A rabbit that is well looked-after can expect to live for anywhere between eight and twelve years, although some do go on for significantly longer. According to Guinness World Records, the world's oldest rabbit was eighteen when they passed away!
Rabbits, just like other domesticated animals, have an average lifespan which can help an owner keep their bunny in optimum health in every stage of life. Unlike their wild relatives, who live for an average of one to two years, domesticated rabbits can live between eight to 12 years.
There are at least 60 different rabbit breeds with an average lifespan of seven to 10 years. The oldest rabbit ever recorded lived to 18 years and ten months. Rabbits in the wild can live anywhere from one to nine years of age due to predators, habitat loss, and being hit by cars.
These findings are consistent with those in previous studies [11,13], suggesting that the life span of pet rabbits is typically 9–12 years with a maximum life span of 14 or 15 years.
Rabbits generally live for 5 to 8 years depending on their environment and breed, but they can live for as long as 12 years. If you decide to purchase a rabbit, make sure you are prepared to care for them that long.
Life expectancy for a house rabbit is between 8-14 years. But when do rabbits become seniors? There is not an exact age when it happens. However, sometime between the ages of 5-8 a rabbit becomes a senior.
You might think that your rabbit will remain healthy and active for its entire life. Over time, however, your rabbit will start to slow down and sleep more. This is just one symptom of old age.
Slowing down a little with old age is normal, and many older rabbits have some form of mobility issues. If your rabbits seem stiff or have trouble moving around their enclosure, talk to your vet, as there may be treatments that can help.
Are your rabbit's hormones affecting their mood? Male rabbits can get frustrated and grumpy, high levels of testosterone can make them less tolerant to lots of situations. They may be defending their territory against what they perceive as a threat or trying to spray urine to mark their territory.
At what age are rabbits considered elderly? With an average life expectancy of around 10-12 years, rabbits are generally considered elderly when they reach 6-8 years old. Larger rabbits that have a shorter lifespan may even start to show signs of a senior rabbit as early as 4 years old.
At a minimum, you would want the baby bunny to be 8 weeks of age AND well weaned from its mother (meaning it is eating and drinking completely on its own without loose stool or diarrhea). IDEALLY, find a bunny at least 12 weeks (3 months) old and weaned.
After the first year, each rabbit year is equal to 6 human years. So by the age of 10 years a rabbit is 75 in human age. To help you find your bunny's age in human years, we've created a simple rabbit age calculator as well as a chart that you can save for future references.
It can be helpful to think of one year in a rabbit's life as ten years in a human's life, so an 8 year old rabbit could be thought of as approximately 80 years old in human terms.
Rabbits are crepuscular animals. This means they are most active during dawn and dusk and often have naps, rather than one long sleep. Pet rabbits typically sleep for around eight hours a day so need a cosy sleeping area to cuddle up in!
Most of the time I consider rabbits to be elderly when they reach about 6 years old, but many rabbits won't show signs of aging until they are 8+ years. In general, larger rabbits will show signs of age earlier than smaller rabbits, but it always varies based on the individual rabbit.
And it's no surprise, as rabbits are highly intelligent, inquisitive animals. Owning rabbits can be extremely rewarding.
Wild Rabbits have greyish-brown fur with a characteristic white flash on the underside of their tail. Adult rabbits weigh around 1.2 to 2 kilograms. They can be 30-40 cm long, making them smaller than most domestic rabbits. They can live for up to 9 years, but in the wild it may be as short as one year.
Most rabbits love being pet. Many will calmly sit with you for long periods of time while you give them a nice massage. Petting is a great way to calm an anxious rabbit down and to bond with your pet rabbit.
It is recommended that you give your remaining rabbit at least an hour with its partners body. This may seem very morbid to us but it really is the best thing for your rabbit. Stay with your rabbit and monitor its behaviour; it will find your presence comforting and will understand that you are grieving too.
The domestic rabbit, also known as the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), are prone to a multitude of infections that may cause them to die suddenly. Pathogens that may cause mortality in rabbits include those which are bacterial, viral, and protozoan.
It is clear from these results that teeth problems and digestive upsets are the two major killers of rabbits that die prematurely.