r/Rabbits Sep 25 '21

PSA Important Rabbit PSA index

570 Upvotes

Since the subreddit only has two spots available for public announcements, this will be a new index post for important PSAs for easy reference that we can sticky to only use up one spot.

You can also find the whole collection in the sidebar menu on the Reddit re-design when you open one of the PSA posts.


r/Rabbits May 17 '22

PSA I found a rabbit outside - what should I do?

182 Upvotes

This is the time of year for many people to find both domestic rabbits and wild rabbits outside due to Easter and baby season.

For a comprehensive overview on stray domestic rabbits, please see the wiki article here: https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Feral_and_stray_rabbits

For a comprehensive overview on wild rabbits, please see the wiki article here: https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Wild_rabbits

Is the rabbit I found wild or domestic?

It can be very difficult for the average person to tell the difference between a wild and domestic rabbit, especially if they are a baby and/or a common agouti brown.

In general, if the rabbit has long hair or does not have brown fur, it is most likely domestic - although there are exceptions. Please note that wild cottontails in North America cannot breed with our domestic rabbits, but wild rabbits in the rest of the world (e.g. Europe, Australia) can.

Please see the wiki article here for more specific tips on distinguishing domestic and wild rabbits, especially in North America: https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Wild_rabbits#Is_the_rabbit_I_found_wild_or_domestic?

I found a domestic rabbit! What should I do?

Please do not hesitate to contact your local rabbit rescue for volunteers to help you catch a stray domestic rabbit.

For more tips and resources on how to catch a stray rabbit, please see the wiki: http://bunny.tips/Stray#Catching_a_stray_rabbit

For tips on how to house and care for rabbits indoors in an emergency, please see the wiki: https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Feral_and_stray_rabbits#What_do_I_do_when_I_find_a_rabbit.3F

I found a baby wild rabbit! What should I do?

If you find a baby wild rabbit that is not injured, please leave it alone. It is most likely not abandoned unless you know for a fact that their mother was killed. Rabbits return to feed their young only once or twice a day for a few minutes, usually at night. Just because the babies have been by themselves for 5 minutes does not mean that they have been abandoned. The mother is typically gone from the nest to eat and draw attention away from the nest.

A detailed image guide to whether a baby cottontail rabbit is in need of help.

If it is old enough to be exploring outside of its nest and has no injuries, please put the baby rabbit back under a bush near where you found it. It does not need any additional care or feeding.

As Rainbow Wildlife Rescue writes,

There is a 90% mortality rate with orphaned baby rabbits in human care, especially cottontails. This number increases if the rabbits are very young and their eyes still closed. They are extremely hard to "save". There is little substitute for the nutrients their mother's milk provides.

Baby wild rabbits can survive on their own at a surprisingly young age. In most countries, it is illegal to possess and take care of wildlife without proper permits. Wild rabbits also do not do well in captivity due to the possibility of fatal stress because of their high-strung and flighty nature.

If you find a baby wild rabbit because your dog picked it up but you can't find the nest, try putting a leash on your dog and quietly following them to see if they will lead you to the original nest. If you absolutely cannot locate the nest, you may keep the rabbit in a dark and quiet box and contact your closest wildlife rehabilitator that accepts rabbits

If you find a baby wild rabbit because your cat found it, please take it to a rabbit-savvy vet or wildlife rehabber as soon as possible, especially if it was carried in the cat's mouth. Cats have very lethal bacteria in their saliva, and contact can easily be fatal for a baby rabbit in 48 hours.

What do I do if I am positive that the mother was killed or the baby rabbit is injured?

If you are positive that this is an orphaned baby rabbit, it is best to just keep the rabbit quiet and warm until they can be transferred to an experienced wildlife rehabilitator ASAP. Baby rabbits will do fine overnight without food or water as they are usually only fed once a day by their mothers.

Inappropriate care can be fatal to baby rabbits - see this story from Blue Ridge Wildlife Center as an example: https://twitter.com/BRWildlifeCtr/status/1420472056139984896?s=20

Please hand off the baby rabbit to a local wildlife rehabilitator as soon as possible.

How should I keep a baby rabbit until I can get it to a rehabber?

