how much does owning a rabbit cost

There are many people out there who consider rabbits “starter pets.”

While this may make most bunny parents cringe, it’s understandable to think that if you haven’t researched the breakdown of how much it actually costs to own one.

Aside from love and care, rabbits need things – whether it’s food, shelter, or toys.

And they may need services like medical care or nail trimmings.

I’ll break down what some of the costs related to rabbits are.

Keep in mind, with a lot of these items, you may find bargains of Facebook Marketplace or you may splurge on pricier items. So this isn’t going to be an end all, be all number.

Consider this a guide if you’re thinking about getting a bunny.

More experienced rabbit owners may find this as a resource for pampering your pet or finding money saving opportunities.

Food

Rabbits need three categories of food:

Hay
Pellets
Veggies
Treats

Hay

Rabbits are supposed to eat a bundle of hay about the size of their body each day.

Hay helps wear down their teeth and keeps their digestive system on track.

The cheaper option

Technically, adult rabbits only need Timothy hay.

Local stores and farmers sell Timothy hay by the bale pretty cheaply.

I can usually get a giant bale of hay for less than $10, and that can last my Lionhead about 3-6 months depending on how hungry he is from month to month.

WARNING: If you go this route, just make sure your hay doesn’t come from a state with known cases of RV2. (SPELLING) This disease can be transferred through hay and is very deadly to rabbits.

The pricier options

Depending on where you live buying Timothy hay online or in a pet store may be your only choice.

This can get very expensive, but some people like the smaller shipments, especially if you don’t have space to store an entire bale.

Some bags of hay in the store or online can be around $8 for a small bag. I try to get these when they’re on sale for around $5.

I only buy these types of bags in Orchard Grass and Oat hay as a “treat” for Baby. Only using 2-3 handfuls a day makes each bag last about 1-2 months.

$20 (Timothy hay) + $60 (Special treat hay) = $80

My approximate hay total per year is $80.

Pellets

This one, I barely remember what I get. Usually I will just go to Walmart and get a giant bag for cheap.

Lately though, I’ve become more cautious about how many pellets I feed Baby each day. Pellets really discourage Baby from eating all the hay he needs to stay healthy. We even have to keep the tub we keep the pellets in hidden or else he will beg for them. At one point he had even tricked my husband and I into each giving him full portions of pellets each day (like a sneaky child).

The supply I have now will likely last a year, since he only gets a small handful from me each morning.

Some rabbits are very picky about which pellets they enjoy. Some rabbit owners only trust certain brands or don’t have the space to store bulk buys.

Some options I know of:

Manna Pro: About $10 for 25 lbs. (This is what I would usually get from Walmart)
Oxbow: About $19 for 10 lbs.
Small Pet Select: About $20 for 5 lbs.

I’ve also tried the smaller package of Manna Pro Rabbit Feed when I lived in a smaller apartment with less storage. It wasn’t bad, and Baby seemed to like it because the pellets were longer.

My approximate pellet total per year is $10.

Veggies

We typically restock on veggies every other week, and meal prep the food into glass containers. Each night, Baby asks for his veggie dish by standing near the fridge!

We try to give him a variety of greens and vegetables to keep him interested. But his favorite is definitely parsley!

$4.39 (Romaine Lettuce) + $1.29 (Parsley) + $3 (Carrots) + $2 (Celery)= $10.68 every other week

My approximate veggie total every other week is $10.68. Per year it is about $256.32.

Treats

Over the years, we’ve unknowingly bought some very unhealthy treats. But we’re trying to shift Baby’s treats over to more healthy items that promote good gut health and more hay eating.

We discovered these timothy hay cubes when we were trying to get Baby to eat more hay. Because they come in a “treat bag” and can easily be carried off to a corner, Baby barely even notices it’s not an unhealthy treat – but just regular old compressed hay. The only downside to this is that when he really gets into eating it, the crumbling hay makes a mess. So more vacuuming is required. I’ve only bought one bag so far, but it’s lasted about three months. There’s still a lot more in the bag, so I’m thinking that’s two buys a year (about $5 each).

We also give Baby papaya treats. Our vet suggested it would help prevent GI Stasis by breaking down hair in Baby’s stomach. They come in long strips, but I cut them up into smaller pieces. He gets about a pinky nail size piece each day. I’m guessing each bag will last us about four months each, so I’m thinking we’ll end up buying 2-3 bags a year (at about $6 each).

$10 (Timothy Hay Cubes) + $18 (Papaya Treats)= $28

My approximate treat total per year is $28.

Total for Food

$80 (Hay) + $10 (Pellets) + $256.32 (Veggies) +$28 (Treats) = $374.32

My approximate food total per year is $374.32.

Shelter

This is the category that you can either go really cheap or really fancy.

Look on Pinterest and you’ll see so many deluxe rabbit rooms with giant bunny castle setups and coordinating colors. There’s not really a limit to how bougie you can make your rabbit enclosure.

I’ll try my best to estimate what my current set-up costed, since I consider Baby’s area to be somewhere in the middle. It’s pretty simple, but does spoil him a bit.

I will not give a cheapo option, because I don’t support only caging bunnies with no free roam time.

What my setup costs

Things have changed over the years as I’ve learned what Baby likes and what he makes it his mission to eat versus enjoy. Some things have gotten their wear and been thrown out.

