How to stop an impulsive pet purchaser?

[rebelrachel13]

My little sister (age 14) decided today that she was going to make a desperate plea to my mother for her to have a rabbit. She did this by pulling out our old, rotting plastic rabbit hutch and attempting to clean it, and placing a picture of our old bunny and a note that said "I miss her. Can I get a bunny for Easter, please mama?"

My mom, having the same impulsive personality, decided that it would be a GREAT idea.

.....

I'm kind of mad right now, neither my sister or mother are listening to me when I tell them how I feel about this. My sister has had many pets before (leopard gecko, mice, fish, gerbils, who knows what else) and, in my opinion, failed to care properly for them or plan ahead. They say they want to get a bunny through a rescue, though I dunno if they'll even adopt to someone who has pet snakes, lol.

So... what I want to do is figure out how to stop her from getting a rabbit, or at least slow her down and have her do some research. Also, I'd appreciate any information on why rabbits aren't ideal pets for kids and require a lot of time and work. I don't think I'll be able to stop this, but I'll try.

I don't want to make this into a rant, so I'll stop there for now. Thanks.

[Mike41793]

convince her that your snakes will be bothered by the smell of rabbits so having a rabbit is out of the question. then convince her to get a snake since theyre awesome... as the older sibling these diabolical plans come to me too easily

[Kinra]

When I think of kid I think of like 4-9 when they have no sense of responsibility, at 14 your sister should be old enough to care for a rabbit, but if you are looking for a good argument ask her what she is going to do with it when she gets bored with it. Ask your mother what she will do with it when your sister eventually moves out. The adoption agency will hopefully help drive home just how much responsibility having a rabbit will be and your mother will ultimately be responsible for it.

There is only so much you can do about it if your mother is supporting your sister. Hopefully your sister has learned from her past experiences and will take better care of the rabbit.

[rebelrachel13]

Haha. Yeah, I'm not too keen on the idea of my snakes having to smell rabbit all the time.

I'm just really frustrated about this. No one is on my side and they're all rainbows and butterflies about this and sugar-coating rabbits like they're mice.

[rebelrachel13]

When I think of kid I think of like 4-9 when they have no sense of responsibility, at 14 your sister should be old enough to care for a rabbit, but if you are looking for a good argument ask her what she is going to do with it when she gets bored with it. Ask your mother what she will do with it when your sister eventually moves out. The adoption agency will hopefully help drive home just how much responsibility having a rabbit will be and your mother will ultimately be responsible for it.

There is only so much you can do about it if your mother is supporting your sister. Hopefully your sister has learned from her past experiences and will take better care of the rabbit.

My sister is immature for her age. From what I've seen she doesn't have much responsibility and is not very good at researching and planning ahead.

The unfortunate thing is that to my knowledge, she hasn't learned from her past experiences. It's ongoing as I just recently cleaned her rancid fish tank (there was slime and sludge all over the place, the fish were all moping at the bottom).

[Mike41793]

they're all rainbows and butterflies about this and sugar-coating rabbits like they're mice.

i just lol'd so hard

Convince her to get a baby rabbit and when she starts to neglect it accidentally drop it into the snake's enclosure
That was a joke, dont really do that lol.
Just tell the adoption lady you have snakes and she probably wont let your family have a rabbit...

[DooLittle]

As a mother, it can be hard to tell them no. On the other hand, we had a rabbit for many years. They can be sweet, but they have very sharp nails that need constant trimming (which they don't usually like). They also are stinky. Their urine has a very strong smell. Very frequent cleaning. Maybe tell your mom to have your sister show some responsibilty first. By earning enough money (from chores, working etc.), to pay for the rabbit, shavings for tray, water bottle, food, food dish, and toys. See if that lasts, how persistent she is. If she can make it, maybe she is ready.

[Jazi]

I would perhaps bring up the other pets that she's not taken care of properly, urge her to do a lot of research, or perhaps even "accidentally" leave a few rabbit caresheets up on her computer

If you tell the adoption lady you have snakes, she's not likely to give you a rabbit, but that also may reflect poorly on you in her eyes. After all, to her you'd just be some weird person with snakes that wants to buy someone's cute fluffy pet bunny and feed it to your snake.

[satomi325]

You can say this to your mom and sister:


The rabbit needs daily play time out of the cage (~3 hours a day or so). They are not a display animal. Will you have time for this?
Will you have the time to spend toilet training the rabbit? Will you tolerate potty accidents when the rabbit is out for play time? Who's cleaning the rabbit messes up? Have you bunny proofed your house/room? How will you tolerate chewing and digging? If the rabbit becomes ill, do you have the time and money to take it to a vet?


And regarding snakes and rabbits. I've tried feeding newborn rabbit kits to my big snakes. They didn't know what to do with them. The rabbits were left untouched overnight when these snakes are food pigs. I threw a rat in with the rabbit the next day and the rat was instantly gone. I know all snakes react differently to other animals, but the chances of the rabbit smell bothering your snake probably is very small. Many people do keep their rats and snakes together in the same room after all and haven't seen any ill effect.

[Mike41793]

You can say this to your mom and sister:


The rabbit needs daily play time out of the cage (~3 hours a day or so). They are not a display animal. Will you have time for this?
Will you have the time to spend toilet training the rabbit? Will you tolerate potty accidents when the rabbit is out for play time? Who's cleaning the rabbit messes up? Have you bunny proofed your house/room? How will you tolerate chewing and digging? If the rabbit becomes ill, do you have the time and money to take it to a vet?


And regarding snakes and rabbits. I've tried feeding newborn rabbit kits to my big snakes. They didn't know what to do with them. The rabbits were left untouched overnight when these snakes are food pigs. I threw a rat in with the rabbit the next day and the rat was instantly gone. I know all snakes react differently to other animals, but the chances of the rabbit smell bothering your snake probably is very small. Many people do keep their rats and snakes together in the same room after all and haven't seen any ill effect.

1. your rabbit ate a rat lol?
2. i know it wont bother the snake but i was saying that she could use that as an excuse as to why a rabbit would be a bad idea