Dwarf Hotot Care
Dwarf Hotots
The Dwarf Hotot is a small rabbit weighing 2.5 to 3 pounds. A correctly marked Hotot is solid white except for a band of “eyeliner” around each eye. The eye band can be black, blue, chocolate, or lilac in color. At this time, all varieties are shown together. Getting the correct markings is somewhat left to chance and some Dwarf Hotots will have more color than others. As long as they have other beneficial characteristics, these mismarks (sometimes called “sports”) can be bred and have the potential to produce showable offspring. Dwarf Hotots are not ruby-eyed white (albino) - they should have brown eyes. Occasionally blue eyes or blue eye spots may occur, these animals should not be bred.
I have found my Dwarf Hotots to be more friendly and affectionate than other rabbit breeds I've owned. They make lovely pets but need a gentle hand so may not be suitable for very young children.
The Dwarf Hotot is a small rabbit weighing 2.5 to 3 pounds. A correctly marked Hotot is solid white except for a band of “eyeliner” around each eye. The eye band can be black, blue, chocolate, or lilac in color. At this time, all varieties are shown together. Getting the correct markings is somewhat left to chance and some Dwarf Hotots will have more color than others. As long as they have other beneficial characteristics, these mismarks (sometimes called “sports”) can be bred and have the potential to produce showable offspring. Dwarf Hotots are not ruby-eyed white (albino) - they should have brown eyes. Occasionally blue eyes or blue eye spots may occur, these animals should not be bred.
I have found my Dwarf Hotots to be more friendly and affectionate than other rabbit breeds I've owned. They make lovely pets but need a gentle hand so may not be suitable for very young children.
Housing
I strongly recommend keeping your Dwarf Hotot indoors - that could be inside your home, in a barn, or even a well-ventilated garage. Indoor rabbits are safe from predators and harsh weather. Caring for your rabbit is easier and more pleasant than going out to a hutch in all weather to feed, water, and clean. You can also form a closer bond to your Dwarf Hotot when you share the same space.
Even a free-ranging house bunny needs a cage. The cage is your rabbit's personal space and provides a home base for food, water, and a place to rest quietly. In the early stages of litter training, a cage can help speed up the process. Finally, if you have visitors in your home, containing your rabbit to a cage can prevent accidental injury or escapes.
There are a number of cages on the market for rabbits and all have their merits:
* An all wire cage is airy, easy to clean, lightweight, easy to find or build yourself, and comes in many sizes. Some worry that a wire floor can be uncomfortable for rabbit feet, but this can be alleviated by providing a solid resting surface.
* A wooden hutch is easy to build or these days you can buy a kit to quickly assemble and they are often larger than other cage styles. However, wood can be chewed and absorbs urine.
* Solid floor cages can be more comfortable for rabbit feet, they are readily available at pet stores and online pet suppliers, and often come as a "starter kit" with a variety of supplies. The downside, is that often these cages are on the small side and if you do not train your rabbit to a litter box, you will need to do frequent cleaning so the rabbit isn't sitting in waste.
My preferred cage lately is the DuMor wire rabbit cages from Tractor Supply. The 30x36 model is a great size for a Dwarf Hotot. The corresponding plastic pan fits snugly INSIDE the cage before you fully assemble it, giving you the benefits of both a wire cage and a solid floor cage! My only complaint about the DuMor cage is that the door is rather small.
Choose the largest cage you have the space for - no one ever wishes they had gotten a smaller cage. The absolute smallest cage I would house a Dwarf Hotot in would be four square feet (usually sold as 24x24").
I strongly recommend keeping your Dwarf Hotot indoors - that could be inside your home, in a barn, or even a well-ventilated garage. Indoor rabbits are safe from predators and harsh weather. Caring for your rabbit is easier and more pleasant than going out to a hutch in all weather to feed, water, and clean. You can also form a closer bond to your Dwarf Hotot when you share the same space.