To keep a baby rabbit overnight, please leave it in a quiet dark box with no food or water. You can provide a heat source such as a microwaved sock filled with rice and beans or an electric heat pad on low placed under half the box. Do not handle the rabbit more than necessary to prevent deadly stress.

How can I find a local wildlife rehabilitator?

If you need help locating a local wildlife rehabber: https://bunny.tips/Wild#Wildlife_rehabilitator_listings

How can I protect a wild rabbit nest from bad weather and dogs, cats, and other predators?

Keeping your pets indoors while the babies grow up is generally the best option, but if this is impossible, you can protect the nest a few different ways.

Please see the wiki article here for more specific information: https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Wild_rabbits#How_can_I_protect_a_wild_rabbit_nest_from_dogs,_cats,_and_other_predators?


r/Rabbits 3h ago

peapod taking a snooze cruise

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481 Upvotes

rest your weary eyes on his marshmallow tummy


r/Rabbits 13h ago

Freckles and her 2 best friends 🧡

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1.8k Upvotes

Freckles loves to cuddle with her 2 bun partners Bobo and Bobi 🥰 they are just too damn cute together!


r/Rabbits 11h ago

is that a pellet i hear?

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795 Upvotes

r/Rabbits 1h ago

Crunch crunch crunch chew chew chew

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Upvotes

Ears for days.


r/Rabbits 3h ago

The hand rest is working as intended 😆

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160 Upvotes

r/Rabbits 5h ago

Kuroo has his own little house inside our house

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226 Upvotes

he feels extra safe inside ❤️


r/Rabbits 3h ago

Unbelievable sloth

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146 Upvotes

r/Rabbits 7h ago

Bunny Bowling Pins

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192 Upvotes

I wanna get some bowling pins for my boy Parsley cause he loves knocking things over and pushing things around. I'm having some trouble finding something I'm confident is safe. Does anyone have any recommendations for something to get?


r/Rabbits 6h ago

Care Somebunny didn't want to take her meloxicam post spay so we needed a Bunrito!

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148 Upvotes

She's healing really well!


r/Rabbits 58m ago

Feeling like a third wheel

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Upvotes

r/Rabbits 2h ago

Even in jail, they keep committing crimes. Rabbits just can't be redeemed.

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52 Upvotes

r/Rabbits 2h ago

Ninja Spooky

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46 Upvotes

r/Rabbits 15h ago

Urinal’s saving some for later

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396 Upvotes

I put kibble on my phone and then put a toilet paper cardboard roll over it so the babies had to forage (pull the cardboard away) for their dinner and urinal let me know hes got a snack saved just in case he doesnt get the kibble


r/Rabbits 11h ago

melted bun🤣

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151 Upvotes

r/Rabbits 19h ago

🎵Summertime, and the salads are fancy 🌱☀️

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606 Upvotes

r/Rabbits 1d ago

The thrilling saga of Spoon and the stairs continues.

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2.5k Upvotes

r/Rabbits 1h ago

When the tiny human insist on all the intelligent toys for breakfast

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Upvotes

Our tiny human loves to feed us our pellet breakfast. We never know wich way we get it. Today it was served in 3 trials. Tomorrow???


r/Rabbits 1h ago

Felix booty 🥰

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Upvotes

r/Rabbits 17h ago

bunny kisses and cuddles to end the day ! ☺️

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315 Upvotes

r/Rabbits 4h ago

Shaming Is this her protesting a box change?!

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26 Upvotes

Literally said wth girly when i sat up to this glorious sight


r/Rabbits 15h ago

Care Rein enjoying the outside world

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206 Upvotes

Reins been having a lot of outside time recently and she's been loving the fresh air :)


r/Rabbits 1d ago

My beautiful children

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1.8k Upvotes

I Just wanted to show the world my beautiful kids marcie and finn


r/Rabbits 22h ago

Deeeeep sleep

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548 Upvotes

Everytime he sleeps like this I get so giddy :,) when I got him 2 1/2 yrs ago he was the most anxious rabbit I had had, truly scared of his own shadow haha. Now he’s so comfortable, doesn’t care about being picked up or touched or anything
He’s an old man, he turned 10 back in April and he’s keeping really healthy! I love him so much