Thinking of Getting a Rabbit? What Every New Owner Should Know

Rabbits look like the perfect low-effort pet: small, quiet, cheap to buy. The reality is closer to the opposite, and it's the gap between that image and the truth that fills UK rescue centres every year. This is the honest brief I wish more people read before bringing one home.

Rabbits are not the easy 'starter pet' they're sold as

A rabbit can share your home for well over a decade, needs a companion of its own kind, requires more floor space than most people expect, eats a specialist diet, and needs regular veterinary care. None of that is a reason to avoid rabbits. They are clever, characterful, litter-trainable and genuinely rewarding animals. It's a reason to go in with your eyes open, because the pet shop hutch on the shelf tells you almost nothing about what a rabbit actually needs.

The most common mistake is treating a rabbit as a child's pet that lives in a cage and gets fed a bowl of muesli. Almost every part of that picture is wrong, and unpicking it is what the rest of this guide does.

Why so many rabbits end up in rescue

This matters because it shows exactly where new owners get caught out. Rabbits are commonly cited as the third most surrendered pet to animal shelters after cats and dogs. When researchers looked at *why*, the pattern was clear and it wasn't about the rabbits misbehaving.

A UK study of rabbits relinquished to two rehoming centres (Ellis, McCormick & Tinarwo, 2017) found the most common reasons were unplanned litters and 'too many rabbits', and housing problems — the same top reasons an earlier North American study found. Most surrendered rabbits were adults, and most were unneutered. In other words, people bought two rabbits that bred, or discovered the animal needed far more space and care than they'd planned for, and couldn't cope.

Every one of those reasons is avoidable with a bit of homework before you get a rabbit. That's the whole point of reading this first.

The five things you're really committing to

1. Eight to twelve years of care

A well-cared-for pet rabbit typically lives 8 to 12 years, and some live longer. That's a similar commitment to a dog. Think honestly about where you'll be in ten years — moving, studying, changing jobs, growing a family — because your rabbit will still need daily care through all of it.

2. A rabbit needs a rabbit friend

Rabbits are highly social animals that live in colonies in the wild. Kept alone, they can become lonely, bored and depressed. Despite this, the RSPCA reported that 42% of UK pet rabbits lived alone in 2024. The single kindest decision most owners can make is to keep rabbits in pairs.

The ideal pairing is a neutered male and a neutered female — neutering reduces fighting in both sexes and, obviously, prevents the unplanned litters that flood rescues. A female rabbit can get pregnant from around four months old and produce up to ten kits per litter, so two un-neutered rabbits of opposite sex is how one pet becomes twelve.

A common myth is that a rabbit can live with a guinea pig for company. Don't. They have different diets and body language, a rabbit can injure a guinea pig, and neither gets the same-species companionship it actually needs. Rabbits need rabbits.

If you already have a single rabbit, bonding it with a neutered partner is very possible — see our guide to small-pet enrichment and companionship for keeping a bonded pair happy.

3. Far more space than a hutch

This is where good intentions most often fall short. The traditional pet-shop hutch is a shelter, not a home. The Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund (RWAF) recommends that two average-sized rabbits have a single enclosed area of at least 3m x 2m and 1m high, available at all times — not just for a supervised hour in the afternoon.

The 3-metre length matters specifically: it lets a rabbit *run*, not just take a couple of hops, and stand up on its back legs. Rabbits confined to a small cage are more likely to develop skeletal problems, sore feet and obesity. A hutch bolted to a run they can only reach part of the day does not meet the standard.

| Setup | Space provided | Meets RWAF minimum? | |---|---|---| | Classic 4ft pet-shop hutch | ~1.2m x 0.6m | No — barely bigger than the rabbit | | Hutch + run opened a few hours a day | Varies, part-time only | No — space must be permanent | | 3m x 2m x 1m enclosure or connected shed/run, 24/7 | 6m² floor, permanently accessible | Yes | | A rabbit-proofed room or free-roam indoor space | Whole room | Yes, often exceeds it |

Many UK owners now keep rabbits indoors, free-roaming a rabbit-proofed space much like a cat. Whether indoors or out is a genuine decision with trade-offs — our rabbit hutch vs indoor housing comparison walks through both, and the hutch size and welfare guide covers outdoor setups in detail.