Even a free-ranging house bunny needs a cage. The cage is your rabbit's personal space and provides a home base for food, water, and a place to rest quietly. In the early stages of litter training, a cage can help speed up the process. Finally, if you have visitors in your home, containing your rabbit to a cage can prevent accidental injury or escapes.
There are a number of cages on the market for rabbits and all have their merits:
* An all wire cage is airy, easy to clean, lightweight, easy to find or build yourself, and comes in many sizes. Some worry that a wire floor can be uncomfortable for rabbit feet, but this can be alleviated by providing a solid resting surface.
* A wooden hutch is easy to build or these days you can buy a kit to quickly assemble and they are often larger than other cage styles. However, wood can be chewed and absorbs urine.
* Solid floor cages can be more comfortable for rabbit feet, they are readily available at pet stores and online pet suppliers, and often come as a "starter kit" with a variety of supplies. The downside, is that often these cages are on the small side and if you do not train your rabbit to a litter box, you will need to do frequent cleaning so the rabbit isn't sitting in waste.
My preferred cage lately is the DuMor wire rabbit cages from Tractor Supply. The 30x36 model is a great size for a Dwarf Hotot. The corresponding plastic pan fits snugly INSIDE the cage before you fully assemble it, giving you the benefits of both a wire cage and a solid floor cage! My only complaint about the DuMor cage is that the door is rather small.
Choose the largest cage you have the space for - no one ever wishes they had gotten a smaller cage. The absolute smallest cage I would house a Dwarf Hotot in would be four square feet (usually sold as 24x24").
Feeding
The backbone of your rabbit’s diet should be a high quality, nutritionally complete rabbit pellet. I feed my rabbits Kent/Blue Seal Show Hutch Deluxe 17. Make sure whatever brand you choose is readily available to you locally. About 1/4 cup is plenty of pellets for a single, mature Dwarf Hotot. Avoid an overweight rabbit: remember the ideal weight for Dwarf Hotots is 2.5 pounds!
The next component of your Dwarf Hotot's diet is hay. Hay offers a lot of benefits for a rabbit's dental, digestive, physical, and mental health. Chewing hay helps with the proper wearing of a rabbit's constantly growing teeth. Hay adds additional fiber to the diet to keep the digestive tract moving. Hay also promotes your rabbit's natural foraging behavior. I feed grass hay to my rabbits daily. Grass hay can be offered free choice without worrying that your Dwarf Hotot will overindulge. A good rule of thumb is to feed a pile of hay at least as large as the rabbit eating it every day.
I prefer to rotate between different kinds of hay periodically to give my rabbits a range of tastes, textures, and micronutrients. Timothy, orchard, meadow, oat, and bermuda hays are all good options for rabbits and are commonly available in pet stores and online pet suppliers. If you have more than a handful of rabbits, you may wish to purchase hay in bulk. It should be stored in an area that is well-ventilated, dry, and out of direct sunlight to keep it fresh longest. Alfalfa hay is best reserved for a treat rather than a daily offering.
I feed a few optional supplements to my rabbits. Every day I feed my Dwarf Hotots a half tablet of papaya enzyme which can help digestion and prevent fur blockage. I also give a teaspoon of Dr. Cheeke's YQ+ on a daily basis, which is a digestive and respiratory supplement. To help prepare my rabbits for show condition and while does are nursing a litter, I feed 1 teaspoon of Doc's Rabbit Enhancer. Again, these supplements are optional but I have found the benefits to be worth the extra expense.
You can feed fresh fruits and vegetables if you introduce them slowly. Strawberries, blueberries, banana slices, kale, Swiss chard, and leafy lettuce are favorites of my own bunnies. I will also forage things such as clover (Trifolium repens), plantain weed (Plantago major, Plantago lanceolata), and chickweed (Sterralia media) - just be certain that foraged greens are identified correctly and from areas known not to be treated by herbicides and pesticides.
