Mara Ochoa and her son made the generous move of adopting a rabbit. They tell us what it’s like looking after their rescue rabbit, Sally, who is now living in the lap of luxury.
Sally, a little black and white rabbit was adopted by Mara and her son in June last year. Sally is actually a mum, given over to RSPCA shelters with a litter of baby bunnies.
Sally and her son made the decision to get a rabbit due to their suitable living arrangements.
“We live in a pet friendly unit, Sally’s not noisy, so she won’t annoy our neighbours, she was the type of pet that would suit our household,” Mara said.
On the scale of pet adoption rabbits are relatively inexpensive to keep. Mara says all you need is a litter tray, lining for the tray and a hutch.
“Rabbits eat a lot of hay, however, if I have the time I like to go and pick long grass from the side of the road for our rabbit. It’s free and it’s better for rabbits’ digestive systems, it’s the healthier option,” she said.
Before long Mara and her son considered Sally a part of the family.
“Sally’s very cheeky! She’s very curious, when we have guests over for dinner she might try and nibble at the soles of their shoes, and when she wants food she will tip her water bowl over.”
Rabbits make great pets because of their ability to be toilet trained as well as their characteristics, they are social animals and many like cuddling up to people. Rabbits can be kept in small spaces as long as they can explore outside of their hutch a few times per day.
Many un-desexed rabbits are dumped each year because of their quick breeding patterns that people don’t know how to manage. If you are keeping a pet rabbit it is important to de-sex your rabbit, as well as vaccinate your pet each year against deadly Calicivirus.
- RSPCA have a number of rabbits that need homes at the shelter at the moment, and they only cost $30 to adopt. For more information: https://www.rspcansw.org.au/adopt