My rabbit is in a dark garage. Should I leave a light on or off?

He may be bored with the items in his cage. Keep a variety of toys and chew treats for him and rotate their usage to prevent boredom. You can also let him out of his cage for play and exercise each day. Supervision is required so he doesn't chew cords or wires. Rabbits do sleep and it would be good to provide a dark area or turn the lights off at night so he can rest.

Baby carrots are find as a treat for your rabbit but shouldn't be given in large amounts each day, as their primary source of nutrition should be hay. Natural lighting is best for your rabbit, so I wouldn't purposely put him in a darkened room.

Thanks for reaching out about Tofu. Yes, you can provide UV light for your rabbit through the use of a reptile UVB light. This is a common way for rabbits to get UVB light. Sunlight is the most effective way to provide UVB light, but if you are unable to get Tofu outside, artificial light is a good alternative. UVB bulbs must be changed every 4-6 months, whether the bulb burns out or not. When choosing a UVB bulb, you want to have some information available. First will be how you are going to suspend it over her - you will need to ensure that she is unable to contact the bulb directly as she could get burned, and that the bulb is at least 8-10 inches away from her so she doesn't get burned as well. Once you know how you will suspend the light, then you will measure the distance from the light to her level - ideally this would be no more than 18-24 inches away. Most UVB bulbs can't penetrate a distance that is further away than this. Once you have the distance measured, then you can go to a pet store and ask them for UVB bulbs that will be appropriate for the distance that you have. Ideally Tofu would have 15-20 minutes of exposure to UVB light per day - if you provide her with longer exposure, that is okay as well. I hope this helps to answer your question, and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi, it is best to keep rabbits inside at night in very hot or very cold weather. They can go outside in nice weather and back inside at night. Predators love rabbits, since they have no way to fight back if another animal wants to eat them. Also, outside they are prone to get fleas, ticks, and other external parasites on their bodies. They can also get internal parasites from eating brush and dirt. If you live where dogs and cats go, I would only allow your rabbit outside in a very secure cage. Make sure it is large enough for the rabbit to get exercise, has shelter, and food and water available. It also should go underground a half a foot so predators cannot dig under the fencing. So in light of the set up it takes to safely keep a rabbit outside, it is better to keep them indoor where they are safe. Rabbits can be leash walked with a small harness for outdoor activity. Good luck, I hope this helps!

Hello, Good question! Yes, it would be good for her to get either direct sunlight OR you can use a UVB light bulb over her cage. If you take her outside for sunlight I would do it in small increments at the coolest part of the day - example, 15 minutes 2 to 3 times per day. That should be sufficient.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Rabbits are able to see in the dark, but not as well as they see in the light. They do not have a tapetum, which is the part of the eye that focuses light in the dark, so they are not able to see in the dark as well as dogs or cats, but they do have some vision. I hope this helps and am happy to answer any other questions you may have!

Glad to hear you have added a bunny to your family! They are definitely very rewarding pets to have and certainly have some of their own individual challenges. In terms of just general information, you'll want to make sure Nznz is getting an appropriate diet of leafy greens, timothy hay, occasional small amounts of alfalfa, and other fruits / vegetables. Rabbits have teeth that will continually grow throughout their life so they should ideally have something to chew on to keep them from growing inappropriately. Sometimes, they will require manual teeth trimming if they do not take care of this themselves. As far as when to keep him in and out of the cage, that will ultimately be a personal preference. If you intend to litterpan train him, I would wait until he is regularly using the litter box before allowing him to roam freely, just so he makes claim to a certain area. Rabbits are also very sensitive to stress, noise, and heat so make sure that she is in a cool, calm environment. Hope this helps!