The backbone of your rabbit’s diet should be a high quality, nutritionally complete rabbit pellet. I feed my rabbits Kent/Blue Seal Show Hutch Deluxe 17. Make sure whatever brand you choose is readily available to you locally. About 1/4 cup is plenty of pellets for a single, mature Dwarf Hotot. Avoid an overweight rabbit: remember the ideal weight for Dwarf Hotots is 2.5 pounds!
The next component of your Dwarf Hotot's diet is hay. Hay offers a lot of benefits for a rabbit's dental, digestive, physical, and mental health. Chewing hay helps with the proper wearing of a rabbit's constantly growing teeth. Hay adds additional fiber to the diet to keep the digestive tract moving. Hay also promotes your rabbit's natural foraging behavior. I feed grass hay to my rabbits daily. Grass hay can be offered free choice without worrying that your Dwarf Hotot will overindulge. A good rule of thumb is to feed a pile of hay at least as large as the rabbit eating it every day.
I prefer to rotate between different kinds of hay periodically to give my rabbits a range of tastes, textures, and micronutrients. Timothy, orchard, meadow, oat, and bermuda hays are all good options for rabbits and are commonly available in pet stores and online pet suppliers. If you have more than a handful of rabbits, you may wish to purchase hay in bulk. It should be stored in an area that is well-ventilated, dry, and out of direct sunlight to keep it fresh longest. Alfalfa hay is best reserved for a treat rather than a daily offering.
I feed a few optional supplements to my rabbits. Every day I feed my Dwarf Hotots a half tablet of papaya enzyme which can help digestion and prevent fur blockage. I also give a teaspoon of Dr. Cheeke's YQ+ on a daily basis, which is a digestive and respiratory supplement. To help prepare my rabbits for show condition and while does are nursing a litter, I feed 1 teaspoon of Doc's Rabbit Enhancer. Again, these supplements are optional but I have found the benefits to be worth the extra expense.
You can feed fresh fruits and vegetables if you introduce them slowly. Strawberries, blueberries, banana slices, kale, Swiss chard, and leafy lettuce are favorites of my own bunnies. I will also forage things such as clover (Trifolium repens), plantain weed (Plantago major, Plantago lanceolata), and chickweed (Sterralia media) - just be certain that foraged greens are identified correctly and from areas known not to be treated by herbicides and pesticides.
Grooming
Rabbits are very similar to cats and will take care of most of their own grooming. Rabbits should not be bathed on a regular basis. Dwarf Hotots need only occasional brushing when they are shedding. The only regular grooming required is to have the nails clipped every 4-6 weeks.
Health
The next topic in our quest to care for rabbits is health.
Veterinary Care
Please note that I am not a veterinarian and anything listed below is from my personal experience and is not a recommendation of treatment for your circumstances. I encourage you to find a rabbit knowledgeable vet in your area who can help you BEFORE you encounter any issues. Some illnesses are emergencies and need treatment right away.
Not just any vet will see rabbits. You may have to call around to local clinics to find someone who treats rabbits. When you do, ask how much experience they have in treating rabbits. Be wary of someone who will see rabbits but has no experience with them. You may have the best luck at "exotic" vets.
Rabbits do not require yearly vaccines like dogs and cats. You may only need a vet should your rabbit become sick. Still, it's best to get established as a patient before that happens.
Weight
According to the breed standard, Dwarf Hotots have an ideal weight of 2.5 pounds with a max size of 3 pounds.
It’s a good practice to run your hand along your rabbit’s back at least once a week. You should be able to FEEL the spine, but not see it, in a rabbit of a healthy weight. If you can see the spine, your rabbit is underweight. If you cannot feel the spine, your bunny is a chunker and needs to lose weight. Even better if you have a small animal, postal, or infant scale that is accurate within the ounce to track your bunny’s weight.
Cleanliness
One of the most important ways to have a healthy rabbit is to keep its environment clean. To keep the cage cleaner, I litter train my rabbits. The litter box can be emptied several times per week while the rest of the cage stays pretty clean.
