# Cost of house rabbits...



## Taisharth (May 1, 2016)

I would absolutely LOVE a pair of house rabbits. My family are generally pretty convinced but there's one thing we're not sure about, and that's cost. How much does it really cost to keep a pair of house rabbits? Do they really need to be vaccinated several times? Do I really need to get insurance?
I checked out the RSPCA, but they seemed to over-do everything - they said that hay for a year would cost £960; that's about £20 a week. Is that likely?
Do house rabbits strike you as very expensive pets? I would love to make it work, but my family are working class and we don't earn LOADS of money. Any advice on cost of house rabbits would be much appreciated 
- T


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## ChatterPuss (Sep 4, 2010)

We used to have two French lop house rabbits who were both neutured / spayed and litter trained. 
You would have to take into consideration of the spaying/nurturing surgery and inoculations, but this would be the same for any other pet I.e. Cat or dog but other than that they are still very good pets an don't need walking or stray off over the fence ! Lol


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## goose101 (Feb 28, 2012)

I have 2 at 4 years old. 
£100 a year for jags for the 2. £100 for spaying each... 
Roughly £4 a week on veg, £5 on hay and a £7 bag of pellets lasts over a month...
Spent more on getting their own right... they chew everything... carpets, walls, curtains... 
They need mega space too....
That's just my experience though...
O and I don't have insurance... most don't cover dental so I put £10 away each month just in case....


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## Taisharth (May 1, 2016)

Thanks guys, that's really helpful 
- T


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## Amelia66 (Feb 15, 2011)

you also need to factor in substrate as they will need to be fully cleaned out weekly thats about £5-£10 a week.


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## Taisharth (May 1, 2016)

So do you feel like you have a lot less money now that you have rabbits? Or do you still feel comfortable with your money?


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## goose101 (Feb 28, 2012)

I spoil mine over and above...toys and dried flowers and herbs etc.
They don't cost a lot but it's the vet bills you have to watch... dental problems could be a real nightmare.... 
Mines are toilet trained so a big bag of woodshavings with newspaper in top of that... changed a 4-5 times a week... £6-9 a month...
I tried out a few things to start with in terms of housing which cost a bit of money to get right...


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## Summersky (Aug 11, 2012)

They aren't cheap pets.

Other than the weekly costs of good quality pellets (buy by the big sack), good quality hay - and lots of it, you need to factor in annual vaccinations, spaying and neutering and vet bills. Oh, and housing of course.

Even house buns need a base. Many house buns have their own room, and the cages sold by pet shops are downright cruel.

Rabbits need permanent 24/7 access to a large space. And they are diggers, jumpers and chewers, so factor in damage to the house - or the cost of protective barriers and gates! We have chewed carpets, curtains, wallpaper, wires, skirting and doors.

The biggest expense is vet care - our buns have cost us thousands - so I can highly recommend getting the best insurance you can.

Check your local vet for the basic cost of out of hours vet care - buns always seem to time it to perfection to develop a problem.It is quite shocking and that is before treatment. The difficulty with rabbits is if they go into gut stasis, say, they need emergency treatment, or they shut down and die. 

If you are unlucky enough to have a dental bun (or even 2), you need to factor in the cost of regular dentals plus painkillers. again, not cheap.

Also, remember, that they may live for 10 years, but will probably develop arthritis as they get older, again needing ongoing pain management.

Rabbits, especially house rabbits, are the loveliest of pets, but are a hge commitment.


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## Summersky (Aug 11, 2012)

goose101 said:


> I spoil mine over and above...toys and dried flowers and herbs etc.
> They don't cost a lot but it's the vet bills you have to watch... dental problems could be a real nightmare....
> Mines are toilet trained so a big bag of woodshavings with newspaper in top of that... changed a 4-5 times a week... £6-9 a month...
> I tried out a few things to start with in terms of housing which cost a bit of money to get right...


Hate to say it, but wood shavings are not recommended for rabbits. Newspaper and hay do just fine.


