I bought my first rabbit when I was 12 years old. Her name was Elsa, but we have always called her Elsie (among her many other nicknames).

She turned 6 less than 2 weeks ago. 

​Today she left this world, and she is now in a better place. 

Here is every blog I ever wrote about her: 
http://hollyshollands.weebly.com/blog/she-started-it-all
http://hollyshollands.weebly.com/blog/training-hollands
​http://hollyshollands.weebly.com/blog/another-year-older
http://hollyshollands.weebly.com/blog/what-a-scare

Elsie has always been my most spastic, crazy, and attention-hogging rabbit. When she was younger, she always had one ear up and one ear down. The last year or so both lopped, but for most of her life, they were either both up or half lopped. 

She always  lived in my room. She hated the grass and going outside. 

She drove me crazy. She ate EVERYTHING (rubber and foam were her favorites). 

In her last year, she always slept like she was dead. 

In her last year, she went blind in one eye and didn't play in my room anymore, and preferred her cage. However, she never let that get in her way. It didn't change who she was at all. 

To the very end, she was loving and spunky. She passed away while I was at school. I knew it was coming. She was old, and she had lost weight and condition (due to age). She was ready. But I will always wish I had more time with her. 

Rest in peace, beautiful. You started it all, and you'll be forever missed. 

Please take a few minutes to look through the slideshow below. I took lots of pictures of her. They are in no particular order. When she had the small cage, she was outside of it in my room almost all day. She got a way bigger cage when she didn't want to play in my room anymore. 

My house rabbit, Elsie, turned 5 years old at the beginning of the month.
This sweetie and I have been through so much together . . . she was a brat when she was 2 and 3, due to hormones since we didn't spay her, but this past year she's been getting sweeter again. She still acts like a baby most of the time even though she is getting older. 

I found out recently that Elsie is developing a cataract in her right eye sadly:(. Her left eye is completely normal. Because of this, I've been researching everything I could find on the subject of cataracts and blindness in rabbits because I've never had to deal with something like this before. I want to share with you the information I have learned. 

This will probably be a long post. 

See that mistiness in her eye in the picture below? That's the cataract. Cataracts eventually lead to blindness, but they develop slowly. It will probably take several more months (maybe even a year or more), before she is completely blind in that eye, since the cataract is still very small. 

However, I've been noticing a change in her behavior already. Maybe it's due to the fact that she's going blind, maybe it's just cause she's old. She startles easier than before, and doesn't like to be approached head-on. 

Cataracts cannot be treated, but they can be removed with surgery. It is a very risky and very expensive surgery. Since Elsie is getting older, it is not something that I want to risk. The likelihood of her passing during surgery is very high.

Because rabbits rely heavily on their sense of smell and hearing anyway, being blind actually doesn't have a huge affect on a rabbit, as long as they are kept in a safe environment. 

What is a cataract?

"The word cataract comes from the Latin “cataracta”, or from the Greek katarraktēs, meaning waterfall. It refers to a decrease of the transparency of the eye lens, which can be partial or affect the whole lens. Consequently, a reduced amount of light passes through the lens. The ability to focus and clarity of eyesight will decrease with time. This is accompanied by a loss of sensitivity to contrast. The ability to see objects is little affected when light is intense and the lens is only partially affected, but can lead to full blindness when the opacity of the lens is total and affecting both eyes." (Medirabbit)

What causes a cataract? 

Cataracts can be related to genetics, age, e. cuniculi (which is a parasite and related to head tilt), or trauma to the head or eye. 
In Elsie's case, it is age. Cataracts can be in both eyes, and in most other cases they are. But with Elsie, it's only in her right eye.

After a rabbit is blind, what can be done to make sure they have the best life possible and stay safe and happy?

When they first start losing their eyesight, confine them to a smaller room if they normally free range throughout the house. Since rabbits rely heavily on their scent and hearing anyway, being blind actually doesn't affect a rabbit as much as a human. 

​Try to change the rabbit's housing as little as possible now that your rabbit is blind. They do use their scent and hearing, but also they rely heavily on their memory to tell them where the entrance to their cage is, where the litter box is, the water bottle and food dish, all the stuff. 

Keep a schedule. Feed your rabbit at the same time every day, make sure it doesn't run out of water, that kind of stuff. The kind of stuff you should be doing anyway . . . ;)

Provide your rabbit with a hidey house or something they can hide in. Elsie has been loving this paper bag I gave her recently. She never gets scared so she doesn't hide in it, she just loves to eat it and sit in it. It's nice and cozy to her. 

