Thinking About Getting Rabbits? Everything You Need to Know
Rabbits can make wonderful companions, bringing years of fun, laughter and affection to your home. Every rabbit has its own personality, and getting to know their individual quirks is one of the most rewarding parts of sharing your life with them.
If you're thinking about welcoming rabbits into your family, this guide is a great place to start. Whether you're wondering if rabbits make good pets, looking for advice before bringing rabbits home, or simply exploring whether they're the right fit for your lifestyle, we'll help you understand what sharing your life with rabbits involves and guide you through the key aspects of rabbit care.
Along the way, you'll find links to more detailed guides throughout the Nibbles Care Hub, helping you explore each topic in greater depth. By the end, you'll have a much clearer understanding of what rabbits need and whether they're the right pets for you.
Let's Get to Know Rabbits Before We Dive Into Their Care
Before we explore housing, diet, companionship and everything else rabbits need, it helps to understand a little about the animals themselves. Many of the recommendations you'll come across throughout this guide aren't simply a list of rules—they're based on understanding how rabbits have evolved, how they experience the world and the behaviours that come naturally to them.
By getting to know rabbits first, you'll find that the rest of their care starts to make much more sense. So, before we dive into the practical side of rabbit care, let's begin by getting to know these fascinating animals.
Rabbits Are Still Very Much Rabbits
Although domestic rabbits have shared our homes for generations, they haven't left their natural instincts behind. Today's rabbits may come in an incredible variety of breeds, colours and coat types, but they are all descendants of the European wild rabbit. While selective breeding has changed how rabbits look, it has had far less impact on the behaviours that make a rabbit a rabbit.
This is one of the most important things to understand before bringing rabbits into your home. Unlike dogs, which have been selectively bred over thousands of years for jobs such as herding, retrieving and companionship, rabbits have not been bred in the same way. Their natural instincts remain remarkably similar to those of their wild ancestors.
That's why domestic rabbits still enjoy digging, chewing, foraging and exploring their surroundings. They still seek the companionship of other rabbits, spend much of their day grazing, and instinctively hide signs of illness to avoid appearing vulnerable. These aren't behaviours we need to teach them—they're simply part of what it means to be a rabbit.
Domestic rabbits have also retained the daily activity patterns of their wild ancestors. Rather than being active throughout the day or sleeping all night like many people assume, rabbits are crepuscular, meaning they're naturally most active around dawn and dusk. It's perfectly normal to find rabbits racing around in the early morning, snoozing through much of the afternoon, then becoming lively again as evening approaches. Understanding this natural rhythm helps us appreciate why rabbits need enough space and enrichment to enjoy these active periods every day.
Understanding this makes rabbit care much easier to understand. Rather than asking rabbits to adapt to our expectations, good rabbit care is about creating an environment where they can express the natural behaviours that have always been part of who they are.
Rabbits Are Prey Animals
One of the biggest differences between rabbits and many of the companion animals we share our homes with is that rabbits are prey animals. While predators have evolved to hunt, rabbits have evolved to survive by staying alert to potential danger and avoiding anything that might make them vulnerable.
Even though our pet rabbits live safe, comfortable lives, these instincts remain an important part of how they experience the world. That's why many rabbits prefer to keep all four paws firmly on the ground rather than being picked up, why they may freeze when something unfamiliar happens, and why building trust often takes time and patience. Once a rabbit feels safe, you'll often see a very different side to their personality, becoming more confident, curious and willing to interact with the people around them.
Being a prey animal also explains why rabbits are so good at hiding signs of illness. In the wild, a rabbit showing obvious weakness would quickly become a target for predators, so rabbits instinctively mask pain and illness for as long as they can. This is one of the reasons rabbit guardians are encouraged to get to know what is normal for their own rabbits, making it easier to notice when something isn't quite right.
Understanding that rabbits see the world differently from dogs and cats helps explain many of their behaviours. Rather than expecting rabbits to respond in the same way as other pets, we can build trust by respecting their natural instincts and allowing them to feel safe in our company.
