And after the arrival of my rabbit?

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01 – The observation period

Your little pet has just arrived at your home, he is still in his transport cage and all you want to do is take him in your arms and show him around. Although your intentions are noble, you should never put them into practice.

Everything in your new friend’s life has just been turned upside down. He has just lost his family and friends, his landmarks and everything he had always known. So the best thing to do is to leave him alone. If you can put the transport cage in your cage don’t hesitate to do so, open the door and let your rabbit out of his transport cage to discover his new cage when he decides to do so. In any case, let your rabbit rest and calm down on its own, do not approach it, do not let children approach it and even less let other animals approach it. You can only start touching it in a few days, once it has had time to observe its new home and understand that you mean it no harm.

02 – The buzzword: quarantine

If you have other rabbits, I can only advise you to carry out a quarantine with your newcomer. No contact, even visual contact, should take place between your new rabbit and the rabbit that was already there. First of all to avoid any problem of contagion of disease or parasites but also to avoid creating unnecessary territorial tensions. It is important for you to wash your hands after touching one of your rabbits. This separation should be applied for about a month, although a shorter period may sometimes be sufficient, especially if a control visit to the vet has been made for the new arrival.

03 – Protecting your home

Your rabbit is still small, but sooner or later it will have to be taken out of its cage in order to meet its physical and psychological needs. To do this, it is essential to secure its house beforehand. It would be foolish for your rabbit to end up electrocuted by an unprotected wire or poisoned by a misplaced plant. It is therefore best to protect all cables accessible to rabbits with cable protectors or self-adhesive PVC tape. You should also think about putting the plants high up or changing them from one room to another.

04 – Health Pet insurance

Because veterinary costs are expensive and no one is immune to illness or accident, it can be useful to take out rabbit insurance. More and more insurers are offering this option for rates ranging from 8 to 20€ per month (in France). This usually covers all urgent operations or examinations, but also part of the sterilisation and annual vaccinations.

05 – Sterilization

Although your rabbit is not yet pubescent, you should make an appointment to have your rabbit neutered at a specialised rabbit clinic in the weeks/months following its adoption. Even if the sterilization can only be done after your rabbit is six months old, I advise you to start early because some specialized clinics have a wait of more than two months for an appointment.