I just took in a 7 month old bunny. She is really nice and sweet and friendly but I want to make sure that she has a good life with us, especially since she has to get used to our family and her previous circumstances may not have been a bunny's dream. I live in JingAn and I need a MUCH bigger cage and supplies and I would also love to know where to buy Timothy hay and bark for her to nibble on. If anyone has a lead on a rabbit vet, I would appreciate it too! I was pointed to Taobao but I do not read Chinese. Are my only choices for fresh safe veggies buying the organic stuff at City Shop? Will my bunny die if she eats the same broccoli as the rest of us?

Also, does anyone have experience spaying a bunny?

Have never taken care of a rabbit before. However, you can go to any of the Bird and Flower markets and some one has larger cages and supplies. There is one on XiZang Lu a few block south of Huai Hai and one one KaiXuan Lu near Anshun Lu. Have no idea about vets that spay rabbits, just don't put her in a cage with another rabbit. Rabbits can probably eat a range of regular vegetables.. same thing your family eats - carrots, celery, maybe a piece of apple. I am not sure if that would be enough, but its a start. You can experiment with any vegetable you are willing to eat ( mostly along the green leafy types ) and I am pretty sure it won't hurt her.

I have had several rabbits over the years, and just last week acquired my first one here. All fruits and vegetables are safe, but don't depend on them alone for proper nutrition. Purchase commercial rabbit food. (My present rabbit was half-starved when I got her, because the shop owner was feeding her hamster food.) Rabbit food, hay, water bottles, gnawing stones and accessories are readily available at Pet Zoo, on the NW corner of Yan'An Xi Lu and Hong Mei Lu, in Puxi. Most importantly, learn how to rabbit-proof your home and let your rabbit run around - under supervision. Rabbits can and will chew whatever they can lay their teeth into. Get electrical cords out of reach, or wrap them in a slit length of garden hose. More tips here: http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm ... 3&aid=2724. A house rabbit will use a litter pan if you provide one. Pine shavings are nasty to clean. Try different brands of kitty litter to find which one works best for you. Some rabbits will bond with their owners quickly, even come when you call them. Others may take months before they trust you. A rabbit is a most entertaining pet. Finally, be advised that they are fragile creatures, and can die with little or no warning. (Forget about spaying; the odds are 50/50 your rabbit will survive the procedure.) At least they tend to pass quickly, often within hours of becoming ill. But until that sad day comes, get to know your rabbit. It could be the best pet you'll ever have.

awilli8 wrote:I just took in a 7 month old bunny. She is really nice and sweet and friendly but I want to make sure that she has a good life with us, especially since she has to get used to our family and her previous circumstances may not have been a bunny's dream. I live in JingAn and I need a MUCH bigger cage and supplies and I would also love to know where to buy Timothy hay and bark for her to nibble on. If anyone has a lead on a rabbit vet, I would appreciate it too! I was pointed to Taobao but I do not read Chinese. Are my only choices for fresh safe veggies buying the organic stuff at City Shop? Will my bunny die if she eats the same broccoli as the rest of us?

Ive had rabbits before, not in China. I only kept them in the cage during nighttime, they were open rest of the time. In terms of food, I dont know if they sell cow feed in Shanghai which is basically some sort of green vegetation. Rabbits dont eat all green stuff but may eat lettuce, cauliflower and maybe even carrots.

They can eat some of the green vege stuff that we eat.

ThomasCaron wrote:Rabbit food, hay, water bottles, gnawing stones and accessories are readily available at Pet Zoo, on the NW corner of Yan'An Xi Lu and Hong Mei Lu, in Puxi.

Thanks for the confirmation, I intend to head out there but didn't want to make the trip with kids in tow only to find they don't have what I need.


More tips here: http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm ... 3&aid=2724. A house rabbit will use a litter pan if you provide one. Pine shavings are nasty to clean. Try different brands of kitty litter to find which one works best for you.

Cool! Great info.


(Forget about spaying; the odds are 50/50 your rabbit will survive the procedure.) At least they tend to pass quickly, often within hours of becoming ill.

Also great info, I don't want to put her at risk at all. She is an amazing little creature and she has tons of personality. She doesn't come when I call her, but she will allow me to pick her up and she will sit in my lap contentedly while I brush out her dreadlocks/mats.


Thanks to all for the great advice, I really appreciate it.