Rabbits Are Social Animals
Wild rabbits naturally live in social groups, and this instinct remains just as important for our pet rabbits today. While every rabbit has its own personality, rabbits are naturally social animals that thrive on the companionship of other rabbits. Sharing their lives with another compatible rabbit allows them to express behaviours that people simply can't replace.
Companion rabbits communicate with one another in subtle ways throughout the day. They groom each other, rest side by side, explore together and provide comfort and reassurance when faced with something unfamiliar. These everyday interactions are an important part of rabbit life and help contribute to their emotional wellbeing.
Of course, rabbits don't become friends simply because they're introduced to one another. Just like people, some rabbits become close companions more quickly than others, which is why choosing a compatible partner and introducing rabbits carefully is so important.
Understanding how naturally social rabbits are makes it much easier to appreciate why companionship is considered such an important part of rabbit welfare today.
Ready to learn more?
Explore our guides to Do Rabbits Have to Live in Pairs? and Understanding Rabbit Bonding to discover why companionship matters and how compatible rabbit friendships are formed.
Every Rabbit Has Its Own Personality
One of the lovely things about sharing your life with rabbits is discovering just how different their personalities can be. Rabbits are intelligent, curious animals that quickly learn routines, recognise familiar people and often develop amusing little habits that make each one unique.
Some rabbits are confident, outgoing and love investigating everything around them. Others are quieter, more cautious or prefer to observe what's happening from a comfortable distance. Some enjoy human attention, happily seeking out a gentle fuss or even offering the occasional lick, while others prefer to interact on their own terms.
Social media is full of adorable rabbits cuddling up to people, giving kisses and enjoying attention. These are wonderful moments, but they reflect the personality of an individual rabbit rather than what every rabbit will be like. Just like people, rabbits have their own likes, dislikes and preferences, and getting to know those differences is part of the joy of sharing your life with them.
If you're hoping for rabbits with particular personality traits, adopting from a reputable rescue can be a great option. Rescue teams spend time getting to know the rabbits in their care and can often help you find companions whose personalities are likely to suit you and your family.
What Does This Mean for Their Care?
Now that we've got to know rabbits a little better, let's look at what sharing your life with them involves. Understanding their natural behaviours helps us appreciate why things like suitable housing, companionship, a healthy diet and veterinary care are all important parts of keeping rabbits happy and healthy.
In England and Wales, the Animal Welfare Act 2006 recognises that animals have five basic welfare needs. These include a suitable environment, an appropriate diet, opportunities to express natural behaviours, appropriate companionship, and protection from pain, suffering, injury and disease.
These five needs provide a helpful framework for understanding rabbit care, and they're also how we've organised the advice in our Rabbit Care Hub. We'll explore each one below, with links to our more detailed guides so you can learn more about the areas that interest you.
Along the way, we'll also explore some of the wider issues affecting rabbit welfare, including why products commonly sold for rabbits don't always meet their needs.
Creating a Suitable Home for Your Rabbits
Rabbits can live happily indoors or outdoors, and for most people in the UK, choosing between the two is largely a matter of personal preference. Both options can provide wonderful homes, provided rabbits have enough space, suitable shelter and a safe environment.
For a pair of average-sized rabbits, the recommended minimum living space is 3m × 2m × 1m high. This must be one continuous area, including their shelter, that they can access 24 hours a day, day and night. Importantly, this is a minimum, not an ideal size to aim for. More space is always better, allowing rabbits greater freedom to run, jump, explore and enjoy their natural behaviours.
Want to understand why space matters so much? Explore our blog, How Much Space Do Rabbits Really Need?, which looks at the science behind rabbits' need for space and why providing more than the minimum can make such a difference to their physical and emotional wellbeing.
Choosing suitable housing can sometimes be surprisingly difficult. Unfortunately, many hutches and cages still sold and recommended by pet shops fall well below these minimum recommendations. Understanding what rabbits need before shopping for housing can help you make a more informed choice.