When you approach your rabbit, lean to pet your rabbit, or anything of that sort, speak in a soft voice to the rabbit first so it knows who you are. Strangers are going to be scary now more than ever. 

The rabbit will startle easier, and may be more reluctant to leave the cage and explore at first. Don't worry. Your rabbit will get used to being blind sooner than you think. Because most rabbits lose their eyesight so slowly, by the time they are fully blind they are usually already to used to their surroundings and know how to cope. 

Rabbits that have lost their eyesight generally do not like being picked up. They become disoriented when they are put back down, so try to limit the amount of time you pick your rabbit up. Try to do everything at his level from now on. 

​Oh Elsie . . . 
Now that Elsie is getting older, as it is with most pets, health problems are more likely. Elsie has never been sick, injured, or anything, until just recently. But now that she's five, and unspayed rabbits typically only live about 7 years, sicknesses and injuries are easier for her to get. Of course the final age she'll get all depends on diet, exercise, etc. 

I am so thankful for this precious girl. If it hadn't been for Elsie, Holly's Hollands Rabbitry would not exist. This girl has been so hard to deal with at times - but I love her. She's special. I swear she's one of a kind :) 

Before I dive in here, I just want to make a couple statements. 
 Prices on the items I list below will vary, depending on your state, country, online or in store, how many rabbits you have, indoor or outdoor, etc. 
Below are just the "averages" I have seen in-store and online. 
Make sure you do your research and know how much all the rabbit supplies will cost in your area, before you start looking for a rabbit.
All photos courtesy of Amazon.com, PetCo, PetSmart, and Google.com

ONE TIME CHARGE:
The following are purchases you usually only need to make once, before you buy your rabbit. The startup cost of a getting a rabbit is similar to the startup cost of a dog or cat; it can get very expensive.

CAGE: varies from $60 - $200+
If you have a house rabbit, you can use a dog playpen as a cage and stay as low as $30 for the cage!

LITTER BOX: $9 - $15

GROOMING SUPPLIES: $3 - $15
Combs and nail clippers can be purchased at the dollar store to save extra money!

HAY RACK *optional!*: $3 - $9

FOOD BOWL: $5 - $10

WATER BOTTLE: $5 - $12 (average $8 but depends on size)

TRAVELLING CAGE: $22 - $100+

MONTHLY CHARGE:
The following typically needs to be purchased every month.

PELLETS: $5 - $12

HAY: $5 - $10

LITTER - $8 - $10

TREATS - $5 - $10
treats such as veggies and fruits should be avoided until the rabbit is 6mos old!

One of the MOST expensive costs you will come across after you have your rabbit is the cost of the vet. Getting your rabbit spayed or neutered is very important, and it can range from $75 - $300. 

You will also need to think about possible emergency vet trips. These can be very expensive, and they depend on the vet, your area, and the circumstance as well as the rabbit involved. 

Using the lowest prices listed here for everything, the startup MINIMUM cost for a rabbit varies around $77!*
Using the highest prices listed, the (varied) high price the startup cost for a rabbit could be $431!*
I think when I started out with my house rabbit, her startup cost was around $100. *
Lowest monthly cost: $23
Highest monthly cost: $42
I spent an average of $30 per month on my one house rabbit, Elsie.
*these prices do not include vet care!

Rabbits can be very affordable. They can also be expensive! Compared to most pets (dogs and cats), rabbits are pretty affordable each month, though!

There are many different brands and different kinds of litter boxes available in the pet rabbit market. But some work, and some don't. How can you know which one will work for your specific rabbit? There are so many to choose from!

When choosing a litter box, there are a few important things to consider before buying one.

• The litter box has to fit inside the rabbit's cage/room/enclosure. 
• It has to be big enough for the rabbit to turn around in and dig. 
• There have to be high sides so the rabbit can't kick the litter out and can't pee over the side (which can also happen because the box is too small).
• At least one side has to be short enough for the rabbit to hop over comfortably, even in old age.
• It has to be easy to clean.
• It has to be a material that the rabbit will not be interested in chewing in or paying much attention to. A wooden or cardboard box, for example, would be the perfect thing for a rabbit to eat. If you get a plastic box, which some rabbits like to nibble on, make sure it won't harm your rabbit if ingested. 
• It has to be a material that will last a long time. Rabbits have pretty long lifespans, and purchasing a new litter box each year (or sooner) would soon run your rabbit bill quite high! I do recommend replaying your rabbit's litter box with a new one very few years (2-4), or as necessary. 

