Some of the smaller varieties of rabbits such as ‘Dwarf’ are reasonably small when fully grown. However, any rabbit you purchase will need a large rabbit hutch.

There area wide variety of rabbit hutches here at Ideas-4-Pets and we take pride in helping clients choose the correct rabbit hutches for the rabbit and space they have allocated.

A rabbit hutch needs to be large enough for your pet to stand up with his or her ears pointed. It has to have enough room for him to lie down in a comfortable manner.

There should be more than one room in the hutch so your pet rabbit can have a sleeping area as well as a living area.

Once you have decided on the breed of your rabbit and the size of the rabbit hutch the next important step is to decide if your pet is going to live inside your home or outside.

Rabbits living inside a home usually do get along fine with a domestic cat or dog. However a rabbit living outside requires a good rabbit hutch which is designed for outside use.

The staff at Ideas-4-Pets are happy to help with any further questions you may have regarding our range of rabbit hutches and accessories.

These cute and adorable pets are a far cry from their sewer dwelling cousins and deserve to be pampered with lots of guinea pig products. At Ideas4Pets we strive to bring you the very best quality guinea pig products to spoil your pet with and keep him healthy, happy and safe.

Pampered pigs

The first thing you need to do when you have or are getting a guinea pig is to make sure it has an adequate home. At Ideas4Pets, we have a wide range of different housing available for your guinea pig. You can choose from indoor and outdoor hutches and cages or even one of each for a bit of variety. We have hutches available ranging from cosy to extra large.

Other guinea pig products you need to invest in include food and water containers, a small pet carrier and cage or hutch bedding to make your new friend comfy. You may also want to invest in an exercise run or pen so that your guinea pig can get some exercise outside its hutch or cage. We have a variety of play and exercise pens and runs ranging from small to very large.

These are ideal for when you or the children want to play with your guinea pig outside. Our guinea pig products offer you top quality and value for money when investing in a furry friend’s happiness.

Rabbits are therefore a popular option. You can keep them indoors or outdoors. They can make cute, cuddly and friendly pets that can bring you endless hours of pleasure and companionship. However, you cannot just get a bunny and hope for the best. Getting any pet needs to be a well thought out operation, no less so with rabbits than another kind of pet.

Bringing home the bunny

Having rabbit hutches is a given for a rabbit owner. You need a place to keep your pet safe, secure and happy. Choosing the right one out of the many rabbit hutches available is another story. You need to decide on a budget of how much you can spend on your rabbit hutch. You can’t compromise on the size of hutch though because your pet’s health and happiness depends on having enough space.

Rabbit hutches cannot be tiny – even if your rabbit is to start off with. Baby rabbits soon grow up and so you need a hutch which will easily house a large adult rabbit. Rabbit hutches need to be roomy enough for them to be comfortable and have separate areas for feeding, drinking, sleeping and toileting. Just like you wouldn’t like living in a small cubicle, your rabbit won’t either.

Rabbit hutches should be designed to require the least effort for cleaning and make the most use of available space.

A rabbit hutch should be approx. 3 times the length of your rabbit and have enough height to allow your rabbit to stand on its hind legs easily.  The smaller the rabbit, the less cage it requires although as with most pets, they need as much room as you can offer.  Therefore, the largest rabbit hutch you can afford or can fit in your garden will ensure you have a happier, healthier pet.

Even with a large rabbit hutch, your pet will need extra room to exercise so if your pet does not have the run of the garden then purchase a large rabbit run so that you rabbit can have plenty of room to hop around in.  Remember that rabbits need just as much room to hop around and play in winter as they do in summer !!

You will also need to purchase some straw or hay for your rabbit to bed down in and to eat and provide him with a good quality feed and access to plenty of clean, fresh water daily.  ideas-4-pets can provide you with a selection of hutches, rabbit runs and bedding to suit your requirements.

The Netherland Dwarf is the smallest domestic rabbit. Adult Netherland Dwarfs weigh around 2.5 pounds and their fur is very short and easy to maintain.  They can sometimes be a bit timid and shy compared to the lop and lionhead rabbits mentioned below, but with patience and lots of one to one care, they can be just as loving and make just as good pets as the lops and lionheads.

The Mini Lop is the smallest breed of Lop rabbit and an adult will weigh around 3.5 pounds.  The mini lop is a really docile, laid back rabbit and have excellent temperaments.  Because of this, they also make great house rabbits. Mini lops love attention and enjoy being picked up, handled and petted. They are very easy to house train and their short hair makes them ver yeasy to maintain. Although their ears droop to the side of their heads, their hearing is just as good as the standard straight eared rabbit.

