{"id":5241,"date":"2019-04-05T23:20:58","date_gmt":"2019-04-06T03:20:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/?p=5241"},"modified":"2019-03-14T19:59:04","modified_gmt":"2019-03-14T23:59:04","slug":"living-with-bunnies-so-much-for-low-maintenance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/2019\/04\/05\/living-with-bunnies-so-much-for-low-maintenance\/","title":{"rendered":"Living with Bunnies: So much for &#8220;low maintenance&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>With Easter coming up, I thought I&#8217;d do a series of posts on what it&#8217;s <em>really<\/em> like to own a rabbit (or to be a &#8220;bunny slave&#8221; as they would put it) &#8211; just in case any of you see my photos and think &#8220;gee, bunnies sure are cute &#8211; maybe I&#8217;ll get one for Easter!&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>A lot of people are under the misconception that rabbits are a &#8220;set it and forget it&#8221; type of pet &#8211; but this couldn&#8217;t be further from the truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Those of you who follow my bunny photos on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ksurvell\">Twitter<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ksurvell\">Instagram<\/a>, or <a href=\"https:\/\/knzk.me\/@keithius\">Mastodon<\/a>, will probably notice that I often post the most photos in the morning and I sometimes refer to this as &#8220;morning playtime.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is because rabbits need exercise just like any other pet. If you keep them in an enclosure (as I do), you have to let them out to run around &#8211; just as you need to take dogs for a walk if you keep them inside. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most rabbits are much, <em><strong>much <\/strong><\/em>bigger than hamsters, gerbils, or even guinea pigs, so unless you have an absolutely enormous enclosure for them, you&#8217;ll need to let them out to play and run around. And unless your rabbits are very well behaved, and your house perfectly bunny-proofed, you&#8217;ll also need to spend that same time watching or supervising them as they play. Bunnies have a natural instinct to chew on things (much like how cats have an instinct to scratch) so you need to keep an eye on them in case they do something naughty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some rabbits can be placated with chew toys (much like how you&#8217;d give a cat a scratching post), but not all can &#8211; different rabbits have different personalities and respond to things differently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With my buns, I generally let them out for about an hour in the morning and again in the evening &#8211; and during that time I have to stay and watch them pretty closely, as they still haven&#8217;t quite learned not to chew things (mainly biting at the carpet). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, unless you&#8217;re willing to spend that time with a rabbit each day (or if you can afford to give them enough space &#8211; like an entire room, which also needs to be protected from the rabbit&#8217;s instinct to chew things), maybe a rabbit isn&#8217;t for you and you should consider another pet &#8211; or just get a chocolate or candy rabbit if you&#8217;re thinking about Easter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stay tuned for more insights as to the &#8220;true&#8221; experience of being a rabbit owner!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With Easter coming up, I thought I&#8217;d do a series of posts on what it&#8217;s really like to own a rabbit (or to be a &#8220;bunny slave&#8221; as they would put it) &#8211; just in case any of you see my photos and think &#8220;gee, bunnies sure are cute &#8211; maybe I&#8217;ll get one for&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/2019\/04\/05\/living-with-bunnies-so-much-for-low-maintenance\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Living with Bunnies: So much for &#8220;low maintenance&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"webmentions_disabled_pings":false,"webmentions_disabled":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"","activitypub_max_image_attachments":3,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[39,471,468,466,467,42,469,37],"class_list":["post-5241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pets","tag-bunny","tag-bunny-rabbit","tag-care","tag-easter","tag-easter-bunny","tag-pet","tag-pet-care","tag-rabbit","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pimUj-1mx","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5231,"url":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/2019\/03\/15\/owning-bunnies-feeding-the-beasts\/","url_meta":{"origin":5241,"position":0},"title":"Living with Bunnies: Feeding the Beasts","author":"Keith Survell","date":"March 15, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"With Easter coming up, I thought I'd do a series of posts on what it's really like to own a rabbit (or to be a \"bunny slave\" as they would put it) - just in case any of you see my photos and think \"gee, bunnies sure are cute -\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;pets&quot;","block_context":{"text":"pets","link":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/category\/personal\/pets\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5239,"url":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/2019\/03\/22\/living-with-bunnies-litter-boxes\/","url_meta":{"origin":5241,"position":1},"title":"Living with Bunnies: Litter boxes","author":"Keith Survell","date":"March 22, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"With Easter coming up, I thought I'd do a series of posts on what it's really like to own a rabbit (or to be a \"bunny slave\" as they would put it) - just in case any of you see my photos and think \"gee, bunnies sure are cute -\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;pets&quot;","block_context":{"text":"pets","link":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/category\/personal\/pets\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6124,"url":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/2024\/03\/16\/think-twice-or-more-before-getting-a-rabbit-for-easter\/","url_meta":{"origin":5241,"position":2},"title":"Think Twice (or More) Before Getting a Rabbit for Easter","author":"Keith Survell","date":"March 16, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Thinking of getting a rabbit for Easter? Before you do, answer \"yes\" or \"no\" to the following statements: A rabbit is a good first\/starter pet A rabbit just eats pellets and\/or carrots A rabbit can be kept in a wire cage A rabbit is good for my small child to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;pets&quot;","block_context":{"text":"pets","link":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/category\/personal\/pets\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":722,"url":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/2006\/04\/09\/easter-and-rabbits-dont-mix\/","url_meta":{"origin":5241,"position":3},"title":"Easter and Rabbits Don&#8217;t Mix","author":"Keith Survell","date":"April 9, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"This Easter, don't fall for the temptation of a cute bunny - Rabbits require a lot of work and commitment from their owners to be kept happy.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;personal&quot;","block_context":{"text":"personal","link":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/category\/personal\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5254,"url":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/2019\/03\/29\/living-with-bunnies-shedding-aka-the-furpocalypse\/","url_meta":{"origin":5241,"position":4},"title":"Living with Bunnies: Shedding (aka the Furpocalypse)","author":"Keith Survell","date":"March 29, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Living with Bunnies means dealing with the inevitable \"furpocalypse\" that comes with almost any animal that sheds fur.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;pets&quot;","block_context":{"text":"pets","link":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/category\/personal\/pets\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2019\/03\/chuck-after-brushing.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2019\/03\/chuck-after-brushing.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2019\/03\/chuck-after-brushing.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2019\/03\/chuck-after-brushing.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2019\/03\/chuck-after-brushing.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2019\/03\/chuck-after-brushing.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5734,"url":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/2022\/04\/05\/dont-buy-bunnies-for-easter\/","url_meta":{"origin":5241,"position":5},"title":"Don&#8217;t Buy Bunnies for Easter","author":"Keith Survell","date":"April 5, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"It's that time of year again - the time of year where people seem to abandon their common sense and start to think that buying a living animal on a whim as a gift is somehow a good idea. So let's go over the list of reasons why you shouldn't\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;pets&quot;","block_context":{"text":"pets","link":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/category\/personal\/pets\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5241"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5241\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}