Below are some popular litter box options. All of these can be purchased at any pet store or on Amazon.com.

I don't suggest using a box such as a cardboard or wooden box. Of course, these CAN work, sometimes, but will need to be replaced frequently.

You've been waiting so long for this day to come, excitement is brewing, you come to pick up your baby, bring your baby home....now what?
Your rabbit has just experienced a great change. This time will be stressful for him, and he will need time to adjust and take it easy. He has a new home, new family, new sights and smells, and this is the first time your baby has been without his brother or any siblings at all. 
1st Day - You just brought your rabbit home! Congratulations. After you put the baby in his home, leave him alone for an hour or two. Check on him often, but if he stays in the back corner and has wide, scared eyes, don't bother him. Talk in a quiet, soothing voice and call him by his name. At the end of the day, if he hasn't eaten or drank, that's fine. Many won't do that for the first few days. Offer him food, but just use the kind I gave you for the first day.
2nd Day - Depending on your baby's personality, he might be excited to see you the next morning! Check to see if he ate or drank. No? Does he still stay in the back of the cage? That's okay. Just leave him be, but continue to check on him every few hours. If he comes to the front of the cage, you can pet him, scratch his nose, ect. Don't pick him up yet. Begin mixing half/half food for your rabbit, and continue until the baggie is gone (usually by the end of the week). 
3rd Day - By today, most rabbits will be eating and drinking and that signals that they are settling in well. If they haven't eaten or used the bathroom, please contact me and I'll try to help you get him back on track. Today, if your rabbit seems interested in you, you can hold your baby!
Put your right under his bum and your left hand under his front legs/in his armpits (if rabbits have armpits...), and put him on your chest. Most rabbits find this to be a soothing place to be. Pet his head and ears, but if he struggles, sit down and put him in your lap. Don't put him back in his cage if he struggles. That will only tell him that he got his way. If he looks scared and stressed out, put him back in his cage. Don't get rowdy, crazy or noisy around him just yet... ;)
4th Day - At this point, you can begin to handle your rabbit more and more and start the bond. Please see my other blog post about that. If your rabbit runs from you at this point, keep your movements slow and take everything very easy, a little bit at a time. Feed him treats (oats, if the rabbit is under 6mos old), from your hand and after he has been good after handling. 
5th Day - Same as 4th. Continue to handle, play with and hold. Get the rabbit used to the sound of your voice.
6th Day - Give your rabbit new toys, and do a simple health check to make sure everything is fine and going smoothly. Make sure the rabbit has been eating, drinking, ect. Check the droppings and make sure they look like healthy rabbit poops. 
7th Day - If you are going to show or do 4-H with your rabbit you can begin practicing. The baggie I gave you with my feed should be about gone. You can start to let your rabbit have exercise outside the cage. 
This is the end of the first week. With any further questions, please contact me. I would love to help. 
Enjoy your new life with your bunny! It only gets better from here! :) 

A useful trick to teach your rabbit is responding to its name, or coming when called. 
If you are planning on teaching your rabbit to come to its name, pick a short name that is easy for the rabbit to remember and hear. If you're rabbit's name is long, pick a nickname that you call it every time you want it to come to you. Call it the same thing every time you want it to obey your command. It will get confused if you expect it to respond to "Fluffybutt", Lulu, "Princess", and "Precious".
This trick takes a little longer then others. Every time you pet your rabbit, hold/handle your rabbit, call it by its name. Before it can come or respond to its name, it needs to know what its name is. When you buy your rabbit from me, if you already have a name picked out, let me know. I'll begin to make sure the rabbit knows what it's name is, and it'll be easier for you, once the rabbit has settled in, to begin teaching it this trick. As long as you don't change its name, of course! 
To prepare for this trick, have your rabbit near you - only about an arm's length away. Call it by its name. Since it will already be right next to you, when it perks up or pays attention, give it a treat (an oat or two is a good idea for younger bunnies, small portion of fruit or veggie for a rabbit over 6mos) and praise it/pet it. 
Keep doing this several times per day, but only once or twice at a time. Rabbits have very good noses, and once they smell that you have a treat the only thing on their mind is that treat; they won't be able to hear you after that! 
After a couple weeks, no matter what it's doing the rabbit will come to you when you call its name, expecting a treat. Keep giving it the treat (it's okay to change the treat up a bit), until it's preforming the trick reliably. Gradually cut back on the treats. 
Being praised and getting extra petting/snuggles might be enough for some bunnies. For others, it's all about the FOOD! So do both at first to find out what your rabbit likes best. 

