American Fuzzy Lop Rabbit

[Nutriaitch]

anyone have any experience with these?

I found one at my apartment complex last night.
brought inside before it got to the dog park.

it is friendly but a little skittish.
and poor thing was STARVING.

as in basically attacked my hand as I offered food.

we reached out to the complex to see if we can find its owner but nothing yet.
we are also searching lost pets pages for our local area.

I do have a place we can keep him/her for a while if need be.

[Bogertophis]

Never kept rabbits but that's very kind of you to help this lost creature. Many years ago, I captured a pet rabbit that was left behind when the uncaring owners moved away (that was also in the desert, & local coyotes would have easily taken it from the fenced back yard where it was running free) but as I had 4 big dogs at the time that were way too "interested" in a rabbit, I quickly found it another home as a pet for a nearby senior-living facility. Maybe you can find a similar match-up if no one claims it?

[Nutriaitch]

Never kept rabbits but that's very kind of you to help this lost creature. Many years ago, I captured a pet rabbit that was left behind when the uncaring owners moved away (that was also in the desert, & local coyotes would have easily taken it from the fenced back yard where it was running free) but as I had 4 big dogs at the time that were way too "interested" in a rabbit, I quickly found it another home as a pet for a nearby senior-living facility. Maybe you can find a similar match-up if no one claims it?

my wife and I love all animals.
we have 2 dogs, a cat, a Tarantula, and a Ball Python.
I grew up on a cattle farm. We also had a LOT of ducks.
She had a horse when she was a young girl.

guess now we also have a rabbit.

[Bogertophis]

I like all creatures too, including horses & ducks. Good luck with the rabbit-

[Malum Argenteum]

I think it is valuable when a person has lots of experience with both companion animals and livestock. Approaching all animals either as food or as friends seems to encourage some inaccurate ideas.

I kept rabbits for meat and fur (New Zealands, Standard Rex) for almost ten years as an adult, and bred show rabbits (Dutch, Satins, Netherlands) when I was a kid. I understand they can also make affectionate and rewarding pets. I never had a lop, or any sort of housepet rabbit, and I presume that pet rabbits are kept somewhat differently than meat and show rabbits.

Nice that you took it in.

[Nutriaitch]

I think it is valuable when a person has lots of experience with both companion animals and livestock. Approaching all animals either as food or as friends seems to encourage some inaccurate ideas.

I kept rabbits for meat and fur (New Zealands, Standard Rex) for almost ten years as an adult, and bred show rabbits (Dutch, Satins, Netherlands) when I was a kid. I understand they can also make affectionate and rewarding pets. I never had a lop, or any sort of housepet rabbit, and I presume that pet rabbits are kept somewhat differently than meat and show rabbits.

Nice that you took it in.

I'm from South Louisiana. Sportsman's Paradise.
We hunt and eat EVERYTHING

Wild Rabbit vs "farm raised" is completely different.
Many people don't like the gamey taste of wild kills, but personally I love the flavor of many wild animals (fish, deer, rabbits, ducks, gators, geese, nutria, hog, some snakes, etc.).

but with that said, I know the difference between a pet and a meal.
this one is definitely a pet and not anything wild that needs to be in a pot.

[Malum Argenteum]

Agreed -- wild and domestic rabbit meat are nothing like each other. One reason I stopped raising rabbits is that I prefer to eat the wild ones.

[Armiyana]

Avoid giving them too much fruit. They'll bloat.
You'll wanna pick up a rabbit pellet that doesn't have a lot of junk mixed in. Give them a small bowl of it. Like 1/4-1/2 cup.
Lots of fresh Timothy hay. Other hay can be mixed in as well but avoid only alfalfa hay because it's more sugary.
Fresh veggies are great. Offer some carrot, celery(but chopped small), zucchini, cabbage, spinach, dandelion greens, basil and bok choy are all good.

You can try offering him a little litter box with some shavings in it. They can be litter trained for pee and sometimes a good amount of poop. But you'll still find some little nuggets around.

Hopefully he wasn't just dumped. They can be fun little guys once you get to know them. My last pet rabbit was a mini lop that we found kinda similarly. He was a little butthead but loved playing tag with my cat. Hahah.

[Nutriaitch]

Avoid giving them too much fruit. They'll bloat.
You'll wanna pick up a rabbit pellet that doesn't have a lot of junk mixed in. Give them a small bowl of it. Like 1/4-1/2 cup.
Lots of fresh Timothy hay. Other hay can be mixed in as well but avoid only alfalfa hay because it's more sugary.
Fresh veggies are great. Offer some carrot, celery(but chopped small), zucchini, cabbage, spinach, dandelion greens, basil and bok choy are all good.

You can try offering him a little litter box with some shavings in it. They can be litter trained for pee and sometimes a good amount of poop. But you'll still find some little nuggets around.

Hopefully he wasn't just dumped. They can be fun little guys once you get to know them. My last pet rabbit was a mini lop that we found kinda similarly. He was a little butthead but loved playing tag with my cat. Hahah.

looking through my completely uneducated an inexperienced eyes, this isn't a baby.
I don't know if it was dumped or escaped. but Rabbits are not allowed at our apartment complex.
so either someone had it against the rules, or it wandered there from somewhere else.
judging by how voraciously she attacked that carrot and devoured the little cup of food (I went bought some), I'm guessing she hadn't had a real meal in a little while.

my wife has been looking through "lost pets" type pages for our area and posted a picture of it.
I don't want to keep somebody else's pet if it belongs to someone.

it does seem to be settling down a little and is more curious and moving around now.
problem is I have 2 big dogs, plus a cat, so it can't just roam free (at least not safely).

I do have an outside pen area at the office she's more than welcome to, but we're in prime rattlesnake territory out here so not sure that's the best option either.

We would prefer not to keep it as a pet, but will if we need to.

I may reach out to a local shelter to see if they take them in (and don't euthanize).
maybe one of my customers will want her and give her a good home.
just not sure how long to keep her before giving up on finding her rightful owners.

[Bogertophis]

I will bet that this was someone's poorly-considered Easter gift ("toy") that got dumped (or was encouraged to "escape") when they realized it needed more care than they thought, & it was inconvenient. Probably won't be the only bunny seen in the nearest shelter this time of year. So many people treat animals this way...dump them when the novelty wears off.