8 Common Myths about Rabbits | Pet Rabbits

_
_

Let's talk about some common rabbit myths and there are a lot of them. One
myth about rabbits that we encounter all the time is that people think
they're low maintenance. They are not low maintenance. Once you've taken
care of a dog and a rabbit, you will know that a dog takes less time to
take care of than a rabbit does, because rabbits need to be cleaned. Their
cages need to be cleaned. They need to have exercise time outside their
cage. They need excellent veterinary care. It may take you longer to get to
the vet because you can't just go to a dog and cat vet with a rabbit. You
have to go to a vet that knows about rabbits. These guys are not low
maintenance and that's a major myth.

Another myth is that they have short lives. I know when I was a child,
people used to tell me that rabbits lived a couple years and by the time I
was an adult, it had gone up to five or six years. Then it became six or
seven years, then seven to nine years, then nine or ten years and now we
are routinely seeing rabbits live ten to twelve years and that's a good
thing to know before you get a rabbit because this is not a short-lived
animal. This animal is going to be with you the same length of time that
your larger breeds of dogs are, so that's a major myth to consider.

Another myth is that rabbits don't need vet care. They do need vet care and
they need vet care by vets that know about rabbits. Since rabbits are not
routinely studied in veterinary medical school, it can be tricky for owners
to find what we call a "rabbit savvy vet", a vet that has some experience
with rabbits and is willing to go to continuing education, workshops,
seminars, whatever to learn about rabbits. You have to find yourself a vet
like that and make sure that your rabbit is cared for by that vet.

Another myth is that rabbits are happiest out of doors and I think of
outdoor rabbits as similar to dogs who live in a cage in your backyard, or
in a doghouse in your backyard. There's really no social interaction. When
a child first gets the rabbit, maybe he's very happy to go outside and take
care of the rabbit for a short period of time, but out of sight, out of
mind and other interests come up and then that rabbit is relegated to an
isolated spot. It's like keeping somebody in solitary confinement and the
rabbit also is subject to extremes of weather, to parasites, to predatory
animals, so it's a myth that keeping rabbits outdoors is the best way to
keep them. In fact, they live long, happy lives, as I said ten to twelve
years, is what we're seeing now and some live into their teens even, if
they're kept indoors and cared for well.

Another myth about rabbits is that they love to be picked up and cuddled.
Rabbits actually are ground animals. They live on or under the ground and
they feel most comfortable when their feet are on the ground. That isn't to
say that you can't pick them up and cuddle them, it's just to say that you
have to respect the rabbit's desire to feel safe on the ground. These are
not animals that enjoy being toted around all day long by, even adults, but
certainly not by kids who don't handle them as well or as easily as adults.

Another common myth is, 'let's get a rabbit because we only have a small
apartment and we don't have a lot of space. Rabbits are small". In fact,
even a small rabbit needs plenty of space to exercise. These hind legs are
really powerful and they're made for jumping and running. You will never
get to enjoy the things we see in rabbits if you don't give your rabbit the
space to exercise. So, the more room, the better, right? You want to get
your rabbit a nice, big exercise pen to live in and then you want to give
him out-of-pen exercise time in a nice, safe rabbit-proof area where you've
removed electrical wires and houseplants. So the myth of space is a biggie.
They need space.

Another myth is that rabbits smell. In fact, when a rabbit is spayed or
neutered (spayed f

[mariepiersurprenant]

My rabbit is almost 14 years old and still going strong

[sophiadeng]

Just to think so many rabbits are being mistreated because of these myths is so sad!

My rabbits just turned nine years old, I really hope they get to live for a few more years, I love them so much. I hate it when people say: "Why do you care so much about them? They are just rabbits, it's not like a dog or anything". That is such an ignorant thing to say. 

[fireangel]

Have you seen a rabbit do a binky? It's glorious and probably the most adorable thing ever. Or when they clean their faces. Or when they run around and tackle you head on :D

[BFDreaming]

I love how she has to keep herself from shifting into baby talk.