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## goose101 (Feb 28, 2012)

They don't get to the shavings at all. They are only there to soak up pee under the half dozen sheets of newspaper. 
I'm not saying that's what you should do but mines have no interest in digging down to it. Everyone is different so I'm only posting my experience...


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## Taisharth (May 1, 2016)

Has anyone got a guess of roughly how much you spend on your house rabbits a month?


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## Lopside (Mar 20, 2012)

You probably could spend a fortune on hay if you bought it bagged. I buy 2 big bales a month at £10 from the local farm but then you need the storage space. I spend £30 a month on my rabbits I reckon. I have 5. But then only one is insured. I put £100 a month away for the others. Recent vet bills £380 for mass removal. £180 for ear infection. Vaccinations £200. They're incredibly labour intensive if you look after them properly. Plus with house rabbits there's always that moment when you realise they've chewed thro an important computer cable or damaged a skirting board! I had a friend who had to keep buying new phones at 40 quid a pop cos she didn't want her partner to know her bun kept chewing through the cable.
They can be a reasonable pet to keep financially once you have got over the initial outlay. For a pair of house rabbits you'd need a large dog crate with an attached large run area to leave them when they're unsupervised. Some companies make fab bespoke indoor areas (manor pet housing for example). But that would be 100s of pounds. Please don't buy them and leave them confined to a tiny indoor cage. Guidelines are for 7ft minimum accommodation now for welfare standards. I have yet to see a purpose made rabbit cage this size. They need SPACE


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## jack rabbit slim (May 26, 2016)

As other posts have rightly stated, rabbits definitely aren't a cheap pet to look after. Adopting from the RSPCA means that you will be taking home a rabbit that has been neutered and microchipped as well as having essential vaccinations. These 3 procedures would cost quite a lot in vets bills (around £120) but are all very important for your bunny's welfare. Our initial outlay on Rex was around £350 - £400 but we had never had a rabbit before and so were buying everything from scratch. we bought 2 very large hutches (one for indoors one outdoors); wood/wood-stain/wire mesh enough for a 20ft x 3ft x 4ft run; wood, soil and grass seed to create a grassy area within his run; litter tray; house; toys; food pellets; hay; litter.

We don't have insurance and have had to take Rex to the vet once for a broken nail (£40) once for GI stasis (£40). We do have a health care plan with our vet which costs £5 a month and entitles him to a 6 monthly check up (general health, weight, nail clipping, eyes/teeth check, ear mite check etc) and worming medicine.

He eats around £20 worth of timothy hay per month and uses about £10 worth of litter per month. His veggies cost about £15 per month so with vet health care plan i would estimate he costs us around £50 per month. He doesn't have food pellets any more as they were causing problems for his digestion.

He also chewed through my Macbook power cable, which cost £60 to replace :Banghead

None of this matters of course when you're watching TV and he springs onto your lap and proceeds to cover you in kisses.


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## Sarah89 (May 5, 2013)

They aren't cheap pets no as you have to factor in vet bills but buying online in bulk saves a small fortune! 

I buy a large sack of Allen and page gmo free pellets which lasts 6 months at approx £20 off amazon. I buy two huge bales of pesticide free ings grass hay from hay for pets which costs approx £50 and lasts 5 months. I get family to keep newspapers for me. Litter is £7 a bag and lasts a month. 

The cage i bought was a large puppy pen off amazon from bunny buisness and it only cost £60. Its huge! Tho my bunsters free reign during the day. You need to bun proof everything tho! No wires! And toilet roll makes great confetti in bunnyland! 

I buy dried herbs flowers and dandelion root from the health store...about £10 a month. 

Vegetables are whatever i have...i grow a lot of my own...my specialities are dandelions!haha 

I buy readigrass as a treat...about £10 for 2 months worth. 

Overall its not too expensive but i avoid petshops as they over charge for small bags and its rubbish quality. I prefer to feed gmo free and organic food to all my pets and its actually working out cheaper for the small critters!


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