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Travelling with my rabbit

Colyflower

Alpha Buck
Hello

I need some advice on travelling with my rabbit. We''ll be going by car and the journey will be about 3 hours. We're planning to take her in a pet carrier and we'll be taking her normal cage with us as, she's an indoor rabbit, and we will then set it up for her when we get to our destination.

What I was wondering was whether we need to use the pet carrier at all and whether we can just keep her in her own cage and strap in into the back seat? I was thinking that maybe having familiar surroundings might be less stressful for her?

Any advice would be much appreciated, thanks

C
 
I think an important factor here, is do you know how well your bunny travels?

E.g, have you taken her on a 'distance' drive before? How does she react being driven to the vets etc?
 
When I need to travel with Lapinou, I usually use a pet carrier because we never know, accidents can happen and it is safer for her if she's not in her "real" cage. Besides, if I'm not the driver, I can open the pet carrier and take Lapinou on my lap (she likes that a lot).
 
I do fairly regular 3/4 hour trips with Basil. He is always in his carrier on the back seat and is fine:) He has a cage set up at the other end. Sometimes bunnies like to feel cosy whe travelling:)
 
I used to take Muppet on weekends away with me, 3.5 to 4 hours drive. He went in a pet carrier that was strapped in firmly on the passenger seat. He's quite happy in the pet carrier for that amount of time. He's not a good traveller though. He looks sick and often gets a damp nose (although it dries up again after awhile, as he gets used to it).

Some tips:
* make sure the pet carrier is strapped down securely
* put hay in - mine generally dont eat whilst the car's in motion, but it's there if they want it
* water goes everywhere. Take a bowl or bottle separately and put them in when you stop
* a towel or blanket over the top keeps it dark (cosy hideaway), keeps out draughts (if you have the window open) and keeps off any strong sun
* dont have the heating on too high or the music too loud ;)
* make unloading and settling your rabbit the first thing you do. Muppet wont go to the loo in his pet carrier, if he can at all help it, so I always put his litter tray out first (!) followed by some water.

Having a rabbit loose as gingernutty says sounds very cute and lovely BUT what would happen if there were an accident? Imagine the injuries if the impact of the crash sends bunny flying and smack against the windscreen :shock: Or if your rabbit then got loose and ran off :shock: Better safely strapped in.
 
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