Car Journey

Do rabbits cope well in the car??

we are getting my bunny on the 3rd december and my parents want me to go to theirs for christmas which is 250 miles away, i can find someone to look after her but id rather take her with me because i'll worry for all of christmas if i leave her!

if we go i'll stay there for at least a week so that she doesnt have two long journeys close together.

We quite often take our buns on holdiay with us. We are going this weekend from birmingham to dorset (About 3 hours by car). Mine don't really seem to mind at all but some rabbits hate it. It might be worth taking yours for a couple of half hour spins to make sure and when you do travel:

Make sure the carrier is big enough for them to stretch out comfortably
Put a layer of something like newspaper down and then lots of hay which is bedding and food
Make sure you have a water bottle attached (they probably wont use it)
Better to keep your car on the cool side than too hot
Don't have loud music blaring
We like to travel during times when they would naturally be snoozing not dusk or heaven forbid dawn.....thats nmore for me, I prefer my bed.
I try and make sure mine have some veg or something to eat first which has nutrition and water and ditto when they get out.
The buns are the last things in the car & the first things out and settled before eveything else.

My buns absolutely hate the car, they get very nervous and are tense the whole ride. When we get home, however, it usually only takes them a few minutes to get back to their normal selves. I would say just weigh your options, would it be better for you and the buns for them to endure a car ride they might hate or stay with somebody else for the holidays? Personally I'd probably take them with me and just make them as comfortable as possible in the car and give them lots of loves when the ride is over!

My buns just kind of get on with it, out of my 16 I only have one which turns into a blithering idiot in the car and that's Charlie - all the others are fine - if you can take Lucys advice I think yours should be ok too

If it's a baby bunny you're getting I think it's a good thing to take her along because she will be coping better at a young age, and will tolerate it better later on in life if she has been "trained" or used to traveling. If she is an adult I would take her for a couple of rides to see how she reacts. If she is not drooling or hyperventilating I would say she'll get through even if she looks scared or unrelaxed. As long as they don't slide in the carrier most rabbits cope with the car ride and are in a good state when they get to the destinaton.

But for safety reasons I prefer a small carrier in case of an accident.

my chelsea travells by car quite happily and is quite content as long as we do a stop for her to hav a drink and a nibble of a carrot. she has visited me in london (a 3hr drive nearly) a couple of times and also has done a few hour and half journeys to visit a rescue when we tried to bond her. i think it depends on the rabbits personality though.

Giving a couple of drops of rescue remedy before the journey can help.

thanks for all the replies guys!

she will be a baby when we travel, do you think its best to leave her in the carrier the whole time or give her a little cuddle every now and then

Wispa said:

thanks for all the replies guys!

she will be a baby when we travel, do you think its best to leave her in the carrier the whole time or give her a little cuddle every now and then

Click to expand...

Leave her in the carrier, if she gets frightened and jumps she could injure herself or escape

travel tips for bunny

Hi
when we took our rabbit in the car to London, we dug a large piece of turf from the back garden and put it in the travel cage,so she had something to hold onto with her claws (rather than sliding about on the wooden or plastic travel cage base, as can happen even with lots of hay or straw, as the rabbit will possibly kick the hay and straw out of the way). She wouldn't drink from a water bottle so we made sure we put lots of small juicy bits of apple, carrot and wet leaves in for her and she was fine. We also offered her a bowl of water when we stopped at laybys or service stations. We felt that it gave her a 10min break from the constant hum and motion of the car. She settled well, as I think the turf made her feel more secure and also had the smell of her garden on it. (Make sure the piece of turf is as flat as possible and that there is room for the bunny to lie on it laid down if she wants to stretch out and relax.)We also had a cloth that we used over one side of the travel cage to shield her from strong sunlight and made sure she had adequate ventilation, and spoke softly to her from time to time so that she had voices she recognised near her. We didn't have any music on as she is an outdoor bunny and not used to it. Plan your route so that you know where you can stop if you feel bunny needs a break. Do put a seatbelt over the travelcage if it will reach, for bunny's safety and yours. Good luck -I hope you have a pleasant trip, we enjoyed having our bunny in the car with us.- Sue