The Dwarf Lop is a bit bigger and heavier than a Mini Lop but still makes an adoring, loving pet.  However, due to their larger size, they are not ideal pets for very young children when it comes to handling. An adult dwarf lop weighs around 4.5 to 5 pounds. Like the Mini lop, the Dwarf Lop is also very laid back and loves petting and cuddles. The Dwarf Lop is extremely loving and will provide you with plenty of unconditional love if you give him the interaction he deserves on a daily basis. They are just as easy as a smaller breeds to house-train so will make a wonderful house rabbit.

Some people tend to think that Lionheads are a large breed of rabbit, but in fact they are a small breed, around the same size as the Mini Lop. The weight of an average adult Lionhead is approx. 3.25 pounds.    Because of their size, they make an ideal sized rabbit for a child. Because their fur is short, although a bit thicker than that of a Lop, they are quite easy to maintain and look after. They have a mane around their face which is why they are known as Lionheads, but again, this is very easy to maintain and doesn’t require daily grooming.  Once a week should keep it clean and tidy and stop the formation of knots.  Your rabbit will love this attention and grooming is a good way to bond with him, even with short haired rabbits such as lops.  Lionheads have lovely temperaments and make great companions. Lionhead’s ears stand up rather than droop.

Lionhead Lops are a lop eared rabbit but sport a mane around their head/neck and ears. Their fur is not quite as thick as the straight eared Lionhead and is only around its head.  It’s fur tends to think out as the rabbit grows and undergoes the moult. Again, this breed is low maintenance apart from combing once a week to keep knots and tangles at bay. Again, the Lionhead Lop is a very laid back rabbit with an excellent temperament and will make wonderful house rabbit and companion. They love lots of attention and enjoy being picked up, cuddled and handled. Lionhead Lops are also very easy to house train. As they are a relatively new breed to the UK, their size and weight depends a lot on the parentage and pedigree of the rabbit.

They were certainly cheap to buy but they were cheap in every other way as well !!  The walls and door of one of the hutches I looked at were constructed from the thinnest of hardboard which means that in the colder months a pet would be in grave danger of either being extremely cold and uncomfortable or even freezing to death !! 

The hutch was being advertised as a rabbit hutch but was no taller than about 12″, meaning that an average rabbit would be unable to sit up on its hind legs to stretch.  The length of the hutch would not have given a rabbit enough room to lie down and fully stretch out its body eithr which means that the poor rabbit would have a lifetime of being in the same position.

I know that things are tight due to the current recession but should our pets have to suffer because of it?  Here at ideas-4-pets believe that a pet’s welfare is paramount.  We believe in educating our customers as to the best type of rabbit hutch to purchase in order for their pet to lead a long, happy and healthy life.

A rabbit should be able to sit on its hind legs comfortably when in its hutch and should have enough room to stretch out fully and we recommend a rabbit hutch to be at least 3 times the length of your rabbit in order for him to do this.

A rabbit also needs to have plenty of exercise and so a rabbit hutch with an under-run is a good idea as it allows him more space and the chance to hop from one level to the other to releive his boredom and exercise his legs.  Toys should be added to his cage for him to play with and ideally your rabbit should have access to a rabbit run so that he can hop around in safety unless you have a safe garden area where he can be let out under supervision.   He requires access to fresh, clean water at all times and needs a good quality feed to keep him healthy.

It may be a surprise for some would-be rabbit owners to learn that a rabbit needs as as much exercise as a small dog in order to keep him happy and healthy and he also needs plenty of space, warmth and security, not forgetting “toys” to amuse himself with when you are not with him.

My advise is that if you can’t afford to give a rabbit the right type of hutch then put purchasing a rabbit on hold and wait until you can buy him one that will more than satisify his requirements.  Rabbits are sensitive little creatures that not only require love and attention on a daily basis but also need space to move around freely to prevent boredom and aching limbs.  It’s really not too much to ask of their owner is it?

You wouldn’t put a small child outside on a cold, windy day in a T-shirt would you?  So don’t put your rabbit outside on a cold day in a flimsy rabbit hutch.  For the sake of your rabbit’s health and well-being please take time to read up on rabbit hutches before rushing out to buy the cheapest.  If you love your rabbit and want his life to be happy and comfortable then he deserves much better than the hutch I have described.