To maintain solid floor cages: use a damp cloth to wipe down the cage base every 2-3 weeks. At least twice per year, I take the cages outside for a hose down and thorough scrub. I leave them to dry in the sun.
If you have a wire cage: scrub the solid resting surface weekly or as it becomes soiled. Use a stiff bristle brush to scrub the cage floor monthly to remove hair and manure that may get stuck. At least twice per year thoroughly wash and scrub the cage.
Food and water dishes should be cleaned weekly. I like to use stoneware bowls from the dollar store. They are inexpensive, hold a considerable amount of food or water, don’t spill easily, and I can put them through my dishwasher. Wash or replace toys when they become soiled.
Dental Health
A rabbit’s teeth grow throughout their life. Correct dentition of the incisors (front teeth) is an overbite: the top teeth should be in front of the bottom teeth. Feeding hay and providing safe, chewable toys helps keep dental growth healthy.
Malocclusion, where the teeth grow improperly, can happen for a number of reasons including age, cage chewing/pulling, genetics, or injury. Young bunnies, under a year old, may experience temporary malocclusion because they are growing rapidly. This often corrects itself. Rabbits that are bored may resort to chewing or pulling on their cage which will damage the teeth. Injuries, such as jumping or falling from a high surface, can break teeth. Poorly bred rabbits may have permanently misaligned teeth.
Excessive and improper alignment of the teeth can be painful and even lead to starvation. If your rabbit’s teeth are growing incorrectly, they may need to be trimmed by a veterinarian or someone trained to know how and where to cut the teeth.
Digestive Health
You can tell a lot about a rabbit’s digestive health by the appearance of their manure. Healthy rabbit poop is dry, round balls. Healthy rabbits also produce “cecotropes”, which to me looks like chocolate covered raisins (gross, I know). You may not see the cecotropes usually because your Dwarf Hotot will eat them immediately. Yes, they are supposed to eat their cecotropes as part of a healthy digestive system. Consuming this manure gives rabbits extra nutrients that their bodies did not absorb initially - much like a cow or goat chewing their cud, which is regurgitated grass.
Abnormal Manure:
* Oddly small, not completely rounded - may indicate constipation
* “String of Pearls” - poop with hair, may indicate the rabbit is shedding. Feed extra hay and watch for signs of hairball.
* Diarrhea - different causes, needs early intervention to prevent rapid dehydration and death
All rabbits require plenty of fiber in their diet. Adequate fiber is best provided through daily feeding of long-stem hay. Hay literally helps to “sweep” the digestive tract and maintain gut motility. Loose hay is better than hay cubes or pellets, however if loose hay is simply not an option for you, hay cubes would be my second choice.
Parasites
Occasionally, rabbits who are allowed to play outdoors can contract intestinal worms. Worms or their eggs can be observed in fecal samples. Symptoms can include poor coat quality, weight loss, lack of appetite, diarrhea, and even death. It's best to identify what type of worms you're dealing with and select the best deworming protocol.
Rabbits occasionally get fur or ear mites. Again, it's best practice to positively identify what you're dealing with to choose the best course of treatment.
Litter Training
Many are surprised to learn that rabbits are fairly easy to litter train. I train all of my rabbits to a litter box to keep their cages cleaner and make the task of cleaning up easier on myself. Here are some basics to litter training your own Dwarf Hotot:
Manage Your Expectations:
Kits learn litter training quicker if their mom is already litter trained. If not, it usually takes young bunnies a bit longer to catch on to relieving themselves in a box. I have found that most female rabbits litter train easily while males take longer and are often less fastidious to making sure everything makes it into the box. My best trained rabbits get all of their urine and 90% of their manure into the litter box. My messiest rabbits will leave droppings around the cage but still get urine in the box.
Use the Right Litter Box:
When I first started litter box training, I purchased the triangular type that are marketed for rabbits and other small pets. Even my smallest bunnies were too large to comfortably use this type of litter box and as a result, accidents were more common.
