Rabbit Care Questions

[KristyS]

Hiya. I've been doing some research about rabbits and am thinking of adopting one from a shelter (that's two hours away from where I live). A neutered/spayed single or a bonded fixed pair.

Is a C and C cage good? a two level one or would the Martin's rat playpen be better?
Do rabbits drink from a water bottle or bowl? Which do they prefer?
What's a good den for them? A cardboard box - is that good and is there any modifications I should do to a simple box?
Can rabbits live alone and be happy or is a pair the best thing for them? I'm getting a lot of conflicting information on this.
How active are they when they have free range of the house? Like new puppy wild or curious as a calm cat?
Can rabbits really have heart-attacks if faced with a predator or is that a myth?
How hard is clipping their nails without injuring them? Does it get easier each time or is it hard to not get clip the quick by accident? Is there an alternative to clipping nails? Like with rats you just use a brick under their water and food so they naturally file down
What kind of twigs do you use as chew toys? I read apple twigs are good, and other fruit branches. But do they go bad? Can I stalk up on hay without it going bad?
Will the smell of the rabbit's cage effect my rats? And vice versa.

Diet: Depending on weight, feed a certain amount of high fiber pellets daily. Have timothy hay out at all times, mostly in the litter box. Is that right?

Outdoors: Can I get a dog playpen and use it as a rabbit playtime? I'm afraid of the rabbit getting to wires if I let him freerange the house. Of course the rabbit would be indoors, in it's cage when unsupervised.
Or can rabbits not go outside at all? I live in the desert so there's no vegetation to eat. Just sand. And more sand. 

[MiserySmith]

Alright, I'll try to answer these in order without getting too carried away.

1. I enjoy C&C cages a lot, some people don't. You don't always need coroplast if they are litter trained, I personally just throw down an old sheet for traction/to block him from the carpet.

2. Mine uses a bowl, I think it's easier for them personally.. But I know plenty that use a bottle with no problem.

3. Cardboard boxes are great, just make sure that you cut 2 holes. They like them a lot better with more than one hole, also they will create there own doors and windows by chewing them. This is okay as long as they don't ingest too much.

4. I have a lone rabbit. I want a second, because I think with his personality it would work. However plenty are happy alone.

5. They explore tons at first when let out, and then calm down after a bit of time. Or if you want to fully free range they're usually very calm. They know their house and live just like cats.

6. I believe it's true. I have heard that it's mostly in outdoor rabbits that don't get to stretch their legs/work their heart very much however.

7. Nail clipping can be terrible. There's some tricks to it though. Look up a bunny burrito on youtube for instance.
Some rabbits will always hate it, and freak every time. Some will be calm.

8. Rabbits don't -just- need branches, although as far as I can remember it's just apple ones that are good for them. They can have wooden bird toys, plastic play things to throw around, baby toys. A lot of the same things as rats as long as they're solid.

9. You can somewhat stock up on hay, not too much though as when it molds it just has to be thrown away.
Make sure it's really strong smelling and green.

10. Rats and rabbits have no effect. My rat cages and rabbit cage are directly beside eachother with no issues. No one even notices.

Instead of just in the litter box, you could also make a hay rack or buy one. Google it.
Rabbits can go out for play time, with proper sun protection and such. Also, I'd personally treat them with revolution(I believe) before putting them outside to avoid pests.
I hope I covered everything okay and wasn't too long winded.

[KristyS]

thank you so much for your reply! It was really informative and helpful

I went to the shelter to just see if any of them caught my eye but in the end I don't think rabbits are for me. One boy sat in my lap and just loved to be petted and I think might have been purring! But I just didn't feel any special connection to them. Guess the only small furry animals I connect to are my rats haha.

Thanks again! I'm sure this post will help out future rabbit-considerers...if that's a word XD