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My new Holland Lop rabbit

22 10:29:49

Question
1. Is using towels as lining for a rabbit cage ok if the bunny is litter trained and has a litterbox?

2. What brand and type feed do you recommend for a Holland lop rabbit.

3. Do you recommend me spaying my rabbit when she turns 6 months old?

4. What fruits and veggies are fine for rabbits to eat, How much can I give a day?

5. Is newspaper toxic for rabbits?

6. Any suggestions for toys that I can make for my bunny or Toys I can buy that are cheap?

7. Do you think that I should keep my two terriers away from the rabbit at all times? (It won't be that hard because they are already confined to the kitchen because they pee everywhere)

Yea thanks, I am just debating wether it is better to use newspaper or towels for bedding because I heard from a few people that newspaper is not good. I would prefer to use towels anyway because you just throw them in the wash and then you can reuse them.
Thank you for your help!

Answer
1.  you can use either towel or newspaper.  Or neither depending on your setup.  I don't use any lining for my cages.  I just use the paper for the bottom of the litter box.  For the rabbit that like to lay or play with them, I do place towels in the cages.  You'll have to shake any hay out of them, but either choice will work as a cage liner.

2.  I always recommend Oxbow.  It's a very fine food.  Doesn't contain seeds or fruits that can cause digestive problems, and is very high in fiber.  If you can't find Oxbow where you live, look for a pellet without fruit or seeds, just pellets.  And look for a pellet with at least 18% fiber.  A good primer on diet can be found here:
http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/diet.html

3.  If you're not going to breed her, I do indeed recommend spaying her.  You'll avoid false pregnancies, and aggressive/territorial behavior.  This site has more of the benefits:
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/spay.html

4.  Fruits should be an occasional treat as they are high in sugar.  These sites list vegetables and fruits that are safe for rabbits:
http://www.rabbit.org/care/veggies.html
http://www.rabbit.org/care/fruits.html

5.  Newspaper is fine.  The ink is usually made out of soy, and in my experience, rabbits don't really chew on it if they have other things like hay and toys to chew on.

6.  Best toy ever - phonebook.  Towels, cardboard boxes are also great.  These sites have some more ideas:
http://www.rabbitweb.net/toys.asp
http://www.bunnybytes.com/cgi-bin/start.cgi
http://rabbit.org/faq/sections/toys.html

7.  And yes, yes, yes keep your terriers away.  Terriers have a very high prey drive and may kill your rabbit.

good luck with your new rabbit