No Carrots Here
August 4, 2004 4:35 AM Subscribe
Our pet rabbit is crazy about graham crackers. She acts like a little dog and runs around in circles begging for them. Is it harmful to her to let her have a few nibbles when we're eating them?
Robocop the bunny?
anyway: I second the sugar thing, you may want to be extra careful -- it's bad for the teeth and digestive tract, ie usually a rabbit's most delicate parts.
begging is real cute, and one feels bad if one has to withhold food from a pleading cute pet. but she won't die if you don't give her the crackers.
posted by matteo at 5:47 AM on August 4, 2004
anyway: I second the sugar thing, you may want to be extra careful -- it's bad for the teeth and digestive tract, ie usually a rabbit's most delicate parts.
begging is real cute, and one feels bad if one has to withhold food from a pleading cute pet. but she won't die if you don't give her the crackers.
posted by matteo at 5:47 AM on August 4, 2004
But if you do give her the crackers perhaps her flesh will be extra sweet if she does die. Mmm.
posted by biffa at 6:08 AM on August 4, 2004
posted by biffa at 6:08 AM on August 4, 2004
Off topic, but do you guys let your pet rabbits run around the house like cats? If so, are they housebroken?
I always assumed they stayed in some kind of hutch.
posted by luser at 7:25 AM on August 4, 2004
I always assumed they stayed in some kind of hutch.
posted by luser at 7:25 AM on August 4, 2004
biffa: You might want to check out the note at the bottom of the page note: Ask MetaFilter is as useful as you make it. Please limit comments to answers or help in finding an answer. Wisecracks don't help people find answers. Thanks.. You also might want to try being less of a jackass.
luser: They can indeed be housebroken. Basically, you give them a cage, look where in the cage they decide to go, and drop a litter box there. In my experience, they always use it for peeing, but they seem to drop the little pellets all over parts of their cage. However, my rabbit never goes at all outside her cage. You can let them roam free most of the time when you're home.
http://www.rabbit.org/ has lots of info.
posted by malphigian at 7:41 AM on August 4, 2004
luser: They can indeed be housebroken. Basically, you give them a cage, look where in the cage they decide to go, and drop a litter box there. In my experience, they always use it for peeing, but they seem to drop the little pellets all over parts of their cage. However, my rabbit never goes at all outside her cage. You can let them roam free most of the time when you're home.
http://www.rabbit.org/ has lots of info.
posted by malphigian at 7:41 AM on August 4, 2004
Response by poster: thanks for the info. I'll make sure that my girlfriend sees this thread-- I'm not the one sneaking graham crackers to little Beth.
to add to what robocop is bleeding said:
a rabbit makes a surprisingly interesting house pet. Make sure that they're spayed or neutered (because bucks spray and does are mean when they're in heat), and they're pretty affectionate and usually fun. Biggest problem is that they'll chew exposed electrical wires.
posted by Mayor Curley at 7:46 AM on August 4, 2004
to add to what robocop is bleeding said:
a rabbit makes a surprisingly interesting house pet. Make sure that they're spayed or neutered (because bucks spray and does are mean when they're in heat), and they're pretty affectionate and usually fun. Biggest problem is that they'll chew exposed electrical wires.
posted by Mayor Curley at 7:46 AM on August 4, 2004
let me get this straight: you have a rabbit, but you're eating graham crackers?
posted by quonsar at 7:47 AM on August 4, 2004
posted by quonsar at 7:47 AM on August 4, 2004
Response by poster: Actually, it was malphigian what said what I done followed up.
posted by Mayor Curley at 8:06 AM on August 4, 2004
posted by Mayor Curley at 8:06 AM on August 4, 2004
We used to give our rabbit graham crackers as a treat. We used the little "stick" ones, rather than trying to break off a small enough piece. He would then put it in his mouth and hop off to eat it somewhere else (don't know if it was the slippery kitchen floor or what). Just don't overdo the sugar.
posted by tommasz at 8:31 AM on August 4, 2004
posted by tommasz at 8:31 AM on August 4, 2004
Mayor Curley, I think I speak for the group when I ask for a video clip, or at least some photos, of your rabbit doing this. Bonus points if she balances graham crackers on her head, like Oolong.
posted by stonerose at 9:47 AM on August 4, 2004
posted by stonerose at 9:47 AM on August 4, 2004
My rabbits beg for stone wheat thins and potato chips. I can't imagine the chaos that would ensue if they were to see me eating graham crackers.
posted by Salmonberry at 10:12 AM on August 4, 2004
posted by Salmonberry at 10:12 AM on August 4, 2004
Salmonberry, have you tried bananas? All the rabbits we've had loved bananas. If you think stoned wheat thins make them nuts, you'll be in for a surprise.
posted by tommasz at 11:06 AM on August 4, 2004
posted by tommasz at 11:06 AM on August 4, 2004
We let our rabbits out when we're at home watching TV. They'll run about and explore (the fights have slacked off some, but they're still not re-bonded yet) and we keep and eye on them. Robocop has watched all of season one of The Wire with me on the couch. He'll hop up and get petted for a few hours before running around some more.