[EvanRado]

My rabbit is like a small dog he just wants to be held all the time. He loves cuddling and being rubbed. Hes super lazy though and doesn't do much when hes out of his cage.

[jenniferkelly]

I love my bunnies like a mother loves her children.

[josephinebarnhart]

finally an adult on YouTube that knows rabbits, I'm tired of these 10yrs old

[SuperGirlSonic]

Also rabbits don't like carrots. I mean, they like to eat them but carrots are actually pretty bad for rabbits. They have a LOT of sugar in them. Bunnies will much a whole lot of carrots but it is not very good for them.

[amishasingh]

I might be a kid (12 years)
but I will never ever lose interest in my bunny
I love her much😘

[qawamity]

I had a rabbit that I never took to the vet and never bathed him. But he was kept indoors, and I let him run about as often as I felt comfortable with (he was a handful, so that was not as often as was ideal). And he lived to be about 15 years old. Was finally done in by a stroke, as near as I could tell.

[bunnyhopperaj]

I'm 11 and i have paid for my bunny and taken care of its needs.. I know you are thinking why dont your parents help you... Well my mom didnt necessarily want a rabbit so she said if i wanted one i would need to take care of it. I have not gotten bored with him in any possible way. He has a 47'' indoor cage and he also has a hutch outside. He runs around daily and is litter box trained. He stinks sometimes because i have not neutered him yet. He is a holland lop but his ears tend to go out horizontally and wont go down... But i still love him :)

[mcole]

I had a pet rabbit in a small apt for 6 years while in college. It was very LOW MAINTENANCE. I never took it to the vet and don't ever remember bathing it. It never smelled and was litter trained. It slept in a crate and followed me around in the daytime. It played with my 80 pound dog and had a special chair where it sat and watched TV. It came to me when I called and would sit on my lap.

[MrWhitman]

Here's a myth that she has, "I clean my bathroom more often than my pets."  WRONG!  I clean my cat's litter box WAY more than I clean my bathroom.  In fact, I can't remember the last time I cleaned my bathroom.

[abjurer_theore]

I feel like I got very fortunate with my rabbit. He was super quick to litter train, and very relaxed. He has always ABSOLUTELY HATED being picked up, so I have never pushed it on him. He has a thing for feet because I spend a lot of time on the computer - he likes to bury his head under my foot while I swing it back and forth in a petting motion. That and I can't pick him up with my feet ha.

[Abby.]

This is so good! I wish I could show this to everyone that doesn't get why/how I love my bunny so much. He lives indoors, free range in a rabbit proof house, is litter trained and sleeps on the bed at night. If you look after your rabbit properly, the outcome is wonderful. they are beautiful animals and it is adorable when they binky and jump everywhere to show how happy they are. I take my rabbit's health so seriously, I want to ensure he lives the longest and happiest life possible. This video was honestly wonderful! 

[cherylerrington]

Totally amazing how many people are on here thinking they know everything about rabbits when they blatantly dont! As a rabbit rescue its hard for me to read comments like "rabbits dont need hay all of the time". A rabbits diet should be made up of 80% hay. They should have thier body size in fresh hay every day as they need they are fibrevores meaning they need a high fibre diet. Without hay how can they get that? Please, please, please do your research! !

[sochioranmyaku]

I feel like her spirit animal is probably a rabbit

[modelhorseluvr]

Totally agree about keeping rabbits indoors. I really don't understand why you would keep rabbits outdoors having to deal with extreme weather, cold, isolation, threat of being attacked by other animals like foxes when you can keep them indoors and avoid all of that. If my rabbit lived outdoors I would never be able to settle! There is no benefits of keeping rabbits outdoors in my eyes.

[sopianlee]

2:47 The rabbit is like : The hell are u talking about me huh! 😠... And yo! Camera man! Watcha lookin at