Decorative rabbits: life expectancy and conditions of detention

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Remember: “Rabbits are not only valuable fur…”? Here you can immediately add that it is also a lot of positive emotions at the sight of a wonderful eared lump chewing grass in its cage or jumping around the room. It's hard to resist his charm!

But, of course, when getting a pet, the owner tries to find out how old the rabbit lives. How to make his life long and happy?

Rabbits: lifespan in the wild and in captivity

It should be noted right away that animals living in the wild live much less than their decorative counterparts. Probably everyone understands why: the struggle for survival, disease and a high risk of becoming a predator's dinner greatly shorten their time in this world.

Even taken home, the wild rabbit does not live long in captivity - an average of about two years. True, there are cases when such pets pleased their owners for much longer: up to 7-8 years.

We hasten to reassure the owners of wonderful fluffy lumps: average life expectancya rabbit born and raised at home, no less than cats and dogs with whom a person is used to living side by side, namely: from 7 to 13 years old.

It is clear that these figures cannot claim to be absolute indicators. They vary both up and down. It all depends on the breed, diet and he alth of your pet.

Different breeds have their own indicators. Let's take a look at them.

Dwarf rabbits

These crumbs are very convenient for home breeding. They are very clean (they can be trained to use the cat litter), get used to their nickname and recognize the owner well. Seeing him and hearing his name, little smart girls rise on their hind legs to greet the newcomer.

With careful care, the life expectancy of dwarf rabbits is between 8 and 12 years. Long-livers who died at the age of 18 were also recorded among them.

True, according to the observation of domestic rabbit breeders, many working individuals with the dwarfism gene die at the age of five. Obviously, this is due to a stronger wear of the body of the offspring producer.

Lop-eared rabbits

Due to the character traits that lop-eared rabbits have, their life expectancy is noticeably longer than that of individuals with straight ears. They have a more stress-resistant nervous system, and therefore their heart and blood vessels function better, which, of course.also prolongs life. These fluffy koloboks are non-aggressive, never use their teeth, quickly get used to the owner and willingly play with him.

The lifespan of lop-eared rabbits is 7 to 8 years.

What determines how long rabbits will live

The life expectancy of a baby born depends on several important components:

• Heredity (he althy mom and dad).
• No congenital anomalies. So, for example, with an incorrect bite, a rabbit is taken out of breeding, because this anomaly greatly undermines the state of he alth and, accordingly, the life expectancy of such an individual.
• Feeding and maintenance. Since rabbits are mobile animals, they need to create conditions for movement, the ability to walk outside the cage. To maintain normal he alth, you should let your pet out for at least an hour twice a day to warm up.

Canadian rabbit breeders, for example, advise castration to prolong the life of animals. This, in their opinion, is necessary to exclude inflammation and malignant neoplasms in the genitourinary system of animals. These pathologies quite often affect five- or six-year-olds, significantly reducing their lifespan.

How to keep a rabbit at home

In order to maximize the lifespan of rabbits, eared rabbits need certain conditions. Firstly, these are vaccinations made on time. Secondly, a comfortable cage. She isshould allow the baby to stretch to its full length and stand on its hind legs. In addition, there should be a place in it for a house in which a shy animal can hide from everyone, for a toilet, as well as for a manger with hay. It's good to have a box of digging sand in the cage, as this is one of your pet's natural needs.

The pallet in such a cage must be plastic. Don't forget to provide your pet with a drinker.

Rules for caring for ornamental rabbits

Rabbits, whose lifespan we are discussing today, can please for a long time if the owners adhere to the basic rules for keeping their miracle:

• Avoid placing the cage with the rabbit in drafts, as well as places near heating appliances.
• Keep your pet away from the TV. Your baby is a very shy creature, and stress shortens life.
• Take the animal in your arms very carefully: in no case - by the ears.
• Don't wash it unless absolutely necessary!
• Include both raw vegetables and speci alty dry food on your rabbit's menu, including hay.

And most importantly, of course, love and attention from the owner. The life of our pets depends on taking care of them!