Setting up the bunny's new home

We used a gym mat as a cushiony soft base, and the organization cubes to make the actual siding of the home.

** Important note: We found out that Totoro could actually squeeze through the larger holes of the organization cube and escape, so it was best to construct the entire house using cubes with small holes (around 1.5 inches x 1.5 inches square openings). 

We bought some linoleum (white flooring you usually put in kitchens) to cut and put on top of the gym mats, from Home Depot. It was not that expensive, around $10 max I think.

Inside Totoro's "rabbit condominium"...

• We bought the small pet carrier (striped) from Pet Smart for around $20. 
• We bought the towels from Target, 100% cotton I believe, this is the safest. 
• We bought the brown "rustic cabin" that's edible and made from Willow sticks, from PetSmart for $15 or so. 
• We bought the Dino (children's toy) from Target since it resembles a bunny and is the same size (Totoro actually grooms/licks Dino as if he was a real rabbit!) ;)
• We bought a common pet water dispenser to hang on the outside of his cage. 
• We bought a ceramic food bowl heavy enough so that he wouldn't flip it over, to fill with his pellets.
•  We bought the orange box to use as his litter box was actually a plastic paint tray bought from Home Depot, and the bedding is rabbit-safe paper shavings. 
• ** Important Note: NEVER get cedar or pine shavings, or clay cat litter to use as rabbit litter!! This is very unsafe for them. 

Totoro emerging from his carrier to explore.

Totoro immediately goes to the Timothy Hay pile to check it out and eat!

Totoro eating some lettuce. 

** Important Note: It's best to wash the lettuce to get rid of residual pesticides, before giving to your bunny to eat.

Totoro really loves his rustic cabin. He settled right in. It provides comfort and is airy, roomy and breathable. Best of all, it's edible! And bunnies LOVE to chew on almost everything.

He is very relaxed.

More chewing on lettuce.

He jumped to the top floor where we keep a big pile of timothy hay for him.

He began eating here. He loves this top floor, he often comes to the top to do a "flop" (stretch himself out and lay on his side) and sleep. He has grown so much as compared to this picture, taken 3 months ago.

He is looking at the camera with a very cute expression.

Totoro is a very curious bunny.

 As you can see here, he is fitting his nose through one of the larger holes in the cubicles, which he eventually could squeeze out from. This is dangerous so we replaced these larger holes with cube sidings that had smaller holes. Usually a pack of these organizational cubes come with both sidings of large and small holes, so we bought ~3 packs of organizational cubes and just selected the small hole cubes from the large ones.

Curious bun!

He did a total flop inside his cabin, resting relaxed and happy on his side.

We take him out to play every evening. Here he is relaxing outside his "condo", doing a flop.

After he is very tired and relaxed around us, he does a big flop in his condo.

Here he is right outside his condo, doing a flop on the carpet. We bought a carpet especially for him since he chews on it. He doesn't like the hardwood floors so we don't have to set up dividers for other rooms. He mainly just stays on the carpet and does binkies (happy jumps and twists in the air) and flops on it.

Getting a Bunny: Our First Experiences

We had spent quite some time thinking about getting a bunny. We live in a condo and work full time during the day. I was searching online and found the best option was to adopt a bunny rather than get one from a breeder. We're both allergic to cats, and having a dog would have been too big of a jump in responsibility for us.

We read that bunnies are quiet and clean, and after 3 months of having Totoro now, we decided it was true. (His litterbox needs to be cleaned every ~3-4 days, but that's not too big a deal).

We calculated the cost associated with getting a bunny and that we should make some time to let him exercise (run around) in the morning and evening, and the placement of his cage. We wanted for him to have a big enough cage to romp around.

We also checked the bunny guide on the Bunnybuddies.org website to find out what is good for him to eat (lots of timothy hay, good quality basic rabbit pellets, most vegetables but definitely not cabbage).

Either way, the first step for us was to check out the buns. We visited the "Bunnies Day Out", an event hosted by the Houston area Bunny Buddies organization. They are very caring and knowledgeable people for bunny rabbits and their owners. Their website is here:
http://bunnybuddies.org/

The event is a fun and open environment for bunny owners to bring out their bunnies to play in the sun, and for prospective owners to see new bunnies. Some owners brought their own bunnies to find a "match" (another bunny) for him/her. Here's a pic I took at the event showing an owner playing with their rabbit. The balls are actually toys filled with hay (bunnies love timothy hay the best, and it is very nutritious for them).

The big bunny is a Californian giant rabbit.

We saw this cage full of rabbits and approached. I went inside the cage to sit and interact with the bunnies to see which one would have the best chemistry. Even though we liked one of the white bunnies with freckles, it did not seem very receptive toward us.

One of the brown bunnies, though, seemed exceptionally curious and friendly. We held the bun and interacted with it in a separate cage. After some thought, we decided to get him. He was spayed and more calm than unspayed males. His name was Freckle. We re-named him Totoro after a sweet, endearing rabbit-like character in a Japanese film, who is brown/gray with a freckled white belly.

Here is Totoro's family. The middle bunny is a Mini-Rex and is his mommy. His dad is on the right side, the white bunny with the orange spots. He is a Lionhead. Totoro is on the far left side, the dark brown bunny. Funny how an all-brown bunny can result from two white bunnies with speckles! Genetics ;)

Totoro's sister is sitting on the litter box, with other sisters and brothers around. The pen was an area where prospective owners could come inside and see which bunny they liked the best.

Totoro's brother or sister is nuzzling or grooming the dad Lionhead (on the left). Totoro is called a Velvet Lion or a Velvet Lionhead because his mom is a Mini Rex and his dad is a Lionhead. A Mini Rex Lionhead Cross or Mix is referred to as a "Velvet Lionhead" and is a very new breed. However, a bunny's personality and compatibility with you (different for each bun!) is more important than the breed, in deciding whether to adopt specifically her or him.

Totoro's mommy, a Mini-Rex rabbit.

Totoro's dad, a Lionhead.

Totoro with his brother or sister. He had a lot of gray fluff (Lionhead characteristic) around his cheeks and hind quarters which eventually reduced in volume over time.

Totoro (brown bun) grooming his brother, next to his mommy and another sister.

Totoro's mom is bending her head underneath one of her children, either eating some hay or begging/demanding for a grooming session ;)

When we decided to foster/adopt Totoro, we filled out the paperwork and went home to begin preparations.... Actually we first went to the local Target store, Home Depot, and the grocery store to get organizational materials we'd use to construct his new home, and food for him.

Read on to find out what went into constructing his new home :)