Wondering how to take care of a rabbit in Taiwan? So you walked by a pest store and found yourself stuck staring at the rabbits and struggling with the urge to buy one.
Most pet shops in Taiwan sell bunnies. They’re cute and fluffy, what more could you want? But properly taking care of a bunny in Taiwan is a bit of a challenge.
A Rabbit’s Basic Needs:
First of all, you need to make sure you’re capable of giving the bun the care it needs. They require full-time care! And space!
Even though bunnies are small and cute, that doesn’t mean they’re easy to take care of. You need to understand that rabbits are hyper animals, which require a lot of attention, space to run, food, and love.
You can’t just leave them in a cage for their entire lives! I also wouldn’t recommend them as a pet for small children because rabbits are quite fragile, and they don’t like being handled. They can also scratch (trust me!).
Ideally, you’ll want to have a designated room for the rabbit, one that you can cover with carpet or a blanket, and lots of wooden toys. Unfortunately, we don’t have the best environment for our rabbit, but I like to think he’s happy enough.
Can Rabbits Die from Heat?
Rabbits can handle cold temperatures much better than hot temperatures. They can easily die from overheating and you can usually tell they’re struggling with the heat because they start salivating and breathing heavily.
If you have been in Taiwan during the summer, it’s like walking around in a sauna. Of course, if you have air-con, like most apartments in Taiwan do, the heat won’t really be a problem. But you still need to make sure your rabbit isn’t overheating!
Make sure he has plenty of water! Ice-packs can also be great for hot days. Put an ice-pack in your bun’s cage on hot days, and it will make his life a lot more comfortable.
Food and Cages:
Rabbits need a wide variety of food to remain healthy and happy.
You’ll need to buy:
- Pellets
- Fresh hay
- Water
- Vegetables
- Snacks
- Wood-based Litter
Thankfully, it’s easy to find these supplies in Taiwan. Rabbits need lots of hay, Timothy Hay is recommended.
Most major pet stores will sell the food you need. Hay is probably the most common. I buy a mixture of food for my rabbit, I’m not sure if it’s the best, but he likes it.
Here’s a picture:
Speaking of food, I recommend buying heavy ceramic bowls for water and pellets. Plastic ones can be flipped over, and they love flipping things over.
Bunnies need to drink a lot of water, and it’s easier for them to drink it out of a bowl than a water bottle.
Litter:
Rabbits can be litter training but you need to find proper litter unless you want your home to smell like a barn. You’ll want to look for wood or natural litter. Wood pellets are the best, shavings aren’t recommended because they can be dusty. Cat litter, at least the clumps, is not a good idea. Most pet stores sell some kind of natural litter.
Cages:
I recommend building your own cage with metal bars you can find in hardware stores. Each bar costs like 200 TWD and you can make a decent-sized cage with a few of them. Or you can buy those already-made dog cages.
Either way, there needs to be enough room for the bunny to lie down and move around, the more space the better. If you don’t have enough room for a cage in your apartment, maybe it’s best to postpone buying a bunny until you get a bigger place.
We had my brother bring a rabbit hutch from Canada (ordered on Amazon) over here, it works well, but it’s a little small.
Once the basics are taken care of, the real fun begins!
Rabbit Veterinarian in Taiwan:
Now you’re going to need to find a veterinarian who not only can check for basic health issues and administer vaccines but also neuter or spay.
Every pet rabbit should be neutered or spayed. You might think it’s unnecessary if you only have one. How can they reproduce?
That may be true, but rabbits have the tendency to spray pee on anything they deem valuable. And most of the time, this means they’ll spray on you or your stuff.
They can also get crazy-horny, which means they’ll try to hump anyone or anything in sight. Not to mention the aggressive issues like growling and biting!
Yes, rabbits can growl.
Few things are as gross as having all your lower legs covered in rabbit pee… and then molested.
These aren’t innocent little misty sprays either, it’s actually impressive how much pee can come out of a rabbit. It’s almost like a water balloon popping on the floor.
Male and female rabbits spray, and neutering/spaying them usually eliminates this problem.
Neutering or spaying is recommended because it gets rid of a lot of undesirable rabbit behaviors, which makes them much better pets.