I prefer to purchase cheap plastic cat boxes. The ones I buy are 12x16 inches and I don’t recommend getting one much smaller than that.
Choosing Litter:
If you use a bedding material in your rabbit’s cage, the litter MUST be a different substance and texture or your rabbit will not understand the difference. For example, if you bed the cage with paper bedding, use pine pellets in the litter box.
DO NOT USE CLUMPING CAT LITTER! Recycled paper bedding (such as CareFresh) is very absorbent but can be costly and doesn’t help as much with odor. Pine pellets for horse stalls are affordable and absorbent and the scent of pine is pleasant. Aspen shavings are somewhat absorbent and help with odor. You could also use hay or straw, if you have them in bulk it can be very inexpensive but are neither useful for odor control nor absorbency.
Training:
Usually rabbits will choose one corner of their cage to relieve themselves. If you know where your rabbit currently toilets, you can place the litter box there with some manure or soiled litter inside. Otherwise, select a corner that is easy for you to access and place the box there.
Some rabbits will avoid the box and either go beside it or in a different corner. Having a second (or third) litter box on hand and placing it in the new potty spot is helpful. Avoid fully cleaning out the litter box while your rabbit is learning. Leave some manure and wet litter in the box each time you refresh it until your rabbit is reliably using a litter box. Extra litter boxes can be removed once your rabbit has chosen one to use.
Remember to be patient. Every rabbit will learn at its own pace. I’ve had a doe litter trained in three days and she later taught her babies to use the litter box. On the other hand, I had a very stubborn buck take WEEKS to use his litter box regularly.
Enrichment
I am a big proponent of giving rabbits plenty of enrichment. In the cage, I like to offer a selection of 3-5 different toys. I keep an extra supply of toys so that I can rotate them out occasionally for interest. Rabbits like toys that they can chew, toss, rattle, and roll.
Most well-stocked pet shops carry a variety of toys for rabbits. You can also look in the pet bird section. Toys designed for larger parrots are more expensive but usually more durable. Look for toys made of safe woods, paper/cardboard, sisal, palm, seagrass, etc. I've found good deals on wholesale websites for toy "parts" and created my own toys.
Some budget-friendly rabbit toy ideas include cardboard boxes, cuttings from rabbit-safe trees (apple, maple, ash), pine cones, and tubes from paper towels and toilet tissue. You can create a dig box using a cardboard box filled with shredded paper, bedding, or organic potting soil. You can create a foraging toy by stuffing a paper bag with hay and treats then folding the bag closed. Use twine to make a hanging toy of twigs and pine cones. Get creative.
Rabbits are naturally curious and like to explore. A puppy exercise pen (sometimes called an X-pen) makes a great playpen for a rabbit. In pleasant weather, you can let your rabbit play outdoors with supervision. I prefer to give my rabbits time in the exercise pens at least a few times per week.
Another enrichment option is to train your rabbit. Using positive reinforcement training, you could teach your Dwarf Hotot to come when called, do simple tricks like stand on its hind legs or spin in a circle, or take your training further with agility or hopping competitions.
* More information coming soon!
Rabbits are very similar to cats and will take care of most of their own grooming. Rabbits should not be bathed on a regular basis. Dwarf Hotots need only occasional brushing when they are shedding. The only regular grooming required is to have the nails clipped every 4-6 weeks.
Health
The next topic in our quest to care for rabbits is health.
Veterinary Care
Please note that I am not a veterinarian and anything listed below is from my personal experience and is not a recommendation of treatment for your circumstances. I encourage you to find a rabbit knowledgeable vet in your area who can help you BEFORE you encounter any issues. Some illnesses are emergencies and need treatment right away.
Not just any vet will see rabbits. You may have to call around to local clinics to find someone who treats rabbits. When you do, ask how much experience they have in treating rabbits. Be wary of someone who will see rabbits but has no experience with them. You may have the best luck at "exotic" vets.
