Real rabbits

Thistledown Warren is a game about breeding, and its breeding belongs to its world. In ours, rescues are full of rabbits waiting for homes, and adopting one is the kind way to bring a rabbit home.

The care the game teaches is real care, though, and it's worth knowing if you share your home with a rabbit.

What the game gets right

• Hay first. In the game the hay rack is the first chore on Gran's list. Real rabbits need unlimited good hay or grass: it's most of their diet and keeps their teeth and gut working.
• Fresh water, every day. A bowl is easier to drink from than a bottle.
• Greens, not just carrots. Leafy greens daily. Carrots and fruit are treats.
• Company. Rabbits are social. In the game a rabbit on its own gets lonely, and real rabbits do too: most are happiest with a neutered rabbit friend.
• Room, and a clean home. Space to run, hop and stand up tall, somewhere to hide, and a clean litter area.
• Gentle handling. The game's shy rabbits come to you if you hold still. Real rabbits are prey animals: let them come to you, and don't scoop them up by surprise.
• The vet. In the game a sick rabbit needs the vet. A real rabbit that stops eating or pooing needs a vet that day: gut stasis is an emergency.

Where to find help and rabbits to adopt

• House Rabbit Society (United States): care guides and a list of rescues.
• Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund (United Kingdom): care, housing and finding a rabbit-savvy vet.
• Your local animal shelter or rabbit rescue. Many have rabbits already neutered, vaccinated and bonded in pairs.

This page is general information, not veterinary advice. Ask a rabbit-savvy vet about your own rabbits.