Having a Bun Bun - how to prepare for your little rabbit's arrival (learning from my mistakes)

A popular belief that bunnies are silly outdoor animals who do not need any special care as long as they have enough grass to eat is so far from the truth as the moon from the earth.
And just few month ago I've got a chance to find that out myself.

I am a sworn animals lover whose heart melts from the ever wild animal who dares to approach me, who smiles to every stranger's dog and calls every kitty that crosses my eyes for cuddles. I guess my husband finally had enough. One day after feeding me an elaborate lie about having to stay at work longer than usual, he came back with my fairly late birthday present. A tiny fluffy thing in a pink carrier... a sand color mini lop, who quickly got the name - Cookie.
Bunny was already two months old. The breeder was very strict on the rule since apparently only two months old rabbits are ready to be adopted. - My hubby explained, with a big smile on his face, why my present was a few months late...

Nonetheless, I was slightly shocked. We talked a lot about having a pet but I didn't think he'll do it. Wrong...
Luckily my second half (who already had some experience in having a bunny) took care of the essentials as well. Along with this little creature, he bought:

a pretty spacious cage,
hay holder,
a little litter box and litter pellets,
feed bowl,
water bottle,
and baby bunny food (pellets).
Sadly there were some delays with hay.... and that was the mistake number one.

The mistake No. 1 - No hay

Bunnies always eat something. They have a very sensitive digestive track and a good hay is a must. It has to be constantly available and should make up at least 80 % of their diet. However it is a long topic for the other time.

We carefully picked a spot for the cage. Rabbits like routine and it is better not to move their sleeping location too much. In addition, bunnies surely like to hop a lot, so the cage must be placed on the solid and stable surface. Best on the ground or not too high from it.

Once all necessary items were placed inside, food added and a water bottle full - a little one could move in.

The first thing I've noticed when I placed her inside, that her feet were slipping all over the place... poor thing I laid a towel for her immediately, but that did not save me from the second mistake.

The mistake No. 2 - No appropriate bedding

The cage that people usually use are made of plastic. They have a slippery surface and it is very uncomfortable for our little friends' furry feet. The floor of the cage should always have a comfortable bedding.
Which can be:

Hay (the most popular option)
fleece or other material rug/blankets - anything that is safe to use and makes it pleasant to stand on.
Please never leave your bunny to slide around or even worse - walk on the wired floor, it can cause some serious injuries. Also, it is not advisable to use sawdust (nor for bedding neither for litter box). It tends to get stuck in a bunny's fur and it makes a mess on the floor outside the cage.

Since I had no hay at that moment and it was too late to go shopping - I did some research instead. I was really surprised to see what a wonderful cages people have for their little friends. Even the entire castles! That was amazing to find out that this animal is perfectly clean and can be easily litter box trained. Which leaves me with many options for the interior design! Just the way I like it! :)

So, the first thing next morning, I grabbed the car keys and set out to do some bunny shopping! The result turned out to be a bag of goodies.

I saw how sad and scared my little Cookie was. All curled up in the deepest corner of the cage on her solemn towel and I was not going to allow it.

I've picked up for her:

A fluffy (sheep fur like) pillow for the sleeping area. I thought to myself - mother rabbits make a fur nest for their babies, so maybe that will have a calming effect by reminding her home. Also, having somewhere to lay down comfy does not hurt as well.

Imagine if you were in her place. You were living happily with your big family and suddenly you are alone, in the unknown territory with some other two strange gigantic rabbits (us) whose intentions are unknown, placed in the uncomfortable slippery box... Honestly, I would be depressed and scared out of my mind. I bet she was too.

Next thing was a soft doormat.
YES, you read it right. A doormat. I was debating for quite a long time about what should I put on the cage floor and suddenly had a "light-bulb moment". A soft door mat seemed like an interesting idea since it prevents feet from slipping, is pleasant to stand on, warm, very easy to clean and is waterproof! So any "liquid accident" can be easily sorted out.
Some things to chew on. She is still young, but all of us have needs and bunnies, no matter how well behaved - DO love to chew. I've got her few safe pine-cones, dried willow twigs, some wooden (not processed in any way) toys, a cardboard toy and an entire chewable bridge made from dried apple twigs (she uses it more as a stepping stone than for chewing, but of well :).
Finally - toys. Bun buns are like little children. They are extremely curious and active. They do need toys, at least 3 hours outside the pen/cage every day and attractions (something to hop on, a place to run around and things to toss), something to stimulate their brain too. So toys (even a homemade) are a must if you want to have a happy healthy bunny. For me, couple chewable carrot imitations and a slinky seemed suitable.

