The ultimate guide to healthy rabbits: What do rabbits need?

Though smaller in size, rabbits require just as much consideration and care as other household pets.

By ensuring your bunnies have access to certain rabbit essentials – such as mental stimulation and a nutritious diet – you can give your pets everything they need to stay happy and healthy. 

It’s important to take the time to understand what your rabbit needs. This includes making sure they have spacious housing (either indoor or outdoors), healthy teeth and a friend – or two – to keep them company.

You should aim for your bunnies’ housing to be as spacious as possible – as the Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund (RWAF) says, ‘a hutch is not enough’. 

A permanent run of at least 2m x 3m (6ft x 10ft), with a height of at least 60cm, is the perfect size to give your bunnies plenty of space to rear up, jump and ‘periscope’ upwards. All of these activities help to stretch the muscles in your rabbits’ backs, preventing aches and pains, and even spinal damage. 

A roomy, permanent enclosure also allows your rabbits to be alert and active at both dusk and dawn, which is how they would naturally behave in the wild.

When it comes to providing your bunnies with a cosy home, there are a number of different bedding options that you can choose from. 

Good-quality soft straw (as hard straw can be sharp) is the best solution, but you could also opt for shredded paper or newspaper – just be mindful of your bunnies munching on these.

Avoid sawdust, wood shavings and clumping cat litter, as these have the potential to irritate your bunnies’ skin and internal organs if ingested.

As rabbits’ teeth grow continuously, understanding common dental problems, their symptoms and how to prevent them is essential for keeping bunnies healthy.

Rabbits need healthy teeth to properly chew their food, aid digestion and prevent any infections that can affect their overall health. This is why it's important to pay attention to the warning signs that something may be wrong. 

Loss of appetite, runny eyes and a bumpy jawline could indicate a potential dental infection. If you see that your rabbit is struggling to eat, is drooling or has facial swelling, this could also indicate a missing or overgrown tooth. 

Contact your vet to stop any dental problems from worsening or leading to further complications. If you have rabbit insurance with Petplan, you can also use our Pet Expert Chat to speak with someone about any dental concerns. Just log into your My Petplan account to access.

While rabbits don’t need to have their teeth brushed like humans do, there are a number of other ways to help keep their pearly whites healthy. 

Follow these tips to protect your rabbits’ teeth:

• Provide a high-fibre diet: Maintaining a healthy diet is the best way to make sure rabbit teeth are kept in good check. Ensure your rabbit has access to unlimited hay, which helps wear down their teeth naturally. Grass and hay should comprise between 80% and 90% of a rabbit’s diet.
• Offer fresh vegetables and herbs: Include leafy greens such as kale, coriander and parsley to encourage healthy teeth.
• Avoid sugary foods and processed treats: Limit fruit and avoid sugary rabbit snacks that can cause dental issues. Many people believe carrots are an ideal food for rabbits, but this is a common myth – they should only be given as an occasional treat. 
• Encourage chewing: Provide safe chew toys or untreated wooden branches to help wear down teeth.
• Regular check-ups: Schedule routine dental exams with your vet to spot issues early.
• Ensure proper hydration: Fresh water should always be available to support health and digestion.
• Monitor eating habits: Watch for signs of discomfort, such as reluctance to eat or difficulty chewing, which could indicate dental problems.

There are a number of different dental conditions that can affect rabbit teeth.

Malocclusion, or cases where teeth do not meet properly, is one. While rabbits usually wear down their teeth through eating, this condition can cause their incisor teeth or molars to become overgrown. If left untreated, this could impact their ability to enjoy food. Tooth root abscesses and broken teeth can also be extremely painful for rabbits.

If you’ve spotted that your bunny isn’t eating as normal or has a change in behaviour, it’s best to take them to your local vet to determine whether any dental issues are present and get them treatment as soon as possible. 

A spacious, clean and stimulating environment is essential for a rabbit. Rabbit housing should include a covered area, such as a large and spacious hutch, shed or even a room indoors, where bunnies can relax, sleep, eat and drink. 

If your rabbits’ home is outdoors, ensure this space keeps them warm in the colder months and cooler in warmer weather. Check and clean your rabbits’ home weekly. 

Your rabbits will also need a large area where they can exercise any time of day, be it a run, secure area of a garden, or even a space inside the house. If your rabbits are mainly kept indoors, make sure that they spend regular time in the garden to get their dose of sunlight.

