RABBIT PROOFING YOUR HOME
Found this excellent transcript
written by a vet. This will help you
keep you bunny safe as well as you
home. Thoughts I'd share ..........
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Transcript: How to Rabbit-Proof Your Home
Hi, I am Dr. Rebecca Campbell, of Symphony Veterinary Center
in Manhattan, for About.com. Now I'm going to talk about how to
rabbit-proof your home -- which is essential for the rabbit's
safety as well for the integrity of your possessions.
View Your Home With Rabbit Eyes
Because rabbits like to burrow and chew, they can really make a
mess of your home, and it can sometimes be dangerous to them
as well. One of the most important things to do before you let
your rabbit loose in your house is to make sure that he or she
will not be injured or killed by chewing on electric wires or by
burrowing behind appliances and getting under recliners. So the
first thing you need to do is to get down on all fours and look
around the house as if you are a rabbit and see where are the
things that you can chew and where are the things that you can
hide behind!
Rabbit Proof Chewable Items
To protect the electrical cords, you can take heavy-duty plastic
wrap that's available at hardware stores, and wrap all of the
available electric cords. It's not sufficient to just hide them
behind furniture, because rabbits can get behind almost
anything. Once the electrical cords are safe, then you need to
protect upholstered and wooden furniture. That can take a lot of
creativity, because rabbits will chew at baseboards, they will
chew at bookcases.
Rabbit Proof Plants
Many ornamental houseplants are toxic to rabbits, so you need
to put your houseplants up very high -- preferably hang them
from the ceiling. But be aware that falling leaves will be
immediately ingested and they can be toxic as well.
Rabbit Proof Floors
It's very important for rabbits to be able to navigate on a floor,
and slippery surfaces like tile and hardwood floors are terrifying
for them and can also cause orthopedic problems if their legs
splay out. So for households that have rabbits as pets, we
recommend that they have short pile carpeting that they can
navigate on. Some of the indoor-outdoor carpeting or runners
that you can purchase inexpensively can be good surfaces for
rabbits to run on. But long pile carpeting will be chewed, and the
chewed pieces of fabric and carpeting will be dangerous to the
rabbit's G.I. tract.
Litter Box Training Rabbits
If a rabbit is spayed or neutered, you have a better chance of
getting him or her litter box-trained. The litter needs to be safe
for the rabbit to chew, so a litter box can be packed with hay or
with recycled newspaper pellets.
For the rabbit's health and also for his mental well-being, you do
need to exercise your rabbit every day. To reduce damage to
your house and also for the safety of the animal, you do need to
take many steps to rabbit-proof your home.