Ready to learn more?
Explore our Indoor Rabbit Housing and Outdoor Rabbit Housing guides to help you decide which option suits your home and how to create a safe, comfortable environment for your rabbits.
Wondering why unsuitable rabbit housing is still being sold? Our advocacy articles, The Pet Trade Problem and How the Law Fails Them, explore some of the wider issues affecting rabbit welfare.
A Diet Designed for Rabbits
Rabbits have a fascinating digestive system that has evolved to process large amounts of fibrous plant material. Unlike humans, rabbits rely on a specialised part of their digestive system called the caecum, where beneficial microorganisms break down and ferment fibre, producing nutrients that rabbits can absorb and use.
Rabbits also produce special soft droppings called caecotrophs, which they eat directly from their bottom. This might sound a little strange, but it's a perfectly normal and essential part of their digestion, allowing them to obtain nutrients that would otherwise be lost.
Hay is the foundation of a healthy rabbit diet and should make up around 80–90% of what they eat. Its long fibres help keep their digestive system moving, while the constant chewing helps wear down their continuously growing teeth. Fresh foods and a measured amount of suitable pellets provide additional nutrients, but hay should always be the main event.
Ready to learn more?
Explore What Can Rabbits Eat? – The Complete Rabbit Diet Guide to understand how to provide a balanced diet, and Rabbit Hay: Does Premium Matter? to discover what encourages rabbits to eat more hay and why the way you offer it can be just as important as the hay you choose.
Letting Rabbits Be Rabbits
Rabbits are naturally active, curious animals that enjoy exploring, digging, chewing, foraging and investigating their surroundings. They also love to run, jump, stretch out and occasionally race around in bursts of excitement known as zoomies!
Being able to express these natural behaviours is an important part of rabbit welfare. It provides physical exercise, mental stimulation and opportunities to make choices about how they spend their time. All of these contribute to keeping rabbits healthy, confident and emotionally fulfilled.
This is another reason why spacious housing is so important. Even with the best toys and enrichment, a small hutch simply cannot provide the freedom rabbits need to move around and enjoy these activities. A spacious, interesting environment gives rabbits opportunities to behave naturally throughout the day and night.
Ready to learn more?
Explore our Enrichment Explained: How to Keep Rabbits Happy, Healthy and Active to discover simple, practical ways to encourage natural behaviours and make your rabbits' environment more interesting and enjoyable.
Keeping Your Rabbits Healthy
Just like any other companion animal, rabbits need regular veterinary care to help them stay healthy. What may surprise you is that rabbits are generally classed as exotic animals in veterinary medicine, meaning not every vet has the same level of training or experience in treating them. Finding a rabbit-experienced vet is therefore an important part of preparing to welcome rabbits into your life.
Rabbits also aren't necessarily the inexpensive pets they're sometimes thought to be. Annual vaccinations, neutering and routine health checks all need to be considered, while treatment for illness or injury can become expensive, particularly when specialist care is needed. Pet insurance is well worth considering to help manage unexpected veterinary bills.
Good preventative care, including vaccinations and neutering, plays an important role in protecting rabbit health and wellbeing. And because rabbits instinctively hide signs of illness, recognising changes in their normal behaviour and seeking veterinary advice promptly is especially important.
Ready to learn more?
Explore our guides to Veterinary Care for Rabbits, Rabbit Vaccinations and Rabbit Neutering to learn more about keeping your rabbits healthy and planning for their veterinary needs.
Wondering why finding a rabbit-experienced vet can be difficult? Our advocacy article, The Veterinary Gap, explores some of the challenges surrounding access to appropriate veterinary care for rabbits.
A Few Things to Consider Before Getting Rabbits
Welcoming rabbits into your family can be a wonderful experience, but as with any companion animal, it's worth thinking about how they'll fit into your life, both now and in the years ahead.