I suggest you research tooth care for rabbits - your bunny will need something fairly hard to chew on because her teeth are continually growing and if left unattended future malocclusion can result in a slow wasting death...

Do NOT wash it... ! It can kill it pretty quickly!

http://www.fuzzy-rabbit.com/hfaq.htm

Actually, most rabbits love chewing on a whole carrot, and as said is good to exercise their teeth.

and if the advice above does not work out try this...

http://southernfood.about.com/od/veniso ... 30317q.htm

Hi, I've had a few rabbits of my own and they are delightful! Hope your new adoptee has adapted well to your home =) This message might be coming a little late, but perhaps other adopters will find their way to this thread...

A bit of modification to what Mr. ThomasCaron shared: because they are prey animals, rabbits are very VERY good at hiding pain/illness -- that's what predators would pick up on, in the wild. So, although it may appear that they pass very soon after becoming ill, in fact they may have just been hiding it for some time. I had a rabbit that died from gastrointestinal distress (relatively common with rabbits, particularly if weaned too young) and while we noticed it very early on due to her change in eating/pooping habits, she did not show visible distress until more than a week later. She died shortly thereafter.

Basically, you will have to be much more vigilant about checking your bun for pain/illness than you might with, say, a dog or cat, who would be happy to let you know. One thing to note is that rabbits have very delicate digestive systems, which is often made much worse when they are weaned too early. I don't know any details about how you acquired your rabbit, but it never hurts to be careful. If you are feeding it greens from the wet market nearby, make sure you wash them/soak them. Do not feed your rabbit anything you would not give to a person! Introduce new foods slowly, and make a note of your rabbit's regular eating and pooping habits. If you see any changes in pooping (e.g., infrequent/smaller/runnier stool), go back to a diet of timothy hay and water, with minimal pellets.

As for rabbit supplies, I'm not sure if you've found an easy solution yet. For my rabbit here, I did order most of my supplies online. You can learn more about getting things from taobao at http://taobaofieldguide.com/taobao-in-english. For a healthy adult rabbit, you'll probably want:

Timothy hay (提木西草）-- This is the best thing you can give your bunny to eat. Make sure he eats LOTS of it! If you type this into the search bar, and most likely you'll get pictures of hay. My rabbit preferred the imported hay specifically for rabbits that came in recognizable bags, e.g., http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=5076118944
Rabbit pellets for adult rabbits (成兔糧) -- These also provide some fiber for your rabbit. Do not feed too much, because they tend to be unnecessarily nutrient-dense, such that Bunny might not want to eat his timothy hay. If there is more than one type of feed offered by the same brand with different prices, usually you want the cheaper one. The more expensive one is more likely to be high protein, which is good for baby rabbits, but not for healthy rabbits over 6 months old.
A litter box (兔子廁所) -- As Mr. ThomasCaron mentioned, rabbits will litter-train themselves. Try to use a paper-based litter though -- I've read that pine shavings produce fumes that are great to humans but toxic to bunnies, and can cause liver damage.
A cage (兔籠子) -- You will want to spend a lot more time choosing the best cage if Bunny must spend a fair portion of the day locked up. (Letting her run free in a bunny-proofed room is best, but for Shanghai residents with jobs and limited real estate, perhaps not realistic.) Do not choose a cage that would have Bunny standing on a wire floor: this might be temptingly easy to clean up, but not comfortable for Bunny's feet, especially since rabbits are generally good with bathroom habits anyways. Sadly, my last search showed that most of the cages on taobao would not meet this standard. Here is an example of what might work: http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=6740772990. However, that one's a bit small; try and choose a cage large enough for Bunny to lie down in -- this means approximately 2 times her standing body length. For this, you might have better luck searching for a dog cage (狗籠), which is what I ended up using (http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=6792999530). For a smaller footprint, consider a cage with multiple levels, e.g., this cat cage http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=939960049. Just build secure some ramps for your bunny with plywood. If you have the real estate to spare, you might consider using a baby/dog fence and fence off an area of a room, e.g., http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=6992676738. Just beware if your rabbit is an advanced jumper!

If product brands are a consideration for you, both my rabbit and I liked Dr. Rabbit (兔博士) feeds. IRIS爱丽丝 is a Japanese brand that makes great caging solutions without wire floors, but I admit it is one of the pricier options. Bunny will thank you for the extra consideration for his feet though!

