How Do I Adopt a Rabbit?
Adopt through a rabbit rescue or a shelter rather than buying. Most rescues require an application, a conversation about your setup, and sometimes a home check. Expect a fee of $25 to $150, which usually covers spay or neuter and vaccination, and expect the process to take one to three weeks.
Why adopt rather than buy
Rabbits are the third most surrendered companion animal in the United States, and in the largest published study of shelter rabbits, 77 percent arrived as owner surrenders (Cook and McCobb, 2012). There is no shortage. Every rabbit you might buy has a counterpart already waiting.
An adopted rabbit also arrives spayed or neutered, usually vaccinated, and with someone who knows its temperament. A rabbit from a pet store arrives intact, often too young, and frequently mis-sexed, which is how people end up with an unplanned litter.
California pet stores may not sell rabbits at all. Since 2021 a store may only lend space to a shelter or rescue, which handles the adoption and keeps the fee. A store selling rabbits in California is breaking the law.
What the process looks like
An application. Housing, other animals, experience, and how the rabbit will live. Answer honestly. A rescue that knows your dog has a high prey drive can match you correctly. A rescue that finds out afterward cannot.
A conversation. Usually a phone call. This is the rescue working out what fits, and it is also your chance to ask questions.
Sometimes a home check. Often a video walkthrough. It is about safety, not tidiness.
A meeting. Many rescues let you spend time with several rabbits. Take it. Rabbits have strong preferences about people and they show them.
The fee. Typically $25 to $150, well below the cost of the spay or neuter alone.
Choosing well
Consider a bonded pair. Two rabbits are roughly 1.8 times the cost of one and noticeably less work, because they keep each other company through the hours you are not there. Adopt a pair already bonded rather than bonding two yourself.
Consider an adult. Baby rabbits are appealing and their adult personality is unknowable. An adult rabbit's temperament is already visible, and adults are harder to place, which means the rescue will help you succeed.
Consider a special needs rabbit. Head tilt, splay leg, blindness, a missing limb. Many need less than people expect and they wait the longest.
Do not choose on color. Choose on the rabbit that approaches you.
Before the rabbit comes home
Rabbit-proof one room. Cover exposed cable, block gaps behind appliances, move houseplants. Set up a pen the rabbit can leave, a litter box, hay, two hides with two exits each, and something to dig in. Find your exotics vet, and ask the rescue what the rabbit is currently eating so you can match it.
The first week
Expect to be ignored. A new rabbit hides, eats at night, and wants nothing to do with you. That is normal and it is not rejection.
Sit on the floor and read aloud. Do not chase, do not pick up, do not force interaction. Let the rabbit come to you, which may take days or weeks. The moment it flops over sideways in your presence is the moment it has decided you are safe.
If it is not working
Call the rescue. A good rescue takes the rabbit back at any point in its life, and most problems in the first month are fixable with advice rather than a return.
Common questions
- How much does it cost to adopt a rabbit?
- Usually $25 to $150, typically including spay or neuter and often vaccination.
- How long does adoption take?
- One to three weeks at most rescues. Shelters are sometimes same day.
- Can I adopt if I rent?
- Often yes, and many rescues ask for written confirmation your lease permits it. Rabbits are permitted in a good many buildings that prohibit dogs.
- Should I adopt one rabbit or two?
- Two, bonded, if you can. Better for the rabbits and easier for you.
- Can I meet the rabbit first?
- Almost always, and you should.
- What if the rescue says no?
- Ask why. It is usually a fixable setup issue rather than a judgment about you.