Rabbits can live for 10–12 years or longer, so they're a long-term commitment. Their daily care involves feeding, cleaning, checking their health and spending time with them. You'll also need to consider who will care for them when you're away on holiday or unable to be at home.
Although rabbits can make wonderful family companions, they aren't really suitable as children's starter pets. As prey animals, many rabbits dislike being picked up or cuddled and may scratch or bite if they feel frightened or uncomfortable. Equally, rabbits are delicate animals that can easily be injured through accidental mishandling, particularly by young children. Children can absolutely enjoy getting to know rabbits and helping with their care, but interactions should always be supervised, and an adult must take responsibility for their wellbeing throughout their lives.
It's also worth considering the financial commitment. Creating a suitable indoor or outdoor enclosure can be expensive, and ongoing costs such as hay, fresh food, bedding, enrichment and veterinary care all add up. Rabbits aren't always the inexpensive pets they're sometimes portrayed to be.
Finally, think about how your circumstances might change over the coming years. Moving house, changing jobs or changes in family life are all normal parts of life, and it's worth considering how your rabbits will fit into those changes.
Taking a little time to think about these things now can help you decide whether rabbits are the right companions for you and your family.
Want to explore this further?
Our advocacy article, The Myth of 'Easy Pets', explores why rabbits and other small animals are so often portrayed as simple, inexpensive pets and how these misconceptions can affect their welfare.
Why Adopting Rabbits Is a Wonderful Choice
If you've decided that rabbits are the right companions for you, we'd love to encourage you to consider adopting from a reputable rabbit rescue rather than buying from a pet shop or breeder.
Rescues across the UK are caring for rabbits of all ages, breeds and personalities, all hoping to find a new home. There's a common misconception that rabbits end up in rescue because there's something wrong with them, but this simply isn't true. Rabbits come into rescue for all sorts of reasons, from changes in family circumstances to people discovering they can no longer provide the care their rabbits need. These rabbits have just as much love, personality and companionship to offer as any others.
Adopting also comes with some wonderful practical advantages. At a reputable rabbit rescue, rabbits will generally have been health checked, neutered and vaccinated within the previous 12 months, although you should always check when their next vaccinations are due. If you're looking for two rabbits, you can usually adopt an already bonded pair, avoiding the uncertainty of introducing unfamiliar rabbits yourself. Single rabbits are also available for people looking for a suitable companion for a rabbit they already have.
Another advantage is that rescue teams get to know the rabbits in their care. They can tell you about their individual personalities, preferences and behaviours, helping you find rabbits who are likely to suit your home and family. Many rescues also offer advice and support after adoption.
And adopting doesn't need to be complicated. Reputable rescues want to see their rabbits enjoying happy lives in suitable homes. If you can provide the housing, companionship, diet and care we've discussed throughout this guide, you're already well on your way to meeting their adoption requirements. The adoption process is there to help make sure the match is right for both you and the rabbits.
Perhaps best of all, when you adopt rabbits, you're helping more than just the ones you welcome into your home. Every successful adoption creates space and resources for a rescue to help other rabbits in need.
Ready to find your new companions?
Explore the rabbits available for adoption at Nibbles, or visit Save a Fluff's UK Rabbit Rescue Directory to find a rescue near you.
Wondering what makes a reputable rescue? Our advocacy article, When Rescue Falls Short, explores why good rescue practices matter and what to look for when choosing where to adopt.
Final Thoughts
Rabbits are fascinating, intelligent animals with wonderful personalities, and sharing your life with them can be an incredibly rewarding experience. We hope this guide has helped you understand a little more about who rabbits are, what they need and what caring for them involves.
Whether you've decided that rabbits would make wonderful companions for your family or realised they might not be the right fit for your lifestyle, taking the time to learn about their needs before making a decision is a positive step for rabbit welfare.
If you're ready to welcome rabbits into your life, we hope you'll consider giving rescue rabbits a loving home. And wherever you are in your journey, our Rabbit Care Hub is here to help you continue learning and give your rabbits the happiest, healthiest lives possible.
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