While rabbits are one of the cutest pets ever, did you know that there is a lot involved in caring for a rabbit? We collected your questions and selected the best ten questions. Animal trainer and behavioral expert Bernice Muntz answers:

1. How many rabbits can live together?

In the wild, rabbits often live in groups of between 2 and 7/8 animals. So, if you want to have a group, that’s a nice number.
I know people who keep more rabbits together. Provided they have sufficient space, this can go well and they will sometimes form subgroups.

2. How long does it take to tame a rabbit?

There is no science that describes how long such a thing takes. Much depends on how tame the parents were, the character of the animal, what you understand by being tame is and how much time you put into it. For example, one of my rabbits, ‘Harvey’, is a super tame rabbit. He follows me, wants attention, stands with his paws against my leg, and so on. But he doesn’t want to be petted. When I’m working with him, I can pet him, but he won’t ask for it on his own and I don’t really do him any pleasure with it. Many rabbits don’t want to be petted, but that doesn’t mean they are shy. In addition, many people believe that they can tame rabbits by lifting them a lot. Unfortunately, that is often counterproductive. Between 59 – 63 percent of rabbits do not want to be lifted. In the beginning, when they are young it seems to go very easy until they are about four months old, then they enter puberty and that changes. They often do not want to be lifted afterwards, probably also because they have experienced that they do not like it. If you give a rabbit space, if you do not lift them, there is a good chance that they will become much tamer.

3. What is the best way to handle a rabbit?

None. Rabbits should not be lifted. If you need to transport them from A to B, you could put them in a basket (not a smooth bottom) or in a transport cage. A vet knows how to lift rabbits and will do it for the shortest time possible. Rabbits should be lifted only where there is no other way.

4. How can you get your rabbit to stop spraying? (which cannot be helped due to medical circumstances)

Rabbits that spray do this mainly because of sexual, territorial behavior, but stress also plays a role. If you cannot spay or neuter a rabbit for medical reasons, then see if you can do something about the environment. Can you lessen the stress (for example, do not bring strange smells from other animals) or offer more hiding places? If necessary, keep a diary and see what happened when your rabbit is spraying, and then see if you can do anything to change things.

5. How long does the molting period last in a short-haired rabbit?

I had to think about this question for a while and even consulted with a colleague. The question seems so simple, but it is not.
How long a molting period lasts partly depends on the number of hours of sunlight, the temperature, whether the rabbit lives indoors or outdoors, how often a rabbit is brushed (some rabbits are also brushed too often), whether the animal has been neutered / sterilized (coat and moulting is often a bit more difficult), age and nutrition. On average, moulting lasts between 6 weeks and 3 months.

6. How do you make sure that a rabbit really does put all its droppings in a container and does not put them in your living room to mark its territory?

– Castration / sterilization
– Always clean up droppings.
Realize that rabbits are territorial creatures and that this sometimes belongs to them. Some animals do this more than others.

7. How many times a day can you give a rabbit green food?

Well… in nature, a rabbit spends 4-6 hours a day looking for and eating food. I myself feed them a maximum of two or three times a day because otherwise the rabbit will become restless and wants to get green food all day long, when their main diet is hay. If you feed them often during the day, they will become more restless because the rules are less clear. It is better to feed them at fairly the same times and offered together with good quality hay. Feeding a lot of green or dry food usually means that they will eat less hay and it’s the most important.

8. My rabbit is scratching the carpet. Can I buy him a scratching board for a cat?

There are many reasons why a rabbit scratches. Some rabbits scratch before eating, some scratch before laying down, many scratch mainly because they are bored. See if it makes a difference if you don’t give your rabbit food in the food bowl, but for example give 1/3 in thinking games (teach it but don’t expect them to understand it all right away), 1/3rd in activity balls and 1/3rd out of the hand or while exercising.

9. What is the best food to give to your rabbit?

No single diet is good for all animals. The best thing is to give chunks where each chunk contains the same nutrients. Otherwise, there is a chance that a rabbit will eat all the tasty things and leave the healthy things. Even if you have two or more rabbits, you don’t know who is eating what. So it is best to buy a high quality feed, in a not too big of a bag. Bags that are open for a long time have a chance that the vitamins will decrease in value. Store the food in airtight containers.

10. Can a rabbit stay in the cage for the entire holiday?

No, unfortunately that is not possible. A rabbit needs at least four square meters (per two rabbits). You may be shocked, but the reason for this is that rabbits need to move naturally, like- hopping, running (zigzagging and making binkies or air jumps), lying down, sitting without the ears touching the top, etc. There are various studies that when a rabbit cannot move at least 7 hours a day, this often causes behavioral problems. You literally affect the animal’s well-being. Imagine that someone has to stay in their small room for a vacation, not able to take more than a few steps…