As for veterinary care, I'm sorry to say I haven't found any satisfactory rabbit vets. I've read that most vets may not be familiar with rabbit veterinary care, as most pets tend to be carnivores (cats, dogs) and have very different systems. Has anyone had good experiences with a rabbit/exotic animal vet here in Shanghai?

Hope this helps you and anyone else adopting/raising a rabbit in Shanghai! Feel free to PM me with any additional questions, I spent quite a bit of time trying to find products here in Shanghai similar to what my rabbit enjoyed in the States.

Cheers,
J.

P.S. ThomasCaron, your rabbit is beautiful -- looks much like mine did, except the cartilege in my rabbit's ears ended up collapsing for reasons unknown, making her a faux lop.

dontjnxit wrote:If product brands are a consideration for you, both my rabbit and I liked Dr. Rabbit (兔博士) feeds. IRIS爱丽丝 is a Japanese brand that makes great caging solutions without wire floors, but I admit it is one of the pricier options. Bunny will thank you for the extra consideration for his feet though!

There is an Iris shop in Cloud Nine Mall / Zhongshan Park, (5th floor, near the Hola), they have some cages and pet supply. Don't know, if they have cages for rabbits though.

Wallace & Gromit: Curse Of The Were-Rabbit:

http://www.wandg.com/

When I was a little girl we had a rabbit and kep it in a big long hutch in the garden. It had loads of room to hop around and it had a wow of a time. Do you have a balconey you could put a long hutch on so your bunny can hop around outside?

Adrienne

Had taken care of rabbits when i was young...
They multiply like wow ..grow and mature very fast
A healthy pair will be a dozen in no time..

They are best marinated in garlic and salt...and deep fried.
barcbecuing will make them pretty dry
enjoy

...and in case there's no garlic or salt, duct tape may come in useful.



Sorry, couldn't resist.

Medea wrote:

dontjnxit wrote:If product brands are a consideration for you, both my rabbit and I liked Dr. Rabbit (兔博士) feeds. IRIS爱丽丝 is a Japanese brand that makes great caging solutions without wire floors, but I admit it is one of the pricier options. Bunny will thank you for the extra consideration for his feet though!

There is an Iris shop in Cloud Nine Mall / Zhongshan Park, (5th floor, near the Hola), they have some cages and pet supply. Don't know, if they have cages for rabbits though.

oh i didn't even know that -- cloud nine is right next to my house. still, taobao delivers =D but even dog cages are fine, particularly if your rabbit grows to be as large as mine was (the size of an average cat).

Our lovely ayi had the unfortunate idea to give us a rabbit today.
It's a very cute white one that we now feel responsible for but have no idea how to take care of.
We will definitely check out that shop in Hongmei lu as I have been reading up and it seems that we might as well have a cat or a dog in the house.
Anyway....I am still a bit dazed from the responsibility.
She is a very nice lady who would never be cruel to animals and who knows how to take care of them. She proudly gave me the rabbit saying that I should never ever give it water under any circumstances as it will get all his hydration from a couple of green leaves I should give it every day. If I water it, it will die according to her and she seems to know her stuff. I find this really really strange. Does anyone know about his? Is this accurate? I am considering giving him water when ayi is not looking but could not bare it if something hapened to him.

I've heard this water thing before and am assuming it's some kind of Chinese "wisdom". Fact is rabbits need access to water at all times. Here's just one website, but there's plenty of info on the web.
http://www.smallanimalchannel.com/rabbi ... water.aspx

Celinakatos wrote:Our lovely ayi had the unfortunate idea to give us a rabbit today.
It's a very cute white one that we now feel responsible for but have no idea how to take care of.
We will definitely check out that shop in Hongmei lu as I have been reading up and it seems that we might as well have a cat or a dog in the house.
Anyway....I am still a bit dazed from the responsibility.
She is a very nice lady who would never be cruel to animals and who knows how to take care of them. She proudly gave me the rabbit saying that I should never ever give it water under any circumstances as it will get all his hydration from a couple of green leaves I should give it every day. If I water it, it will die according to her and she seems to know her stuff. I find this really really strange. Does anyone know about his? Is this accurate? I am considering giving him water when ayi is not looking but could not bare it if something hapened to him.

Of course rabbits need water! All living creatures need water! Duh!

Get yourself a proper water bottle and attach it to the side of her cage.

My advice in above previous posts still holds.