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In short, iceberg lettuce is mostly water with little to no nutrient value. A rabbit can fill up on it (because of the bulk), but still need food because they didn't get enough calories, vitamins, minerals, etc.
If you look at the USDA's webpage on iceberg lettuce. You'll notice that water makes up just about 95% of the nutrients, leaving 5% to be divided up ...
26
Depending on where you live, burying your pet in your yard may be illegal. You should check your local laws, before undertaking a reburial. If the area is in a neighborhood, the possibility that a neighbor's dog may find and remove your pet is very high, given the depth the you describe. Also, as you mention, the risk of wildlife exposing the body is ...
24
There are several legal issues with making wildlife into a pet, these laws vary by location and any response on that topic would be out of scope for this site.
It happens that Saturday; I met a woman whose children found a baby cotton tail rabbit and kept it in captivity for several years (I believe she said 13). It was particularly interesting to note ...
21
The short answer is no.
The longer answer:
Your pet rabbit is probably a different breed than the wild rabbits you see around. It's been bred from tame/domesticated rabbits for generations. It doesn't smell like them, and it doesn't know how anything about living wild. If you let it go free, it will almost certainly be killed or eaten.
If you are in an ...
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I am active in the local rabbit rescue and humane society. This answer is based on multiple conversations with many cross species pet parents. All the points made are from experiences shared by parents and supported by reliable references where available.
In my opinion and experience a rabbit & cat are probably the two easiest animals to join together ...
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Rabbits have two traits that can cause this behavior, they are very territorial and they have a strong grooming hierarchy.
I assume your rabbit enjoys getting petted, If you sit on the floor she will probably come lay next to you and let you pet her for long periods. She may also jump up on the couch or bed to spend time with you. She is the Princess ...
18
At only a few inches deep, it's still easily detected by coyotes and foxes. Something else to consider is once the ground thaws and it rains, some of the soil on top is going to wash away. I don't think it's necessary to make a grave six feet deep, but a couple feet is much safer than a couple inches.
If transferring him to a deeper grave is not something ...
16
They have to chew. Rabbit teeth are constantly growing and the chewing activity actually serves to grind them down. Rabbits will chew pretty much anything "chewable" which includes wood, wires, and the like. If you give them lots of non-wire stuff to chew, like apple tree branches, then it does reduce the chance they'll go after your wires, but it doesn't ...
16
While I did not find any reliable references that clearly put it as boldly as the question, there can be little doubt that rabbits do fart.
Lets begin by looking at a rabbits digestive track.
Image from Wikimedia Commons
Notice that the stomach is very early in the digestive track, this is the usual problem area noted for gas accumulation in bloat. Then ...
15
For descending paralysis, that is indicative of botulism, you can expect paralysis to continue to develop over several days (3 days in our case) and then progressively clear over several more days so the treatment will need to be readjusted as the paralysis changes.
None of the following is intended to replace consultation with a qualified veterinary ...
14
‘Wool Block’ and ‘Hairball’ are the same thing, and the terms may be used interchangeably, bunnies groom themselves and the hair stays in their gut. They are incapable of vomiting so the only avenue is for it to pass through. The primary cause is lack of GI mobility generally combined with a lack of fiber. Hay should be available at all times to a bunny, ...
14
Rabbits make a variety of sounds. The following are the most significant.
The loudest normal sound is non-vocal: foot stomps. Anyone who has seen Thumper in the Disney movie is familiar with this action. The bunny will stomp one of their powerful back legs. It conveys extreme displeasure or sends a warning of danger. I usually refer to it as bunny ...
13
Pets should NEVER be released into the wild.
There are countless reasons for this. Your pet might not be native to the area you live in. It can cause harm to the environment. It may carry a disease that the local wildlife do not have a resistance to. It doesnt have the survival instincts its wild cousins have. Pets are physically different than their ...
12
Just want to add that certain breeds of rabbit you find in the wild could be either pest species, endangered (example) or be a limited link in a food chain.
Wild animals are best left in the wild, but in situations where wild animals cannot look after themselves and are not a pest species there are organisations with people who have experience in ...
12
...rabbits can be easily trained to use a litter tray, sometimes with more reliability than your average cat!
The natural instinct of a wild rabbit to use one area as its latrine is still apparent in its domestic counterparts. (1)
The actual process is very similar to pad training a dog or litter box training a cat. Keep the rabbit confined to a small ...
12
In my experience rabbits are very easy to housebreak. They like to pee and poop in the same place every time, so in most cases all you have to do is put a little bit of their waste in the litter box and they will happily use the litter box. It is very important that if they go somewhere else, miss the edge or kick waste out of the box that you clean it up ...
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Zaralynda has a fantastic answer, that runs counter to my in belief the "badness" of iceberg lettuce for bunnies. In an attempt to support my beliefs I did lots of research, the following is what I learned.
We all agree that Iceberg Lettuce is not a good source of nutrition, but is it actually bad for rabbits?
There are several mentions online and in print ...
11
After 15 years of multiple rabbit ownership, I can assure you it is the smell draws them to the wire, and the texture keeps them coming back.
In fact, extremely rubbery remote control buttons are the one of the most sought after of all rabbit delicacies second only to sugar filled edibles:
A face up remote is a sure fire way to get a bunny that knows the ...
11
There are several theories floating around as to why rabbits engage in this behaviour. One is that electricity in a live wire makes a noise that is audible to the rabbit and attracts them to it or they can feel the vibrations inside it. Another is that they might like the smell of the plastic or its rubbery feel. Also, if a rabbit is bored they will often ...
11
I'm not sure how reliably anyone could quantify this, as I know of no global pet survey, but it appears the answer to the question of whether rabbits are ranked #3 is: probably not.
Even though the numbers vary from country to country, cats, dogs, and freshwater fish tend to be more popular than rabbits (and fish seem a very unlikely candidate for a shelter, ...
11
Digging is normal behavior for rabbits. House rabbits come from a heritage of underground burrow/warren living wild cousins. But your pets instinctive behaviors should not be causing damage to the home you share with them.
Stomping and/or clapping your hands while saying "No" sternly, is the best method for stopping any bunny behavior including digging ...
11
Chad's (user9's) answer strikes at the root of the bath problem; stress can cause heart attacks and GI stasis, both are deadly. Nevertheless, any discussion of bathing isn't complete without review of the function of a rabbit's coat.
Rabbit's fur consists of a slick top coat and dense undercoat that constantly sheds. This design makes the fur self-...
11
Trancing or Hypnotizing your bunny is possible and is often used as part of the grooming process. There are two opposing thoughts on trancing: The first being that it is calming and a good solution for many situations. The second being that the rabbit is in fear for it's life, it enters a "play dead" natural response common to many prey animals, and is ...
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