Did you know that rabbits can be trained to use a litter tray? 

First, observe where your rabbits prefer to go to the toilet, then clearly set aside that part of their enclosure as their designated toilet area – this reduces the chance of them going to the toilet somewhere else. 

Add your preferred type of bedding – such as shredded paper, soft straw hay or newspaper pellets – to the toilet area,  and consider adding some of your bunnies’ old soiled bedding to indicate to them that this is a toilet. 

For some extra encouragement when litter training, try giving your rabbits fresh hay as interestingly, rabbits like to eat and poo at the same time.

Give your bunnies access to grass to munch on when they’re out in the garden. Or, if you have house rabbits, ensure leafy vegetables are incorporated into their diet, such as by giving them parsley, sprouts and celery leaves. Be aware, however, of common plants such as foxgloves, poppies and rhubarb, which are extremely poisonous to rabbits. 

Fruits and vegetables are high in sugar and can give rabbits an upset stomach. Pellets can help to provide the correct amount of calcium, but they should only make up around 5% of your bunnies’ diet.

While rabbits can eat from food bowls, it’s important to let them forage for their food themselves as they would in the wild. Pellets in a feeding ball can be nosed around on the ground, and greens can be chopped up and hidden inside clean plant pots, or pegged to the top of the enclosure so your rabbits have to reach up to eat it. 

Making sure your rabbits always have access to fresh water is essential. Providing both a bowl – in a study material, such as heavy-duty plastic or ceramic, to prevent accidental spillages – and a bottle encourages your bunnies to drink water. Ensure both are cleaned regularly and topped up with fresh water daily.

Hay should be an essential part of your rabbits’ diet. Adding a hay rack to their enclosure can be a good way to keep hay clean and separate from any mess in the rest of your rabbits’ enclosure – and your own house, if you keep your rabbits indoors.

However, bear in mind that relying on hay racks could distract your rabbits from their natural food-seeking behaviours. To encourage this, hay can be presented in lots of exciting ways. Try stuffing it into an unused hanging basket attached securely to the roof of the enclosure, or pack it into wicker tunnels, cardboard tubes, or cardboard boxes with a hole at each end.

Bunnies are playful creatures and there are various ways to make their hutch a fun place for them to call home. Joining secure wooden ramps to large, strong cardboard boxes make great climbing frames, and adding holes in the side of these also creates bolt-holes for bunnies to burrow into.

You could also use clean plastic tubing with smooth edges to create tunnels, or give your rabbits somewhere to hide by placing large plastic plant pots on their sides, with bricks at either side to stop them rolling over.

Remember, always supervise your bunnies when they’re playing with homemade games and toys. 

Much like us, rabbits like to be kept clean and tidy. Especially during moulting, rabbits should be groomed daily to remove loose fur. This helps prevent them from swallowing too much, which can cause hairballs, blockages, or a slowdown in digestion (gut stasis).

Rubber pimple brushes or mitts, soft brushes, combs and nail clippers are all great tools to use when giving your bunnies a pamper. Be careful when grooming, however, as a rabbit’s skin is extremely delicate. If you find any matted fur, it’s best to untangle it with your fingers. 

Grooming your rabbits can also be a great way to help you bond with them, and gives you an opportunity to check them over for any health concerns.

In the wild, rabbits live in warrens with hundreds of other rabbits, so on their own, they can become anxious and depressed. Ideally, pet rabbits should live in pairs or groups – the best combination being a neutered male with a spayed female. 

If you’ve decided to get your bunny a friend, it’s vital to take the time to carefully and gradually get your bunnies used to each other, which can sometimes take as long as a couple of months. Once a bond between two rabbits has been established, however, they become inseparable and groom each other, eat together and sleep side-by-side.

Regular vaccinations protect rabbits from two painful and potentially fatal diseases: myxomatosis and rabbit viral haemorrhagic disease (RVHD). Both diseases affect indoor and outdoor bunnies. 

Have your rabbits vaccinated when they’re babies – from five weeks of age – and keep them updated with yearly booster shots.

Complete regular check-ups of your rabbits, ensuring they have a clean and dry nose, ears, tail and bottom. Look out for any snuffles or patches of red, sore skin that may indicate a problem. 

Keep an eye on your bunnies’ weight through body condition scoring to help prevent them becoming underweight or overweight. If you ever have any concerns about your rabbit’s health, it’s important to seek advice from your vet.