I've opened the cage and proceeded with adding these items to her cage one by one... the miracle happened! With every new item, she got more and more interested, came out of her hiding place and began to look and "test" everything. When my job was done, she literally started binky'ing and running at the high speed in her cage. That was an achievement right there. From the little curled up ball in the furthest corner, she became extremely lively. I knew she loved every bit of her new interior and was explicitly showing it. That was an extremely heartwarming moment to see her like that. What is more, I believe that her new well-suited place to live encouraged her to go out of the cage and say hello to us for the first time later that the evening.

The mistake Nr. 3 - cage size and the wired cage door

Watching her now freely roaming and minding her own business in the cage I've noticed that from time to time she was carefully checking her way out (doors were left open all the time), but not making a full move. Why? I was thinking... Still shy (obviously) or is there something else? Again - "eureka" - she is so small and the cage is massive in comparison, maybe it is too much for her young feet to make such a big leap? So, I took her chewable bridge and put it in the cage right under the exit door. Also, a small spare cushion went under the wired door (when opened her cage door faces down) so she could make a jump on the bridge, then on the strong but bouncy surface (pillow prevents feet from slipping in-between wires and provides a stable surface to step on) and then to the floor. Voila! A few minutes later a little one was already checking her surroundings.

The mistake Nr. 4 - a generic drinking bottle

Rabbits drink quite a bit of water. A young one might need in between 50 ml. - 150 ml. water per day and older/bigger ones - even more. With anything less, bunny might dehydrate easily. So, having a good and reliable water supply is really important. Do not be alarmed if your bun bun just sits there and enjoys his water for a solid few minutes, it is pretty normal, but make sure that it is not because water is not coming out.
I realized that the bottle we had was not working properly pretty soon. It was a standard dripping water bottle, but no matter how hard and for how long Cookie was licking it - nothing was coming out. It was not broken physically, it was just simply not working.
If you have a bottle like i did, when your bunny is drinking, the first thing you have to look for is a bubbles rising. No bubbles mean no water is coming out. Second - how much your bunny consumed water per day. If it is too little then look for the reasons immediately.
Apparently, our bottle had troubles with pressure. Capacity was around 250 ml, however, it is better not to fill it up to the very top. Make it 200 ml so the pressure is right and water can come out easier. In any case, figuring out the problem was not good enough for our little one. She decided to take the matter into her own little paws. She started biting the bottle then ripping it off the holder and then tossing it around the cage if water did not come out fast enough. Needless to say, holder did not last very long. Long story short, I when to the shop again and came back with pricey but much better one. If you take it apart you could see that it has two little balls inside the metal tube not one also the holder is different. Once the bottle is placed inside, it becomes well fixed to the spot and bunny can't move it around.

Old one:
41Y7D9Nfa9L._SY355_.jpg

New one:

So far so good, after the trials period - all items work just as intended. However, I would like to warn that not all bunnies will acknowledge a fluffy pillow as their bed. My colleague shared that her rabbit does like to use any pillow or soft blankets as the toilet instead... so it might be a matter of the training, bunny's character or maybe I've just got lucky with mine since no "accidents" happened so far.

In addition, regarding using a doormat on the cage's floor - I cannot stress it enough - first of all, please check bunny's reaction. If it tries to eat it even a little - remove it immediately. Materials that it is made of are absolutely not suitable for chewing or ingesting. Then again, I watched my Cookie closely for a long time and seems that after nibbling it once she decided that she likes it better as something comfy to stand on rather than a snack.

My apologies for the long read, but I hope that my mistakes will help current or future bunny owners to make little bun bun's settling down experience as much accommodating as possible. :)

Feel free to leave your questions, comments and I would love to hear about your own experiences. Share your thoughts on how to feel bunny welcome from the day one!

Also check out her fist encounter with holiday tree decorations ^.^:
-> https://steemit.com/animalphotography/@gretum/cookie-the-little-tree-decorator-happy-holidays-everyone