Rabbits do not require yearly vaccines like dogs and cats. You may only need a vet should your rabbit become sick. Still, it's best to get established as a patient before that happens.
Weight
According to the breed standard, Dwarf Hotots have an ideal weight of 2.5 pounds with a max size of 3 pounds.
It’s a good practice to run your hand along your rabbit’s back at least once a week. You should be able to FEEL the spine, but not see it, in a rabbit of a healthy weight. If you can see the spine, your rabbit is underweight. If you cannot feel the spine, your bunny is a chunker and needs to lose weight. Even better if you have a small animal, postal, or infant scale that is accurate within the ounce to track your bunny’s weight.
Cleanliness
One of the most important ways to have a healthy rabbit is to keep its environment clean. To keep the cage cleaner, I litter train my rabbits. The litter box can be emptied several times per week while the rest of the cage stays pretty clean.
To maintain solid floor cages: use a damp cloth to wipe down the cage base every 2-3 weeks. At least twice per year, I take the cages outside for a hose down and thorough scrub. I leave them to dry in the sun.
If you have a wire cage: scrub the solid resting surface weekly or as it becomes soiled. Use a stiff bristle brush to scrub the cage floor monthly to remove hair and manure that may get stuck. At least twice per year thoroughly wash and scrub the cage.
Food and water dishes should be cleaned weekly. I like to use stoneware bowls from the dollar store. They are inexpensive, hold a considerable amount of food or water, don’t spill easily, and I can put them through my dishwasher. Wash or replace toys when they become soiled.
Dental Health
A rabbit’s teeth grow throughout their life. Correct dentition of the incisors (front teeth) is an overbite: the top teeth should be in front of the bottom teeth. Feeding hay and providing safe, chewable toys helps keep dental growth healthy.
Malocclusion, where the teeth grow improperly, can happen for a number of reasons including age, cage chewing/pulling, genetics, or injury. Young bunnies, under a year old, may experience temporary malocclusion because they are growing rapidly. This often corrects itself. Rabbits that are bored may resort to chewing or pulling on their cage which will damage the teeth. Injuries, such as jumping or falling from a high surface, can break teeth. Poorly bred rabbits may have permanently misaligned teeth.
Excessive and improper alignment of the teeth can be painful and even lead to starvation. If your rabbit’s teeth are growing incorrectly, they may need to be trimmed by a veterinarian or someone trained to know how and where to cut the teeth.
Digestive Health
You can tell a lot about a rabbit’s digestive health by the appearance of their manure. Healthy rabbit poop is dry, round balls. Healthy rabbits also produce “cecotropes”, which to me looks like chocolate covered raisins (gross, I know). You may not see the cecotropes usually because your Dwarf Hotot will eat them immediately. Yes, they are supposed to eat their cecotropes as part of a healthy digestive system. Consuming this manure gives rabbits extra nutrients that their bodies did not absorb initially - much like a cow or goat chewing their cud, which is regurgitated grass.
Abnormal Manure:
* Oddly small, not completely rounded - may indicate constipation
* “String of Pearls” - poop with hair, may indicate the rabbit is shedding. Feed extra hay and watch for signs of hairball.
* Diarrhea - different causes, needs early intervention to prevent rapid dehydration and death
All rabbits require plenty of fiber in their diet. Adequate fiber is best provided through daily feeding of long-stem hay. Hay literally helps to “sweep” the digestive tract and maintain gut motility. Loose hay is better than hay cubes or pellets, however if loose hay is simply not an option for you, hay cubes would be my second choice.
Parasites
Occasionally, rabbits who are allowed to play outdoors can contract intestinal worms. Worms or their eggs can be observed in fecal samples. Symptoms can include poor coat quality, weight loss, lack of appetite, diarrhea, and even death. It's best to identify what type of worms you're dealing with and select the best deworming protocol.
Rabbits occasionally get fur or ear mites. Again, it's best practice to positively identify what you're dealing with to choose the best course of treatment.