Both our rabbits are litter-trained. Robo sometimes gets excited and piddles where he shouldn't (usually when he's not getting enough attention) but beyond that they're normally good. Rabbit poo is pretty round and bouncy, tho, so a digging bun can scatter it a bit. Having a broom handy helps keep things pretty tidy.
Grendel's new trick is wearing one of those ice cream dishes that look like batting helmets from Fenway. I need to get a picture of that sometime to cement my Crazy Rabbit Person status.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 11:20 AM on August 4, 2004
Both our rabbits are litter-trained. Robo sometimes gets excited and piddles where he shouldn't (usually when he's not getting enough attention) but beyond that they're normally good. Rabbit poo is pretty round and bouncy, tho, so a digging bun can scatter it a bit. Having a broom handy helps keep things pretty tidy.
Grendel's new trick is wearing one of those ice cream dishes that look like batting helmets from Fenway. I need to get a picture of that sometime to cement my Crazy Rabbit Person status.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 11:20 AM on August 4, 2004
Bananas, raisins, cranberries (dried), blueberries, hell, anything with the word "berry" means I have rabbits trying to crawl into the crisper. I try to keep berries on hands for treats. It's still sugar but I can convince myself that berries, unlike potato chips, do form part of the wild diet.
They also like baby bok choy. Bok choy, not so much, but baby bok choy seems popular.
posted by Salmonberry at 1:13 PM on August 4, 2004
They also like baby bok choy. Bok choy, not so much, but baby bok choy seems popular.
posted by Salmonberry at 1:13 PM on August 4, 2004
POST A PICTURE OF THE HELMET BUNNY!!!!
Bunnies are easy to house break. Just put a littler box where they want to pee. Eventually you'll be able to move the litter box where ever you want, a little bit at a time.
I'm jealous of those of you with affectionate rabbits. I had two, Lucy and Tim, and they were fun to watch hop around the house (they'd do these little kung-fu kicks and Matrix-style mid-air spins), but personality-wise, they were both assholes.
I rescued them both as adults, so maybe they had hard babyhoods or something.
posted by jennyb at 1:20 PM on August 4, 2004
Bunnies are easy to house break. Just put a littler box where they want to pee. Eventually you'll be able to move the litter box where ever you want, a little bit at a time.
I'm jealous of those of you with affectionate rabbits. I had two, Lucy and Tim, and they were fun to watch hop around the house (they'd do these little kung-fu kicks and Matrix-style mid-air spins), but personality-wise, they were both assholes.
I rescued them both as adults, so maybe they had hard babyhoods or something.
posted by jennyb at 1:20 PM on August 4, 2004
Will do. Bun pics will be up in the morning. Watch this space!
posted by robocop is bleeding at 8:35 PM on August 4, 2004
posted by robocop is bleeding at 8:35 PM on August 4, 2004
As promised, Captain Grendel (that's her full name) ponders the Sox loss last night:
posted by robocop is bleeding at 6:40 AM on August 5, 2004
posted by robocop is bleeding at 6:40 AM on August 5, 2004
Now I'm going to have to scan that picture of Big Bunny running around with the graham cracker box on his head. Darn you, robocop!
posted by tommasz at 8:33 AM on August 5, 2004
posted by tommasz at 8:33 AM on August 5, 2004
Yay for rabbits! Captain Grendel looks fantastic in that helmet. (See, if I tried that with Lucy, she would have taken the top of my finger off. What a bitch, God rest her soul.)
posted by jennyb at 9:10 AM on August 5, 2004
posted by jennyb at 9:10 AM on August 5, 2004
Here's the late Big Bunny having the graham cracker box removed from his head:
posted by tommasz at 2:56 PM on August 5, 2004
posted by tommasz at 2:56 PM on August 5, 2004
This thread is closed to new comments.
We've taken to keeping a bag of Critter Carrots from Oxbow near our normal snacking areas. That way if the rabbits beg for treats, we can at least give them something that's been sugar-reduced. They've associated the sound of a plastic bag with a treat, so if we try to eat chips or something, Robocop is always there, trying to pull the bag off the table and run off with it.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 5:36 AM on August 4, 2004