Total Setup

It becomes clear when you talk to people looking for a partner for their house rabbits that there are some wildly different ideas out there about what having a house rabbit means.

Most people seem to want house rabbits for the same reasons - more interaction, more a part of the family, safe from predators, safe from extreme temperature changes, easier to keep an eye on when they are sick. It is just the bit about actually housing them where we start to differ. What it often comes down to is how you choose to strike the balance between bunny freedom and people convenience.

Personally, I would start by looking at how (and whether) I can provide what I would consider a minimum reasonable amount of space for them, make sure I can fulfil that, then grow it until it starts to hurt. The ultimate goal with house bunnies is a cross between gerbil and cat - a base for them to call their own where they can hide away and not be disturbed (like the gerbil has when they are in their cage) but also free to roam the whole house at will so they can run about and exercise when it suits. And find interesting places to nap. Achieve this, via hours of bunny-proofing cables and maybe a few lessons learned about destroyed furniture, and you will end up with bunnies that do this:

HRS The Binki Returns!

(Clisk the link above to watch on YouTube and yes, I know I've posted and forwarded this link a thousand times, but it's just so great!)

And who wouldn't want to live with those happy bunnies??!!

With my house bunny Whisky, his sicknesses and knack for smearing soft poo across the floor before eating it has led me to not quite give him 24hr free-roaming rights to the house, but then his own room is about twice the 60 square foot minimum that we recommend to people anyway. When he is not sick and leaking, his door (the modified stair gate with mesh to prevent heads getting wedged) is open for much of the morning and evening (poo-eating is a largely afternoon activity for Whisky). He loves racing up and down the stairs and occasionally joins me in the lounge to, well, lounge about doing mostly nothing. Which is all good and leads me to today's question - since Whisky spends so much time around the other parts of the house, why are so many of my pictures of him in his room?

I really don't know. I think it's probably a combination of light, which is probably better in his room than any other in the house, and that when he's in other rooms I am usually busy doing other things. Like sleeping, eating or preparing food. Or cleaning out bunnies.

Well anyway, and I am aware I am waffling on somewhat here, the task I have set myself for the next two weeks is to only take Whisky photo's out of his room, even if that means grainy pictures in my dark house. Starting with this one.

"You want a picture? Picture my butt. I'll throw in the tail and feets for free."