Litter Training
Many are surprised to learn that rabbits are fairly easy to litter train. I train all of my rabbits to a litter box to keep their cages cleaner and make the task of cleaning up easier on myself. Here are some basics to litter training your own Dwarf Hotot:
Manage Your Expectations:
Kits learn litter training quicker if their mom is already litter trained. If not, it usually takes young bunnies a bit longer to catch on to relieving themselves in a box. I have found that most female rabbits litter train easily while males take longer and are often less fastidious to making sure everything makes it into the box. My best trained rabbits get all of their urine and 90% of their manure into the litter box. My messiest rabbits will leave droppings around the cage but still get urine in the box.
Use the Right Litter Box:
When I first started litter box training, I purchased the triangular type that are marketed for rabbits and other small pets. Even my smallest bunnies were too large to comfortably use this type of litter box and as a result, accidents were more common.
I prefer to purchase cheap plastic cat boxes. The ones I buy are 12x16 inches and I don’t recommend getting one much smaller than that.
Choosing Litter:
If you use a bedding material in your rabbit’s cage, the litter MUST be a different substance and texture or your rabbit will not understand the difference. For example, if you bed the cage with paper bedding, use pine pellets in the litter box.
DO NOT USE CLUMPING CAT LITTER! Recycled paper bedding (such as CareFresh) is very absorbent but can be costly and doesn’t help as much with odor. Pine pellets for horse stalls are affordable and absorbent and the scent of pine is pleasant. Aspen shavings are somewhat absorbent and help with odor. You could also use hay or straw, if you have them in bulk it can be very inexpensive but are neither useful for odor control nor absorbency.
Training:
Usually rabbits will choose one corner of their cage to relieve themselves. If you know where your rabbit currently toilets, you can place the litter box there with some manure or soiled litter inside. Otherwise, select a corner that is easy for you to access and place the box there.
Some rabbits will avoid the box and either go beside it or in a different corner. Having a second (or third) litter box on hand and placing it in the new potty spot is helpful. Avoid fully cleaning out the litter box while your rabbit is learning. Leave some manure and wet litter in the box each time you refresh it until your rabbit is reliably using a litter box. Extra litter boxes can be removed once your rabbit has chosen one to use.
Remember to be patient. Every rabbit will learn at its own pace. I’ve had a doe litter trained in three days and she later taught her babies to use the litter box. On the other hand, I had a very stubborn buck take WEEKS to use his litter box regularly.
Enrichment
I am a big proponent of giving rabbits plenty of enrichment. In the cage, I like to offer a selection of 3-5 different toys. I keep an extra supply of toys so that I can rotate them out occasionally for interest. Rabbits like toys that they can chew, toss, rattle, and roll.
Most well-stocked pet shops carry a variety of toys for rabbits. You can also look in the pet bird section. Toys designed for larger parrots are more expensive but usually more durable. Look for toys made of safe woods, paper/cardboard, sisal, palm, seagrass, etc. I've found good deals on wholesale websites for toy "parts" and created my own toys.
Some budget-friendly rabbit toy ideas include cardboard boxes, cuttings from rabbit-safe trees (apple, maple, ash), pine cones, and tubes from paper towels and toilet tissue. You can create a dig box using a cardboard box filled with shredded paper, bedding, or organic potting soil. You can create a foraging toy by stuffing a paper bag with hay and treats then folding the bag closed. Use twine to make a hanging toy of twigs and pine cones. Get creative.
Rabbits are naturally curious and like to explore. A puppy exercise pen (sometimes called an X-pen) makes a great playpen for a rabbit. In pleasant weather, you can let your rabbit play outdoors with supervision. I prefer to give my rabbits time in the exercise pens at least a few times per week.
Another enrichment option is to train your rabbit. Using positive reinforcement training, you could teach your Dwarf Hotot to come when called, do simple tricks like stand on its hind legs or spin in a circle, or take your training further with agility or hopping competitions.
* More information coming soon!