I forgot to say we also put hay in the travel cage for her -Sue

I would be a bit careful with fruits and vegetables when she's young if she's not used to it. I think it's better to have lots of hay in the carrier for her to nibble on if she wants to, and rather make a few stops on the way and offer her a drink. If she only gets hay, the fiber will, to an extent, prevent colic/gi stasis if she gets stressed from the trip. I'm not comfortable with giving my bunnies food high in sugar if I know they will be exposed to situations that can be stressful. Also I found it worked well with towels and lots of hay on top to prevent sliding

Two of my buns simply tolerate teh car ride whilst one is not too bothered and the other just lays about and goes to sleep!! Very funny to watch - all taken in her stride!!
I read somewhere that the car journey is the stressful thing not the length of the ride, so the diff between 30 mins and 3 hours shouldnt be too much.
Def get her used to the car with a few shorter turns in the car and reward her with treats when you get out of the car so she associates good things with it. And I always talk to mine - giberish mostly :? or even sing soflty if I can think of anthing! :lol: (I didnt say that if anyone asks tho!! lol)

This is a really good question, i have recently gotten harry and dot from an RSPCA and they came to me (barry south wales) all the way from North wales which was a 5 hour journey in total and originally they came from birmingham (to north wales, colwyn bay rspca) so they seem well travelled.
your advice Q has raised an issue for me as im away 4 days (edinburgh) before crimbo then 2 days later after i return im up to herts with my boyf for xmas and to be honest my cats will be looked after by my neighbour (fingers crossed) and ideally i want my buns with me.. i will be there 4 days so think they have enough time to recover and be spoilt before going home. when they arrived initially at my house they seemed totally fine and running around like it was normal.... hmmmm *ponders* they were fairly relaxed in the car, just cutching together and very now and then nosing through to see me and out the window through the carrier... when i got them it was them in a carrier with a coft fleecy blanket... no hay etc as the rspca didnt advise anything. if i do go ahead then i will be haying/watering/ few pellets on offer all the way.

sorry for jumping on your band wagon but if this is feasible i want to take my buns with me too for xmas!!!! :lol:

i will be reading all the advice and taking it myself too!!! good luck

Alvin will be travelling the loooong journey up to scotland with us for xmas this year.... then back again within the week.... i use puppy training pads in his carrier so he dont get wee all over him (he doesnt poop until he arrives but he does pee)... we put a towel over the carrier and even travelled at night in the summer just so he didnt get too hot.... he refuses water but happily eats at every stop and lies down while moving.... i think he doesnt get stressed because hes with us rather than shipped off to strangers....

you can jump on the band wagon!

I saw a post on an american forum that was about car journeys but when i had rats i was told not to listen to american forums very often.

also they were talking about places that i didnt know the distance between the places!

Me and Wispa will be travelling 5 hours at christmas but when we move to Scotland in 2009 she'll have further to go.

cool, my buns will be travelling for 4 hours for xmas as long as my blokes folks dont mind my little visitors though i will be very protective, NO_ONE to pick them up in case summin happens plus the 7yr old nieve wil be there, i got a god sized pen which they are in no t run around so not worried about them destroying hosue, id rather them with me than left on their own with a mate over crimbo.. they need their xmas veg.. sprouts carrots ahoy... who will smell worse... me or them??:? :lol:

i am planning a xmas cd and audio cd, but it wont be blasting.. in fairness they are used to my TV and i hope it kinda masks the hum of the car ?? shows some normality??

shellie x

ps im off to edinburgh for a few days (birthday/xmas hol) and love it up there, its so beautful.. would love to live up there

should have read your post more, didn't realise she would be little. I give mine veg but they are all over 6 months and used to it. Don't give her any veg before/after that she isn't used to.