Rabbits are cute, soft and fluffy. Well, who can resist their twitching nose, right? As pets, they are not as popular as cats or dogs, but they have some excellent qualities. Unlike dogs, they will not slobber you and will not make friends with the foot of your friend. And unlike cats, they do not look at you as a lower being. So it actually seems strange that there is no rabbit in every house - aren't they the most perfect pets in the world?
Not really. Although savvy rabbit owners can get along very well with their eared pets, the rest should know something about them before adding the animal to the family. Because many common ideas about rabbit habits are misconceptions that are far from facts.
Rabbits do not live long
Some parents, although they probably do not recognize this out loud, buy a rabbit for their children because they secretly think that he will not live too long and will not have to bother with him for a long time after the child cools down to him. A surprise awaits these parents. A domesticated rabbit can live almost as long as a cat - up to 12 years.
In the wild, a rabbit lives on average only two to three years, but this is because it has many natural enemies that want and can eat it. Domesticated rabbits live four times longer than wild ones because their habitat is safe and reliable.
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Rabbits love hugs
Rabbits look very cute. After all, if they were not meant to be hugged, why did mother nature give them such soft fur? But, unfortunately, they are not like puppies that crave human attention, or cats that themselves jump onto your knees. Rabbits are not predators, they are prey, therefore their habits are appropriate. When you pick them up, they most likely believe that you intend to eat them.
Of course, a rabbit that is used to its owner can enjoy petting, but most of them do not like being held in their arms or carried. Rabbit owners are encouraged to chat with their pets on the floor and pet them as they approach, which is less scary for them. And it’s important to know how to raise a rabbit because they have strong hind legs. If you are not careful, a frightened rabbit will fight back and scratch you.
Rabbits are not aggressive and they do not bite
In fact, rabbits bite and scratch. If they did not, they would not have survived as a species. Not only predators must be aggressive in order to survive - herbivores also need this. Because if they are caught, this gives them a chance to fight off the attacker.
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Some rabbits can become so aggressive that their owners cannot cope with them. Aggressive behavior in rabbits is most common at the age of 4 months or so when they reach puberty equivalent.
This behavior can be fixed. Sometimes radically by sterilizing the rabbit before the problem gets out of hand. Time, patience and good teaching methods will correct most of the remaining aggressive behavior.
Keeping a rabbit effortless
Another reason you might be tempted to buy a rabbit for a child is because you heard that they did not require special care. You do not need to vaccinate them, and they have only basic needs for food and shelter.
All this is untrue. Rabbits need daily care, and they especially need a master who is attentive even to minor changes in behavior. Although it's pretty easy to tell if a dog or cat feels bad, with rabbits it's a lot harder.
They have developed a natural protective mechanism that allows them to appear healthy, even if this is not so. This is necessary in order not to seem an attractive target for predators, because, as you know, they always choose the weakest. Therefore, by the time it becomes obvious that the rabbit is sick, it may be too late to save him.
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In addition, rabbits are social creatures, and they need attention and mental stimulation. Without it, they get bored and can develop bad habits or even get depressed.
Rabbits can be released to run
On the whole, of course, yes. It is possible and necessary. But what absolutely can not be done is to leave them unattended. Rabbits love to nibble and not only your baseboards and wires will suffer, but also the pet itself. If the wire is energized, an eared pet can be electrocuted.
Rabbits don't get along with cats and dogs
Logic can tell you that a rabbit cannot coexist with a dog or cat. Rabbits are prey, and dogs and cats are predators. So it’s easy to guess that they should be kept apart.
This is not entirely true. Firstly, an adult rabbit can really cope with a hungry cat, so a smart kitty usually does not try to turn it into food. Dogs are a big problem, especially large ones, which may be tempted to eat a domestic rabbit while their owner is looking the other way.
This does not necessarily mean that dogs cannot learn to get along with rabbits. This largely depends on the individual characteristics of the animals. A nerve rabbit can actually cause predatory instincts in a dog. But if they grew together, then the dog would rather see a family member in the rabbit than fluffy food.
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However, they still cannot be left alone, even if they are best friends. Because no one can give an absolute guarantee that instincts will not prevail.
Rabbits love carrots
It may come as a surprise to you that carrots are actually bad for rabbits. It’s not that they don’t like carrots and will not eat it - they will, but carrots and other root vegetables are not natural food for rabbits. Their use can lead to health problems, including the development of caries and obesity.
Rabbits and hares relatives
It is easy to confuse a hare with a rabbit - they are similar to each other. But hares and rabbits are not just subspecies of the same animal, they are different both in appearance and in behavior and are considered two different species. They differ from each other no less than sheep from goats.
In addition to external signs, the main difference between the two species is obvious at birth. There are many rabbits, like puppies or kittens, and they are completely dependent on their mother for the first few weeks of life. Rabbits are born helpless, without hair and with their eyes closed.
Newborn hares have more in common with foals. Their eyes are open, they have fur, and they can run only seven days after birth.
Rabbits are nocturnal
One female theoretically can produce up to 1000 new rabbits in her life. Of course, wild animals do not live long enough to have so many offspring, but even if one rabbit can have 200 or 300 children, then this is a lot. So why don't we come across them everywhere whenever we find ourselves in nature? Is it because rabbits are nocturnal?
Well, for starters, wild rabbits die from diseases and predators quite intensively, so there are not so many of them. But the other reason we rarely see rabbits in nature is not because they are nocturnal, but because they are twilight.
Rabbits emerge from their holes or shelters at dusk. This is a brilliant survival strategy, as daytime predators have already finished hunting, and nighttime predators have not yet begun.