Rabbits are like dogs and cats. They are cute and cuddly, but they can also be naughty and cause trouble. 
Most behavior problems occur because the rabbit thinks its in charge. As the owner, we need to assert our dominance and let the bunny know that WE are "top rabbit". Once the rabbit knows that, it will think again about acting out or being bad. My pet rabbit, Elsie, used to be a nipper. She would nip (sometimes really hard), when she wanted attention or if she felt I was ignoring her. Needless to say, she's very spoiled:). But that doesn't mean that I can't train her AND keep her spoiled! 
The next time she nipped me, I gently but firmly held her head down on the floor. She really didn't like it, but only five - seven seconds later she was back playing happily. Make sure you don't let the rabbit go when it struggles. That doesn't do anything. The rabbit just realizes - again - that it gets what it wants. 
It only took a couple more times of her nipping me and me holding down her head for her to realize that, oh - when I nip Mommy something I don't like happens. 
Every now and then she'll nip me again but I reinforce the same punishment. She hasn't done it in quite a while now. But, since I've said that, I'm sure that when I let her out to play later tonight she'll nip me. Oh well. As long as she knows I'M in charge . . . .

Not every "bad behavior" can be treated this way. This method can only really be used when the rabbit is causing you pain. But if the rabbit is peeing everywhere or chewing everything up, you'll have to use a different method. 
For chewing, or anything similar, the best way is to remove and distract. If the thing the rabbit is chewing can't be removed from the play area (like carpet), remove the bunny from that area. Then, distract it with something else that the rabbit can nibble (such as a toilet paper tube or pine cone). 
With rabbits who are peeing everywhere or "marking" their territory (or anything similar), just put an end to playtime. Shut the bunny up for a few minutes as a "time out", and soon enough it'll realize that when it doesn't pee in its litter box, it gets a consequence. Remember, though, that for bucks who are obsessive about "marking" their territory with urine, usually having them neutered completely eliminates this behavior. 

My own house rabbit Holland Lop doe, Elsie, does this trick very well. I taught it to her when she was a baby. No matter the age your rabbit will pick up on this trick very quickly. 
Before you even begin practicing the trick, make sure the rabbit knows that his home is a place where he can feel safe. Some house bunnies love playing and having free reign so much that they dread going back home. That's how my house bunny used to be. The rabbit doesn't have to look forward to going home, but he shouldn't treat it like it's a life-or-death situation every time playtime is over. 
There are a couple things you can say to get the rabbit to do the trick. You can use the phrase "Go Home", which is my personal favorite, "Bedtime", if the rabbit is to be shut up at night, or pretty much whatever you want, as long as you stick to it and say the same thing every time. 

For this trick, plan the time accordingly. If the rabbit is tuckered out from hours of playtime, he will be more cooperative. Do the trick when it's actually time for the rabbit to go home, not when he's usually playing. My rabbit gets out of her cage twice a day - in the morning, around 9:30 AM and at night before I go to bed. During these times, she's hungry and ready for breakfast/dinner, which it made it easier to teach her. When she's more hungry, she's more willing to get an edible reward. Never withhold food as punishment - just withhold the treat when he or she doesn't preform the trick correctly. 

My rabbit gets oats on top of her food when she does the trick. She knows that's what she gets when she does it right, so she cooperates nearly every time now. 

To actually teach the trick, once your rabbit is tuckered out and it's time for it to go home, pick up the rabbit and put it at the door of its home. Snap inside the cage or behind it and say "Go Home!" or whatever you choose to say. You just do the snap, or just say "Go Home." Both seem to work better for me. After you have finished saying the phrase and snapping, put the rabbit in its home. Praise it, and offer it oats (or whatever treat you have selected), for a job well done. Practice it AT LEAST once daily, but twice is more sufficient. 

Over the next couple days the rabbit will realize that it gets a treat when it goes home. For the first couple times, do it like I said above. In the subsequent tries, only give the oats or treat if it goes home by itself when you snap. If it doesn't, start from the beginning and keep practicing. 

Your rabbit will learn the trick very quickly. You will start to notice improvement in just a short week of doing it every day. Don't forget to keep practicing even if the r. abbit knows the trick

You may have to change the above guidelines and morph them to fit your setup and needs. This way does not work for everyone. This trick is mostly for the house rabbit, though an outside rabbit could learn it just as easily if you practice often enough. 

