Dwarf rabbits : [electronic resource] how to take care of them and understand them / Monika Wegler ; with color photos by Monika Wegler and drawings by György Jankovics.

Translation of: Zwergkaninchen.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 60) and index.

Before buying a dwarf rabbit: Ten points to help you decide -- Happier alone or together? -- Male or female? -- Purebred dwarf or crossbred? -- Dwarf rabbits as presents for children -- What to look for when buying a rabbit -- Location of the cage -- HOW-TO: setting up the cage -- Proper accessories -- Outdoor pen -- Living with a dwarf rabbit: Getting the new arrival settled -- Making friends: children and rabbits -- Picking up and carrying your pet properly -- How do you housebreak a dwarf rabbit?-- Daily run indoors -- Play corner for an indoor rabbit -- Home on the terrace -- Exercise in the yard -- Outing in the country -- Rabbit on a leash? -- Vacation care -- HOW-TO: care -- Dwarf rabbits and other pets -- Getting used to other pets -- Getting acquainted with other rabbits -- Nutrition: What dwarf rabbits like to eat -- Staple food: hay -- Commercial feeds -- Greens and succulent foods -- Something to nibble -- Medicinal herbs -- Drinking water is important -- Ten rules for feeding -- If your dwarf rabbit gets sick: Keeping your pet healthy -- Initial symptoms -- First aid procedures -- Dwarf rabbit as a patient -- Having your pet put to sleep -- Breeding and reproduction: If you want your dwarf rabbit to raise a litter -- Breeding with purebred dwarfs -- Choosing the parent animals -- Heat -- Courtship and mating -- Pregnant doe -- Birth -- How often may the doe have young? -- HOW-TO: raising the young -- Dwarf breeds and color varieties: Development of the breeds -- Characteristics of a purebred dwarf -- What is a standard? -- White dwarf rabbits -- Colored dwarf rabbits -- Color varieties -- Varieties of markings -- New breeds awaiting official recognition -- Dwarf lop -- Understanding rabbits: Rabbit is not a hare -- From wild rabbit to household pet -- Innate characteristics of dwarf rabbits -- How wild rabbits live together -- Scented calling cards -- How wild rabbits protect themselves -- Language of sounds -- HOW-TO: Body language -- Sensory capacities -- Remarkable abilities -- Interesting facts about rabbits' habits.

An expert answers all your questions about dwarf rabbits: purchasing, housing, feeding, health maintenance, breeding, and much more. Up-to-date and informative, yet clear enough for younger pet owners.