Hey guys, I'm trying to adopt a rabbit that's been at a shelter for a couple of months. This would be my first animal that I'd adopt, but I'm stuck on the issue of money. My mom doesn't want it to be another expense for her, but I told her i'd be taking care of it. I wrote a whole blog about it on my site, please take a look, and i'd appriciate any help i can get. thanks



http://www.freewebs.com/saiyit/index...ntryid=2547806



-Steph

okay, I think its great you want to adopt the rabbit(or any animal, too many people go to breeders instead of shelters). however, feeding it, caging it, and playing with it, is not enough always. What if it gets sick and you have to take it to the vet? Can you afford that? I'm not trying to be mean. I hope it never gets sick. My rabbit got very sick(and almost died) a few years ago when she was still a baby. It cost 250$ to get her well again. Animals are exspensive sometimes. If you want to adopt an animal I think thats really awesome! Just make sure you have plenty of money to take care of them in all ways.



He sounds adorable! Rabbits are such sweet babies. I hope he gets a good home, weather thats with you, or someone else.

thanks... yea i know what you mean about the vet and all that. he seems pretty healthy at the moment..but i know if i need to take him to the vet that it'll cost more. that's why now im trying really hard to make some money, and i have an appointment this week with an employment advisor which my friend tells me is great. so hopefully she can find me a good job quickly

He looks adorable! Hmmm is he a baby? Remember that if he isn't neutered, you will absolutely want to do that, both for health and behavior, and it's expensive. I'm sure you know that though. Although I have heard about some places doing it for free. As far as the cage goes, Neat Idea Cubes from Target are just about the best things ever. I've got like 5 packs of them. They're just little wire squares that you can snap together into a 3-story bunny palace, or use to bunny-proof your room. They cost about $12 a pack I think, and a good sized cage can be made from one pack, which is much less than you'll get a "real" cage for, and much much cooler. Just put old throwaway carpet scraps or something on the floor so he doesn't hurt his widdle feets. (Check out the bunnyowners lj community for ANY info you need about NIC cages.) Also, you don't need to buy bedding. Is he litter trained? Most bunnies are easily litter trained. Then all you need to do is "recycle" any old newspaper into the bottom of the litter box, cover with hay, which you'll need to give him every day anyways, and tadaa awesome, cozy litter box and only a 5-second cage cleaning needed. That's all I can think of at the moment.

aww, thanks for your reply.

I don't think he's a baby. on the shelter's website it says he's an adult Dwarf rabbit. When i went, the girl told me that they had found him by himself on the end of a driveway or something...so they don't have much information about him.

And i live in Canada, so there are no Targets around here, hahah. thanks for helping though, i'll see if they carry those kind of cages anywhere else around here.



Oh and yea, he's not neutered (litter trained i believe he is)...I called a few vets today to see how much they charge for neutering... i deff got different price ranges

Make sure the vet has actually done rabbit spays before, things are in very different places than for a dog/cat and the drugs, procedure, etc. are different as well.



I would try to have at least $1000 in the bank for medical expenses if you don't have a regular source of income, they add up fast. Tumors, absesses, RIs, etc. can be very expensive to treat.

I'm 99% positive you can find them in Canada - lots of stores carry them. They're just called different things. Basically they're 1' by 1' wire panels that come with things to snap together. They're supposed to be for cheap college shelving, so they're found in lots of places carrying cheap, do-it-yourself type furniture. Specific store names in different regions is another thing the bunnyowners community could help with.



Good luck with the bunny!

The only concern I have is if you are selling your stuff in order to afford the supplies for him what are you going to do if he gets sick. Rabbits are not cheap that's for sure. I took a 2nd one in my home in march, he was abused by kids so he had problems. Though the owner said he was healthy which was very wrong, so it was quite expensive. He still has problems, but I'm having the best time with him. They are such cool pets though mine follow me around like puppy dogs. Just read all the info you can on them too there is tons of stuff you need to know about them. I hope you can adopt him

thanks for your input. i've actually gotten a lot of of books from the library about rabbits, so i've been reading alot

and about the money issue...i'm working on getting a job, so i hope i get something soon, just as long as im saving up something. i dont really spend alot so it shouldnt be too much of a problem

I would adopt the rabbit AFTER you have a steady job and have some money in savings.

I would also find online resources as well as reading books, if rabbits are anything like guinea pigs then a lot of books will have misinformation that can be quite dangerous.



I don't know of any great rabbit sites but google should provide ^_^

Adopting a rabbit is a big investment in time and money, starting with that neuter. You might want to consider a rabbit rescue that adopts out already altered rabbits--there is generally an adoption fee, but it's usually much less than the cost of neuter. (For example, around here an exam by an EXOTICS VET --do not go to a regular vet!-- and a neuter is around $200; our rescue's adoption fee is $45 and we have already had the same vet examine and neuter the rabbit for you).



I think it's great that you are considering the bunny at the shelter, of course! But neuter is essential and a yearly vet exam should be the minimum.



LOTS of great info here on all topics, including making a cheap cage (like the grid type mentioned above): http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/rabrefs.html

The articles at this site are gathered from companion rabbit sites around the world, so are geared to keeping a pet and the unique challenges you'll face vs. a livestock rabbit, which a lot of books and websites focus on instead.



Rescues worldwide, including several in Canada: http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/rabresc.html



For all the basics, check out the House Rabbit Society website at http://www.rabbit.org



Good luck! We have rescued and adopted out hundreds of rabbits and wish more people were looking at shelters and considering their ability to care for the bunny like you are!

I work with a rabbit rescue (the only one) here in Arkansas and I can give you lots of info on rabbits. I have two of them myself that are currently being the minions of satan.

LOL boy do I know that feeling hehehe



DieselAmy is right though you need to find a vet that knows about rabbits, my rat vet was honest with me and told me she only knew basics like altering them so I finally found a good one. She charges under $40 for a office visit & neuters are under $100 which isn't too bad. http://www.rabbitsonline.net has some great info on there too

www.rabbit.org is like the online rabbit bible. You can do searches on there for a rabbit vet in your area.

Also check out www.medirabbit.com for tons of medical stuff.

I also have a house rabbit forum if you decide to adopt and need to chat about your bunn

Ooops!~ I didn't notice that DieselAmy had already posted up the HRS site.

BTW Amy, it looks like your bunn is getting quite the workout in that pic!

He was snoozing on the barbell! They're funny pets.