This post is written toward new owners thinking of bringing a bunny into their house and litter training it. 
When you bring your rabbit into your home, you will need to sacrifice a few things. Just like if you bring home a new puppy or kitten, the bunny will need to be kept safe and cannot go untrained. 
Before you bring your new bunny home, get the bunny's living space ready. The rabbit will not be able to roam your house right away. It will feel much safer in its own cage. 

The rabbit's "living space" is the place you will send or put your rabbit when you need to leave it unsupervised. This is where it's litter box should be, as well as its feeding dishes and bed (if any). You can use a cage as the living space or make a section off your living room or kitchen with baby gates. 
Good things to keep in the rabbit's living space are the rabbit's feeding dishes and water bottle, litter box, chew toys (baby rattles, toilet paper tubes, untreated wood blocks, small pieces of newspaper), and a place for the bunny to hide in or use as a playground. Your rabbit won't need a bed, but having a comfy place for the bunny to rest is always a good idea. 
The best place to leave your rabbit for long periods of time, unsupervised, is a place where it will be contained in a cage or on a hardwood surface, in case of accidents. Rabbits can also chew and dig at carpet and it can be poisonous if ingested. 

Getting down on the rabbit's level is the best way to see what the rabbit can chew, dig at or destroy that be dangerous. 
Make sure there are no wires or electrical cords in the rabbit's living space. Rabbits like to chew, and they can electrocute and kill themselves if they allowed to reach these. 
Also keep all plastic bags and plastic items out of the rabbit's living space. Rabbits can play with baby toys (like rattles), that are plastic, as long as the rabbit can't actually eat or bite off any parts. Plastic can clog the intestines and cause problems. 
Lots of plants are poisonous to your rabbit so make sure it won't have any access to a houseplant when it is in its living space. 
Keep your belongings away from the rabbit, if you don't want them ruined, chewed on or utterly destroyed. 

Once you bring your rabbit home, it will appreciate the nice, new living space you have prepared for it. Try to complete bunny's new home before bringing the bunny into your family, so it doesn't have to go through too much stress once it gets home. 

Whenever you let your rabbit out of its living space, make sure you never leave it unsupervised unless you completely bunny proof every part of the house the rabbit has access too. Keep in mind, also, that until the rabbit is FULLY potty-trained, small accidents are not uncommon. 

Just like dogs and cats, rabbits need to be trained. If you let them get away with everything, they can develop bad habits and become destructive. 
Rabbits can be trained very easily, easier then a cat but maybe a little harder then a dog because rabbits don't "aim to please". 
If you have a house rabbit, when you start letting it roam your house you will notice that it will gnaw on nearly everything. This is why Bunny Proofing your home is so important. 
Some things you may want to teach your rabbit are the following:

~Coming when called or responding to its name
~"Going home" when playtime is over or at the end of the day
~Cute tricks (like spinning, walking on its hind legs, jumping, begging and others)

I'm going to tackle the above three "tricks" in three different blog posts. 

What Motivates Our Rabbits? Unlike canines, rabbits do not necessarily aim to please their owner or the "top rabbit". Strong punishment, such as hitting or yelling at the rabbit, won't necessarily make it do what you want it to. It will just become aggressive back and will feel unloved. This never really works, even with canines. It's just counterproductive. Reward good behavior, and withhold the reward or put your rabbit in its home/living space when it does bad behavior. 

Devote Plenty of Time to Training A rabbit cannot learn a trick overnight. It will take probably a week or two for the rabbit to learn the trick, depending on what it is. Even so, keep the practice sessions short and sweet. Don't go over half an hour, and let the rabbit have short breaks. End on a good note, so the rabbit doesn't think that it gets out of training when it does something bad. Even once you think your rabbit has it down, the trick will still need to be practiced often for the rabbit to remember and keep preforming the trick on command. 

Use Treats You don't want to feed baby bunnies fruits/veggies until they are 6mos old. For youngsters learning tricks, you can feed them oats. Give the treat immediately after the rabbit has preformed the request. Don't wait for it to do anything else, or to even come and get the treat. It could think that it's getting rewarded for the wrong thing. Keep giving the treats until the rabbit preforms the request nearly every time. Don't skip even once when it is just learning, it can get confused. Once it is reliably doing the trick every time, start to wean the rabbit off of the treats. Keep practicing, but give the treats less often. Don't completely take the treats away, the rabbit may decide to stop preforming the trick on command.