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| House Rabbits |
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| This is Snowball, my baby which helped me cope with Stripe's departure. Snowball's birthday is on December 6, 1996. She is now 9 years old. She is a Dwarf Hotot mix. Pure Hotots have a black ring around their eyes and are white everywhere else. Snowball has black colouring around her eyes as well as on her ears. I named her Snowball because she looked like a snowball in the palm of your hand. |
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| Keep the cage in a dry cool place, away from the floor. Drafts can cause fatal illnesses. |
| Pine and cedar beddings can be dangerous. They have been known to cause respitory diseases. The best bedding that I know of are Care Fresh and Corncob (may grow mold). DO NOT use cat litter for their litter box. It causes dust and clumps in their digestive tract. |
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| Litter training Snowball was easy it took me just an hour. All I did was confine an area lined with newspaper and put Snowball in her litter box...once she began digging in it and doing her business, she was trained. Rabbits are naturally clean and always do their business in one corner of their cage, you can also use this to see which corner they use and place the litter box there. They also eat their feces which is healthy (though disgusting to you). Their digestive system is different than ours, it does not digest everything the first time, allwoing them to eat it a second time. |
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| Rabbits must be let out to play daily or they will easily form destructibe behaviour. They are social animals. |
| Rabbits need to get their nails clipped every 2 months to keep them short. Remember not to cut the quick (the pink area). You can either use cat or small animal clippers but never human clippers because they will crush the nail causing a lot of pain. |
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| Snowball hates to get picked up but that is because I did not know how to carry her. The correct way of carrying a rabbit is by using your right hand to support the upper body placing your fingers around its ribcage and use your left hand to support the rump. The left hand is especially important because it must be there to prevent your rabbit from kicking. If your rabbit kicks too hard it may break its back. A towel can also be used for support. Be sure to handle them when they are young to prevent problems in the future. |
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| Make sure you supply a mineral stone to dull their teeth, otherwise they will overgrow and will need to be grinded by a vet. You should also keep a fresh bunch of hay along with a salt lick. A hay rack can be bought at a pet store with a salt lick included. This is better because the hay will grow mold if it is left on the bottom of the cage. |
| The easist way to clip their nails is to flip them on their back or sit them on their bum in your lap. They have 5 nails in the front and 4 in the back. Special attention must be paid to their thumb nails because they will dig into their skin if they are overgrown. If this is too hard, take it to a pet store and they will show you. |
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| Rabbits do not tolerate heat. In the summer during hot days, a frozen water bottle needs to be supplied to keep the rabbit cool. If your rabbit is panting, she is in trouble. Take her to the vet. |
| Care Fresh Bedding |
| Certain veggies may be given to provide a variety of food. The base of their meal should be some rabbit pellets. A handful a day is enough for a dwarf rabbit. |
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| The problem I had with Snowball is that there were no bunny toys so I came up with some ideas. Some good bunny toys are toilet paper rolls, towels, boxes, old books to shred, twigs, leaves and plastic cat balls with bells. |
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| Rabbits also get hairballs but unlike cats, they cannot puke it up. This may be fatal if special care is not given to prevent it. Weekly combing and a hairball remover formula is suitable. |
| Please do not breed your rabbit many complications may occur and more than half will end up in a shelter. Rabbits have large litters and a short childhood so they are known to be mass producers. |
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| May Snowball Rest in Peace 1996 - 2005 She lived a long 9 years. She responded to her name and bonded with a new friend "Benny". She said goodbye to us both on her last day of passing. She will be missed and never replaced. Let this be the begining of my small rabbit rescue. Thank you Snowball for teaching me the language of rabbits and for showing me what they are capable of. Thank you for introducing me to the rabbit world and also for showing me how many bunnies need help. You helped with my healing after the loss of Stripe. Without you I couldn't have done it. Thank you. You will never be forgotten, always in my heart. |
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