But here’s what’s in Baby’s pen now:

Rug: I keep a rug under Baby’s area in case he accidentally misses the litter box. I’ve also lived in apartments with only hardwood floors, which he treats like lava. I think I paid about $25 for it five years ago.
X-Pen: I got a pet playpen off of Amazon for about $45 (on sale). I’ve never had a problem with it. The pen is big enough for me to not feel bad leaving him in there overnight or when I’m not home.
Water Bowls: I don’t want to get into the whole bowl v. bottle debate, because we already looked at the research. Right now, we have a two bowls – one in his pen and one just in the living room for when he’s roaming. I don’t remember what I paid, but it couldn’t have been more than $5 each on sale.
Bed: Many rabbit owners have the famous Ikea bed, but I got the canopy bed at a tag sale for $5.
Litter boxes: Like the water bowls, we have two – one in the pen and one in the living room. One is just the bottom of a carrier that I got at a tag sale (likely also really cheap, but it’s great because the sides are so high). I got the other litter box at Walmart for under $10.
Castle: This was my one big splurge. Before, we had a secondhand cat condo for him to snuggle in (soooo cute). But then we realized he was secretly eating the cardboard lining inside. A bunny castle was the safest alternative we could think of, since the wood is safe for rabbits. Small Pet Select has since created a simpler version of their bunny castle, which seems more portable and better for apartments.

That’s the basics.

I also have random seasonal decor that I’ve bought from the Dollar Tree or random after-Easter sales on Michael’s and Jo-Ann Fabrics. I won’t include these in the total because these are more for my personal enjoyment. Baby definitely does not care about the ✨aesthetic✨ of his space.

$25 (Rug) + $45 (X-Pen) + $10 (Bowls) + $5 (Bed) + $15 (Litter Boxes) + $70 (Castle) = $170

My approximate habitat total is $170. This does not account for items replaced over the years. And some of these prices are estimates or rounded up.

Medical Care

Medical costs for rabbits can be astronomical. You have to take them to a special exotics veterinarian, who has expertise in rabbits.

Over five years, Baby has been through a lot. Here are some medical costs to consider:

Neuter
Yearly routine visits
Sprained leg
GI Stasis
This random time I looked on the internet and convinced myself he had a horrible disease when it was nothing.

I’d guess all of these things totaled up to about $10,000.

Luckily, I’ve always had an emergency savings account set aside for Baby and regular emergency money. So I was never unable to pay for care.

The sad things about medical care costs is that sometimes people are unable to spend thousands of dollars at a moment’s notice. From stories I’ve read on rabbit Facebook groups, some owners opt for health insurance through Nationwide while others have to stomach $15,000 in bills from ONE medical emergency. Some have even had to put their rabbits down or let them pass away at home because they could not afford care.

My approximate medical care total is $10,000.

One hospital trip left Baby with a shaved leg!

Extra spending

There are some things that are not necessarily necessities when it comes down to it. Depending on your circumstances and your knowledge of your rabbits preferences, you may not spend as much money on some of the following categories.

But you should definitely consider these things when considering just how expensive a rabbit can be.

Bunny Proofing: Each house/apartment requires something different, and each bunny’s destructive habits are different. For Baby, we’ve bought extra rugs as a precaution to protect the existing carpet. We’ve gotten free white cube stacking grids off of Facebook groups that we’ve used to block areas off. I’ve bought special tubing for cords that have to be in the open. This accumulates over the years and some things have had to be replaced or reinforced. I can guess I’ve spent around $200 over the years rabbit proofing various living spaces.
Toys: Technically a rabbit doesn’t need toys to live. But if you’re going to own a rabbit and not give it a SINGLE toy, you are a total monster. I’d say I’ve spent about another $150 on random toys (edible and plastic) since getting Baby.
Random Decorations and Photo Props: It’s difficult to guess what I’ve spent on decorations. Over several years, I’ve scoured tag sales, flea markets, clearance racks, and dollar stores. A random guess would be another $150?
Bunny Presents: Yes, I’m one of the rabbit owners who will buy her bunny Christmas presents and Gotcha Day presents. I’ve even made a bunny veggie “cake” and sang the Happy Birthday song to Baby. Over five years, I’d guess I’ve spent another $200 on these random things.
Failed Attempts: There have also been a bunch of things that Baby has not particularly enjoyed that I’ve “wasted” money on. If he doesn’t eat a whole treat OR I find out later it is unhealthy for him OR if he doesn’t even look at a new toy, it’s a fail for me. I’d say I’ve spent about $100 on random things that I’ve had to toss, donate, or resell.
Nail cutting and grooming: Some people pay for these services at local clinics or fundraisers. I just do them myself at home, so my cost is at least fixed. A HairBuster comb cost around $20, and nail clippers were probably a few dollars.

My approximate misc. spending total over five years is $823.

Conclusion

$1871.60 (Food over 5 years) + $170 (Shelter) + $10,000 (Medical Care) + $823 (Extra Spending) = $12864.60

The approximate cost of owning Baby over five years is $12864.60.

That is an absolutely mind blowing number.

I have to remind myself that over five years, it’s easy to spend that much – especially since a lot of stimulus checks and tax returns went towards Baby’s care. And any other pet would likely cost something similar if not higher.

I love Baby, and if I had the money, I’d likely spend even more on him. In all honesty, I likely have spent more than that with random purchases I may have forgotten about. I’d give him the best bunny dream life I possibly could, with all the yummy treats and all the wooden tunnels and hidey-holes.

Every rabbit and rabbit parent is different. You may spend more money on your rabbit. You may spend less money on your rabbit.

Either way, it’s important for new owners to be aware that all pets cost money.

There’s no “I actually love my rabbit” spending threshold, but you should want to give your bunny a happy and safe life. Care goes beyond love and attention (which they also need).

Pet bunnies need owners who go into the process well researched and with the practical means to support them.