space - a bit like humans! Their living area should really be large enough to allow all inhabitants plenty of room to get away from each other if they feel the need.

Drs I de Best, MRCVS