For example, it makes them less stinky and easier to toilet train.
And it also reduces the risk of cancer!
Long story short, pet rabbits should be spayed or neutered.
Where Can I Neuter or Spay a Rabbit in Taiwan?
Finding a vet that can neuter or spay rabbits in Taiwan is pretty much impossible unless you can read Chinese.
There really is a lack of English information for these kinds of things in Taiwan.
Luckily for you, I found a vet that offers reasonable rates.
After we got him neutered, his behavior improved like crazy. It took him a couple of months to adapt, but afterward, he was much cleaner, less stinky, never sprays pee, and is (almost) totally litter trained.
My only regret is we didn’t neuter him sooner. You should neuter or spay bunnies as soon as they are old enough, otherwise you’ll be dealing with a bunch of pee and random poos everywhere.
Some charge up to 6,000 TWD ($200 USD) for the procedure.
We found one for 5,000 TWD ($170 USD)
Most vets speak English. If you use this particular vet, the first rabbit health check is free.
It’s the same vet we took CoCo to when we found her on the street.
(They have to check to see if the rabbit is healthy enough to handle the procedure.)
The process is quick and simple. But he’ll need to wear a cone of shame for a while.
How to Litter Train a Rabbit:
You can toilet train rabbits to use a litter box, and it’s much easier if they’re neutered or spayed. The amount of time it takes depends on the individual rabbit.
Some are stubborn, while others get the point immediately. Our bun took awhile to figure out what he’s supposed to do, and he still leaves the odd poo here and there.
The way I toilet trained our bun was to take note of where he usually pees on our floor (he’s free-roam most of the time) and then put a litter box in that spot.
Most bunnies will pee in the same spot, once they find one they like, usually corners. Then you have to put something that smells like the bunny in the litter box (some tissue with pee on it or some poos) and put it in that spot.
After a while, they should understand what they’re supposed to do. I recommend cat-size litter boxes, and use wood-pellets for litter.
Sometimes you’ll need more than one litter box.
Un-neutered rabbits will do these soft territorial poos that stinky like hell and are difficult to clean.
Free Roam or Cage?
Since rabbits are hyper animals and need a lot of running-around time, it’s recommended to let them free roam in your house. Ideally, there should be a carpeted area for them to run around on because the carpet gives them traction, otherwise, they slide all over the place on tiles.
Of course, this means you’ll have to hide your chew-able stuff. I had a few important cables fall victim to my bunny’s bites!
Keep cables out of reach or buy cable protectors. Just keep in mind, rabbits love your bed.
And when they love something they usually pee and poo all over it (lovely!) Rabbits are a lot more difficult to train than dogs or cats. They don’t really understand as much.
To get a rabbit to stop ruining your bed, you’ll have to keep repeating the same discipline until he gets it.
Just push him off the bed and say NO, eventually he’ll get the point. Or you’ll be dealing with a wet bed for the rest of your life.
Of course, not all rabbits will ruin your bed, but most can’t resist.
Funny Behaviors:
When a rabbit is happy, he’ll start zooming around the house. They also like to do “Binkies” which are random jumps and head shakes.
If you see your bun doing this, it means he or she is a happy bun.
Flopping:
When a rabbit is comfortable and sleepy, he’ll do a flop.
Which is an extremely dramatic way to fall asleep? Basically they fall on their side to sleep.
Sometimes it’s scary to see them sleeping like this because it looks like they’re dead. Especially when they have their eyes open!
Yes, bunnies sleep with their eyes open. But they’re actually way too comfortable.
Circling:
Rabbits sometimes run around you in circles and run between your legs. This can be annoying when you’re trying to walk.
But it basically means he likes you. Or it could mean he’s trying to court you!
Wrapping It Up:
So that’s the basics of taking care of a rabbit. Hopefully, now you know how to take care of a rabbit in Taiwan.
The main issue you’ll have with taking care of a rabbit in Taiwan is the heat. Get ice-packs or something to cool them down on hot summer days.
And make sure they have lots of water and food. Clean their cages often to avoid mold too.
Thanks for taking the time to read this article on how to take care of rabbits in Taiwan.
Hope you found it helpful.
If you have a question, leave it below.
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