4. A diet that's mostly hay

Forget the bowl of colourful muesli. A healthy rabbit diet is roughly:

• 85% hay and fresh grass — this is the foundation, not a bedding afterthought
• 10% leafy greens and herbs — a large handful daily, ideally five or six different types
• 5% pellets — a small measured amount, following the manufacturer's guide

Rabbits should have a bundle of good-quality hay every day as big as they are. Constant chewing wears down teeth that never stop growing (a rabbit's front teeth grow around 3mm a week), so unlimited hay isn't optional — it prevents painful dental disease. Avoid muesli-style mixes, lawnmower clippings, and too much fruit or root veg. Carrots are a treat, not a staple, whatever the cartoons taught us.

5. Real veterinary costs

Rabbits need vaccinating twice a year in the UK against myxomatosis and rabbit viral haemorrhagic disease (RVHD1 and RVHD2, including a highly virulent strain), following RWAF advice. They also benefit hugely from neutering, need a rabbit-savvy ('exotics') vet, and can develop dental and gut problems that need prompt treatment. Not every high-street vet is confident with rabbits, so find one before you need one.

What a rabbit actually costs

The purchase price is the cheapest part. The PDSA estimates the minimum cost of properly caring for a pair of rabbits — and remember, you should have a pair — as follows:

| | Indoor pair | Outdoor pair | |---|---|---| | Initial setup | ~£980 | ~£922 | | Monthly (basic needs) | ~£80 | ~£84 | | Lifetime minimum | £7,700–£10,600 | ~£8,000–£11,000 |

Those are *minimum* figures for basic welfare. They don't include the price of the rabbits themselves, replacing worn-out equipment, ongoing vaccinations beyond the first set, insurance, or the vet bills that come with a decade-long life. Pet insurance for rabbits exists and is worth pricing up, because a single dental or gut emergency can run into hundreds of pounds.

Rabbits and children: an honest word

Rabbits are often bought as children's pets, and this is behind a lot of surrenders. Rabbits are prey animals: most dislike being picked up and held, and can kick, scratch or become stressed when handled the way a young child naturally wants to. They're best appreciated at ground level, on the rabbit's terms.

They can be wonderful family pets — but as a family commitment with an adult firmly responsible for daily care, feeding, cleaning and vet visits, not as a toy handed to a six-year-old. Be realistic about who will still be doing the work in year eight.

Where to get a rabbit

Given how many rabbits are already sitting in UK rescues through no fault of their own, adopting is the strong first choice. Rescues like the RSPCA, Blue Cross and Woodgreen home rabbits already neutered, vaccinated and health-checked, and can often bond a single rabbit you already have with a compatible partner. You also get honest advice about each animal's temperament. If you do buy, avoid impulse purchases and never buy an unsexed pair, which is how the litters start.

Before-you-get-a-rabbit checklist

If you can tick all of these, you're ready. If you can't, wait.

• [ ] I can commit for 8–12 years
• [ ] I'm getting two rabbits (or bonding a companion for my existing one), both to be neutered
• [ ] I have a permanent space of at least 3m x 2m x 1m for the pair, accessible day and night
• [ ] I understand the diet is mostly hay, provided in unlimited quantity every day
• [ ] I've found a rabbit-friendly vet and budgeted for twice-yearly vaccinations and neutering
• [ ] I've realistically budgeted thousands of pounds across their lifetime
• [ ] The daily care is an adult's responsibility, not solely a child's
• [ ] I've considered adopting from a UK rescue

Get a rabbit for the right reasons and set it up properly, and you'll have a decade of one of the most underrated companion animals there is. New to pet ownership more broadly? Our getting a pet hub covers the basics, and once your rabbit is home, litter training is easier than most people expect.

Sources

• RSPCA – Rabbits
• RSPCA – Rabbit diet
• RWAF – Minimum space requirements for pet rabbits
• RWAF – Rabbit vaccinations guide
• PDSA – The cost of owning rabbits
• PDSA – Looking after your rabbits
• Woodgreen – Rabbit advice
• Blue Cross – Rabbit advice